cellobiennale.nl Directors Sjaron Minailo Dagmar Slagmolen Jochem Stavenuiter

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1 Principal benefactors Subsidised by Funds Sponsors Partners Fonds Henri Fock Ans Otten-Nypels Fonds Bredius Fonds Middelbeek Stortenbeker Fonds Hausta Donans Fonds PAYS-BAS MAISON DESCARTES Cellists Nicolas Altstaedt Harald Austbø Matthias Bartolomey Anner Bijlsma Karel Bredenhorst Jörg Brinkmann Albert Brüggen Amber Doctersvan Leeuwen Maya Fridman Larissa Groeneveld Katharina Gross Stjepan Hauser Jeroen den Herder Gregor Horsch Monika Leskovar Pepijn Meeuws Antonio Meneses Ivan Monighetti Daniel Müller-Schott Jan Bastiaan Neven Jelena Oc ić Jonas Pap Aurélien Pascal Jérôme Pernoo Bruno Philippe Raphaël Pidoux Ella van Poucke Jean-Guihen Queyras Jonathan Roozeman Timora Rosler Martti Rousi Alexander Rudin Maximiliano Segura Sánchez Kian Soltani Anton Mecht Spronk Julian Steckel Luka Šulić Torleif Thedéen Geneviève Verhage Emile Visser Maarten Vos Michiel Weidner Alisa Weilerstein Pieter Wispelwey Other musicians Lucie Chartin Agustin Diassera Jérôme Ducros Hans Eijsackers José Gallardo Paolo Giacometti Astrid Haring Maarten den Hengst Daniël Kramer Leonor Leal Ere Lievonen Efrén López Claudio Martínez Mehner Claron McFadden Szymon Marciniak Joey Marijs Rocío Márquez Henk Neven Saeko Oguma Maarten Ornstein Rosanne Philippens Jan-Paul Roozeman Drew Santini Bram van Sambeek Shunske Sato Emmy Storms Fedor Teunisse Candida Thompson Derya Türkan Jeannine Valeriano Noriko Yabe Conductors Nuno Coelho Nicholas Collon Judith Kubitz Kenneth Montgomery Olli Mustonen Daniel Reuss Ed Spanjaard Joshua Weilerstein Directors Sjaron Minailo Dagmar Slagmolen Jochem Stavenuiter Composers world premieres Joël Bons Brendan Faegre Oene van Geel Galina Grigorjeva Pete Harden Guus Janssen Hilary Jeffery Jan Kuijken Chiel Meijering Genevieve Murphy Mayke Nas Martijn Padding Rob Zuidam Orchestras and ensembles Amsterdam Sinfonietta Atlas Ensemble Artvark Saxophone Quartet BartolomeyBittmann Biënnale Cello Band Cappella Amsterdam Cello8ctet Amsterdam Die 12 Cellisten der Berliner Philharmoniker Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest Orkest van de 18 e Eeuw Orkest van het Conservatorium van Amsterdam Ragazze Quartet Residentie Orkest Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest Score Collective Slagwerk Den Haag 2CELLOS Zapp4 cellobiennale.nl

2 program overview Thursday 20 - Saturday 29 October 2016 Thu 20 Fri 21 First round ca Grote Zaal Sat 22 First round (continued) Grote Zaal Cello&Co Kleine Zaal Sun 23 Bach&Breakfast Torleif Thedéen Grote Zaal Masterclass Ivan Monighetti Martti Rousi Bimhuis & Kleine Zaal Mon 24 Bach&Breakfast Ivan Monighetti Grote Zaal Masterclass Jérôme Pernoo Gregor Horsch Bimhuis & Kleine Zaal Tue 25 Bach&Breakfast Daniel Müller-Schott Grote Zaal Second round Grote Zaal Wed 26 Masterclass Pieter Wispelwey Raphaël Pidoux Bimhuis & Kleine Zaal Are you enthusiastic about the Cello Biënnale Amsterdam? Now that you ve experienced it, do you really want it to happen again? If so, become a friend. and help us make that possible! The Acting Cello premiere Instant Happiness Via Berlin & Cello8ctet Amsterdam Grote Zaal Opening Entreehal Opening concert Grote Zaal Cello Lounge Zouthaven Karel Bredenhorst Cello&Co Kleine Zaal Announcement contestants Second round Foyerdeck 1 Masterclass Torleif Thedéen Antonio Meneses Bimhuis & Kleine Zaal Hello Cello Orchestra Grote Zaal Fringe Kleine Zaal Fantasía para Violonchelo y Flamenco Grote zaal Cello Lounge Zouthaven Harald Austbø De Vergelijking: Cello makers Bimhuis Eight Lines Grote Zaal Take Five Dolce Far Niente Grote Zaal Fringe Kleine Zaal Orchestra of the 18 th Century Grote Zaal Cello Lounge Zouthaven Red Limo String Quartet Lunch concert Bimhuis Kreutzer Sonata Grote Zaal Take Five De Meester en Margarita Grote Zaal Fringe Kleine Zaal Amsterdam Sinfonietta dares! Grote Zaal Cello Lounge XL Entreehal Jörg Brinkmann Second round (continued) Grote Zaal Announcement finalists Foyerdeck 1 Take Five Zapp4&Jérôme Pernoo Grote Zaal Fringe Kleine Zaal Heavenly Fire Grote Zaal Cello Lounge XL Entreehal Maarten Vos Lunch concert Bimhuis Kronberg Academy presents Cellists play cellists Grote Zaal Take Five Queyras, Amy, Spronk & Janssen Grote Zaal Fringe Kleine Zaal Soirée Brahms Grote Zaal Cello Lounge XL Entreehal Katharina Gross Creating a nine-day cello festival, offering opportunities to talented young people, presenting concerts given by internationally acclaimed master musicians; all of this becomes possible with your help. Every contribution is most welcome. Your gift counts. You can help. Gifts from fans help to provide security for the Biënnale s future. How about making an ongoing commitment? The Casals Circles, named after the famous cellist Pablo Casals, are made up of groups of friends, each consisting of about 10 members, who take on the financial responsibility for certain elements of the Cello Biënnale by donating an annual gift of 1,000 or more. If you d like to find out more about the various possibilities and what they might Late Cello Night BartolomeyBittmann Bimhuis Late Cello Night 2CELLOS Unplugged Grote zaal mean for you, then please contact: managing director Johan Dorrestein (johan.dorrestein@cellobiennale.nl) or have a look at: cellobiennale.nl/enthousiast

3 program overview Thu 27 Bach&Breakfast Alisa Weilerstein Grote Zaal Masterclass Anner Bijlsma Daniel Müller-Schott Bimhuis & Kleine Zaal Fri 28 Bach&Breakfast Gregor Horsch Grote Zaal Masterclass Nicolas Altstaedt Jelena Oc ic Bimhuis & Kleine Zaal Sat 29 Bach&Breakfast Julian Steckel Grote Zaal Masterclass Jean-Guihen Queyras Julian Steckel Bimhuis & Kleine Zaal Lunch concert Bimhuis Lunch concert Bimhuis The Suleika s Bimhuis Pidoux&Pernoo Grote Zaal Russians Grote Zaal Residentie Orkest Grote Zaal Take Five One Page Composition Project Bimhuis De Vergelijking: bows Kleine Zaal Nomaden Grote Zaal Die 12 Cellisten der Berliner Philharmoniker Grote Zaal Introduction Kleine Zaal Fringe Kleine Zaal Fringe Kleine Zaal Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest Grote Zaal Finale Grote Zaal Cello Coupé Grote Zaal Cello Lounge XL Zouthaven Amber Docters van Leeuwen ca uur Prize-giving ceremony Late Cello Night POE: The Tell-Tale Heart Bimhuis 1

4 This is the 6th Cello Biennale Amsterdam already! It was ten years ago already, in 2006, that the first Cello Biennale was held; an event lasting nine days. Since then, it has grown into one of the largest and most exciting festivals in the Netherlands. From the very beginning, large audiences found their way to the Muziekgebouw, curious to experience the unusual and extensive programming. Never before were Bach s six solo suites performed in the early morning, and, from 2010 onwards, accompanied by freshly squeezed fruit juice, a warm croissant and a cappuccino. There are master classes every day given by soloists from all over the world, and then concerts, one after the other, sometimes until one o clock at night! Where does one find concerts with two, and sometimes even more, soloists in one programme? They don t just play the standard-repertoire either; the programmes also include many new and seldom-heard pieces. Clearly, the Biennale visitor loves adventure! As on previous occasions, this Biennale again offers a lot of new music, including 14 world premières and, within the framework of The Acting Cello, five new music-theatre productions. The National Cello Competition creates not only additional excitement, but it acquaints us simultaneously with the most recent cello talent in the Netherlands. Foreign talents are also carefully spotted to give our audiences the chance to hear, for example, as in the concert given by the famous Kronberg Academy, young soloists from various European countries. Soloists, the public and the organisation itself continue to be happy with the unusual relaxed sphere - cellists don t like pomposity and why should this Biënnale be any different from earlier editions?! Maarten Mostert artistic director Johan Dorrestein managing director Contents The Acting Cello Background features The musician as performer - Dagmar Slagmolen s music theatre Manuscripts don t burn - Censorship in Sovjet art I just want to hear that instrument - Five Dutch composers compose six new works for the cello The Servais - Excerpt from one of the stories in Four variations for cello You can t talk about groove you either feel it, or you don t BartolomeyBittmann rocks Ensemble in Residence: Biennale Cello Band + Slagwerk Den Haag One Page Composition Project Get the most out of the Biennale Cello LoungeXL Students around the World Anner Bijlsma Award National Cello Competition Program and program notes Thursday 20 October Friday 21 October Saturday 22 October Sunday 23 October Monday 24 October Tuesday 25 October Wednesday 26 October Thursday 27 October Friday 28 October Saturday 29 October Bio notes cellists other musicians orchestras and ensembles composers world premieres conductors and directors contestants National Cello Competition Information How to get there, Food & drink Organisation The Cello Biennale Amsterdam wishes to thank 2 3

