She had completely had it with the canon, pianist Marlies Cornelis discovered during her conservatory studies. From then on, she would do it her way: telling stories at the piano in which female themes also have a place. And it turns out that a vibrator and a Barbie doll can even come into play. Yet she doesn't renounce virtuoso piano playing, as can be seen from the works that Frederik Croene and Benjamin Windelinckx composed for her. With her concert during Festival 20:21 in Leuven, she wants to demonstrate her versatility – whether or not in dialogue with that detested canon. Get to know an unconventional pianist-composer.
'Marlies Cornelis thinks about what she does, she has substantive ideas.' This is how
Maarten Beirens, artistic director of the Leuven Festival 20:21, the young pianist at her first major solo concert. That unconventionality already became apparent three years ago when Marlies (1997) compiled a program for her graduation project at the conservatory featuring only works by female composers. A well-considered choice, she says, preceded by a period of growing doubt and disappointment.Brainwashed
During her conservatory studies at KASK in Ghent, she increasingly began to question the canon of established, widely appreciated classical works. 'I think we are brainwashed in some way by that canon. I wondered whether I was even allowed to enjoy other music. I found it impossible to listen to music in a relaxed way anymore. Hadn't I been given the tools to analyze music and wasn't I supposed to always form a critical opinion? The canon blocked so much in my head.'
'At my exam, I also noticed that the jury members actually weren't listening anymore. Their comments had nothing to do with the music and even less with me. They only looked at the score and how – according to them – it should be performed in a historically correct manner. It didn't help me get further. After my first year of master's studies, I was completely done with that canon. I wanted to get away from it, and then you almost automatically end up with women because you don't find them in the canon.'
In their twenties
'For my final exam, I looked for works that the jury might not know, so that they would listen without prejudice to a concert instead of an exam. Over the years, I had already made a list of pieces I wanted to play one day. It consisted mainly of works by women, sometimes discovered by chance via YouTube. And whether by chance or not, the three works I selected for my final project – Fantaisie by French composer Hélène de Montgeroult (1764-1836), 9 Preludes by American Ruth Crawford (1901-1953), and Musique pour Mallarmé by Romanian Ana-Maria Avram (1961-2017) – were written when these composers were in their twenties, just like me. That's why I gave my program the title
. It felt good to tell such a story.'Her teacher Keiko Shichijo reacted positively to her proposal. The jury also found it an interesting program. They surprised the pianist with an extremely high grade: 19 out of 20. 'A year earlier I had only achieved a 13. Surely I couldn't have improved that much in a year? I think the jury listened in a different way.'
Discouraged
After graduation, she became somewhat discouraged. She doesn't have the impression that her attention to the work of female composers has had a lasting impact. 'I was able to perform my exam program and a new program with other composers a few more times at house concerts. But it turned out that concert organizers had little interest in the end. And it takes an enormous amount of energy to have to sell yourself.'
That's why she decided to take a different approach. She asked contemporary composers to write works for her. This way, she wants to align more with what she stands for today, rather than performing older works, even if they are by women. In that sense, the program she has now developed also fits perfectly with the approach of the Transit program of Festival 20:21, which provides a forum for contemporary voices.
Virtuoso
With her debut in Leuven, Marlies Cornelis wants to show her versatility. The first work, written by her partner Frederik Croene (1973), gives her the opportunity to present herself as a virtuoso pianist. 'Frederik still likes to return to the tradition of the 18th and 19th centuries, which is the basis of piano playing for him. But at the same time, he asks himself how you can still write virtuoso work today. That aligns with my interest: how do you relate to tradition? Normally he always performs his own work, it's unusual that I get to do that now. Schizophonia is a very virtuoso piece, in which he has me play the piano as if it were a whole orchestra. It's contemporary work, very layered, but very accessible with an easy-to-follow melody that I set with the middle pedal.'
The second work, composed by Marlies' fellow student Benjamin Windelinckx (1999), also requires some virtuosity, but it aligns more with her interest in female composers. In en cercle, a composition for piano and tape, Windelinckx invites her into dialogue with Cécile Chaminade (1857-1944). A
from 1901 of Air de Ballet by this French composer has been preserved. 'You hear her at work in that very virtuosic piece, but you also hear the noise of the recording. Benjamin has written two miniatures on it. I engage in dialogue with the score as well as with the recording. The work ends with Chaminade's playing. I see it as an almost literal bringing up of a forgotten voice.'Between the legs
Furthermore, Marlies performs two of her own compositions that are part of her still unfinished cycle Untempered Pianist (f.) – indeed a nod to Bach's Wohltemperiertes Klavier, or the canon. The first, Mon petit lapin sonore, is a piece for kalimba, electronics and vibrator.
'Indeed, the vibrator is the main act. It is once again an interrogation of the canon and an exploration of female themes. I play with that vibrator, a cute little rabbit, on the kalimba. I place this little thumb piano between my legs, a reference to the fact that in the 19th century the piano was considered most suitable for women because they had to sit quite upright and somewhat turned away from the audience. A cello, on the other hand, was considered inappropriate for women because it is placed between the legs. Moreover, I'm alluding to rock guitarists who see their instrument as an extension of their body.' In this work too, she incorporates a recording, namely the explanation she received when purchasing the vibrator at a sex shop.
Performance
Fragments of an interview can finally also be heard in Marlies' second composition, Feminine Endings I. We hear Ruth Handler, designer of the Barbie doll and founder of the toy company Mattel, tell how she began developing breast prostheses after her cancer diagnosis. 'That contrast interests me: the designer of the ideal woman who also reveals herself as very vulnerable. "I lost my femininity", she testified about the loss of her breasts. With this work, in which I place Barbie dolls between the strings of the prepared piano, I raise the question of how we look at women and beauty. Halfway through the piece, I also look at my own breasts.'
With both of her compositions, we have gradually evolved through the program entirely toward performance. And that is the path Marlies Cornelis wants to continue down, solo or in collaboration. 'I very much enjoy playing the piano and play it well, but I also want to share stories and bring interesting themes. Because sharing personal experience also makes it more accessible to the audience. And yes, perhaps I do want to confuse and shake awake the Transit audience, which I sometimes find too academic.'
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- A longer version of this interview also appeared on the blog of Vrouw aan de piano.
- Marlies Cornelis performs her program on Saturday 18 October 2025 at 13:30 in STUK Studio.
- Twenty-Something (f.), Marlies Cornelis's graduation project, can still be heard on .
- More work by female composers can be heard during Festival 20:21 on Sunday 12 October (Galina Oestvolskaja) and on Tuesday 14 October (Kaija Saariaho).