Piano Extravaganza

The musicians

Pascal van den Dool

Pascal van den Dool moves comfortably within the world of jazz and beyond and has found his unique voice in playing and composing. While paying respect to the jazz and swing tradition, he adds his authentic touch with a rich harmonical palette and rhythmic tools to paint with.

Expect a variety of time feels, unexpected turns, and a strong sense of forward motion — music that thinks on its feet and isn’t afraid to change direction mid-sentence.

Pascal’s approach is exploratory and explanatory: every sidepath makes complete sense, but which path will be taken and how it is shaped is completely dependant on the moment itself.

Fred Händl

Fred Händl comes from a different angle altogether. Known for his deeply personal relationship with the music of Frank Zappa — not as tribute, but as conversation — Händl treats the piano as a storytelling instrument.

His playing draws equally from composition and improvisation, clarity and mischief, structure and surprise. Whether reimagining existing material or presenting his own work, the emphasis is never on nostalgia or virtuosity for its own sake, but on character, contrast, and emotional truth.

Each piece is allowed to breathe, derail, and find its own logic.

Videos

About the evening

What binds these two pianists together is curiosity. Piano Extravaganza is built around the idea that live music should feel alive — responsive, a little dangerous, and impossible to repeat in exactly the same way.

At moments the music may be intimate and reflective; at others dense, rhythmic, or playfully confrontational. Anything is possible — and that is very much the point.

Set in the intimate surroundings of HaagsPianoHuis, this concert offers a rare chance to experience piano music up close: no distance, no filters, no safety net. Just two musicians, two pianos, and an evening shaped as much by listening as by playing.