Joep Beving | Every Ending Is a New Beginning
Joep Beving’s “Every Ending Is a New Beginning” - how a grandmother’s Schimmel piano and late-night Amsterdam sessions created the minimalist masterpiece at the heart of Prehension in 2017.
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Story Behind “Every Ending Is a New Beginning”
The Grandmother’s Piano and a New Musical Voice
In 2009, Joep Beving inherited his grandmother’s Schimmel piano, a German upright that would fundamentally alter his relationship with music. Where once his goal was to hit as many notes per minute as physically possible, his style of playing changed over the years, searching for a particular aesthetic essence. This German instrument insisted on a more gentle touch and a gracious pace, which eventually led Beving to adapt to a more classical vocabulary to tell his story.
The transformation remained dormant until 2014. At age 38, he was forced to stay home from work and decided to answer the draw of his piano. During those late nights in his Amsterdam kitchen, while his partner and two daughters slept, he channelled his feelings into a series of exquisite piano pieces, creating new compositions and recording them in single takes. The result was music he’d never played before in his life—what he later described as “simple music for complex emotions.”
From Amsterdam Kitchen to Deutsche Grammophon
“Every Ending Is a New Beginning” emerged during the creation of Beving’s second album, Prehension. The album was recorded and mixed at producer Gijs van Klooster’s RedHouse studio, with mastering by Darcy Proper. Van Klooster recalled working with Beving to perfect the piano stories in every detail, molding every moment: the feel, the intention, the tempi, the loudness and softness, even a deviated tuning of the piano.
By the time Prehension arrived in 2017, Beving’s debut album Solipsism had already transformed his life. The album’s music was streamed 85 million times within one year, turning him into a true phenomenon of the classical piano world. Christian Badzura, DG’s Vice President A&R New Repertoire, happened to hear Solipsism during a visit to his favourite Berlin bar, traced the pianist to Amsterdam and signed him. The relationship was sealed with Prehension, which continued Beving’s philosophical exploration while expanding his minimalist vision.
“Every Ending Is a New Beginning” Recording and Production Details
The Warm Intimacy of RedHouse Studio
Producer Gijs van Klooster recorded and mixed Prehension at his RedHouse studio in Amsterdam, creating an environment that honored the intimate sound Beving had pioneered in his kitchen recordings. The production emphasized the warm intimate sound of the Schimmel piano he inherited from his grandmother, maintaining the authenticity that had drawn millions of listeners to Solipsism.
Despite his nearly seven-foot stature, Beving favours a Schimmel upright over a grand piano, adding felt behind the hammers to soften the tone. This prepared piano technique became essential to his signature sound. The front board and fall board of the piano had been removed so that the hammer mechanism was exposed, which added a subtle percussive touch to the music, perfectly complementing the melody.
Minimalist Philosophy in Sound
The recording philosophy behind “Every Ending Is a New Beginning” embodied Beving’s core belief that “simple music for complex emotions” could provide solace and reconnection in a hectic world. The track emerged from Van Klooster and Beving’s process of synthesizing every element together as a whole, ensuring each moment served the larger narrative.
Beving described his recording approach as allowing for all the noises to be part of the recording, playing with the moderator pedal continuously to create very minimalist and atmospheric music while still having volume that would be picked up by the microphones. This naked, simple, honest version of recording piano became the foundation for pieces like “Every Ending Is a New Beginning,” creating music that felt transparent and authentic.
Notes About “Every Ending Is a New Beginning” by Joep Beving
Release Date: April 7, 2017
Duration: 4:27
Genre: Modern Classical / Neo-Classical / Minimalist Piano
Album: Prehension (2nd studio album, track 7)
Producer: Gijs van Klooster
Label: Deutsche Grammophon (originally Sonderling B.V.)
Mastering: Darcy Proper
Recording Location: RedHouse Studio, Amsterdam
Joep Beving “Every Ending Is a New Beginning” Era Band Details
Album Details
Album: Prehension
Release Date: April 7, 2017
Label: Deutsche Grammophon (under exclusive license from Sonderling B.V.)
