Joep Beving
at the Oslo
Opera House

Music that strokes your hair

"Simple music for complex emotions" –- this is how Joep Beving describes his own compositions. With his soft piano minimalism, the Dutchman has established himself as one of the most streamed pianists of our time, ending up in Spotify playlists alongside artists such as Max Richter, Ólafur Arnalds and Nils Frahm. 

On May 12, he will grace the Opera's main stage with his latest album, Hermetism, as well as selected works from his extensive catalogue. They all embody the philosophical themes that are prevalent in his music. 

Score for a hopeful future

Beving's haunting and melancholic melodies are perhaps just what we need now, in a time characterised by uncertainty and fear. 

– The world is a hectic place, says the pianist himself. – I feel a deep urge to reconnect on a basic human level with people in general. Music as our universal language has the power to unite. Regardless of our cultural differences I believe we have an innate understanding of what it means to be human. We have our goosebumps to show for it. 

His tones are a soundtrack for a kinder, more hopeful future, and as Beving points out: – It's pretty emotional stuff.  

About Joep Beving 

Joep Beving has been one with the piano since childhood but had his music education interrupted due to a wrist injury. Instead, he pursued an education in politics and public administration – but his love for music persisted, and when he inherited his grandmother’s piano in 2009, it blossomed again. The Schimmel piano insisted on a gentler touch and a graceful tempo, which led Beving to change his playing style and adapt to a more classical vocabulary. 

In 2014, he released his debut album Solipsism at the age of 38 – and quickly went from being an unknown pianist to playing at the advertising film festival in Cannes and having his music featured on Spotify's Peaceful Piano playlist with more than 7 million followers. Soon, his music found its way to management at Deutsche Grammophon, the world's leading classical record company. The release of his second album Prehension in 2017 made Joep one of the most-played live pianists in the world.