Babette Craens

Raised in a musical family, Babette began her classical training in piano at a young age. She studied with esteemed teachers Heidi Hendrickx and Levente Kende.

At age 17, she was admitted to the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp where she studied with Sergei Edelman and Eliane Rodrigues, under guidance of Jozef De Beenhouwer. She completed both her Bachelor and Master degrees with great distinction. 

Babette is laureate of several national competitions, including receiving a second prize at the Steinway Competition. She has performed at known festivals such as Arte Amanti and PianoFest, and has participated in numerous masterclasses with internationally renowned artists.

Babette has been an active presence in the Belgian classical music scene, performing regularly as a soloist and chamber musician. Her repertoire spans from Baroque to contemporary music in which she premiered several piano pieces.

She performed in concerthalls like De Bijloke, AMUZ, DeSingel, Miry Concertzaal and Muziekgebouw Eindhoven.

Her orchestral debut was at the age of 17, performing Beethoven’s First Piano Concerto in AMUZ. Babette also collaborated with Muziektheater Transparant on 'Virginia' and Zonzo Compagnie on 'Pianoscope'.

The Liedgenre plays a central role in Babette's artistic work. 

Since 2018, she forms a duo with mezzo-soprano Herlinde Van de Straete, with whom she gave a debut recital in 2025 at the Miry Concert Hall.

Since 2022, she also collaborates closely with soprano Fleur Strijbos, forming a duo that has been selected for several international competitions. Together, they are featured in the Vrienden van het Lied artist database and have performed on known stages including the Lied Festival Zeist. Their work was also featured on Belgian classical radio station Klara, where they recorded duo repertoire for the program De Twintigers.

Since 2024, Babette is artist in residence at SWUK vzw.