Gerard Willems
Encyclopedia
Gerard Willems is a Dutch-born
Australia
n classical pianist and teacher. He was the first Dutch and first Australian pianist to record the complete series of 32 piano sonatas, 5 piano concertos and the Diabelli Variations
by Ludwig van Beethoven
, and is the only pianist to do so using a Stuart & Sons piano. This series of recordings constitutes the largest classical music recording project ever undertaken in Australia, and Willems became the best selling classical artist in Australia's recording history.
, Netherlands
. He was named after his maternal grandfather, a church organist, composer and piano builder. He received a scholarship from the Brabants Conservatorium, but the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956 caused his parents, fearful of a domino effect
, to migrate to Australia
when he was 12, in 1958. Until he was 17, they lived in a migrant camp near Wollongong
; his father died in the camp. He entered the Sydney Conservatorium of Music
, studying under Gordon Watson. After graduation, he was called up for national service
, managing to convince the army he was best suited as a musician, and he played the clarinet in army bands. He played piano for some time with the Australian Ballet. He won the Queen Victoria Piano Competition and later studied under Greville Rothon (assistant to Claudio Arrau
) in Munich. He made debuts in London 1974, Munich 1977 and Amsterdam 1978. He returned to Sydney in 1981, but has toured extensively overseas and in his adopted country. He taught as Senior Lecturer and later Chair of the Keyboard Unit, at the Sydney Conservatorium 1981-2008.
He founded the piano trio Mozartrois, and with them recorded the complete Mozart
piano trios, as part of the bicentenary of Mozart’s death in 1991. He has appeared in lieder recitals and chamber music concerts with artists such as Lauris Elms
and Julian Lloyd Webber
.
Gerard Willems is perhaps best known for his recording of the complete Beethoven
sonatas, which were released in 1999 and 2000. These won successive ARIA Music Awards
, in 1999
and 2000
, the first album by a pianist to win the Classical section of the Awards.
In 2001, he won the inaugural Queen Elizabeth II Australian Musical Scholarship. He toured Israel
and held the Hephzibah Menuhin
Chair in Piano as Visiting Professor at the Rubin Academy in Jerusalem.
His recordings of the five Beethoven piano concertos appeared in 2001. These featured Sinfonia Australis under the conductor Antony Walker. The Piano Concerto No. 5, "Emperor"
was also filmed for DVD release, a first for this concerto.
A recording of Mozart favourites, including the Variations on the Dutch National Anthem, appeared in 2006.
In 2010 he recorded Beethoven's Diabelli Variations
, again the first Australian pianist to do so. He has used Stuart & Sons pianos for all his Beethoven recordings.
In October 2010, a newly built Stuart & Sons piano containing 102 keys, 14 more than the usual quota, was played for the first time in a public performance (Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1
). Gerard Willems was the pianist.
He is a regular commentator for ABC Classic FM
's live broadcasts of the Sydney International Piano Competition
.
.
Also in 2001 he was awarded a Centenary Medal
for services to music.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n classical pianist and teacher. He was the first Dutch and first Australian pianist to record the complete series of 32 piano sonatas, 5 piano concertos and the Diabelli Variations
Diabelli Variations
The 33 Variations on a waltz by Anton Diabelli, Op. 120, commonly known as the Diabelli Variations, is a set of variations for the piano written between 1819 and 1823 by Ludwig van Beethoven on a waltz composed by Anton Diabelli...
by Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
, and is the only pianist to do so using a Stuart & Sons piano. This series of recordings constitutes the largest classical music recording project ever undertaken in Australia, and Willems became the best selling classical artist in Australia's recording history.
Biography
Gerard Willems was born and grew up in TilburgTilburg
Tilburg is a landlocked municipality and a city in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of Noord-Brabant.Tilburg municipality also includes the villages of Berkel-Enschot and Udenhout....
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. He was named after his maternal grandfather, a church organist, composer and piano builder. He received a scholarship from the Brabants Conservatorium, but the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956 caused his parents, fearful of a domino effect
Domino effect
The domino effect is a chain reaction that occurs when a small change causes a similar change nearby, which then will cause another similar change, and so on in linear sequence. The term is best known as a mechanical effect, and is used as an analogy to a falling row of dominoes...
, to migrate to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
when he was 12, in 1958. Until he was 17, they lived in a migrant camp near Wollongong
Wollongong, New South Wales
Wollongong is a seaside city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. It lies on the narrow coastal strip between the Illawarra Escarpment and the Pacific Ocean, 82 kilometres south of Sydney...
; his father died in the camp. He entered the Sydney Conservatorium of Music
Sydney Conservatorium of Music
The Sydney Conservatorium of Music is one of the oldest and most prestigious music schools in Australia...
, studying under Gordon Watson. After graduation, he was called up for national service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
, managing to convince the army he was best suited as a musician, and he played the clarinet in army bands. He played piano for some time with the Australian Ballet. He won the Queen Victoria Piano Competition and later studied under Greville Rothon (assistant to Claudio Arrau
Claudio Arrau
Claudio Arrau León was a Chilean pianist known for his interpretations of a vast repertoire spanning from the baroque to 20th-century composers, especially Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Brahms and Debussy...