5 The Acting Cello New music-theatre productions for the cello and cellists The theme of the Cello Biennale 2016 is The Acting Cello, the cello as actor. The Acting Cello programme will open on Thursday 20 October with the premiere of Instant Happiness, the latest performance for music-theatre devised by theatre-maker Dagmar Slagmolen (Via Berlin) and Cello8ctet Amsterdam, with music created by the Belgian theatre composer, Jan Kuijken. 20 October Instant Happiness New music-theatre by Via Berlin and Cello8ctet Amsterdam 22 October Cello&Co A new music production for the youngest visitors to the Biennale 24 October The Master and Margarita New music-theatre inspired by Bulgakov s masterwork 28 October Nomads A sound mosaic for solo cellist and 19 musical nomads 28 October POE: The Tell-Tale Heart A story at midnight by Edgar Allan Poe Five new productions The Cello Biennale 2016 is presenting five new productions for music theatre. They are the result of collaboration among musicians, theatremakers, composers and ensembles. Additional input is provided by the young theatre-maker, actress and cellist, Dagmar Slagmolen, who is responsible for two of these new productions. (For more information, see the article on page 6.) In productions such as The Master and Margarita, Nomads, Instant Happiness, POE: The Tell-Tale Heart and the production for children, Cello&Co, the cello is used to create exciting links between text, movement and form. In addition, there are a number of music performances which have a theatrical accent. All these events are indicated with a small theatre icon in the programme listings. Music-theatre at the Cello Biennale New music-theatre and creating music performances with a theatrical accent are strongly represented in the performing arts and are developing very fast at the present time. For a music festival that aims to present the state-ofthe-art of an instrument and its repertoire, fulfilling the role of pioneer by both showing and initiating new forms of music-theatre is a must. There is nothing new about combining (classical) music with various other art forms, such as theatre, film, dance, literature and visual arts. Composers, choreographers, playwrights, poets, musicians, actors, artistic directors, film-makers, video artists and visual artists have always experimented with mixing different genres and disciplines to create performances and presentations that veer away from the clichés concert or performance to offer something different. The term music-theatre is still one of the most accurate terms to use for these developments. Sometimes a production takes on the form of total theatre, while at other times only lighting is used to create a theatrical accent. The term music-theatre indicates that the creative platform there is much broader than the terrain used in opera, ballet or musicals. Inspiration By initiating and presenting performances of the latest music-theatre, a mission of the Cello Biennale is not only to add a special dimension to the festival programme as a whole, but also to inspire young cellists who have just embarked on their career. The aim is not only to give young cellists the opportunity of giving outstanding performances of the cello repertoire, but to show them that they can operate in a much wider field. For example, they can discover and develop their own form of music-theatre. The Conservatorium of Amsterdam already offers this activity as a specialisation. In their Creative Performance Lab, students working on their Masters degree can develop new forms of music-theatre, coached by talented, successful music-theatre makers, such as Dagmar Slagmolen. The new production of The Master and Margarita that can be seen during this Cello Biennale is an example of this type of activity. 4 Claron McFadden - POE: The Tell-Tale Heart 5

6 Artistic director, actress and cellist Dagmar Slagmolen has been invited to the 2016 Cello Biennale as a special guest. In recent years, she has brought a personal interpretation to the present-day music theatre scene by creating, based on her knowledge of both music and the theatre a meaningful symbiosis of these disciplines. Her signature can be seen at the Biennale in Instant Happiness, a collaboration between her own theatre company, Via Berlin, and Cello8ctet Amsterdam and in The Master and Margarita, a performance by two solo cellists and master students of the Creative Performance Lab (The Amsterdam Conservatorium). Dagmar Slagmolen's music theatre The musician as performer by Cecile Brommer Cellostorm The music theatre that Dagmar Slagmolen has developed since 2008, originally under the wings of Orkater, and then with her own theatre company, Via Berlin, is based on music: not sung, as in opera or musicals, not to illustrate an act, or as a means of strengthening emotion a technique often used in theatre performances but as a tool for creating meaningful theatre. Supported by text, sound, choreography and scenography, the music is the most important storyteller. Dagmar: In my performances, music is the main storyteller and the driving-force behind the story-line. I look very critically at the balance between the music, the text and other scenic resources. When the music can tell the story, then text is scrapped. Why the emphasis on music as a base? Because as texts play a key role in all our communications, if you want the balance between text and music to be equal, then you have to begin with the music. It is not only the music, but also the musicians themselves, and their physical 6 Cello8ctet Amsterdam: Instant Happiness during Oerol 7

7 'In my performances, music is the main storyteller and the driving-force behind the story-line' Cellostorm Dagmar Slagmolen Dead End presence, who contribute to the dramaturgy. The musicians are both artists and performers; their presence in the play is just as important as their representation of the music. The motivation to work in this way began with a simple insight: You don t just listen to music on its own; you also look at a live performance. A good public performance, strengthens the meaning of the music. But why is it that music and musicians are so important in telling a story, and why must the text, as the carrier of meaning, be suppressed? Music invites its audience to combine personal associations and memories with what they see and hear. And this is exactly where the power of Dagmar s work lies, explains composer Jan Pieter Koch, who is currently working with Dagmar Slagmolen on a performance featuring the painter Oskar Kokoschka. Dagmar is a musical storyteller who, by her music, often adds elements that cannot be expressed in words. I also saw this in her lunch-break performance, Ever. With no text, the performance becomes even more enigmatic and explainable in many ways, as in Cellostorm. The children s production Cellostorm, a collaboration between Cello8ctet Amsterdam and Dagmar Slagmolen from 2012 (nominated for both the YAMA and the YEAH awards) had no text at all. The cellists played without sheet music, so that they could walk around freely. That opened up possibilities to use their cellos not only as instruments but also as a theatre prop. Supported by sounds, choreography and scenography, the eight cellists told a story about a bird that flew round the world and, in search of friendship, met all sorts of animals on the way. With the cello wedged between chin and shoulder, they skipped and waggled across the stage, often still playing, and from time to time sitting down somewhere, thereby making it possible to play more complex passages. They move and play (music composed by Franz Schubert, Alberto Ginastera, Philip Glass and John Adams, among others) in group formation, as duos or as solo instrumentalists, standing, squatting or sitting, or in a sensual pose with two musicians playing together on one cello. Collision between the individual and the system Although a large amount of music offers a lot of space in which to find one s own associations, Dagmar Slagmolen actually has a political agenda. She wants to tackle large, universal themes. She wants to focus on individuals who find themselves wedged into large-scale issues such as war, inequality and migration. The war trilogy that she made for Oerol (Terschelling) with Via Berlin (awarded with the Charlotte Köhler Prize), featured personages ordinary people like you and me who have lost everything that appears to be trustworthy, leaving a reality that is unsafe and crumbled. In From now onwards you re called Pjotr (2011), a Jewish woman finds herself in a sewing swetshop where she has to alter the clothing of war victims for re-use. The war has caused her to become separated from her daughter. Dressed as a little boy, called Pjotr, the mother hopes that her daughter will survive. Just like her, each of the seamstresses has her own trauma. Their stories come to life through music and supporting texts, as penetrating delusions. In Instant Happiness, to be presented at the Cello Biennale, the makers try to confront us with the useless cravings stimulated by capitalism, the destruction that results from it, the destruction of the natural world, and of (Asiatic) human lives. We are becoming more and more enmeshed in this self-designed industry. We have transferred the power over our passions, to the market, Dagmar argues. Tradition and experiment Dagmar Slagmolen s approach fits in with a current movement in music culture that questions the traditions in drama-production practices. Jan Pieter Koch: The classical music in her performances, also because the musicians often play without using sheet music, has a light, entertaining quality or is that an inappropriate remark? a quality for which there is a great need in classical music. It helps to free the music from its serious and old-fashioned aura. This movement is trying to formulate an answer to a reality in which experience and interaction are the norms, as composer Micha Hamel explains in Finding space for classical music in the 21 st century (2016). In this, communication is more important than interpretation, and the concept of originality that prevailed during the last two centuries. The breeding ground for this kind of musical theatre arose in the Netherlands in the 1970 s with the appearance of the ensemble culture (including all music that didn t fit into the traditional plush of symphony orchestra and opera house). Radical experiments were applied within that culture, such as when pianist Misha Mengelberg, composer Louis Andriessen and reed player Willem Breuker collaborated with theatre directors such as Lodewijk de Boer and Leonard Frank and made it possible for musicians to act, to play on location, and to manifest themselves at social protest gatherings. Similar developments took place in the theatre sector. All manner of smaller groups were breaking away from the traditions of the larger companies. The Work Theatre was the trend-setter: this group of performers chose to work as a collective and focused, at relevant locations, on performances about controversial issues such as criminality, illness and madness. Alumni from art academies founded Hauser Orkater, which established a loose structure to enable a mix of theatre, mime, acrobatics, design and pop music to be presented. Theatre Group Hollandia directed by Johan Simons and percussionist Paul Koek produced classical tragedies at various locations in the polder, and in an original musical setting. There, texts were recited in the form of sprechgesang in damp, clammy car-breaker s yards, deserted blueing factories, and horticulturalist s glasshouses. Dagmar Slagmolen is indebted to these pioneers. She experiments, but also draws from the past - from classical art forms - using tragic personages whose dramatic development is based on classical music. She devises a new story for each performance using a mixture of her own texts and compositions. But, each time, she begins 8 9

