Benno Pierweijer (full name Benno Adriaan Pierweijer; 29 March 1948 – 13 February 2004) was a Dutch pianist and music educator. He was born and died in Enschede.
He received his first piano lessons from Albert ten Donkelaar in Losser, where ten Donkelaar conducted Kunst aan ’t Volk. Pierweijer also studied the oboe and played for several years in Ten Donkelaar’s orchestra. He continued at the Twente Conservatory in Enschede, now the ArtEZ Conservatory, studying with Ber Joosen and graduating cum laude with a piano B diploma.
In Brussels he received the Premier Prix under Nicole Henriot. After earning his soloist diploma, he studied with Jan Wijn in Amsterdam and received the Prix d’Excellence. His further training included masterclasses with Yvonne Lefébure and Rudolf Firkušný at the Juilliard School in New York, and with Hepzibah Menuhin.
In 1971 Pierweijer was appointed principal piano teacher at the Twente Conservatory. He won a silver distinction at the Marguerite Long Competition in Paris in 1982. As a Steinway artist, he performed in Paris, Geneva, Frankfurt and Lucerne, made several radio recordings, and regularly appeared as a soloist with Dutch orchestras.
He toured Germany with the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Jean Fournet. With oboist Evert van Tright, he toured the United States and recorded an album in 1981 featuring works by Koechlin, Poulenc and Roussel. The recording included the first recording of Charles Koechlin’s Sonata for Piano and Oboe, Op. 58.
Pierweijer’s repertoire ranged from the Baroque period to the 20th century and included works by contemporary Dutch composers Louis Andriessen, Reinbert de Leeuw, Walter Hekster and Matthieu Geelen. He married the pianist Fenny Kuipers on 7 December 1972, and they had two daughters. He died in Enschede in 2004, aged 55.