Folke Nauta, fully named Folke Sjoerd Nauta, was a Dutch pianist. He was born in Hengelo on 26 April 1973 and died in Bussum on 5 August 2023, aged 50.
At the age of twelve, Nauta entered the preparatory programme for exceptionally gifted pupils at the Zwolle Conservatory. He continued his studies at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam, graduating in 1997 with the highest mark, with distinction, in Jan Wijn's class.
He won prizes at national and international piano competitions from an early age. In 1992 he received second prize at the International Queen Sonja Piano Competition in Oslo, performing a demanding programme that included Ravel's Miroirs, Beethoven's “Appassionata” Sonata, and Prokofiev's Second Piano Concerto. His breakthrough came in 1994, when he became the first Dutch winner of the Scheveningen International Piano Competition and also received the Dutch Press Prize. In 1995 he was awarded the Philip Morris Art Prize, which enabled him to record a solo CD and study with Eugen Indjič in Paris; the following year he received the Elisabeth Everts Prize for promising young musicians.
Nauta performed as a soloist, with orchestras, and in chamber music. He appeared with the North Holland Philharmonic Orchestra, the Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1995 he gave the premiere of Willem Jeths's First Piano Concerto, written for him, with the Netherlands Student Orchestra.
His repertoire ranged from Johann Sebastian Bach to contemporary music, with a particular focus on Romantic works by Schubert, Chopin, and Grieg. He was also known for performing György Ligeti's Études, works widely considered unplayable. In chamber music, he formed duos with the cellist Jeroen den Herder and the violinist Janine Jansen, performing with both in the Rembrandt Trio. He also appeared with pianists Daniël Wayenberg and Rian de Waal, violinist Rudolf Koelman, and the Daniel Quartet.
From 2010, focal dystonia in his right hand meant that Nauta could play only with his left hand. He explored the repertory for left-hand piano, including works commissioned by the pianist Paul Wittgenstein after Wittgenstein lost his right arm in the First World War. Nauta built up an extensive left-hand repertoire, including many chamber works, and arranged solo works originally written for other instruments for left-hand piano. He recorded CDs of left-hand piano works in 2017 and 2021.
His recordings included Frédéric Chopin's polonaises, works by Franz Schubert, and three piano concertos by Julius Röntgen that had not previously been issued on CD, recorded with the Orchestra of the East conducted by Jurjen Hempel. He also recorded Willem Jeths's piano concerto, dedicated to him, with the North Holland Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Thierry Fischer.