Burkard SPINNLER
Belgian pianist of German origin, Burkard Spinnler studied with Julian von Karolyi in Würzburg and later with Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden in Brussels. He refined his skills under the guidance of maestro Eduardo del Pueyo. He took the initiative to transfer the annotated and fingered scores of this great Aragonese pianist onto four microfilms, which are now housed in the Library of the Brussels Conservatory. This true treasure of piano pedagogy has since been digitized and made accessible to the public.

Works by Liszt, Ravel, and Leopold Godowsky hold a prominent place in his solo repertoire. Since 2014, he has performed Isaac Albéniz’s monumental Iberia cycle on multiple occasions. With the HEXAPIANO collective, he prepared the complete cycle of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas in celebration of the composer’s anniversary. He is also the author of several brilliant and skillful transcriptions for two pianos

As a duo with his wife, Claudine Orloff, performing for two pianos and piano four hands, he regularly gives concerts in Belgium, Germany, France, and Spain. The orchestral sonorities of their duo particularly enhance works such as Messiaen’s Visions de l’Amen, Van Rossum’s Catharsis, Bartók’s Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion, and works by Rachmaninoff. In 2010, they recorded Six Trio Sonatas by Bach, transcribed for two pianos (Fuga Libera FUG 572). Thanks to his initiative, the contemporary repertoire for two pianists has expanded with several premieres, including Miniatures Op. 55 (2004) by Frederik Van Rossum, Duotango (2011) by Daniel Capelletti, Kobold (2015) by Jacqueline Fontyn, Arcanos (2021) for two pianos and orchestra by Jacqueline Fontyn, and Quartet for Two Pianos and Percussion (2021) by Christoph Wünsch.

After a long and meticulous process, they are completing the re-edition of Valses for Piano Four Hands by Marie Jaëll (1846–1925). Their CD featuring works for piano four hands by the Alsatian composer and her two composition mentors and friends, Franz Liszt and Camille Saint-Saëns, was released in November 2024 by Cypres.
A dedicated and demanding teacher, Burkard Spinnler was for many years an assistant at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels and a professor at the academies of Waterloo and Alsemberg. He regularly gives masterclasses (Mons, Lille, Paris, Tarazona, Castellón) and teaches every summer at the International Music Academy of Dinant.