Gerard Willems

Gerard Willems AM (born Gerardus Maria Willems, 19 August 1946) is an Australian classical pianist and teacher. He was the first Australian pianist to record on CD the complete series of 32 piano sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven. He also recorded Beethoven's five piano concertos and the Diabelli Variations, and is the only pianist to do so using an Australian Stuart & Sons piano. This series of recordings constitutes the largest classical music recording project ever undertaken in Australia, and Willems became the best selling classical artist in Australia's recording history.

Gerard Willems was born and grew up in Tilburg, Netherlands. He was named after his maternal grandfather, a church organist, composer and piano builder. He received a scholarship from the Brabants Conservatorium, but the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956 caused his parents, fearful of a domino effect, to migrate to Australia when he was 12, in 1958. Until he was 17, they lived in a migrant camp near Wollongong; his father died in the camp. He entered the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, studying under Gordon Watson. After graduation, he was called up for national service, managing to convince the army he was best suited as a musician, and he played the clarinet in army bands. Willems was employed as the touring pianist for the Australian Ballet, and travelled on tours with dancers such as Margot Fonteyn, Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov. He won the Queen Victoria Piano Competition, and later studied under Greville Rothon (assistant to Claudio Arrau) in Munich.

...
Wikipedia