Turkish/Belgian pianist and actress 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 at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels 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.
She 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 the Belgian cellist Paul Heyman on Et’cetera Records.
From 2016 to 2018, on a European tour, in theater/circus show Respire, Işıl Bengi shared the stage with two acrobats, and played music composed by the Argentinian-Belgian pianist and composer Léa Petra.
She recorded her first solo piano album HiKAYE on Viñoly Straight Strung Grand Piano by piano maker Chris Maene in his auditorium in Ruiselede. The album was released in January 2020 on Fuga Libera/Outhere Music, an original program around composers of different origins (Armenia, Switzerland, Japan, Belgium, Greece, Yugoslavia), all influenced by their cultural roots. HiKAYE includes the world premiere of Jeux (Unisson, Waves, Transe), composed by Belgian drummer and composer Stéphane Galland. This project is related to Işıl Bengi's personal story.
In 2021-2023, on a European tour (Théâtre du Rond Point in Paris, Opéra de Montpellier, Opéra d'Avignon, Festival de Sibiu, Festival de Spoleto,...) Işıl Bengi shared the stage with Laetitia Casta in the theater show Clara Haskil - Prélude et fugue, written by Serge Kribus, directed by Safy Nebbou.
At the end of 2021, Işıl Bengi released her second solo album Terre de jeu on IИSOLITE records, a repertoire of compositions by Serge Prokofiev, Francis Poulenc, Gian Francesco Malipiero, Henry Cowell, Dane Rudhyar and Federico Mompou. The album is inspired by Clara Haskil's childhood, and highlights values such as spontaneity, curiosity, discovery and the pleasure of playing.
Işıl Bengi recorded her third solo album Agni Kunda in August 2022 in Studio 4 in Flagey. For the repertoire of this album she was inspired by the force of internal fire, its nuances, dynamisms and capacity to create or destroy with pieces by Clara Schumann, Mili Balakirev, Enrique Granados, Marko Tajcevic, Nikolai Medtner, Claude Debussy and Alexander Scriabin. The album was released in December 2022 on IИSOLITE records.
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,...
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.