Biography
& more
Elsewhere
Internationally acclaimed for her vibrant and sensitive touch, Els Biesemans takes her audience on a musical journey through time into the era of Mozart, Beethoven, and the Romantic period.
Her interpretations on period keyboard instruments captivate with a rare symbiosis of lightness and depth. Through a carefully chosen combination of familiar repertoire and surprising rediscoveries, she creates an unmistakable sonic experience.
In her concerts, the poetic zeitgeist becomes tangible, transporting the audience ‘elsewhere’ into another world of sound.
Hear how Mozart sounds on a piano of his time:
Roots
My musical journey began at the age of seven.
I came into contact with historically informed performance practice at an early age: my organ teacher had studied with Jos van Immerseel, the renowned pioneer of Early Music.
In the organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach, I was captivated by the musical-rhetorical figures.
Music as speech (‘Klangrede’) shaped me from the very beginning: music as a language, not as a decorative element.
Since no two organs are alike, I learned early on to adapt quickly to new instruments and acoustic environments.
Discovery
As a teenager, I loved playing the piano, but its sound didn’t fully satisfy me.
At the age of fifteen, I heard a fortepiano on a CD for the first time and was instantly enchanted.
During my studies at the conservatory in Leuven, my love for the piano repertoire grew.
However, I could never truly connect with the sound of the modern piano.
The longing for a different tonal color remained.
Inspiration
Following various successes in international competitions and concert tours, I was drawn to Switzerland to study at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis.
At this world-leading center for Early Music, I ultimately found my musical home through the artistic inspiration of Jesper Christensen.
Here, I had the opportunity to immerse myself deeply in the fortepiano and the repertoire composed for it.
Thanks to the in-depth study of historical recordings, I gained a completely new perspective on 19th-century music.
The legendary Clara Schumann, for instance, passed down the Schumann tradition to her numerous female students. Thanks to the invention of the phonograph, we can listen today to exactly how they played back then. These invaluable sound documents lift a corner of the dark veil that seems to shroud the 19th century, allowing us to at least glimpse the intentions of a composer like Schumann.
In this way, I began to re-interpret and better understand the musical message of my beloved composers – a process that accompanies me for a lifetime.
Window in Time
Historical pianos are fascinating witnesses of their time.
They possess both an immense brilliance and an infinite wealth of fine, nuanced sounds, which audiences find deeply comforting.
That is why their true magic unfolds in more intimate settings, where music can be experienced with absolute intensity.
Even Hector Berlioz was skeptical about the increasing size of concert halls.
In his view, the growing distance between the performer and the listener made it impossible to truly resonate with the music anymore.
Today
It is my goal to bring music from the past to life as vividly as possible in the here and now.
This is precisely why I prefer to play on period instruments, just as the composers heard them back then.
Only on these instruments does the impact of the music unfold as directly and authentically as it did in the past.
Every fortepiano has its own unique character, with distinct strengths and limitations.
The more robust and uniform piano sound as we know it today only began to establish itself around 1880.
It fulfills me anew each day to discover this exceptional diversity of sound and to share it with my audience.
Mozart without sugar,
overwhelmingly beautiful and deeply moving, yet never sentimental.
ST. GALLER TAGBLATT
Biography
Els Biesemans stands for a repertoire that is as refined as it is unconventional. Performing on 200-year-old fortepianos, she explores the entire palette of historical tone colours—full of freshness, elegance, and subtle nuances. As a celebrated interpreter of the great masters and a discoverer of forgotten treasures, she breathes new life into music from Bach to Chopin.
Her artistic partners include Giuliano Carmignola, Pieter Wispelwey, Avi Avital, Julian Prégardien, and Marie-Claude Chappuis. In addition, she is regularly accompanied by leading ensembles and orchestras such as La Cetra, La Scintilla, the Hofkapelle München, and Capriccio Basel.
