top of page
©Stéphane_Galland_02677.jpg

 Turkish/Belgian pianist Işıl Bengi was born in Istanbul where she gave her first concerts and won first price at several national piano competitions.

At the age of 12 she was selected as a soloist by the Turkish government to play in the same concert as the legendary pianist Idil Biret. 

At the age of 16, she received a scholarship from the Dr. Nejat F. Eczacıbaşı Foundation to deepen her musical education in Belgium with renowned piano teachers Evgeny Moguilevsky, Piet Kuijken and Alexandar Madzar, as well as chamber music courses, with Muhiddin Dürrüoglu and Dirk Vermeulen at the Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles and Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel where she obtained her Master diploma. 

Moreover, Işıl Bengi went on to follow master classes worldwide with renowned artists such as Anne Queffelec, Jean Fassina, Bernard Lemmens, Paul Gulda, Bruno Canino, Boyan Vodenitcharov, Hamish Milne, Pierre Amoyal, Miriam Fried, Maciej Pikulski, to name a few. 

Işıl Bengi has been very active in various chamber music projects and gave several concerts in Europe exploring the chamber music repertoire. In March 2019 she recorded an album called Belgian Romantic Works for Cello and Piano with Paul Heyman on Et’cetera Records.

From 2016 to 2018, Işıl Bengi has been touring worldwide with the show Respire, featuring on stage 2 acrobats and solo piano. 

She released her first solo piano album HiKAYE on the 10th of January 2020 on Fuga Libera / Outhere Music, an original program around composers from different origins (Armenia, Switzerland, Japan, Belgium, Greece, Yougoslavia), all influenced by their cultural roots. This project is related to Işıl Bengi's personal story. 

Since October 2021, Işıl Bengi plays in the theatre show Clara Haskil, Prelude and Fugue together with actress Laetitia Casta, written by Serge Kribus, and directed by Safy Nebbou.

She released her second solo album Terre de Jeu on the 24th of December 2021 on Insolite records. This album is inspired by the childhood of Clara Haskil and putting forward values such as spontaneity, curiosity, discovery, pleasure of playing. 

On the 2nd of December 2022, Işıl Bengi released her third solo album Agni Kunda, for the repertoire of this album she was inspired by the force of internal fire, its nuances, its dynamisms and its capacity to create or destroy.

Her concert activities includes solo recitals as well as chamber music in various music halls in England, Poland, Netherlands, Germany, France, Belgium, Turkey, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Italy, Greece, Japan, including venues such as Bozar, Flagey, Bijloke, Palais des Beaux-Arts of Charleroi, Miry Hall, Amuz, Wigmore Hall, Radio Suisse Romande, Cemal Resit Rey concert hall,... 

Işıl Bengi is an insatiable artist who developed a unique personality throughout her experiences and curiosity towards the richness of cultural diversity, styles, and piano techniques, combined with a genuine sensitivity and dedication to the highest standards in Art. 

The pianist Işıl Bengi could be defined as refined sophistication meeting original wilderness, creating a fulfilled artist of true musical integrity, and deep emotional strength.

bottom of page