8 Masote's Dream with classical music, because I connect classical music, from the Baroque to the 21 st century, to a shared musical memory. Once we have made that choice, I ask a composer to add a supplementary response or commentary on the thematic plan for the performance. I stack newly composed work, texts, scenography and choreography on top of the classical keynote. Balancing the disciplines During rehearsals, to achieve a complete balance between the various disciplines, Dagmar Slagmolen continually assesses the interaction between the text, action, music and design. In doing this, she works closely with violinist Rosa Arnold (leader of the Ragazze Quartet) with whom she has founded Via Berlin. Dagmar: I look at how the disciplines react to each other, and where a discipline overruns or supplements the story-line. I ask the musicians to create an image in addition to the sound, by acting while they are playing, and allowing their thoughts to be influenced by the content and the psychology of the piece. I ask the players to act with their ears, to listen to their acting environment, and to react to timing. The newly written texts, including the adaptation of the book The Master and Margarita, are filtered down to their essentials and contain a strong element of musicality (in sound, rhythm and repetition), so that fits in closely with the music. One doesn t always have to let logics and causal/consequential constructions dominate; elements such as rhythm, dynamics, repetition and counterpoint are just as good for determining the dramatic structure. Vanaf nu heet je Pjotr The design usually done by Dieweke van Reij is a further supplementary component which needs to be taken into account. Décor materials can also be viewed as instruments. For example, the repertoire of Schubert, Riley and Adams can be played interchangeably with the sounds made by a washboard and a drainpipe, or by cutlery that is tapped against the cups, saucers and plates of a dinner service. In From now onwards you re called Pjotr, the violins, cellos, a clarinet and melodicas follow the surging rhythm of the rattling sewing machines. Also cutting material with scissors, tearing off name-stickers and other activities linked to a sound can be set to music. Finally, the location itself has a role to play. If a performance takes place in a new location, it s quite a business, Dagmar explains. On the other hand, the challenge has positive effects. For Oerol, Instant Happiness was first designed as a performance on location, but for the Cello Biennale, it will be re-modelled into one for the theatre. So, whereas, on level sand, action will demand energy and direction; in a theatre, the important factors are shape and aesthetics. The performance hall of the theatre immediately forms a framework for all artistic activities that take place within it. This is already dictated by the position of the public, who have an overall view from the stalls and the balconies of everything that goes on. A hall also places more emphasis on intimate narration. Dagmar: In adapting to a new performance location, players become strongly aware of shape, both with respect to the effectiveness of their movements in telling a story, and with respect to the colour and resonance of their voices. Detail becomes much more important, and it becomes necessary to take account of the audience s breathing in one s own performance. Transference Performing theatre is a new experience for many musicians, so education has become a natural element of Via Berlin s work. Dagmar Slagmolen wants to transfer her knowledge and experience to others. An example was when, in Masote s Dream (2015) a co-production of Orkater and the South African Pacofs - she confronted South African musicians, actors, artistic assistants and audiences with her interpretation of music theatre. The performance that is still touring around South Africa, has recently been nominated for the Naledi Theatre Awards tells the tragic tale of the black violinist and conductor, Mike Masote, who, because of the apartheid regime, was denied, in all manner of ways, the fulfillment of his dream. How can evil be so fascinating, that it becomes almost beautiful?' The Master and Margarita The Master and Margarita is also a coproduction, one that Dagmar Slagmolen is doing with the Creative Performance Lab. At the Creative Performance Lab, master students of the Amsterdam Conservatorium experiment with the links between music, text, image and movement, the aim of which is to discover new forms of music theatre. Working on a production such as The Master and Margarita together with a director such as Dagmar Slagmolen is, for them, like following a masterclass given by a famous musician. In the Biennale production of The Master and Margarita the young Russian cellist, Maya Fridman, plays the role of Margarita and the Austrian-Iranian cellist Kian Soltani, the role of the Devil. The beauty of evil In her version of the book by Michail Boelgakov (written between 1928 and 1940), Dagmar Slagmolen poses the question: How can evil be so fascinating, that it becomes almost beautiful? The book is an absurd exaggeration of the extreme dictatorial (Stalinist) repression and enforced atheism in the Soviet Union. The existential tension in the reality of Russian politics is reflected in the choice of music for the performance. The cellist Maya Fridman, in her performance as Margarita, brings values such as femininity, purity and beauty to the fore. These are values that she tries to defend and make untouchable by her musical interpretation and performance. By doing this, however, she arouses the desire of the devil Soltani even more. He seduces and threatens, manipulates and fascinates, and allows evil to triumph, and, by so doing, reveals a completely different aspect of the instrument and the person who plays it. For this performance, Dagmar Slagmolen has been allowed access to the Russian Film Library of the Eye Film Museum. She is searching there, in historical and artistic source material, for images that can give a concrete dimension to the great universal theme of evil. The film-like décor, the music, the musicians choreography and Boelgakov s texts will seduce us to find not only evil attractive, but also this form of music theatre. Thu 20 October 20.15: Instant Happiness Sat 22 October and 12.30: Cello&Co (Show for young children) Mo 24 October 17.00: The Master and Margarita Fri 28 October 17.30: Nomads Fri 28 October 24.00: POE: The Tell-Tale Heart Sat 29 October 14.00: The Suleika s and the Mystery of the Sensitive String (Show for children) Sat 29 October : Cello Coupé 10 11

9 Manuscripts don t burn Illustratie: Mircea Catusanu This Biennale offers an opportunity to stage a new musictheatre version of The Master and Margarita with music composed by a number of Russians, including Dmitry Shostakovich. The story-line is based on the novel The Master and Margarita, a shocking moral sketch of the corrupt art clique in Moscow. The novel was written in deep secrecy in the 1930 s, during the Stalin regime by Mikhail Bulgakov, at a time when the writer was forced to endure heavy criticism from the Soviet authorities. The manuscript survived not only fire, but also drastic censorship. by Saskia Törnqvist Is it possible to censor passages of music? In this day and age, and at this location, a question like this does not seem to be very relevant, but in the last century other forces were at play. Had we Michail Boelgakov travelled eastwards eighty or so years ago, we would have found ourselves submerged in Stalin s Soviet Union where state censorship held society in an iron grip and where innumerable artists groaned and submitted to the yoke imposed by socialistic realism. State censorship did not arrive suddenly from one day to the next; during the post-revolutionary years of the 1920 s the wind did not yet blow hard in this direction. This was facilitated by the New Economic Politics, which tolerated a small-scale free-market economy. Allowing space for artistic experimentation ran parallel with this movement. Anatol Lunacharsky, the People s Commissioner for Culture and Education and an enthusiastic reader of Proust, Nietzsche and Pushkin was of the opinion that the Revolution should also be applied within the arts. This allowed the sculptor Kazimir Malevich to launch his theories about suprematism, and helped the poet Vladimir Mayakovsky to transform everyday happenings into futuristic poetry. The film director Sergei Eisenstein was able to add an extra dimension to reality with his pioneering film-editing technique, The passage in which Margarita allows herself to be transformed into a witch who fiercely destroys the apartments of her hated literary critics, is unforgettable

10 Three of the devil s henchmen forge a wicked plan about how to make the city of Moscow unsafe. Illustration: Jamie Whyte director Vsevolod Meyerhold became the leading light of the constructivistic theatre and the young Dmitry Shostakovich in his polyrhythmic Second Symphony and his farcical opera The Nose was able to position himself as an angry young man. In short, there were relatively many possibilities during the 1920 s, as long as the artists were prepared to, at least implicitly though preferably explicitly package their experimental forms within the Utopian message of Communism. This package of requirements changed drastically after 1928 when the first Five-Year Plan cancelled out the New Economic Politics and Stalin began to vent his dictatorial power in earnest. From then onwards, art had to interpret the happy Soviet message in shape, sentence and sound in a way that everyone could understand. As a result, Lunacharsky was promoted to Spain, Malevich went on a survival tour as a figurative painter, Mayakovsky, disappointed with revolutionary ideology, committed suicide in 1930, Eisenstein found himself acting alternatively as spokesman and scapegoat for culture politics, Meyerhold was arrested in 1940 and murdered for his formalistic, decadent art thereby joining the explosively expanding group of victims of the dictatorship. And what of Shostakovich? He survived the Stalinistic paranoia of the 1930 s, although as a human being and artist, he paid a very high price. Fact and fiction in literature about Shostakovich In May 1937, a man in his early thirties [- an upand-coming talented composer and devoted house father -] waits [with a small, fully packed, case] by the lift of a Leningrad apartment block. He waits all through the night, [every night,] expecting to be taken away to the Big House. Any celebrity he has known in the previous decade is no use to him now. And few who are taken to the Big House ever return. This text is taken from the blurb of the novel The Noise of Time written by the British author Julian Barnes 1 and published in The man standing near the lift is Dmitry Shostakovich in the year 1936, shortly after his opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk was pilloried for formalism and flagrant naturalism by the Pravda in its lead article entitled Chaos instead of music. Did Shostakovich really stand near the lift every night in expectation of the death squads? Barnes, in any case, considered this to be a strong and plausible enough image based on a number of stories, such as the one told by the violinist David Oistrach who, at that time, lived in a block of flats where, at a certain period, more or less every night, residents in that block were arrested. Oistrach was spared this treatment, but the anxiety remained anchored in his system for the rest of his life. It is a fact that, during this pitch-black period, Shostakovich feared, and with reason, not only for his own life, but also for the lives of his nextof-kin. Nevertheless, he managed to have a lucky escape from the dance of death; from arrest, cross-examination, undergoing a show-trial, and finally from either execution or deportation. Why was that? Probably because, as a highly gifted composer, he was simply too badly needed in a Soviet utopia that hungered for exemplary artists. Together with a handful of others, among them the poet Anna Akhmatova, Shostakovich formed both the bill-board and the weakness of Stalin s iron regime. Barnes writes penetrating descriptions of it all, and, in passing, also provides the reader with insights into the furthest reaches of the composer s cranium. What does Barnes novel add to the impressive biographies published about Shostakovich in recent decades? Rather a lot, in fact. Barnes checked the hard facts, in particular with the biographer Elizabeth Wilson, but also gained inspiration from the book entitled Testimony, written by Solomon Volkov, and published in New York in This is an autobiography in which, in a series of interviews, Shostakovich is said to have revealed his own tormented face behind the Soviet mask. However, Testimony has long been dropped as an authoritative work on Shostakovich; further research 2 has clearly shown that Volkov based his work on older articles and third-party accounts. Dmitry s widow, Irina Shostakovich, whom I had the privilege to interview 3 for Het Parool on this topic in 2006, expressed her extreme dislike of Volkov. No, from that point of view, Barnes was much cleverer in his approach: as a novelist, he openly took the liberty to creep under the composer s skin a deed that, in musicological circles is considered total blasphemy and by so doing, provokes the idea that fiction may be able to come closer to reality than all other measurable and tangible facts put together. The Master and Margarita Mikhail Bulgakov ( ) was a Soviet author who knew how to mix fact and fiction to make a new, explosive, entity. In the 1930 s, Shostakovich was nearly coupled with him, to create a new opera 4. At that time, Bulgakov, in addition to his job at the Moscow Arts Theatre, was working secretly on his magnum opus, The Master and Margarita, a dazzling novel, set in the Moscow of those days. There are three, interwoven, story-lines. One of these is about the city of Moscow that is being besieged by the devil Woland and his henchmen. Another is about the Master, a writer who, broken by art critics, ends up in a mental institution. The third story-line is about the Master s rejected novel, including an alternative version featuring the judgment of Christ, as carried out by Pontius Pilate. The matryoshka doll effect of this book rests on the character of the Master, who is not only an alter ego of Bulgakov, pestered by Soviet censorship, but also a clear parallel of the figure of Christ, as Bulgakov had sketched him a free thinker within a totalitarian system. The similarity between Pilate, who washed his hands in innocence, and Stalin, who gave rein to his societal bacillophobia for his citizens in show-processes, speaks volumes, but with the striking difference that in Bulgakov s frame story, Pilate is tormented afterwards by a bad conscience. Can you imagine father Stalin suffering in a similar way! Let us not lose sight of the fact that Boelgakov wrote his villainess book purely and only for the drawer of his own desk, as an expression of clandestine opposition and self-therapy. Like a lunatic, he gleefully indulged in writing the passages about Woland and his accomplices, 1 Julian Barnes - The Noise of Time, Jonathan Cape, London, Laurel Fay Shostakovich vs. Volkov: whose testimony? The Russian Review, October Shostakovich had no choice. An interview with Irina Shostakovich. Het Parool, 22 July Krzysztof Meyer: Shostakovich, page 186. Uitgeverij Atlas Contact: Amsterdam

