How did you come together as an ensemble and what brought you together in the first place?
We got to know each other through a colleague at De Munt / La Monnaie. We were looking for a pianist for a concert on 12 October 2012 in the Concertini series on Friday afternoons. It was a programme featuring clarinet around Berg and Webern. The first piece we played together was Vier Stücke für Violine und Klavier by Anton Webern opus 7. It clicked immediately and afterwards I asked Yasuko again for a concert programme with sonatas by Franck and Beethoven. Over time we played together so often that we looked for a name for our duo. FeYa consists of the first letters of our first names.
How do you determine which repertoire you play? Is there a specific reason why you choose certain pieces?
We usually play together with others in larger ensembles, often within the framework of De Munt / La Monnaie, whereby the programming of the operas usually has a link with the chamber music concerts. And for ourselves, for example, we have been working for a few years now on piano quintets in combination with the members of the Taiyo string quartet and then we choose together which works we are going to play.
How do you approach the interpretation of classical pieces? Do you have a shared vision or do discussions take place?
Usually the rehearsal process runs very smoothly; we mainly work on timing and dynamics. Yasuko is a pianist who has made ensemble playing her specialty, it is a dream to work with her. She inspires and follows; we hardly need to agree on anything.
What were memorable moments and why do they stay with you?
Personally, I have good memories of a concert in Gent, in which we played the 2nd piano trio by Shostakovich together with cellist Renaat Ackaert. At that moment I got into a flow, in which I forgot that I was playing the violin and I became one with the music.
What also stayed with me are the concerts around César Franck. The sonata is one of my favourite pieces and the last time we played that piece was during a concert in December 2022 for his 200th birthday, in which we also played the piano quintet. A tremendous achievement for Yasuko to play these two works in one concert! It was also the last concert my mother attended and for that reason too it was very special. She was also a pianist and I played this sonata with her often during my studies.
And of course, as the crowning achievement of our collaboration, making this CD. That was a wonderful adventure. We spent three days in the old Rosario monastery, where we worked intensively together with Hans Van Daele from Arsis, our fantastic sound engineer. Those days we will never forget.
What does classical music mean to you and how has working in an ensemble shaped you personally and musically?
Classical music is an art form within which so many outstanding masterworks have been created that for that reason alone this music must never be lost. It is an enrichment for every person to come into contact with it.
Nothing beats experiencing a live concert with music made by real people. A computer (AI) cannot convey emotions the way people can. Even if many people may not notice the difference, that does not mean it is not there.
There are so many aspects to classical music. Learning to play an instrument alone, such as the violin or piano, broadens your mind. As a violinist, you have the privilege of being able to play in an orchestra, a very special experience and a good – sometimes tough – training ground. You learn to listen to others, because you almost always play together in an ensemble or orchestra and within that you have a specific role to fulfil. By exploring different styles from different periods, you develop an intuition for music and with it also for many aspects of human nature.
As a pianist you also gain a fantastic insight into the structure and harmony of music. Many composers have brought these two instruments together in their compositions. The instruments complement each other perfectly in melody and harmony. I myself have done this in two compositions that can be heard on the CD.
But also the connecting aspect of music, sitting together in a hall in silence listening (with the mobile phone switched off), is precisely in this day and age something that people desperately need.
The richness of emotions, colours and atmospheres penetrates into every fibre of your body, even if one is often not aware of it. In classical music one can 'say' so much that cannot be expressed in words.
We contribute our part to this with this CD and our live concerts.
The pleasure of experiencing something together and being able to move an audience is very fulfilling and makes life worth living.
Why did you make this CD?
Over time we discovered quite a few unknown beautiful works for violin and piano that have appeared little or not at all on CD. We want to put something down for the future with this and also record Femke's works for violin and piano. This is important for her as a composer.
What would you like young musicians to learn from your path and experiences?
We hope that young, but also older people are moved by our music and thus embark on a voyage of discovery through the immeasurable repertoire