Dutch pianist Abel Hox (°1998) belongs to a generation of musicians who explore the boundaries of piano playing with deliberate precision. On the occasion of his performance on Friday, December 5 during the Music Chapel Festival at Flagey, he speaks with Klassiek Centraal about his artistic development and the ideas that define his piano playing today.
The piano that found him
His journey began at home, in the living room, where the piano found him rather than the other way around. Under the guidance of his father, he discovered the instrument playfully: "There was never any seriousness," he says. "We mainly listened to a lot of music. That's how my love for it began." At thirteen, Hox entered the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague. For many, a leap toward professionalization, but for him it felt natural: "I never saw the step to conservatory as a decisive moment. I was always involved with music and simply wanted to get better." During that period, his fascination also grew for the tension between structure and emotion, discipline and freedom — a theme that continues to resonate in his playing.
Later came studies at the Accademia Pianistica di Imola with Enrico Pace and André Gallo, and today he finds a new artistic home at the Music Chapel Queen Elisabeth. There he studies not only under Frank Braley, but also under Avedis Kouyoumdjian. "At the Conservatory, the focus was more on lessons. At the Music Chapel, it's about studying and performing for yourself. It's incredibly inspiring to be here among fantastic artists from all over the world."
Repertoire and sound
Hox chooses his repertoire intuitively. Contrast intrigues him, but he leaves room for spontaneity: "It's difficult to know what you want to play on the day of the concert. It depends on my mood, the hall, the audience, the instrument… even the weather. Sometimes I only decide on the day itself." His repertoire ranges from Beethoven to Ligeti, and from the lyricism of Debussy to the clarity of contemporary sound structures — a broad field in which he constantly seeks meaning and cohesion. He sums up his sound ideal in two words: nobility and song. "Music must be noble and sing. That requires a certain honesty. Our own feelings or ideas must never get in the way of the composer's intentions." Composers like Bach and Beethoven continue to challenge him. "That music grows with you. Each time you rediscover them, because you yourself change. It is never 'finished'."
Collaboration and stage practice
An important figure in his musical trajectory is Frank Braley, with whom he will perform a concert at Flagey on Friday, December 5. About this he says: "It is an honor to play this concert with Frank. The rehearsals are enormously inspiring. It's interesting to see how Frank approaches a piece himself. Normally in lessons we focus on my approach, but now we're doing it really together. Neither of us takes the lead, and from that something emerges that belongs to both of us." On the effect on the audience, Hox says disarmingly simply: "Most of all, a nice evening."
Cross-pollination and future plans
Hox is open to dialogue with other art forms. "In February I'll play the Sacre again, but with dancers. Originally it's a ballet, of course. It's the first time I've done something like this, but I think it's great to perform the piece that way." If all limitations were removed, one wish remains unchanged: "I would love to record Bach's Goldberg Variations." Beyond that, he cherishes the ambition to explore and record other composers — contemporary and historical — more deeply in the future.
His musical signature
When you hear Hox play, you notice how his musical thinking is rooted in attention: to the sound, to the composer, and to the moment itself. In his collaboration with Braley, a dialogue emerges that says as much about listening as about playing, and at the Music Chapel he finds an environment that continually stimulates that attitude. Hox is not just a virtuoso, but also a thinker at the piano — a musician who listens to the silence between the notes and gives that silence meaning. He views sound as language, as poetry, sometimes even as a moral stance. What he brings to the stage is not a search for effect, but for clarity: music that is reduced to its essence with concentration and honesty.
His willingness to step outside the familiar — whether through dance, theater, or other artistic cross-pollination — reveals a musician who uses curiosity as a compass. What he brings to the stage is not a search for effect, but for clarity: music that is reduced to its essence with concentration and honesty. In that approach lies the strength of Hox: a pianist who does not fill the silence between the notes, but gives it meaning, and thus creates a space in which music is allowed to continually emerge anew.
Friday, December 5, 18:30, including "Bacarolle" by Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) and "Le sacre du printemps" (arr. for 4 hands) by Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) with Frank Braley, piano.
See also https://klassiek-centraal.be/music-chapel-festival-2025-de-vier-elementen-in-klank-en-geest/
