Koenraad Spijker was born on September 12, 1991 in Amsterdam. From the age of 6 he took piano lessons and he was soon seen at various children’s competitions and festivals. From the age of eleven to fourteen he exchanged the piano for the drums; It was during this phase that he became interested in Latin American music, first in rhythms and then in functional harmony. In search of the origins of Latin American rhythms and harmonies, he returned to his old instrument; he studied for two years with the Argentine pianist Juan Pablo Dobal and, in addition to a rich harmonic education, he was taught free improvisation. Subsequently, in search of the origin and in preparation for the conservatory, he focused on the European classical masters. He was accepted at the age of 17 at the Conservatory of Utrecht and here he completed his Bachelor Classical Piano with a 10 in 2013 under the direction of the Hungarian pianist Klára Würtz. In 2017 he graduated with a 9.6 for his Master Classical Piano. Piano, also conducted by Klára Würtz. During this period he also studied jazz piano with the legendary Bert van den Brink and composition with Caroline Ansink. Over the last few years, all his preferences and previous fascinations have found a focus: he has specialized in the music of Aleksander Scriabin, a composer who, in his opinion, “has everything”. His graduation recital therefore consisted entirely of works by the Russian master. For his master’s thesis, Koenraad investigated the harmonic morphogenesis within Scriabin’s piano sonatas. He is currently studying in Sofia, Bulgaria, with Atanas Kurtev, a master of Scriabin music. Koenraad played at national and international festivals in classical music, chamber music, improvisation and world music.
More information can be found at www.naardenpianofestival.nl
Students pay only 5 euros for this concert by means of a discount code available at your conservatory.