Gerard Willems

Gerard Willems is an Australian pianist. A native of Tilburg, the Netherlands, Willems and his family left Europe in 1958 and emigrated to Australia when he was 12. He was enrolled in the Sydney Conservatory, where he studied with Gordon Watson. While he served in the army, Willems played clarinet in army bands. He subsequently won the Queen Victoria Piano Competition, and studied with Greville Rothon in Munich. Since his return to Sydney in 1981, Willems has toured internationally and served on the faculty of Sydney University. His recordings of the complete piano sonatas and the piano concertos of Ludwig van Beethoven have established his reputation in Australia, and he has used Australian-made Stuart & Sons pianos in all of his recordings for ABC Classics.