The instrument
In 1884, the Parisian piano-maker Pleyel, Wolff & Cie finished work on a magnificent grand piano. Ten years later, the instrument arrived in Antwerp. Since the early 20th century, the piano has been associated with the name of none other than Peter Benoit (1834-1901), composer, conductor and founder of the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp.
We have kept the 'Benoit-Pleyel' on permanent loan from the Conservatory since 1967. However, the instrument became unplayable over the years. In 2020-2021, in consultation with the Conservatory and thanks to the Peter Benoit Fund, we had the instrument restored to playable condition by Yannick Wijnants of Atelier Herkenrode. The aim was to bring this musical heritage back to life so that future generations can learn about the late-19th-century soundscape of Peter Benoit and his contemporaries. A task that Ambassador Jeroen Malaise has taken on.
The soundmaster
A pianist-composer and lecturer at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp, Jeroen Malaise was the perfect soundmaster for the Peter Benoit-Pleyel. The Pleyel concert grand piano plays an important role in Jeroen's academic work. His focus in this regard is on the profile and improvisational practices of 19th-century pianist-composers.
In the past, Jeroen has composed and performed various preludes on the Pleyel grand piano.
Biography
Jeroen Malaise (b. 1971, Antwerp, Belgium) is a pianist-composer and lecturer at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp. As a performer, he is fascinated by different traditions and forms of improvisation. His concerts have taken him to venues and happenings around the world: from the Wiener Konzerthaus and Royal Opera House London, to the National Arts Centre Ottawa and the Beijing Music Festival. In projects including Cobane Collective and Congo Echoes, he explores the connections between musical styles from Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
From an early age, Jeroen played a variety of keyboard instruments, including clavichord, harpsichord and piano. He studied with Jan Vermeulen, Jacques Detiège, Remy Syrier, Wim Henderickx, Luc Van Hove, and earned master's and bachelor's degrees with major distinctions for piano, harpsichord and composition. He took lessons in baroque and classical improvisation with Ewald Demeyere and jazz piano with Christoph Erbstösser.
He has released two albums of his own compositions: Keyboard Works Part 1 and Keyboard Works Part 2: Nomadic Cycle (Etcetera Records). As a composer, he primarily focuses on the keyboard, but he has also made compositions for other instruments. He is an ambassador of the Pleyel Concert Grand piano (1884) at the Museum Vleeshuis in Antwerp.
At the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp, Jeroen is department chair of creative entrepreneurship and supervises the graduation projects the master's students. As a lecturer and researcher, he specialises in improvisation techniques on keyboard. In addition to giving lectures and master classes, he chairs the steering committee of Metric (modernizing European higher music education through improvisation). His musical ventures have earned him various national and international awards.