Producer: Gijs van Klooster
Recording Studio: RedHouse Studio, Amsterdam
Mastering: Darcy Proper
Total Duration: 1 hour 1 minute (15 tracks)
Album Concept: Natural successor to Solipsism, carrying forward musical and philosophical themes from individual to collective consciousness
Certification: Gold Record Award received April 2019 at Concertgebouw in Amsterdam
Personnel
Joep Beving - Piano, composition
Gijs van Klooster - Producer, recording engineer, mixer
Darcy Proper - Mastering engineer
Rahi Rezvani - Visual artwork, album film direction
Production Notes
Recorded using inherited Schimmel upright piano with prepared piano techniques
Felt added behind hammers to soften tone
Front and fall boards removed to expose hammer mechanism
Maintained intimate recording aesthetic from Solipsism while refining production quality
Album followed viral success of debut (85 million streams in first year)
Signed to Deutsche Grammophon after Christian Badzura discovered Solipsism in Berlin bar
Part of trilogy exploring consciousness: Solipsism (self), Prehension (collective), Henosis (cosmos)
Accompanies visual film “Prehension. A Film.” directed by Rahi Rezvani
Interesting Facts About “Every Ending Is a New Beginning”
The Philosophy Behind the Title
Beving’s debut album Solipsism investigated the self and how it is related to the other, trying to show a shared understanding of what it is to be human. For Prehension, Beving described realizing he had zoomed out from the individual level to the level of the collective. Within this philosophical framework, “Every Ending Is a New Beginning” embodies the cyclical nature of transformation—the recognition that closure creates space for renewal.
One listener described Prehension‘s ability to display “fluid emotional movements” that “build into tear-jerking, awe inspiring, poetic pieces”, noting how Beving’s work “emanates such a personal and nostalgic feel, you could easily convince yourself you are in the room this project was recorded in”. This intimate quality stems from Beving’s unconventional path—he never intended to become a streaming phenomenon. He decided to self-release an album for distribution among family and friends, but Solipsism escaped its creator’s immediate orbit after he posted it on an online music service in 2015.
The Unlikely Global Streaming Success
The track’s journey mirrors Beving’s remarkable ascent in the neo-classical world. Since signing with Deutsche Grammophon in 2017, Beving has surpassed the landmark figure of one billion streams across his UMG catalogue and become one of the world’s most frequently heard pianists. Solipsism‘s “Sleeping Lotus” alone has drawn over 75 million plays on Spotify.
What makes this success remarkable is its organic nature. After uploading his home recordings to streaming services, Solipsism became a viral phenomenon and gained some 60 million streams, while his artist account was followed by a million users. As a result of his enormous online success, Beving was invited to perform on a prime-time Dutch television show, and the following day his album knocked One Direction off the top of the charts. “Every Ending Is a New Beginning,” arriving two years later on Prehension, proved this wasn’t a fluke—Beving’s minimalist philosophy genuinely resonated with millions seeking refuge from algorithmic chaos.
Common Questions
Q: What is “Every Ending Is a New Beginning” about? A: The piece reflects the philosophical concept that closure creates space for new opportunities and transformation. It embodies Beving’s broader exploration in Prehension of consciousness at the collective level, examining how endings naturally give rise to beginnings in a continuous cycle of renewal.
Q: What piano does Joep Beving play on “Every Ending Is a New Beginning”? A: Beving performed the track on a Schimmel upright piano inherited from his grandmother in 2009. He uses prepared piano techniques, adding felt behind the hammers to soften the tone and removing the front and fall boards to expose the hammer mechanism, creating his signature intimate sound.
Q: When was “Every Ending Is a New Beginning” released? A: The track was released on April 7, 2017, as the seventh track on Joep Beving’s second album Prehension, released through Deutsche Grammophon. The album followed his viral debut Solipsism and continued his trilogy exploring consciousness.
Q: Who produced “Every Ending Is a New Beginning”? A: Gijs van Klooster produced, recorded, and mixed the track at his RedHouse studio in Amsterdam, with mastering by Darcy Proper. Van Klooster worked closely with Beving to perfect every detail of the piano stories, including feel, intention, tempo, and even deviated piano tuning.
Q: Why is Joep Beving’s music so popular on streaming platforms? A: Beving describes his work as “simple music for complex emotions,” creating minimalist piano pieces that provide solace and contemplation in a hectic world. His intimate recording approach and philosophical themes resonate with millions seeking authentic connection beyond algorithmic recommendations. Since 2015, he has surpassed one billion streams across his catalogue.