Jelger Blanken

Jelger Blanken is a Dutch pianist and composer. He studied at the Conservatory of Amsterdam with Ludmilla Baslawskaja and Håkon Austbø, winning the Medal of the Friends of the Concertgebouw and the Eduard van Beinum Scholarship in his final year. He earned his Master's degree in Arts and Cultural Sciences from Erasmus University Rotterdam. From an early age, he has engaged with contemporary music as both artist and researcher. As a fully self-taught composer, his work is shaped by extensive experience performing diverse chamber music repertoire as a pianist.

Since 2003, Blanken has been an instrumental coach at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague. As a chamber musician, he has collaborated with artists including Nobuko Imai, Philippe Graffin, David Waterman, and Raphael Wallfisch. Performances span numerous Dutch and international festivals: Franz Liszt Festival (Utrecht), International Chamber Music Festival Schiermonnikoog, Grachtenfestival Amsterdam, Rotterdam Gergiev Festival, Enghien International Musical Encounters (Belgium), and Rovigo Cello City Festival (with Floris Mijnders). He also appeared in chamber music series of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, and Munich Philharmonic.

Committed to contemporary music as performer and composer, Blanken recorded works by Dutch composers with Philippe Graffin for Onyx Classics, receiving acclaim from Gramophone, The Strad, and International Record Review.

His compositional style employs climaxes and harmonic progressions reminiscent of late-romantic and neo-romantic music within a free-atonal idiom. Blanken believes contemporary music should integrate into regular classical programs rather than remain separate, making it accessible to traditional classical lovers. Another sign of this commitment is his refusal to break entirely with past styles when translating them into contemporary contexts.

Recent highlights include Embrace for flute and piano (Asian premiere by Alena Walentin, National Concert Hall, Taipei), Reflections Nº 1 for piano (world premiere by Craig White, Schiermonnikoog), and Shape-shifting for violin and piano (world premiere by Dúo Victoria, Vélez-Málaga).

His works are published by Donemus Publishing since 2022.