) in Munich. He made debuts in London 1974, Munich 1977 and Amsterdam 1978. He returned to Sydney in 1981, but has toured extensively overseas and in his adopted country. He taught as Senior Lecturer and later Chair of the Keyboard Unit, at the Sydney Conservatorium 1981-2008.
He founded the piano trio Mozartrois, and with them recorded the complete Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
piano trios, as part of the bicentenary of Mozart’s death in 1991. He has appeared in lieder recitals and chamber music concerts with artists such as Lauris Elms
Lauris Elms
Lauris Margaret Elms AM OBE is an Australian contralto, renowned in opera and lieder.She was born in Springvale, Victoria, the daughter of Harry Britton and Jean Elms and trained with Katherine Wielaert in Melbourne. She first sang with the National Theatre Opera Company in 1952 in The Consul. ...
and Julian Lloyd Webber
Julian Lloyd Webber
Julian Lloyd Webber is a British solo cellist who has been described as the "doyen of British cellists".-Early life:Julian Lloyd Webber is the second son of the composer William Lloyd Webber and his wife Jean Johnstone . He is the younger brother of the composer Andrew Lloyd Webber...
.
Gerard Willems is perhaps best known for his recording of the complete Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
sonatas, which were released in 1999 and 2000. These won successive ARIA Music Awards
ARIA Music Awards
The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Australian Recording Industry Association...
, in 1999
ARIA Music Awards of 1999
The 13th Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards was held on 12 October 1999 at the Sydney Entertainment Centre...
and 2000
ARIA Music Awards of 2000
The 14th Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards was held on 24 October 2000 at the Sydney Entertainment Centre...
, the first album by a pianist to win the Classical section of the Awards.
In 2001, he won the inaugural Queen Elizabeth II Australian Musical Scholarship. He toured Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and held the Hephzibah Menuhin
Hephzibah Menuhin
Hephzibah Menuhin was an American-Australian pianist and human rights campaigner. She was sister to the violinist Lord Menuhin and to the pianist, painter, and poet Yaltah Menuhin...
Chair in Piano as Visiting Professor at the Rubin Academy in Jerusalem.
His recordings of the five Beethoven piano concertos appeared in 2001. These featured Sinfonia Australis under the conductor Antony Walker. The Piano Concerto No. 5, "Emperor"
Piano Concerto No. 5 (Beethoven)
The Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73, by Ludwig van Beethoven, popularly known as the Emperor Concerto, was his last piano concerto. It was written between 1809 and 1811 in Vienna, and was dedicated to Archduke Rudolf, Beethoven's patron and pupil...
was also filmed for DVD release, a first for this concerto.
A recording of Mozart favourites, including the Variations on the Dutch National Anthem, appeared in 2006.
In 2010 he recorded Beethoven's Diabelli Variations
Diabelli Variations
The 33 Variations on a waltz by Anton Diabelli, Op. 120, commonly known as the Diabelli Variations, is a set of variations for the piano written between 1819 and 1823 by Ludwig van Beethoven on a waltz composed by Anton Diabelli...
, again the first Australian pianist to do so. He has used Stuart & Sons pianos for all his Beethoven recordings.
In October 2010, a newly built Stuart & Sons piano containing 102 keys, 14 more than the usual quota, was played for the first time in a public performance (Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1
Piano Concerto No. 1 (Beethoven)
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, op. 15, was written during 1796 and 1797. The first performance was in Prague in 1798, with Beethoven himself playing the piano, dedicated to his student Babette Countess Keglevics....
). Gerard Willems was the pianist.
He is a regular commentator for ABC Classic FM
ABC Classic FM
ABC Classic FM is a classical music radio station available in Australia, and internationally online. It is operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation . It was established in 1976 as "ABC-FM", and later for a short time was known as "ABC Fine Music" , before adopting its current name...
's live broadcasts of the Sydney International Piano Competition
Sydney International Piano Competition
The Sydney International Piano Competition of Australia is a music competition, presented by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in association with the University of Sydney and broadcast live throughout Australia. It is held every four years, over a three-week period in July-August, and is...
.
Honours
In 2001 Gerard Willems was named the inaugural Queen Elizabeth II Music Scholar by the Australian Elizabethan Theatre TrustAustralian Elizabethan Theatre Trust
The Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust was set up in September 1954 under the guidance of H. C. ‘Nugget’ Coombs, Governor of the Commonwealth Bank, Sir Charles Moses General Manager, Australian Broadcasting Commission and John Douglas Pringle, Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald. It aimed to...
.
Also in 2001 he was awarded a Centenary Medal
Centenary Medal
The Centenary Medal is an award created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the Centenary of Federation of Australia and to honour people who have made a contribution to Australian society or government...
for services to music.