Born in Ghent in 1972, Hans Ryckelynck started to study the piano with Lieve Saerens at the age of seven. From 1990 onwards, he continued with Johan Duijck at the Ghent Royal Conservatory of Music, from which he obtained the Concert Diploma, summa cum laude. He is also a graduate of the world-famous Queen Elisabeth College of Music.
At the Brussels Royal Conservatory of Music, he studied harmony, counterpoint and fugue with Rafaël D’Haene. He obtained the Master Degree “Muziekschriftuur” and was awarded the “Gevaert Prize” and “Lunssens Prize”.
From 1995 till 1999, he studied with Abdel Rahman El Bacha in Paris. Hans Ryckelynck won prizes in the Cantabile, Dexia Classics and Tenuto competitions. He was also awarded the Belgian Artistic Promotion Prize of Sabam. He is a laureate of the Belgian “Stichting Roeping” and of the Rotary Club Ghent chamber music competition.
Both as a soloist and in duo with the Japanese violonist Yuki Hori, he regularly performs in recitals in Belgium. He also gave concerts in Luxemburg, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain, Denmark and Japan. He performed with the Danel String quartet, the Belgian National Orchestra, the Flemish Radio Orchestra and the Flemish Radio Choir. With the Flemish Radio Choir he recorded works of Mauricio Kagel, Joseph Reylandt, Vic Nees, Johan Duijck and Raymond Schroyens.
His first solo recording was chosen “cd of the week” by the Belgian radio (Phaedra, In Flanders’ Fields vol. 27 – Piano music by Jongen, de Vocht and Mortelmans).
“Het Concertgebouw” on Radio 1 and “Radio Vlaanderen Internationaal” gave high praise to this recording: “He plays these works highly sensitively and with a profound musical intelligence... his playing is expressive, warm and intelligent... with a precise touch and delicacy.”
In December 2003 and April 2005, he performed in the famous Tokyo Opera City Hall. On the occasion of his latest performance there, he presented the complete Brahms violin sonatas, which he recorded with violinist Yuki Hori (Phaedra Classics 292017).
With Jan Guns (bass clarinet), he recorded a CD with music by, among others, Martinu, Hindemith and Schoeck (Phaedra, In Flanders’ Fields vol. 43). This recording was nominated as one of the 10 best classical CD’s of the year 2005 by the magazine Trends.
Hans Ryckelynck is a teaching assistent at the Brussels Royal Conservatory of Music and an accompanist at the Academy for Music and Dramatic Arts in Roeselare.
