Beatrice Berrut
born in the Swiss Alps in the canton of Valais, spends most of her childhood with her sister conquering the hills and mountains of her home valley. Barely two years old she learns how to ski and since then her addiction to the white powdery slopes has remained unabated. The inspiration found in the marvellous landscape, the stoic Alpine giants carved ancient rock, and the fascination by nature itself accompany her to this day on her musical journeys.

Thanks to her mother, Beatrice soon encounters the enchanting sound of the piano as there isn’t a night that the two sisters are not lulled to sleep by the “Kinderszenen” (Scenes of Childhood) by Schumann or “Lieder ohne Worte” (Songs without Words) by Mendelssohn.

Completely captured by the beautiful and brilliant harmonies of this big black wooden instrument, Beatrice finally decides to take her first piano lesson at the age of eight. Each day, she eagerly practices with great curiosity and devotion, since she is discovering a new world full of endless imagination and sound that is ready to be explored. A few years later, Beatrice is utterly absorbed by the sound waves of the piano. Among numerous albums collected by her parents, Beatrice finds a very particular one: She listens to the second Piano Concerto by Johannes Brahms for the very first time. It feels like an existential shock, the world as she knew it crumbled and a door to infinity opened. Sleepless nights ensue, where Beatrice virtually conducts Brahms concerto, gazing at the ceiling from her bed. Suddenly, everything makes sense: it is her mission to serve this music coming from another world. She will be a pianist.

From that moment of clarity, things follow a natural order. As a teenager, in-between long hours of hard work, Beatrice wanders along the shores of Lake Geneva, imagining composers and poets of the past finding their inspiration in this natural reservoir of beauty, just like her. Liszt, who visited Switzerland many times and fell in love with the country, becomes an important part of her life. The Vallée d’Obermann that inspired him, is where Beatrice grew up, and in his music she recognises her own quest for meaning in her mountain wanderings. ...