Kristian Bezuidenhout

Kristian Bezuidenhout is one of todays most notable and exciting keyboard artists, equally at home on the fortepiano, harpsichord, and modern piano. Born in South Africa in 1979, he began his studies in Australia, completed them at the Eastman School of Music, and now lives in London. After initial training as a pianist with Rebecca Penneys, he explored early keyboards, studying harpsichord with Arthur Haas, fortepiano with Malcolm Bilson, and continuo playing and performance practice with Paul O’Dette. Bezuidenhout first gained international recognition at the age of 21 after winning the prestigious first prize, and audience prize in the Bruges Fortepiano Competition.

Bezuidenhout is a regular guest with the world’s leading ensembles including the Freiburger Barockorchester, Les Arts Florissants, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Orchestre des Champs Elysées, Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest Amsterdam, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, BR Sinfonieorchester and the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester; and has guest-directed (from the keyboard) the English Concert, Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, Tafelmusik, Collegium Vocale, Juilliard 415 and the Kammerakademie Potsdam.

He has performed with celebrated artists including John Eliot Gardiner, Philippe Herreweghe, Frans Brüggen, Trevor Pinnock, Giovanni Antonini, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Isabelle Faust, Alina Ibragimova, Rachel Podger, Carolyn Sampson, Anne Sofie von Otter, Mark Padmore and Matthias Goerne.

Bezuidenhout’s rich and award-winning discography on Harmonia Mundi includes the complete keyboard music of Mozart (Diapason d’Or de L’année, Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik and the Caecilia Prize); Mozart Violin Sonatas with Petra Müllejans; Mendelssohn and Mozart Piano Concertos with the Freiburger Barockorchester (ECHO Klassik); Beethoven, and Mozart Lieder, and Schumann “Dichterliebe” with Mark Padmore (Edison Award). In 2013 he was nominated as Gramophone Magazine’s Artist of the Year. Forthcoming releases include Volume 2 of Mozart Piano Concertos with the Freiburger Barockorchester.

In the 2016/17 season, Bezuidenhout performs fortepiano concerti with the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique (Sir John Eliot Gardiner), Orchestre des Champs Elysées (Philippe Herreweghe) and Il Giardino Armonico (Giovanni Antonin); as harpsichord soloist with Arcangelo (Jonathan Cohen) playing the Bach Concerti; and on modern piano with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe (Bernard Haitink), Amsterdam Sinfonietta (Jan Willem de Vriend), Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks (Bernard Labadie), Australian Chamber Orchestra (Richard Tognetti), and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (Richard Egarr). Solo recitals and chamber music take him to London, New York, Tokyo, Boston, Madrid, Innsbruck and Sydney; and he will direct his first Bach St. Matthew Passion with the Dunedin Consort.

As of June 2017