11 Dmitry Shostakovich In this scene, from The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov, set during a period of bedlam, The Master receives, completely undamaged, from his beloved Margarita, the manuscript that he had thrown into the flames. Illustration: Evgeniy Shtyrov who terrorized with all possible forms of black magic, the entire Moscow art clique a clique that shamelessly collaborated with the rotting regime and profited from corruption. The passage in which Margarita, the Master s intrepid muse, allows herself to be transformed into a witch who fiercely destroys the apartments of her hated literary critics, is unforgettable. Laughing sardonically, she flies away on her broomstick to rescue her lover from the psychiatric clinic and, subsequently allowed the manuscript that he himself had burnt, to rise like a phoenix out of its own ashes. The text associated with the above imagery, is the famous statement: Manuscripts don t burn. Boelgakov wrote this sentence based entirely on his own experience. Earlier on, he had burnt most probably due to anxiety the first version of his book, only to pick up his pen again, probably urged on by his wife. It is mainly due to that courage that he can be considered justified in calling himself a true Master. The first edition of The Master and Margarita to appear in the Soviet Union was not published until 1966/67, and then only in a heavily mutilated form. The state censors had filtered meticulously through the texts, professionally removing every passage that referred to well-known people and to any satirical/critical remark about the official Soviet body of thought. Then, in 1967 already, the manuscript enjoyed a glorious comeback when a complete, uncensored copy came to light at a publishers in Turin. The great Feast of Rehabilitation could begin! In that same year, the Slavonic scholar, Marco Fondse, translated the manuscript into Dutch with all the passages that had been censored by the Soviets printed in italics. And now, the manuscript is again enjoying a glorious comeback. As Fondse remarked in his Afterword, this novel, whether in complete or censored form, is a time-bomb! The censors could cut and paste the book as much as they liked, but they couldn t remove its sting, because the whole story is an ode to the power of love and the victory of artistic freedom. Censorship in Music To return now to our first question - Is it possible to censor passages of music? - an immediate problem arises, one with which both the Soviet critics and the composers were confronted. Many composers could only guess the reason for the criticism hanging over their heads. It was clear to everyone, of course, that atonal or serial music would go against the grain, but as all music that was positioned within a tonal field could be interpreted in very many ways, it was intangible. A composition in a minor key? It could be interpreted as a sketch of pre-revolutionary Russia, but also as an indictment of the Soviet system. A sardonic march melody, as in Shostakovich s Seventh Symphony? Did he mean against the Nazi troops, or was he perhaps ridiculing Soviet propaganda music? Music could become either a stumbling block or an escape route, depending on the interpretation given to it from outside the musical sphere: Shostakovich, Schnittke, Raskatov and many other Soviet composers managed time and again to wriggle out of awkward situations, thanks to the high level of abstraction of their artistic forms. Critics often failed in their endeavours, even though they often thought they had hit the nail on the head by alleging that these artistic forms were formalistic, decadent or bourgeois. Criticism of music rarely made sense in the long run: concepts such as an ideologically incorrect cadenza, key, bar or instrumentation simply didn t exist! Thank goodness!, you may think, the age of music censorship lies behind us. Sadly, that is not the case! In practice, censorship has become even more widespread. We only need to travel back through our own lifetime on the website of an organization such as Freemuse 5 to see how the musical flag has flown in various parts of the Middle East and North Africa. It does not take much effort to guess the answer: the flag 5 Freemuse the world forum on music and censorship. has frequently hung at half-mast. In areas where Muslim-fundamentalism sets the tone, musicians work is much more rigorously trimmed than was the case in the Soviet Union, where it was at least considered to be an essential medium of communication. There are places in the world where musicians have lost their hands, and in some instances even their lives, and where musical instruments have been burnt. Why? Because music, in itself, is considered, there, to be a kind of devil s art that should be destroyed - roots, branches and all. Hope rests with the Masters and Margaritas of our time who, no matter what, retain the belief that love surmounts terror and that the essence of manuscripts and musical instruments can never be incinerated. Saskia Törnqvist Alexander Raskatov: Sun 23 October 17.00: Dolce Far Niente Michail Boelgakov: Mon 24 October 17.00: The Master and Margarita Alfred Schnittke: Fri 28 October 14.15: Russians Dmitry Shostakovich: Fri 28 October 20.15: Finale Sat 29 October 14.00: Residentie Orkest 16 17

12 Five Dutch composers compose six new works for the cello I just want to hear that instrument For the Dutch composers Joël Bons, Guus Janssen, Chiel Meijering, Mayke Nas and Rob Zuidam the Cello Biennale has become partly a home contest and partly a voyage of discovery. None of them are cellists, but yet they have all written compositions for between one and twelve cellos. What led them to this instrument? by Bas van Putten Joël Bons None of these five composers is a cellist. In this, they resemble most of the well-known composers who wrote for the cello in their many compositions for ensembles and orchestras. But brand new concertos for the cello (Guus Janssen, Rob Zuidam, Joël Bons), music for cellos and other instruments (Mayke Nas) or for the twelve cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (Chiel Meijering) demand rather more than a knowledge of playing techniques and compositional routines. They demand an orientation that confronts not only the instrument but also its tradition. For Mayke Nas, the point of departure, as overseeable as it is complicated, has begun at zero. She does not connect strongly with the canon: As a very young child, I saw Kagel s Match in the Korzo, in The Hague. My immediate reaction was to find it fantastic, and also Nomos Alpha by Xenakis. And I have listened to Bach s cello suites again and again. But the singing quality that many cellists love so much, does less for me. She placed a request on Facebook, asking if someone would lend her an instrument. The Société Gavigniès responded with the immediate offer of a baroque cello. She started at once to take lessons. However: I haven t achieved very much yet. I have some idea of the bowing, and can almost hold the bow correctly, but what I particularly like is to use the cello as a percussion instrument, and to hear it played in very high or very low registers and flageolets also sound incredibly beautiful on a cello. The guitarist and percussionist Chiel Meijering uses his guitar as a mnemonic aid. When I wrote for the cello, I always tuned my guitar in fifths and wedged it between my knees. He doesn t find it difficult to transfer ideas from the guitar to the cello: I like to compose music for string players. When I m writing for the cello, I visualize the finger setting at the same time. I think in terms of the bowing and focus directly on the instrument itself. Guus Janssen and Joël Bons have emersed themselves in the playing styles and ways of thinking of the soloists for whom they compose. For the Biennale, these are, respectively, Anton Mecht Spronk, winner of the National Cello Competition 2014, and Jean-Guihen Queyras. Janssen explains: I ve had a number of sessions with Anton, during which I ve tried to fathom out where his interest lies. For Janssen, the cello is a profound instrument, sophisticated perhaps, and somewhat priggish. My grandfather, a neurologist, played the cello and, in one way or another, the cello seemed to fit that image. When preparing his Nomads for cello and the Atlas Ensemble, Bons crept under the skin of the French cello star, Queyras. Bons watched him teaching in Freiburg and, in the concert hall there, heard him playing Schumann with Isabelle Faust and Alexander Melnikov unbelievably well, and later Haydn s Cello Concerto in C with the Amsterdam Sinfonietta. Jean-Guihen told me that he had never worked with a composer who was so well-prepared. Nevertheless, I do want to give him something to get his teeth into. But then again, Rob Zuidam has learnt from experience that the soloist s view can have an adverse effect on the creative process. I ve written a piano concerto for Emanuel Ax and I noticed then that his pianism interfered with what I was doing. Zuidam noticed that, intuitively, he was composing in a way that would please this great interpreter of Brahms. And if you do that, you ll be as flattened by Brahms, as you would be by a mammoth tanker. For this reason, Zuidam will deliberately try to avoid associating his cello concerto with its soloist, the Russian, Ivan Monighetti. ( The piece has no title as yet, but it will be given one - it looks so pathetic just calling it Cello Concerto. ) Although I ve listened to Monighetti s recordings - and in the end I always compose for the soloist the soloist will be there shortly, and he s going to interpret aspects of myself. If he asks me to change two notes in a run of notes, just because that would make it easier to play, then I ll have to be compliant enough to make such a change. After all, it is he who has to make music from the notes that I write. It has to come from him. When this programme book goes to press, he will still be unable to say how his concert will turn out. However: It will not be a traditional concerto with a nice cadence at the end of the first movement. But it s not finished yet, and I hardly ever work chronologically. I create islands. I begin in five different places and work in an investigative way. I don t rely much on developing ideas from configurative outlines and I still have to discover whether or not it can be a piece consisting of several movements, rather than one huge arched sound-span lasting twenty minutes. While working on it, it could also turn out to be longer than that

13 Mayke Nas What is finished is Zuidam s second composition, a piece commissioned by the Biennale: a compulsory work for the National Cello Competition. Air is a solo piece of six minutes that in a single arched span of sound attempts to explore all the hooks and crannies of the cello s capabilities although it s perhaps a little strange to talk about exploring because I know more or less what is possible. The piece is rather wild and demands a singing, shimmering approach, that attunes with how I think a cello works. He continued: It s an instrument that s positioned in a rather remarkable way, quite close to the voice - its natural habitat - the only difference being that you don t need to take a breath for twenty minutes, if you don t want to. So it sings, and, because of that Zuidam doesn t demonstrably deny that aspect of the tradition. On the other hand, the canon, now there you have a relationship, whether you like it or not - even if the relationship is actually non-existent. When I was teaching at Harvard, I went to a concert which featured seven new compositions. In six of these seven pieces, the cello had an important part to play, but, in each case, it was a role totally in accordance with the school of Ferneyhough and Lachenmann. I have nothing against that, but I didn t hear one warm tone from the cello. It seems as though, when it comes to extended techniques, the cello is always the Jack. It beats and it sweeps and it sucks. In itself, I rather like it, when a piece has a strange edge. I remember an intriguing composition by John Tavener that moved entirely within the higher reaches of the instrument. For me, that s not an aim in itself, at least not to the exclusion of other parts of the finger board. He pointed at the long cello solo in Love Unsung (2014), his music-theatre piece written for the Stolz Quartet. The lyricism speaks for itself, but only on his terms. I don t compose to please others; I write what I myself want to hear. It is perhaps Joël Bons who has the most difficult task. He has to compose a piece of an hour for Queyras and the Atlas Ensemble, an ensemble that he himself founded at the beginning of this century a unique chamber orchestra with musicians and instruments from China, Japan, Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe; a mix of western and nonwestern instrumentarium. Although I have a lot of experience with this club, it s never a simple matter to write for them, because each musician has their own playing culture. In addition to experienced scoredevourers, there are also virtuoso musicians among them who can produce a complex raga at the drop of a hat, but who can t read a single note of score music. At the same time, Bons sees the musical challenge presented by this situation: building bridges between seemingly disconnected worlds. For this piece, I ve had a session with a fantastic sarangi player, who can t read a note of music. As he only plays ragas, what I compose for the cello is something that moves in the direction of that material. What is created then are combinations between what I love about ragas and the speed with which I heard Jean-Guihen play that third movement of Haydn. In this way, one can delve into an enormous reservoir of music. You get a much freer feeling then, because all manner of things become acceptable - also tonal aspects. He gives examples, all the pieces that begin with rustling sounds and multiphonics. It often sounds nonsensical. For this composition, I just want to hear that instrument the cello. This piece has to do with encounters; that s why it s called Nomads. It s a little bit like what Elliott Carter had to say about polyphony the voices are like roles in a theatrical play. My aim is to bring these roles together so that, for a moment, they seem to be one large family. So it could never be a normal concerto. I ve been chewing over this problem for a long time, because I wanted to please everyone. I didn t want it to be a piece with only the cellist as middle point in a concertante. My solution is to compose a piece consisting of a mosaic of small, often very short, pieces instead of one long piece. I kind of found a source of inspiration in Stravinsky s Agon. This consists of a series of short movements with a prelude and a number of interludes, and, within that, dances for bizarre instrumental combinations. On top of that, I wanted speed. Many of the pieces for the Atlas Ensemble are slow and delicate, while I ve composed a mountain of fast virtuoso pieces. Guus Janssen has simply followed his own intuition: I never work exclusively from a very focused concept. More often, I follow the direction in which the piece pushes me. But adding a concerto to an established list, has presented a challenge. You begin to ask yourself: What is a concerto? There are concertos in which the soloist is very much the central point, and other kinds of concerto in which the soloist is more closely integrated with the ensemble. I have allowed myself to be influenced by the answer to the question: What is the role of a soloist? The answer, in my opinion, is that the soloist is a musician who does something 20 Guus Janssen

