The Sound of Piano
For several years now, The Sound of ... has been a wonderful festival day, with classical and post-classical concerts, with established names as well as undiscovered gems. The 2025 Queen Elisabeth Competition is dedicated to the piano, so this year we are also putting the piano at the heart of the festival.
Day schedule
- 1:30 PM- 2:30 PM: Jan Michiels & Inge Spinette / Kirsten Gedeshi & Lenny Bui-Vandeput (Minnepoort)
- 2:45 PM - 3:15 PM: students SLAC (foyer)
- 3:15 PM - 4:00 PM: Matthieu Idmtal (Minnepoort)
- 3:15 PM - 4:00 PM: Gregoire Gerstmans (ballet room)
- 4:15 PM - 4:45 PM: students SLAC (foyer)
- 4:15 PM – 5:00 PM: Julia Anderson (artrium)
- 5:10 PM - 6:10 PM: Tania Giannouli (Minnepoort)
- 5:15 PM - 5:45 PM: students SLAC (ballet room)
- 6:20 PM - 7:05 PM: Sofi Paez (artrium)
- 6:15 PM - 6:45 PM: students SLAC (ballet room)
- 7:20 PM - 8:20 PM: Levi Schechtmann (Minnepoort)
Download the programme schedule
Download the locationplan
Piano Dialogues
Jan Michiels & Inge Spinette - Kirsten Gedeshi & Lenny Bui-Vandeput
Do two pianos sound better than one? Absolutely! After six intense years at the Royal Brussels Conservatory, young pianists Kirsten Gedeshi and Lenny Bui-Vandeput will share the stage with their teachers Jan Michiels and Inge Spinette.
Be enchanted by the musical mastery of these two piano duos, whose piano playing tells a story full of passion and musical heritage. Admire their dancing fingers in Brahms' Hungarian Dances, immerse yourself in French neoclassicism with Poulenc's Sonata for 2 pianos and experience Ravel's homage to the Viennese waltz with La Valse. Finally, the two duos join forces for the legendary Danse Macabre in an 8-handed version for 2 pianos!
Piano music for two, four and eight hands by Mendelssohn, Brahms, Ravel, Poulenc and Saint-Saëns.
Matthieu Idmtal
After a breathtaking Grieg concert during Summer of Saint Peter 2023, we can welcome Matthieu Idmtal back to our stage. Opus Klassiek wrote about him "His vast technical vocabulary leads to a refinement that sublimely combines sonic beauty with piercing eloquence".
Matthieu is the ideal interpreter of works by Romantic composers such as Frédéric Chopin and Edvard Grieg. Chopin's Polonaises and Waltzes contain both Western European classical and traditional Polish elements. In Grieg's case, after earlier influences from German Romanticism, later Norwegian influences became increasingly expressed in his work. We are already looking forward to Matthieu's performance of the lyrical Peer Gynt Suite in an arrangement for piano.
Matthieu Idmtal has emerged as an established performer on national and international stages. Press and audiences have witnessed his extraordinary musical personality and repeatedly praised his delicate interpretations. He won international awards and his CDs of works by Grieg and Skrjabin were awarded 5 stars.
Grégoire Gerstmans
In a fast-paced society, Grégoire Gerstmans consciously slows down time. He grew up surrounded by music. Alone with his piano, somewhere between modernity and respect for tradition, he brings out the dream in all of us through the minimalist purity of his melody. His live show is laced with electro keys and soundtracks combining everyday life and lyrics.
Passionate about music, painting, videography and photography, Grégoire creates his own visual universe and attaches great importance to the interaction between image and sound. His main artistic references are Arvo Pärt, Aphex Twin and Philip Glass, but also Bill Viola and Yves Klein.
During The Sound of Piano, Grégoire will present his debut album Hypnagogie, released on 29 November on the PIAS label.
Julia Andersson (FI)
Due to a wrist injury, Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres can’t participate in The Sound of Piano. She will be replaced by
Julia Andersson.
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Julia Andersson is a minimalist pianist whose emotional compositions are reminiscent of the vast forests and mythological beauty of her native Finland. She uses elements of jazz, ambient and modern classical to create a meandering style that speaks directly to the heart.
