Joep Beving

Joep Beving has been one with the piano from an early age. He was forced to end his musical studies at the conservatory and went on to university instead. However, his love for his instrument has never been lost. Where once his goal was to hit as many notes per minute as possible, his playing style has changed over the years, in search of a certain aesthetic essence. His path was illuminated by a piano that Beving inherited from his grandmother when she passed away in 2009. This German instrument insisted on a softer key and graceful tempo, which eventually led Beving to adapt to a more classical vocabulary to tell his story.

Looking for the peace of mind and some form of essence, music began to present itself that he had never played before in his life. Minimal pieces that he later described as 'simple music for complex emotions'. Repulsed by the only label he approached, Joep decided to self-release his debut album Solipsism in 2015. The sound of his piano found its way to the ears of A&R manager Christian Badzura of Deutsche Grammophon while visiting his favorite bar in Berlin. This led to Beving's signing to the world's premier classical label and with it the release of the equally successful album 'Prehension' in 2017, making Joep one of the most listened to living pianists in the world at the time.

On his latest album, called 'Hermitism', Joep returns to his piano solo roots. For his latest project, he draws on Hermeticism, a spiritual philosophy that stems from the ancient writings of the legendary Greek writer Hermes Trismegistus. It focuses on seven universal laws of nature, such as cause and effect, the principle of rhythm and finding balance. Written during the dark days of the pandemic, in an era of fear and polarization, Hermetism mixes poignant melancholy with hope. These twelve compositions were once again performed on the well-known Schimmel piano that his grandmother once gave him.