14 Chiel Meijering Rob Zuidam different from the other players. In my composition, the soloist plays continuously in a tempo other than that of the ensemble players. The soloist also plays differently from the ensemble throughout the piece, both rhythmically and metrically. Bons could not say to what extent this approach would result in a concerto that complies with normal traditions. It s rather high-handed to claim that it will fit into the canon of modern music. Chiel Meijering has little interest in that canon. I have no relationship at all with the cello tradition, although I ve composed a lot for the cello. My two daughters play the cello. I find the shape of the instrument erotic. Isaac Mossel, my wife s great-great-grandfather, was the solo cellist of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra before he came to the Netherlands to work as first cellist with the Concertgebouw Orchestra. So I feel closely linked to the instrument, but not to the music written for it. There is some good stuff though, such as that fabulous early solo piece by Ligeti, the piece he wanted to destroy. But, in fact, I m not interested at all in classical music. I myself compose dance: I have much more affinity with the directness of that sound. An orchestra sounds stale by comparison. That can be a problem if you have to compose music for the entire cello section of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, although the meditative first movement should be to their liking. My composition is going to be called Whatever lies ahead. Originally, the title was And there will be peace, because of the quiet opening movement, but with all the wars going on at the present time, I thought that was inappropriate. The second movement, Live Hack, is a wild piece of rock old-fashioned Meijering ragging. Length: three and a half minutes. Deliberately short. I think in pop format. I have witnessed changes in how time is experienced, and I think that, as an artist, one should try to capture the spirit of the times I would find it very arrogant at the present time to compose a piece of an hour. No one can concentrate for as long as that anymore. The conciseness demanded by the information era Mayke Nas has also struggled with it, and she has not yet found a solution. Her piece for four cellos, the four percussionists of Slagwerk Den Haag and (incidental) orchestra is still in a beginning phase, which makes it difficult to say anything about it now. In itself, it s not a bad idea to be forced to think about a composition at an early stage, but, unfortunately, the notes can sometimes go in an entirely different direction. What has been established is the theme: the piece is going to be about the day-to-day battle with the mountain of information that confronts everyone via the internet it s the same for me; I can spend the whole day googling. My idea is to play with that noise. I call it noise, by positioning it opposite to silence. In the piece, the silence of the cellos is regained from the violence of the percussionists and the orchestra that, initially, completely drown the cello quartet and then reveal it again by withdrawing. The thinking behind this is that noise is unfocused and silence is focused. The Biennale attracts many fans who only want to hear cellos the rest might not be interesting for them. In my piece, they don t immediately hear what they want to hear, because I hide it it s a present that one has to unwrap; it s a delayed promise. And this fits in well with this festival, that one can create excitement by turning things upside down. And now the piece itself still has to be made, and that might turn the concept completely topsy-turvy: At this moment, I want to begin softly. Rob Zuidam: Fri 21 October 10.00: National Cello Competition First round Sat 22 October 10.00: National Cello Competition First round Thu 27 October 20.15: Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest Mayke Nas: Fri 21 October 20.15: Opening concert Guus Janssen: Wed 26 October 17.00: Queyras, Amy, Spronk & Janssen Joël Bons: Fri 28 October 17.30: Nomads Chiel Meijering: Sat 29 October 16.30: Die 12 Cellisten der Berliner Philharmoniker 22 23

15 Four variations for cello Is it the shape? Is it the sound? The cello speaks to the imagination of musicians, of listeners, of enthusiasts and of writers. There are wonderful novels and stories about music (think of the Kreutzer Sonata by Tolstoy, Vikram Seth s An Equal Music or Margiet de Moor s The Virtuoso), but what has been written specifically about the cello? By far, not enough! And as the Cello Biennale likes to collaborate with others, it has asked four authors if they would each write a story around the cello or the cellist. The result is a wonderful collection of four stories, entitled: Four Variations for Cello. These are four stories which explore the instrument in various ways. These are four stories in which, in four entirely different ways, the cello or a person who plays it, are given a voice. This is done by four authors who are considered to be among the best story-tellers at the present time: Jan Brokken, Marente de Moor, Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer and Annelies Verbeke. We are very proud to introduce them to you: Jan Brokken (1949) grew up as the son of a clergyman in the village of Rhoon. This is the backdrop for his novels: The Province, My Little Fit of Madness and The Retaliation. He studied political sciences in Bordeaux and worked for many years as a journalist. He wrote travel stories, such as The Rain Bird, Jungle Rudy and Baltic Souls and novels, such as The Blind Passengers and The Sad Champion. Brokken plays the piano, performs frequently with other musicians and writes about music, examples of which are the novels: Why Eleven Antillians Knelt in front of Chopin s Heart and the unequalled book about the pianist Joeri Egorov, In the Poet s House. Marente de Moor (1972) is a Slavist who worked for a time in Russia and made her debut in 2007 with the much praised novel, The Infringer. The Dutch Virgin followed three years later and was awarded the AKO Prize for Literature. Roundhay, Garden-Scene (2013) was shortlisted for the Libris Literature Prize. The anthology of stories, Nice Stories, that appeared in 2015 won the principal prize for short stories, the J.M.A. Biesheuvel Prize. She grew up with music and plays the piano. Iija Leonard Pfeijffer (1968) writes novels, stories, poems, columns, essays, criticisms, theatre pieces and song texts. He worked until 2004 as a classics scholar at the University of Leiden, but moved a few years ago to live and work in Genua. He has won many prizes in recent years: in 2014, the Libris Literature Prize for his novel La Superba; in 2016, the VSB Poetry Prize and the Jan Campert Prize for his anthology Idyllen. Pfeijffer has written song texts for, among others, Ellen ten Damme and has played the clarinet for many years. Annelies Verbeke (1976) made her debut with the international bestseller, Sleep! (2003). This was followed by to name a few Giant; Greener Grass; and Saving Fish. In addition to prose, Verbeke writes scenarios and theatre texts. She is a dedicated champion of the short story and compiled, in conjunction with Sanneke van Hassel, the anthology, To the City - a selection of 40 international 21st century stories. Her recent novel, Thirty days, was short-listed for the ECI Literature Prize in 2015 and won the F. Bordewijk Prize that same year. The book, Four Variations for Cello, published by Podium, will be festively presented prior to the opening of the Cello Biennale 2016 in the Theater van t Woord in the Public Library of Amsterdam. The four authors will be interviewed. They will read from their story and will be accompanied by the Cello Company, who will play pieces that the writers themselves have chosen. This presentation, which id freely accessible to everyone interested, will take place on September 30. After the presentation, both the writers and the cellists will make a short tour around selected bookshops elsewhere in the Netherlands. On the following pages, you will find a preview of one of the stories in Four Variations for Cello in the form of an excerpt from the story The Servais by Jan Brokken. Jan Brokken Marente de Moor Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer 24 Annelies Verbeke 25