In 2020, she released her debut EP Within, without, whose thoughtful harmonies and gentle rhythmic impulses weave together a delicate web of nostalgia, reflection and inspiration. In 2023, she will release her first full-length work, the beautiful collection of solo piano pieces titled Dröm. The title means 'dream' or 'illusion' in Swedish (Julia is a Swedish-speaking Finn), which perfectly sums up the dreamy, meditative and reflective nature of the pieces.
Julia Andersson will be added on the Piano Day Compilation. Her song will also be launched as a single on the occasion of Piano Day. Piano Day was created by none other than Nils Frahm. On and around the 88th day of the year (= number of keys of the piano), concerts go on around the world as part of Piano Day. You can find all the info at www.pianoday.org.
Tania Giannouli (GR)
Pianist Tania Giannouli is all about whimsy. Her music has global appeal and has been described as complex, lyrical, exhilarating and highly original. From her classical background, she has evolved into a bandleader with a broad outlook - from jazz and improvisation to influences from all over the world. She draws her inspiration from various traditions and explores the traditional boundaries of different genres. Effortlessly, she commands attention with a wonderful sense of beauty.
Sofi Paez (CR)
Costa Rican Sofi Paez, currently based in Berlin, blends classical piano with her voice and unique experimental sounds, such as field recordings from her hometown of San José. Her debut album Silent stories (Ólafur Arnalds), due for release in May 2024, will take you on an enchanting musical journey.
Bach to the future - Levi Schechtmann (DE)
German pianist Levi Schechtmann is something of a phenomenon. He is incredibly adept at improvisation and has developed his own successful style. He masters a diverse repertoire and moves remarkably smoothly between classical and ... hip-hop.
Levi studies with Anna Vinnitskaya (Queen Elisabeth Competition 2007) in Hamburg. He has won numerous classical piano competitions but is best known for arranging classical works by Bach, Liszt and Chopin. With more than 600,000 followers on Instagram, Levi is one of the most popular crossover artists. Stay tuned for an exciting mix of classical music and hip-hop.
Classical music x hip-hop: discover Bach, Liszt and Chopin and Levi Schechtmann's reinterpretations.
Students SLAC/Conservatorium
14.45 – 15.15
Ze Wen Wu (Ye Chen)
Liam Fallik (Lenny Bui-Vandeput)
Ida Wu (Vincent Van Audenhove)
Anouk Vranckx (Vincent van Audenhove)
Lars Oneta (Ann Sluys)
16.15 – 16.45
Sophie Tan (Ann Sluys)
Annabelle Verhaegen (Marie Duchateau)
Ian Choi (Lenny Bui-Vandeput)
Roos Maes (Lenny Bui-Vandeput)
Josué Maeck (Manuela Wolfs)
17.15 – 17.45
Bowen Xie (Vincent Van Audenhove)
Roselien Acke (Pieter-Jan De Mayer)
Karolien Goffin & Herman Oprins (Pieter-Jan De Mayer)
Olivia Peng (Ann Sluys)
Sam Karapinar (Ann Sluys)
Emiliano Buob (Ann Sluys)
Geike Lambrechts (Marie Duchateau)
18.15 – 18.45
Elmo Bertocci (Ann Sluys)
Yi-Xuan Chan (Lenny Bui-Vandeput):
Loena de Heel & Ben Verstreken (Lenny Bui-Vandeput)
Hannah Haljan Schoors (Marie Duchateau)
Semih Yilmaz (Marie Duchateau)
Liesel Conings (Marie Duchateau)
Stan Baeckelandt (Marie Duchateau)
Press
Tania Giannouli:
- “This music invites the listener to dream of eternity.” - Jazzspace
- “Giannouli's playing is both open and emotional and adventurous and elusive, with manoeuvres that are always unexpected and exciting, and then full of emotion. In perfect balance; restrained and exuberant, then wonderfully dynamic and exploring new sounds using the entire grand piano, Giannouli finds wonderfully fascinating new heights on SOLO.” - Written in Music
More info
photos Anteia Dujardin (Grégoire Gerstmans), Mariam Wo Ching (Sofi Paez), Daniel Wetzel (Tania Giannouli), Gieke Merckx (Kirsten and Lenny), Tom De Beuckelaer (Jan and Inge) and Ivan Samoshko (Levi Schechtmann)
