“You should play with Carel Kraayenhof,” Leo de Klerk often said to me years ago.

He collaborated with Carel long before the bandoneonist Máxima shed a tear during the wedding ceremony with his moving "Adiós Nonino ." According to Leo, Carel and I are kindred spirits; we both play intuitively.

But I didn't get the chance to meet Carel, and even after Leo's passing, I couldn't take the plunge. Until Carel entered my life in the summer of 2022. It was during the Beethoven Festival in Zutphen, where we both performed.

Unexpected, yet at the same time, something natural. We exchanged information, and a month later, Carel visited me in Almere to devise a program. Our shared fascination with piano legend Sviatoslav Richter quickly became apparent.

You can read below how we proceeded. And of course, we're curious about your listening experience!