Distinguished with numerous international awards, her successful concert career takes her across Europe, Japan, Canada, and the USA. As an expert in historical keyboard instruments, she is regularly invited to serve as a jury member for international competitions. Els Biesemans lives in Zurich with her private collection of historical pianos.
elsbiesemans.com
Zur Diskografie
In a nutshell
Performing career
Frequent appearances as a soloist, chamber musician, and Lieder accompanist at distinguished international venues and festivals.
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Philharmonie Berlin
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Stadtcasino Basel
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Philharmonie Essen
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Princeton University
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Schleswig-Holstein Festival
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Bach Festival Montréal
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Auditorio Nac. de Musica Madrid
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Casino Zug
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Festival de Sablé
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Herrenchiemsee Festspiele
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Musikfest Bremen
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Tonhalle Sankt-Gallen
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Musikfestspiele Sanssouci Potsdam
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Riehen Classiques!
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Bach-Fest Leipzig
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Festspielhaus Baden-Baden
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Alte Oper Frankfurt
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Bach-Fest Schaffhausen
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Festival Flügelschläge Zürich
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Silbermann Tage Freiberg
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Mozartfest Würzburg
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Festival Voor de Wind A'dam
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ORF Radiokulturhaus Wien
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Maison de la radio France
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ABC concerts Firenze
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BOZAR Brussels
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AMUZ Antwerp
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Opernhaus Zürich
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Forum Alte Musik Zürich
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Salle Philharmonique Liège
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Maison de la Radio France
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Festival des Forêts Compiègne
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Orgelpark Amsterdam
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Philharmonie Haarlem
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Palacio Euskalduna Bilbao
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Philharmonie Omsk
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Philharmonie Ekaterinburg
Musical partnerships
Collaborations and artistic exchange with renowned singers, soloists, ensembles, and orchestras.
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Julian Prégardien
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Nikola Hillebrand
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Marie-Claude Chappuis
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Shira Patchornik
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Patricia Nols
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Konstantin Krimmel
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Andreas Wolf
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Avi Avital
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Pieter Wispelwey
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Giuliano Carmignola
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Ilya Gringolts
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Dmitry Smirnov
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Chouchane Siranossian
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Jakob Lehmann
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La Cetra Barockorchester
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Orchestra La Scintilla
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Hofkapelle München
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Capriccio Barockorchester
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Ensemble 1800 Neustadt
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La festa musicale
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Les Passions de l'âme
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CHAARTS Chamber Artists
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Gringolts Quartet
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Azahar Ensemble
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Karlsruher Barock Consort
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Mona Petri
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Andrea Zogg
Teaching & Jury
Private teaching and international masterclasses for fortepiano and historically informed performance practice.
Regular service as a jury member for master's graduation examinations and renowned international music competitions.
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MA Festival Brügge
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Anton Bruckneruniversität Linz
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Formations professionels de musique Royaumont
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Conservatorio Superior de Musica Pamplona
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Schola Cantorum Basiliensis
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Zürcher Hochschule der Künste
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Silbermann-Wettbewerb Freiberg
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Toulouse les Orgues
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Int. Orgelwettbewerb Brixen
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Int. Orgelwettbewerb Béthune
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Balthasar Neumann Akademie Freiburg in Breisgau
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Zürcher Fortepiano Festival
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Liedwettbewerb Schloss Weissenbrunn
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Stipendienwettbewerb Conza-Stiftung Biel
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LUCA School of Arts Leuven
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Neustadter Herbst Festival
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Music Academy Melsele
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Music Academy Ghent
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Music Academy Beveren
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Diskothek im 2 SRF Kultur
Gallery
Press
Schweizer Illustrierte
Radio SRF2 Kultur
La Tribune de l'Orgue
Concert reviews
(Mostly in German)
My Schumann Interpretations
How I understand Beethoven
Read review
The way I play Mozart
Read review
Chamber music with Pieter Wispelwey
About Winterreise with Julian Prégardien
© Els Biesemans 2026