Dutch Pianist Folke Nauta has Died, Aged 50

An esteemed solo and chamber musician, Nauta collaborated with artists including violinist Janine Jansen

Born in 1973 in Hengelo, the Netherlands, pianist Folke Nauta was accepted to the pre-college program for exceptional students at the Zwolle Conservatory at age 12. He later studied with Jan Wijn at Amsterdam’s Sweelinck Conservatory, where he graduated with distinction.

After winning second prize at Oslo’s International Queen Sonja Piano Competition in 1992, Nauta’s breakthrough came in 1994 when he became the first Dutchman to win the Scheveningen International Piano Competition and the Dutch Press Prize. 

In the years that followed, Nauta received awards including the Philip Morris Art Prize and Elisabeth Everts Prize, and performed with the North Holland Philharmonic Orchestra, Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, among others. 

In 1995, he appeared with the Netherlands Student Orchestra to premiere Willem Jeths’s First Piano Concerto, which was dedicated to him. 

In chamber music, Nauta performed as a duo with cellist Jeroen den Herder and with violinist Janine Jansen. With both den Herder and Jansen, Nauta formed the Rembrandt Trio, which often presented lesser-known or unknown concert programs. 

In 2010, Nauta lost control of his right hand from a muscle disorder called focal dystonia. Due to the restrictive adhesions in his right wrist, he could only play with his left hand. 

As a result of his affliction, he came across works specially written for the Austrian pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who had lost his right arm during the First World War. 

“I went looking for the music he [Wittgenstein] had composed,” Nauta explained at the time, according to NPO Radio. “The quest gave me the opportunity to explore a new horizon in addition to the mourning process for my right hand.”

Additionally, alongside the Prisma String Trio and clarinetist Lars Wouters van de Oudenweijer, Nauta recorded rarely heard repertoire for the left hand on piano — notably, Franz Schmidt’s A major Quintet for left-hand piano, clarinet, and string trio.

“[Nauta] was a colleague, but if you work together so intensively, you naturally become friends,” said cellist Michiel Weidner of the Prisma String Trio. “Playing chamber music is very intimate. In a sense, you also dive into each other’s lives,” Weidner continued. “We played with Folke two weeks ago. It was always a privilege to work so intensively with him. Performing music was his passion.”

Our condolences to Mr. Nauta’s family, friends, and colleagues.

DEBUSSY | SONATA IN G MINOR FOR VIOLIN AND PIANO | JANINE JANSEN | FOLKE NAUTA | 1999