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Bart Verstraeten is a pianist, composer, and teacher. He studied piano, cello, organ, and music theory at the academy in his hometown and subsequently earned master’s degrees in music theory and composition at the Royal Flemish Music Conservatory of Antwerp, studying with Luc Van Hove and Wim Henderickx, among others.
At the Ghent Conservatory, he studied piano with Johan Duijck, taking masterclasses with Jonathan Powell, Eliane Rodrigues, and Irene Russo.
Currently, he teaches piano and composition at the Wilrijk academy and performs as a pianist, both as a soloist and in collaboration with baritone Tristan Faes.
As a composer, he gained early recognition with works such as the piano trio Alla Zingarese and the Trio for flute, viola, and guitar, both awarded prizes in 2005. His music is lyrical and rhythmically driven, inspired by late nineteenth-century styles but with a contemporary perspective and a drive for innovation.
Verstraeten sees himself as a bridge-builder between tradition and modernity. His list of works includes piano works—among them, the collection All’Ungherese—as well as choral compositions and chamber music, with an international reputation for his mandolin cycle (Persephone, Demeter, Hades, Le vieux moulin).
His collaboration with conductor Peter Ickx, for whom he composed
several choral works, was particularly fruitful. He also wrote song cycles based on texts by Pablo Neruda, Rutger Kopland, Emile Verhaeren, and Charles Baudelaire.