Ginsburgh, Stéphane

After studying at the conservatoires of Liège and Mons, he worked with Paul Badura-Skoda, Claude Helffer, Jerome Lowenthal, and Vitaly Margulis. He won the Tenuto Competition in Brussels (1995) and has received the Belgian Composers’ Union’s Pelemans Prize for his implication in performing Belgian contemporary music (1999). He also studied philosophy of science at the Free University of Brussels where he is now pursuing a PhD in music. He teaches piano at the Royal Music Conservatoire and at the Dalcroze Institute, both in Brussels. 

In 1998, he cofounded SONAR (formerly Bureau des Arts), an active group of artists dedicated to different types of artistic expression and creation, including music, dance and literature.

He has been praised for his daring piano playing and appears regularly in recitals and chamber music worldwide, performing at numerous festivals such as Ars Musica, Quincena Musical, ZKM Imatronic, Agora, Bach Academie Brugge, Ultima in Oslo, Summer Courses for New Music in Darmstadt, and Gaida in Vilnius. A tireless surveyor of the repertoire but also exploring new combinations including voice, percussion, performance or electronics, he dedicates much of his energy to contemporary music. He regularly plays with the Ictus Ensemble under George-Elie Octors, has collaborated with many composers of whom he premiered works, as well as with choreographers and visual artists. 

Stephane Ginsburgh recorded CDs for the Sub Rosa label (works of Feldman, Duchamp, Satie, Fafchamps). He recorded the world premiere of two works by David Toub for World Edition. His complete piano sonatas of Prokofiev are released by Cypres Records. His most recent release for Grand Piano/NAXOS is dedicated to the world premiere of the Bad-Tempered Electronic Keyboard, a series of 24 Preludes and Fugues by the composer and writer Anthony Burgess.