16 The Servais (excerpt) by Jan Brokken He never began a journey in a joyful mood, and this one was no exception. There was always that fuss and bother with his cello in the plane he could barely get the case along the gangway, and if he finally managed to put it somewhere, on the floor, tightly jammed against the seat in front of him, then he had to face immediate commentary: Oh, so you re a musician! Yes, pretty logical, why else would one lug a case all the way around the world that s big enough to hide a dismembered body? If the person is Dutch, then they immediately begin to calculate. Oh, that s sure to be a valuable instrument. Americans, on the other hand, anticipate fame: You must be Mr Rostropovich! Good grief! Then you want to jump into a taxi and drive straight back home, to the centre of Amsterdam. But no, he had bought two tickets, one for himself and one for the unwieldy case that s impossible to spirit away under his seat; he had been booked by an impresario who had worked with Pablo Casals before, and he had to go to Washington, come what may. In the past, he had enjoyed going on tour. Going to America! It sounded like something out of a boys adventure book. Nowadays, he thought Italy was far enough. Good food, fine wine and fans that never coughed, providing you gave them something extraordinary on the day, otherwise they would sit demonstratively flapping their programme booklets. But, in France and Germany, his audiences were quiet he d played there hundreds of times with Frans Brüggen and Gustav Leonhardt. The three of them had usually travelled by car to those concerts Gustav loved driving and playing chauffeur in his Lancia Beta Montecarlo, wearing a black suit with chamois leather gloves as though touching the steering wheel was as delicate an activity as striking the keys of a harpsichord It felt as though they were going on a day trip, if they travelled by car, especially if he wasn t driving. He particularly disliked flying. Up in the air, he found it difficult to think back on everything that had happened to him. Nothing made him more melancholic. He was now forty-eight years old - almost half a century - forty of which had been spent sitting behind the cello bowing. Creeping under Boccherini s skin, and that of Leonardo Leo, Giovanni Bononcini, Vivaldi, Bach, Haydn, Anton Kraft, Beethoven and Brahms It had given him hundreds of beautiful, exciting, surprising, unexpected, miraculous moments. But was that enough? Did those moments compensate for the uncountable hours sighing, groaning, and rehearsing? Did they justify an existence? If Adrien François Servais one starts asking oneself these sorts of question, the answer is almost always one of doubt. Try looking sweetly at the stewardess and seducing her into giving you a third mini-bottle of wine. Then nothing helps any more. You just have to sit there, and before you know it, you begin to philosophize, like Kierkegaard, about the meaning of life Life without music is a life that has not been lived. And that s how it is! Life without music is a barren existence. That s a watertight case! Music cancels out place and time. Wonderful! Those who have never listened to Bach, can never visualise heaven. Now that s the question. Perfection is perhaps so irritating that heaven can pass one by. Bach has made God superfluous. If you let his music sink in well, then you don t need to go to heaven. But, all in all, that would be rather a shame, because we never know exactly what awaits us there. He had always had problems with Bach. Whether deliberately or unconsciously, he fought against being too much in awe of the master against making it holy. Debussy was right, of course, Bach was our Good Lord of Music, and before starting work, every composer should pray to him for protection against mediocracy. However, he wasn t a composer, he was merely a performer, and if he had to spend the whole time on his knees before Johann Sebastian, then he would only play sanctimonious music. He was said to be boistrous, recalcitrant and stubborn in character, but then again, was that entirely true? Strangely enough, he had always had the greatest respect for his father, who, so to speak, had pushed the cello into his hands, and given him his first lessons. A nice man, a real musician, someone whom he had never challenged. A musician is someone who doesn t really exist, and his father had the talent of melting into the background. That s clever, because if you can do something and to make music, then you really have to be able to do something before you realise it, you re conceited. In a similar way, he had an equally great respect for his tutor and mentor, Carel van Leeuwen Boomkamp, a clergyman s son from the Achterhoek [a region in the east of the Netherlands] who had left for Paris as a stiff young man, only to return again as an amiable joker. Van Leeuwen Boomkamp was a natural talent, who, at nineteen years of age, became the solo cellist of the Concertgebouw Orchestra under Willem Mengelberg. This was in Mengelberg introduced him in German to the members of the orchestra with the words: Here is someone who has just crept out the egg, but he plays beautifully. Mengelberg always addressed the orchestra in German he would have great difficulties with that after the war. Mr Carel could imitate him perfectly. Van Leeuwen Boomkamp stayed with the orchestra for six years, before beginning his own solo career. But then he had done much the same thing: six years as solo cellist with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, before taking to the road with Frans and Gustav to enjoy themselves proclaiming the Baroque Revolution. Gustav, who gave lessons in playing the cello and gamba, had also been a student of Carel van Leeuwen Boomkamp. To return to the trip to America: My goodness, wasn t it a lengthy business, a trans- Atlantic flight! His aversion to going on this journey was even greater than usual, but not because of the concerts. He had to play Haydn twice that was easy to oversee: he could play the Haydn blindfolded. His reluctance stemmed from the vague arrangement made with the Director of the Smithsonian. He had never before been involved all that much with instruments; that was something more for violinists. He had three fantastic cellos. When there was something wrong with one of these instruments, he would phone his longstanding friend, Willem Bouman, who invariably replied: come to The Hague immediately, Anner and, within a few days, his cello was again in optimal condition. He didn t need a Stradivarius, but the Director of the Smithsonian was a fan who made him think of a priest praying in an Italian film: Lord, protect me from my friends; I ll sort out my enemies, 26 27

17 myself. Moreover, the Director was a cellist as well, a colleague, in other words; someone in the know. He should have written the Director a polite note straight away, saying no, many thanks for the kind invitation no time, no inclination Or was he perhaps curious, nevertheless? In that case, he was not yet really old. Washington looks after two Stradivariuses, one in the Library of Congress and the other in the Smithsonian Institute. Worldwide, there are 60 remaining cellos built by Antonio Stradivari in Cremona: forty of them are bad instruments, but of the other twenty, the history, and the names, fame and quirks are known to everyone in the music world. For example, The Countess of Stainlain built in 1707, had belonged to Paganini, and for decades it has been played by Bernhard Greenhouse of the Beaux Arts Trio. The Stradivarius used by Rostropovich was first owned by Duport, and then by Franchomme for whom Chopin composed his Grand Duo concertant and his wonderful Sonata for piano and cello. There is a dint in the Duport because the owner was so stupid as to allow Napoleon to play on it. Small as he was, the warlord didn t know what to do with his legs. At that time cellos were not fitted out with a retractable endpin; these didn t come into use until the middle of the 19 th century. The Davidov, built in 1712, was owned by the tsar among cellists, Karl Davidov, but the instrument had suffered from the terrible Russian winters. In 1964, it came into the hands of Jacqueline du Pré, who, from 1970 onwards didn t dare to play on the instrument because the Davidov was too capricious for her. A year later, she began to have trouble with her muscles and two years later she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Although the next owner, Yo-Yo- Ma, also complained about the character of the instrument and how difficult it was to tame, he liked playing Bach and Vivaldi on it, but the Davidov remained recalcitrant in the lower tones Whenever one of these good Stradivariuses becomes available, every cellist rushes up in the hope of laying hands on it; but the chance of succeeding is nihil. Even Pablo Casals never succeeded in buying one, although he had money enough. Throughout his life he played on a Tononi from 1730 and a Goffriller from 1733, both of them fantastic instruments; the first one was built in Bologna and the second in Venice. To return to our travel story: On arrival in New York, Anner had slept round the clock and had just finished breakfast when the Director phoned to pose a question. When, and at what time, would he like to play on the Stradivariuses? Anner stuttered a few excuses: his first concert was scheduled for that evening and he had to practice for it. However, the Director wouldn t take No for an answer. He had it all organized, he said, because, at the weekend, it would be too busy in the museum to try them out. All right!, Anner replied, Let s do it as soon as possible, but not for long. He shaved, took a long look in the mirror, and asked himself why his eyes were not twinkling as usual. It must be due to jet lag! The building was like a mausoleum. It was ten times larger than the Palace on the Dam [in Amsterdam]. The cello kept in the Library of Congress - the Stradivarius, Castelbarco, from was pushed into his hands. He sat down, he played It was enough to make one cry! At long last, here was a cello that sounded like a cello should sound! After playing on the instrument for many years, he explained, you get a certain pattern of expectation in your head, of how the ideal cello should sound. It was not like his Turin cello from That was a good instrument, but he had to devise all sorts of tricks to make it sound like the ideal cello. He once purchased another bow, tried another kind of string, worked out a more logical finger-setting to realize the sound image that he had created in his head. He was never satisfied with the result at least, not completely. And there he was, sitting in the national library of the United States of America, with a cello in his hands that could do anything, and make sounds that he had never dreamt were possible; sounds that inspired him, and helped him effortlessly to go further up that glorious path that wound its way through the mountains to bring him closer to heaven. With feelings of regret, he put the instrument back in the showcase. Well, Mr Bijlsma, an excited voice brought him out of his dream, now we re going to the other museum, because the cello there is even more beautiful. That s the cello that used to be played by Servais. In Anner s study in Amsterdam, on the wall, there was a photo of Francois Servais. A round stomach and a wild moustache, he was a Belgian, born in Halle in Flemish Brabant, the son of a shoe-repairer. He was a genial cellist who, for thirty-three years, had travelled all over Europe and Russia, enjoying the status of the Paganini of the cello. He was also important from a historical point of view, because he was the first cellist to fix an iron spike under his instrument, and, by so doing, had laid the foundations of the modern cello school. I ve got no time Come on, now smiled the man decidedly, jump into the car and we ll race there; it s only a five-minute drive. It was indeed a silly excuse! Arriving at the Smithsonian, Anner ran up the steps, entered one of the rooms an enormous room -of the museum and sat down. He ran the bow over the first string of the Servais, and then the second Almost immediately, people began to gather round him. He played five or so compositions written by cellists who had owned, or loaned a Stradivarius: Servais, Franchomme, and the Maastricht- born cellist Alexander Batta, who had treasured his instrument for fifty-seven years, slept next to it every night, in the same bed, and who - at a time when he was short of money - had refused the blank cheque that a Russian aristocrat had offered him in exchange for his Strad. He played and played, for an hour or so. He didn t know what had overcome him. He was swept off his feet. Off his feet! Would you like to read more? The complete story can be found in: Vier Variaties voor Cello by Jan Brokken, Marente de Moor, Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer and Annelies Verbeke. These four short stories have been specially written and published for the 2016 Cello Biennale. Please note that Vier variaties voor cello is only available in Dutch

18 BartolomeyBittmann rocks You can t talk about groove you either feel it or you don t Inspired by Harnoncourt and Apocalyptica, cellist Matthias Bartolomey and violinist Klemens Bittmann follow new roads. Floris Kortie looked them up and saw how, in Vienna, they inflame their audience with excitement as BartolomeyBittmann. by Floris Kortie Vienna, the city of Mozart, Strauss and Mahler; birthplace of classical symphonies, elegant waltzes and Late-Romantic orchestral songs. One of the oldest and most conservative orchestras in the world is based here, and this is where concerts are still so chic that a normal Thursday evening in Amsterdam s Concertgebouw, would look like a common affair. But that very same Vienna is also the city of the progressive strings of BartolomeyBittmann proof that in the middle of all that grandeur and tradition, there is still space for renewal. I caught up with this duo just before they made their soundcheck for Gemischter Satz, an eclectic music festival about to open at the Wiener Konzerthaus. The festival is named after the famous Viennese wine made from different grapes, all grown in the same vineyard. This could also be seen as a beautiful metaphor for BartolomeyBittmann: with their mix of classical background (Matthias Bartolomey, cello), jazz and pop-roots (Klemens Bittmann, violin and mandola) the two have enjoyed success far beyond the city boundaries. This evening they are playing a home-game the duo was formed in Vienna and Matthias Bartolomey was born and raised here: I m the fourth generation in a family of musicians. My grandfather was a violinist in the Wiener Philharmoniker and my father played there too, as leader of the cello section. An orchestral career seemed inevitable, but something went awry. My background is classical, my training was classical, but I also wanted to move beyond that world. Three years ago, I met Klemens. Our mutual acquaintance came just at the right moment for 30 31

