Sound Worlds
Videos
Els & Ensemble
Duo & Lied
Time Journey
How did Beethoven or Chopin actually conceive and play their own works?
Unfortunately, I can no longer ask Beethoven in person—not that he would have had much desire to answer anyway...
But there is a brilliant compass: the oldest sound recordings in music history.
The earliest audio documents of Liszt's students help me enormously. After all, Franz Liszt was the star pupil of Carl Czerny—and Czerny was taught directly by Beethoven himself!
Through this direct line of tradition, these historical recordings still breathe the authentic spirit of Viennese Classicism.
This historical exploration liberates the music from the dust of centuries. It shows me just how unconventional, spontaneous, and vibrant these masterpieces were truly meant to be.
It is precisely this freshness that I want to bring back to the stage today.
Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the passing of the fire.
GUSTAV MAHLER
Recordings
Listening to the Instrument's voice
MY APPROACH TO THE FORTEPIANO
Making music on historical pianos is always an adventure for me.
I listen to the instrument and let it tell me where its limits are.
Since period instruments were built predominantly of wood, without a cast-iron frame, they are far more vulnerable than modern pianos.
To bring out all the subtleties and nuances, I need to know the boundaries within which I can move—a bit like a sensitive massage therapist who first discovers how much pressure is safe to apply.
Sometimes I am instantly in tune with the grand piano. Other times it takes patience to understand its essence.
When I succeed in coaxing the most beautiful tones from the instrument, my heart already quickens.
When I feel that the instrument and I can trust one another, the music begins to flow and to speak.
It is only in concert, when the spark spreads to the audience and the orchestra, that the music truly resonates.
Piano collection
Experience the Collection
Historical instruments are not meant to just stand around—they want to be played, heard, and experienced.
That is why I open my collection in Langnau am Albis (Zurich) to all music lovers: I offer lessons on historical fortepianos and guide groups as well as private individuals through these fascinating worlds of sound.
Through exclusive private concerts and public loft concerts, piano history comes alive.
© Els Biesemans 2026