Dutch pianist and composer Daniel Wayenberg was born to a Russian mother and French father in Paris. The family moved to The Hague when he was a baby. His mother was a violinist and pianist and recognised his talent from an early age. He first began giving concerts at the age of ten in private houses in France and the Netherlands, as war restrictions meant public performances were impossible.
After the war, the family moved to Paris and he studied the piano there with Marguerite Long. His first public concert was in 1949 when he won the Grand Prix de la Ville de Paris in the Concours Long-Thibauld. In the same year he appeared at the opening concert of the Chopin Centenary Festival in Florence, Italy. He was involved in a serious plane crash in 1950, but as his hands were uninjured he was able to continue his career as a concert pianist.
In 1953, Wayenberg made his Carnegie Hall debut, playing Rachmaninov's 'Piano Concerto No. 2' with the New York Philharmonic conducted by Mitroloulos. He then went on tour in America and Indonesia in 1954 and 1955 giving a series of concerts. He has released several recordings both as soloist and accompanist, the first of these was Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F major and Rhapsody in Blue with the Orchestra of the Paris Conservatoire conducted by Georges Prêtre. His recording output and repertoire range from classical composers such as Haydn and Brahms, through composers of the Romantic era to the 20th Century such as Jolivet and Stockhausen. He is renowned for his virtuosic technique, particularly in performing works such as Balakirev's 'Islamey' which is known to be extremely technically demanding. In addition to performing in concert halls and recording studios, Wayenberg was a teacher at the Rotterdam Conservatory. He was also a self-taught composer including a ballet 'Solstice' (1955), a concerto for five wind instruments and piano (1958), a violin sonata (1966), a symphony 'Symella Capella' (1972/3) and a concerto for three pianos (1975).