19 the two of us: we were both searching for a new direction. Klemens Bittmann had studied jazz violin in Graz, but later on he moved to Vienna. Graz is an interesting city with a fantastic jazz scene, but, in reality, if you want to survive as a freelance musician, if you want to live in an inspiring environment, and if you want to have the possibility of really living as a musician, then Vienna is the place to be. In contrast to his colleague, Bittmann is the first professional musician in his family. His parents continue to be amazed at his choice. They have no idea what I m doing. They keep on asking me: Yes, but how do you earn your money, then?. To which I answer: By writing arrangements, for example. in jazz clubs, in large concert halls, and in small theatres in the provinces. For financial reasons, that was very important, because, don t forget, the rent also had to be paid! The evening when I was there, during the festival at the Konzerthaus, it became clear why this double act is in such great demand, not only with befriended programmers, but also with concert halls and festivals near and far: from London to Nairobi and from Teheran to Amsterdam. Audiences are crazy about them! Bartolomey rocks on the cello as though his life depends upon it, while Bittmann plays the violin and mandola a small guitar, stringed like a violin, that he himself designed. You ll recognise elements of minimal, jazz and metal in their music. One moment it s more driving and forceful and the next, more melodic and film-like. This was how we met in the first instance, Matthias chipped in. I was playing in a project for which Klemens had arranged the music. Bartolomey: I asked Klemens if he would like it if we could play together sometime, and Bittmann interrupted him: No!, I asked you. Bartolomey looked confused. In any case, we met and played and experimented with some ideas. Now, three years on, that is still how our music comes into being. Our main aim throughout this time has been to create a new repertoire - our own music, influenced by our different backgrounds and musical experiences. The basis of the music is groove: You can talk about style; about bowing style, for instance, but groove is one of those things that you can t talk about. You either feel it, or you don t. The very first time we played together, we felt it at once, and it was clear immediately that we wanted to invest more time on it. Their different backgrounds turned out to be useful when they began to work together, Bittmann continues: Because we have had different careers so far, our networks and connections are completely different. This has been extremely handy because, when you start something new, you must rely on programmers who know you, have complete trust in your new project and are convinced that it will be well received. Right from the very beginning, we received many invitations to play on pop stages, He alternates from one instrument to the other, while dancing around the stage. You ll recognise elements of minimal, jazz and metal in their music. One moment it s more driving and forceful and the next, more melodic and film-like. The overall sound is impressive. Close your eyes and you ll forget that you re only listening to two musicians, and, moreover, to 18 th century instruments. The audience was exuberant that evening. Even the somewhat reserved Viennese clapped and cheered so enthusiastically that one feels rather sorry for the musicians who have to follow them onto the stage. Rocking on the cello for Matthias Bartolomey it s an activity that goes without saying. It s in the nature of the instrument. The low strings of the cello can make a very deep sound, so they are perfect for playing power chords a combination of the keynote and the fifth that you hear so often in heavy metal. The pioneers of this technique were, of course, the Apocalyptica guys. With their cello metal, they had already opened the way for other cellists, back in the 90s. Rock is not just drums and guitars, it s more a state of mind. Talking about pioneers, another great source of inspiration for BartolomeyBittmann is the Austrian conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt, who died last year. Bartolomey: During the last four years, I have had the privilege to be part of his Concertus Musicus Wien and so have been able to work with him often, as a member of his orchestra. He has greatly inspired both of us. This is why we dedicated one of the numbers in our recent album to him; of course, it goes without saying that we sent him a CD. His response was to send us a letter, in which he described our music as marvellous. Bartolomey laughed wryly for a moment, and then he went on to give a preciselyworded, carefully thought-out and in-depth analysis of our music! Bittmann also admitted feeling indebted to Harnoncourt: Harnoncourt was one of the key figures in the cultural life of Austria. I ve read many of his books and articles, and, during our rehearsals, Matthias often quotes Harnoncourt s remarks the kind of remark, incidentally, that could also have come from Miles Davis. Harnoncourt, like Davis, also had a very radical, pure and perfectionistic view of music, a view that extends far beyond classical music. We want to be just as dedicated with our music. Whatever we undertake, we do it to the full 100 per cent of our ability. Meanwhile, the audience in the Konzerthaus were clapping themselves silly in the hope of an encore. At the Cello Biennale in October, this Viennese duo will be playing their Neubau programme, so Dutch audiences have something really special to look forward to. Bartolomey: Last year, we also played at the preview for the festival. What a warm welcome that was! Bittmann nodded in agreement: We can t wait to have the opportunity to play again in Amsterdam. How are we going to tackle it? As rocking and as radically as possible! 32 33

20 Cello & Film september / Hamlet stille film met live muziek van Annie Tångberg (cello), Emile Visser (cello), Martin de Ruiter (bandoneón) Biennale Cello Band Slagwerk Den Haag 20/ Bauhaus films uit de collectie van EYE. Örs Köszeghy (cello) speelt werken van Hindemith, Krenek, Veress. Aansluitend speelt de Cello Company. 21/ Previewconcert van de theatrale voorstelling De Meester en Margarita Aansluitend de film Il Maestro e Margherita 24/ Osiris Trio en Charlotte Riedijk Spelen: Seven Romances opus 127 van Sjostakovitsj. Aansluitend de documentaire Typhoontschik, over de Russische celliste Natalia Gutman 25/ Metropolis stille film met première van de nieuwe score van Pieter Smithuijsen voor acht cello s en twee pianotracks EYE FILMMUSEUM AMSTERDAM eyefilm.nl Ensemble in Residence Biennale Cello Band and Slagwerk Den Haag Fri 21 October, Grote Zaal: Opening concert Sun 23 October, Grote Zaal: Eight Lines Thu 27 October, Bimhuis: One-Page Composition Project Sat 29 October, Grote Zaal: Cello Coupé Especially for this Cello Biennale, an Ensemble-in-Residence has been created from the super-sensitive rhythm section of Slagwerk Den Haag and a cello quartet, The Biennale Cello Band, consisting of four principal cello teachers, each from one of the following conservatories: Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht. The Ensemble-in-Residence can be heard at different times and places throughout the festival: in the Opening Concert, during the Cello Coupé and in the Take Five programme that has been specially planned around this ensemble, on Thursday 26 October, when they will present five new One- Page Compositions. But the amazing tone-colours of the four cellos and four percussionists will not surprise you just at the events listed above. They will also pop-up at unexpected moments and places throughout the festival. 35

21 Brendan Faegre One Page Composition Project Pete Harden Frank Zappa s The Black Page, Stockhausen s Refrain, In C by Terry Riley, James Tenney s Zo noteerden George Crumb (links), James Tenney (boven) en Terry Riley (onder), hun One Page Composition. Having Never Written a Note for Hilary Jeffery Genevieve Murphy Percussion, The Real Book and George Crumb s fantasy-rich scores have one thing in common: the written versions of all these compositions are only one page in length. Whereas Frank Zappa literally sprinkled a page with black notes, James Tanney found inspiration from the Koan tradition of Zen Buddhism, by making his composition a single note played as a fermata. Terry Riley made the music world shake on its foundations by submitting a page of music in C major. This caused a big scandal at the time, among those who composed avant-garde music. It was a little page of music that had huge consequences for the recent history of our music, one that could be threatening for the ruling class of composers. George Crumb s scores are, in themselves, works-of-art that should enthuse and enlighten both the performer and the public. The score functions here as intrinsic artwork. Stockhausen needed a circular form to realise his ideas aound a flexible score. At the invitation of the Cello Biennale and Slagwerk Den Haag, four young composers Brendan Faegre, Pete Harden, Hilary Jefferey and Genevieve Murphy and the old hand Martijn Padding have taken up the challenge of creating something special on a single page for four cellos and four percussionists, in other words for the Cello Band specially formed for this Biennale. The members of this band are four cellists Larissa Groenewald, Timora Roslar, Jelena Oc ic and Jeroen den Herder and Slagwerk Den Haag, whose members are: Pepe Garcia, Joey Marijs, Eric Monfort and Fedor Teunisse. Many composers are engrossed in the importance of music notation. How best can a composition idea be communicated? The development of music and its notation go hand in hand. Which solutions will these five composers choose for their One-Page Composition and how are they going to tackle the notation? The One-Page Compositions is a project that focuses on the art of composing and communicating. The aim is to give you an insight into this art form. The five One-Page Compositions will be exhibited during the festival. The One-Page Composition project came into being in collaboration with Slagwerk Den Haag, November Music, and the Performing Arts Fund [Fonds Podiumkunsten]. The five newly created one-page compositions can be heard within the framework of the Take Five series at the Bimhuis on Thursday 27 October at In addition, the One-Page Compositions can be heard at various moments and locations during the festival. 36 Martijn Padding 37

22 Get the most out of the Biennale Events free of Charge! There are many things going on in and around the Biennalel. In addition to the concerts, for which you have to buy an entrance ticket, many free-access events have been organized each day. You will find numerous cello-makers in the Muziekgebouw and there will also be a CD and sheet-music market. Make sure you don t miss out on the Lunch Concerts that will feature top talents from international conservatories, the Open-Stage performances, The Sound Lab, the Childrens concerts, the Hello Cello Orchestra and, after the evening concerts, the free concerts in the Cello Lounge. Read further to discover the full range of exciting activities that the Biennial has in store for you: Hello Cello Orchestra 160 children and youths from all over the Netherlands, all of them cellists in-the-making, have come together to form the Hello Cello Orchestra. They will give a concert in the Grote Zaal on Saturday afternoon, 22 October. Jazz musician Oene van Geel and cellist Emile Visser, together with the 160 members of the Hello Cello Orchestra will present Van Geel s new composition: HELLO CELLO for cello orchestra, solo cello and percussion. An excerpt of the music and an interview with Oene van Geel can be found on the Bienale website, under the button Hello Cello. Lunch and FRINGE Concerts The Cello Biennial 2016 expects groups of students from the following European conservatories: Düsseldorf, Lugano, Bern, Paris, Freiburg, Helsinki, Rostock, Stockholm, Basel and Groningen. They will give lunch concerts in the Bimhuis at or FRINGE concerts in the Kleine Zaal at Keep an eye on the festival notices and on the Biennale website for definitive details of the content of these events. Introduction to the Evening Concert on 27 October Before the evening concert on 27 October, the music journalist, Saskia Törnqvist, will give a preamble about this concert at in the Kleine Zaal. This concert features Rob Zuidam s new cello concerto with soloist Ivan Monighetti, and the cello concerto by Henri Dutillieux with Nicolas Alstaedt as soloist, both with the Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest. The Cello Lounge, XL Edition The best way to round off a day at the Cello Biennial and to learn out about the multi-functionality of the cello is to visit the Cello Lounge. This is the most creative platform for the cello. Every day, in the restaurant Zouthaven or in the Entry Hall, the Cello Lounge XL will present new sound-makers. Order a drink, sink into a sit-sack or onto an antique settee, and indulge in a day-dream but be prepared to have to sit on the edge of your chair! (see also pps 42-43). Festival market and the cello studios Top instrument and bow-makers the crème de la crème - will occupy the entry hall and foyer of the Muziekgebouw. The art of crafting new cellos and bows has always been strongly supported by the Cello Biennale Amsterdam. For this reason, the exhibition is restricted to newly-made instruments and bows and to the craftsmen who make and sell them. Next to the exhibition, studios have been created in the Entry Hall and Foyer Deck 1, where, throughout the festival, visitors can watch instruments being made. Gudrun Kremeier, Tanguy Fraval and Henk te Hietbrink will set up their studios in the Entreehal and those of Erik Buys, Stijn van Aerschot and Anne Grohman can be found on Foyer Deck 1. Compare and test new instruments and bows At different moments during the festival, cellos and bows made by the exhibiting cello-makers can be tried and compared. On Sunday 23 October, Pieter Wispelwey will play and compare new instruments in the Bimhuis at and on Friday 28 October at Gregor Horsch will try out new bows in the Kleine Zaal. The Kleine Zaal will be available to try out new cellos and bows ( ), and a daily Test on the Deck will take place on Foyer Deck 1 at 15.30, when one of the participating cello masters will play on several of the new cellos. The Cello Biennale 2016 in image and sound The Cello Biennale will be a theme on NPO Radio4 both before and during the festival. In the Radio4 programme Podium, a Radio 4 radio-and-video reporter will broadcast a daily report from the festival itself. The report can also be seen on the Radio 4 website. Omroep MAX, the media partner of the Biennale, will make four live broadcasts of evening concerts. - Sun 23 Oct 20:15: Orchestra of the 18 th Century - Mon 24 Oct. 20:15: Amsterdam Sinfonietta durft! - Tue 25 Oct. 20:15: Hemels Vuur - Thu 27 Oct. 20:15: Rotterdam Philharmonisch Orkest Throughout the festival, reporter Beitske de Jong and cameraman Nander Cirkel will make a daily report: the Biennale Journaal, which they will edit live on Foyer Deck 3. This Journaal can be seen daily on the information screen, on the Biennale website, on the Biennale YouTube channel and on the Biennale Facebook page. The television programme Podium Witteman, (Sundays 18.10, NPO2) will give plenty of attention to the Cello Biennale. Shortly before and also during the festival, Brava will broadcast unique images of previous concerts registered during the Cello Biennales of 2012 and 2014 and the Sneak Previews of 2013 and

