This season, we are celebrating five years as Duo Mortelmans–Baltussen. When we, Dorine Mortelmans and Barbara Baltussen, first met at the Royal Conservatoire Antwerp through a mutual friend, we did not immediately feel a connection. It was only many years later, in June 2016, when Jan Dewilde brought us together to perform newly discovered works by Spontini at Kasteel d’Ursel in Hingene, that we made music together and realized how effortlessly our musical collaboration came together.

The idea of starting a duo began to take shape and during the COVID-19 pandemic, we finally found the time to put our plans into action and began sharing our music through online concerts.

Our first program, Clair de Lune, featured a beautiful French repertoire, and from that very first concert onwards, we combined art songs with piano solo works. Shortly afterwards, we collaborated with Trio Khaldei, presenting a program that included works by Beethoven and Grieg. On 3 April 2021, we performed our Blumenstrauß program at AMUZ. A video recording of this concert was released in June 2021 by Evil Penguin TV and was broadcast several times on the television channel Stingray Classica.

As live performances became possible again, we were grateful to finally meet audiences in person.

One of our first concerts with a live audience took place in September 2021, at Kasteel d’Ursel, where it all started! From there, we have had the chance to perform in a diversity of settings – ranging from intimate house concerts to larger festival stages – in Belgium, The Netherlands and France (Zomer van Sint Pieter, Festival Midi-minimes, CC Ter Dilft, Zuidrand Klassiek, KPSK, GC Den Egger, Kamermuziek ‘s Hertogenbosch, Pérouges en Résonances, Porgy&Bess, … ) Our programs, such as Blumenstrauß and Schumannkreis, have accompanied us to many of these places. With each performance, these works continue to evolve, just as our collaboration does.

Looking back, we are grateful for the opportunities we have received and for everyone who has supported us along the way. These five years have been a period of discovery, growth and joy.

We look forward to continuing this journey, step by step, and to sharing many more moments of music in the years to come.