Lucas Blondeel, Piano

Biography

Lucas Blondeel, born in Brussels in 1981, was a three-time recipient of the Cantabile prize, and in 2002 was a first prizewinner in the Emmanuel Durlet International Piano Competition in Antwerp. In 2005, a third prize at the Arthur-Schnabel-Wettbewerb in Berlin and first prize at the Kurt-Leimer-Wettbewerb in Zürich followed. At the Concours de Genève he won the special prize for the best interpretation of a contemporary Swiss work. In 2007, he finished among the best six pianists at the acclaimed Concours Clara Haskil in Vevey and was also a semi-finalist of the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. In 2011 he was a prizewinner at the World Piano Competition in Cincinnati.

Lucas Blondeel has a vast amount of performances to his name. Since 1995, he has performed in recitals and as a soloist with orchestras on the stages of Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Bulgaria, Finland, Britain, the United States, Japan and Singapore. Alongside his solo career, he enjoys playing chamber music. He forms a piano duo with Nicolas Callot, a duo with clarinettist Annelien Van Wauwe and a Lied duo with Liesbeth Devos. His passion for Lieder was rewarded with the prize for best Lied-accompanist at the La Voce Competition of the Bavarian Radio in Bayreuth.

To improve his performances of the classical repertoire, Lucas Blondeel spent many years studying historical performance and fortepiano with Jos Van Immerseel, Bart Van Oort and Malcolm Bilson. He strongly believes that the analytical and rhetorical aspect of the historical approach must find its place in modern piano playing and wants to play a role in bringing these two worlds closer together.

He hosts a musical salon at his apartment in Berlin, discussing and playing music for very mixed audiences.

A first CD with the Schubert Impromptus (Klara 2007) was followed by Für Marianne with music by Haydn (Cyprès 2010).  Both recordings were acclaimed by public and critics alike. The Bavarian, Catalan, Dutch and Belgian classical radios broadcast his concerts and recordings regularly.

Lucas Blondeel was awarded important scholarships from the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben and the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes.