______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Photo by Wannes Cré, 2025
Babette Craens is a Belgian classical pianist known for her lyrical touch and expressive musicality.
She is praised by many for her beautiful touché on the keyboard, broad musical interests and sensitive subtlety. Her musical journey reflects a unique connection to a rich musical heritage.
Raised in a musical family, she began her classical training in piano at a young age. Over the years, she studied with esteemed teachers including Heidi Hendrickx, Levente Kende, and Nicolas Callot.
At 17, she was admitted to the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp, where she studied with Sergei Edelman and Eliane Rodrigues, under guidance of Jozef De Beenhouwer. She completed both her Bachelor and Master degrees with great distinction.
Babette has been an active presence in the Belgian classical music scene, performing regularly as a soloist and chamber musician. Her repertoire spans from solo recitals to chamber music, always marked by a refined sense of colour and communication. The genre Lied plays a central role in her artistic work.
Since 2018, she forms a duo with mezzo-soprano Herlinde Van de Straete, with whom she gave a debut recital in 2025 at the Miry Concert Hall in Ghent. Since 2022, she also collaborates closely with soprano Fleur Strijbos, forming a duo that has been selected for several international competitions. Together, they are featured in the Vrienden van het Lied artist database and have performed on major stages including the Lied Festival Zeist, De Bijloke, AMUZ, and Concertgebouw Brugge. Their work was also featured on Belgian classical radio station Klara, where they recorded duo repertoire for the program De Twintigers.
Babette has received numerous accolades in national competitions, including a second prize at the prestigious Steinway Competition. She has performed at known festivals such as Arte Amanti and PianoFest, and has participated in numerous masterclasses with internationally renowned artists including Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden, Mi-Joo Lee, Bernd Goetzke, and Daniel Blumenthal.
Her orchestral debut came at the age of 17, performing Beethoven’s First Piano Concerto in Amuz.
Since 2024, Babette is artist in residence at SWUK vzw.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________