Daniel-Ben Pienaar has an international reputation for his unconventional body of solo piano recordings
He is one of the few pianists to have recorded all four of the major ‘Viennese’ piano sonata cycles – those by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert – a repertoire where his very personal readings often provoke debate. His commercial discography of keyboard music pre-Bach played on the piano is uniquely extensive, including the first complete recording of the keyboard works of Orlando Gibbons, an extensive Byrd-only recording on piano and the first recording on piano of Gaspard Le Roux’s seven Suites.
Daniel-Ben’s recordings of Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert explore how the canonical status of works, reception stereotypes and historic recordings inflect current practice (for better or for worse) and how they can open up further possibilities of expressive craft.
His double recordings of the Bach Partitas explore what it can mean (and does not mean) when we say that ‘every performance is different’. His Gibbons, Byrd, Le Roux and Philips projects advocate early music on the piano, moving beyond Historically Informed Performance on modern instruments.
He engages intensively with the recording process itself, both mapping and editing his own work, and collaborating with engineers to explore the aesthetic possibilities of recorded sound in relation to given projects. This outlook maintains an experimental approach, rather than seeking first and foremost to speak to current standardised industry expectations. With his Haydn cycle and second Mozart cycle he has started to work towards commercially viable self-recording (i.e. without an engineer/producer present in the sessions).
Born in South Africa, he studied at the Royal Academy of Music, winning the Queen’s Commendation in 1997. His recital appearances have included cycles or groups of works by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Chopin. Over the last 20 years he has been recording that repertoire, exploring the special artistic possibilities that the studio affords.
He is a Professor of the University of London and an elected Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music, as well as Extraordinary Professor of the University of Stellenbosch.
‘Interpretations where within the letter critically observed, a numinous potency breaks free' Gramophone
'Pienaar responds with an astonishing range of expression and colour' Sunday Times (London)
‘A veritable Mo Farah of the keyboard’ BBC Music Magazine
‘One of the most exciting pianists of his generation’ Rondo Magazin (Germany)
‘One of the most original pianists on the current scene’ AllMusic
‘Daniel-Ben Pienaar is a scholar-pianist of the highest order’ International Piano
Supervision
Daniel-Ben supervises doctoral students at the Royal Academy of Music, covering areas such as historical recordings and how we respond to them; why it still may (or may not) make sense to play canonical repertoire now; critiquing current pedagogical and performance practice mores; challenging reception histories; and drawing clear and demonstrable connections between a personal aesthetic/sensibility/identity and matters of technical and expressive craft.
Selected Publications
Bach, Johann Sebastian. The Six Partitas. Daniel-Ben Pienaar, piano. Forthcoming with Avie Records, 4 compact discs.
Philips, Peter. Keyboard Music. The Complete Fantasias and Dances, two madrigal intabulations and Sweelinck’s Variations on the 1580 Pavan, Daniel-Ben Pienaar, piano. Forthcoming, compact disc.
Le Roux, Gaspard. Complete Suites. Daniel-Ben Pienaar, piano. Recorded March 2022. AVIE Records, AV2701, 2025, compact disc and HD digital. (First recording on piano).
Haydn, Joseph. 48 Piano Sonatas. Daniel-Ben Pienaar, piano. Recorded September-December 2020. AVIE Records, AV2578, 2023, 8 compact discs, deluxe box set.
Byrd, William. Pavans & Galliards, Variations & Grounds. Daniel-Ben Pienaar, piano. Recorded January 2020. AVIE Records, AV2574, 2022, 2 compact discs.
Pienaar, Daniel-Ben. The Long 17th Century – A Cornucopia of Early Keyboard Music. Recorded 27-28 March and 9-10 July 2018. AVIE Records, AV2415, 2020, 2 compact discs.
Van Wyk, Arnold. The Mature Piano Music. Daniel-Ben Pienaar, piano. Recorded 15-16 February 2018. Africa Open Institute, 2020, compact disc. (First complete recording)
Schubert, Franz. Schubert – 12 Great Piano Sonatas. Daniel-Ben Pienaar, piano. Recorded March and July 2015. AVIE Records, AV2425, 2020, 5 compact discs.
Bach, Johann Sebastian. The Well-Tempered Clavier, Books 1 & 2. Daniel-Ben Pienaar, piano. Recorded April and September 2013. AVIE Records, AV2299, 2013, 4 compact discs.
Beethoven, Ludwig van. Beethoven – The 32 Piano Sonatas. Daniel-Ben Pienaar, piano. Recorded September 2012-April 2014. AVIE Records, AV2320, 2015, 10 compact discs.