23 Get the most out of the Biennale Read further Bach&Breakfast A fixed feature of the Cello Biennale are the six mornings that begin at hrs with one of Bach s Cello Suites, performed each time by another grand master of the cello. What a wonderful way to begin the day, with coffee or tea, a warm croissant, fresh juice and Bach! The suites will be played by Torleif Thedéen, Ivan Monighetti, Daniel Müller-Schott, Alisa Wellerstein, Gregor Horsch and Julian Steckel. The price of the breakfast is included in the ticket. The breakfast buffet opens at Take Five Take Five held each time at hrs is a series of concerts guaranteed to surprise and inform. These five unmissable concerts will acquaint you with the most interesting creative trends in today s cello world. They include: Russian Romantic and new music, a new music-theatre production, a swinging programme given by jazz quartet Zapp4 and the French virtuoso Jérôme Pernoo, a French-Dutch collaboration with Anton Mecht Spronk in a world première of a work by Guus Janssen and Jean-Guihen Quevras in a Dutch première of a cello concerto by Gilbert Amy, and the presentation of five One-Page Compositions by Slagwerk Den Haag and the Biennale Cello Band. Master classes How do you score a 9 instead of an 8, or a 10 instead of a 9? The master classes held at the Biennale are, of course, much appreciated by student participants, but they are also popular with the public. Fourteen top international soloists and teachers will give master classes to some of the most promising Dutch and foreign cello talents. The lessons take place simultaneously in the Kleine Zaal and in the Bimhuis over a period of seven days. An entrance ticket is required, but then you can move freely between the two locations. TAKE FIVE Agenda Sunday 23 October: Dolce Far Niente Monday 24 October: De Meester en Margarita Tuesday 25 October: Zapp4&Jérôme Pernoo Wednesday 26 October: Queyras, Amy, Spronk & Janssen Thursday 27 October: One Page Composition Project Concerts for Children, big and small For the youngest visitors to the Cello Biennale, cellist Michiel Weidner, bass-clarinetist Maarten Ornstein and voice artist Jeannine Valeriano have devised a new performance, Cello&Co (for everyone older than 4 yrs). During The Suleikas and the Mystery of the Sensitive String (for children up to 12 yrs), performed by the Suleika Trio, all sorts of unexpected things happen! There are comical scenes, surprise conjuring tricks, painful situations, some of the most beautiful music ever written for piano trio, and, amongst others, cellist and talented comedian, Pepijn Meeuws. A new collection of stories: Four Variations for Cello At the 2014 Cello Biennale the focus was to explore links between poetry and music. This resulted in an anthology containing ten new poems about the cello, each of them written by different prominent Dutch poets such as Remco Campert and Anna Enquist. For this Biennae, four famous Dutch writers have each been invited to write a short story. The result is a collection entitled Vier Variaties voor Cello, edited, as in 2014, by Mirjam van Hengel. The four story-tellers are Jan Brokken, Marente de Moor, Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer and Annelies Verbeke. The collection has been produced and published by Podium Publishers and the Public Library of Amsterdam (see also pps 24-29). Make Music! Cello Special, 8+ The Klankspeeltuin of the Muziekgebouw is a childrens playground that features a collection of brand-new, experimental, sound installations and instruments that can produce a wide range of sounds, from wonderful dark tones to crazy unexpected electronically distorted sounds. The playground also organizes workshops called Make Music! for children aged 8 yrs and over. During the Cello Biennale, these workshops will be devoted to the cello. Under the leadership of a cellist, groups of children will create a completely new piece of music. The children don t have to be able to read notes, play the cello or have experience with musical instruments: everyone can take part. But those who have their own cello can bring it along, or they can use one provided by the playground. During the workshops, the cello will also be linked with the instruments in the playground and with electronically repeated cello music, in a so-called loop station. When? The cello workshops will take place as follows: Sunday 23 October from to hrs Wednesday 26 October from to hrs Entrance fee: 8.50 per child. Each workshop can accommodate a maximum of 25 children. We advise you to reserve places in advance at the cash desk of the Muziekgebouw. Tip: Try combining a workshop for your children with an afternoon concert for yourself! 40 41

24 Seven unusual sound-makers on seven evenings in the Cello Lounge, from onwards. Cello Lounge XL Fri 21 Oct in Zouthaven: Karel Bredenhorst Sat 22 Oct in Zouthaven: Harald Austbø The Cello Lounge is the place where the tone is set. Order a drink, sink into a sit-sack and dream away that is, if the music will let you. You might have to sit on the edge of your seat, so to speak! The best way to round off a day at the Cello Biennale, and to experience the many possibilities offered by the cello, is to go to the Cello Lounge. If you are looking for the creative platform at this Biennale, this is where it is. Seven events, all free of charge, will be held there. Sun 23 Oct in Zouthaven: Jonas Pap, Red Limo String Quartet XL: Mon 24 Oct in Entreehal: Jörg Brinkmann XL: Tue 25 Oct in Entreehal: Maarten Vos The Cello Lounge will be Extra Large at this Biennale: in addition to the three lounges in restaurant Zouthaven with the cello innovators Harold Austbø and Karel Bredenhorst and the rock band of the string quartets Red Limo String Quartet with cellist Jonas Pap, four other XL-Cello-Lounge concerts have been planned to take place in the Entry Hall given by the most interesting experimental sound-makers of the moment. Maarten Vos, for many years the Kyteman cellist, enchants his public with a live mix of cello tones and often analogical electronics. There are few (pop) festivals in the Netherlands where he has not yet played. After winning the Netherlands Cello Contest in 2008, Amber Docters van Leeuwen went her own way. She went deeper into experimenting with the cello and with electronic sounds and began to create theatre music. She has recently been working with the Noord Nederlands Toneel [North Netherlands Theatre] on the very successful production, Borgen. Gross-Marinissen is the artistic name of cellist Katharina Gross and composer Arnold Marinissen. Marinissen s compositions are rooted in minimal music. Their music can be summarized briefly as minimal goes dance. The cellist Jörg Brinkmann comes from near the Dutch-German border, and is a well-known figure in the jazz world, but at the same time, he grasps every opportunity to research other worlds of sound. Together with singer Claron McFadden and the Artvark Saxophone Quartet, he will bring new music theatre to the Bimhuis at this Biennale. For an exciting evening in the Cello Lounge, he will bring the rapper, Abdelhadi Baaddi with him. XL: Wed 26 Oct in Entreehal: Gross-Marinissen XL: Thu 27 Oct in Entreehal: Amber Docters van Leeuwen 42 43

25 Top talents from all over the world come to the Cello Biennale Amsterdam Students around the World They come to Amsterdam in groups, often with their teacher who has been invited to take part in the Cello Biennale as a soloist. During this 6 th Biennale, three free lunch concerts and, at hrs, seven FRINGEconcerts will be devoted to performances from cello schools and conservatories worldwide. At these concerts, students will sometimes be heard as soloists or playing in cello ensembles and, on other occasions, playing with their teacher. Who is going to play what, when and where will be made known during the Biennale via the website and on the information screens in the Entry Hall. You can also refer to the programme displayed every day at the Biennale desk. During the last Cello Biennale, as chairman of the Anner Bijlsma Award Foundation, I had the honour of awarding a new international oeuvre prize to Anner Bijlsma, himself; the man after whom the prize is named. This prize, aimed at stimulating education and developing (cello) talent, was established to pay tribute, from time to time, to a person or organization rendering exceptional services to the cello or the cello repertoire. It is the laureate s prerogative to decide how the prize money of 50,000,- euros will be spent. Anner Bijlsma took his time in thinking what to do. With a dedication, as though he was conducting new research into the bowing of the Bach suites, he considered many possibilities and took careful note of the opinions of his wife Vera - violinist, Vera Beths -, his colleagues, and also Maarten Mostert and Johan Dorrestein of the Cello Biennale, whose initiative it was to establish the prize. Anner s creative spirit taught them a lesson in open-mindedness. He is a great believer in permanent education or rather one is never too Anner Bijlsma and his Award by Job Cohen old to learn. The aim of the prize is to facilitate talent development. However, taking that to mean young talent was, for Anner, a minor consideration. While not negating the satisfaction and enormous importance of supporting young talent, for him, researching the sources of cello playing and studying the fingering of early cello players, such as the 19 th century cellist Piatti as cellist, Job ter Haar does it - is just as important for the development of the cello. Alongside this, there are also a couple of exceptionally talented young cello players who have gained the Bijlsma hallmark, and whose development Anner is definitely going to sponsor. But, at the present time, developing talent also includes creating chances for young cellists by establishing links between the cello and other art forms such as theatre, literature, dance and film, by teaching them about programming and how to attract audiences. Anner agreed. Finally, he decided that the prize should be bestowed on a range of activities covering all the aims behind the prize. That Anner is a wise man! The following conservatories will be presented: Düsseldorf: Robert Schumann Hochschule, Gregor Horsch Lugano: Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana, Monika Leskovar Bern: Hochschule der Künste, Antonio Meneses Paris: Conservatoire National Supérieure, Jérôme Pernoo and Raphaël Pidoux Freiburg: Hochschule für Musik, Jean-Guihen Queyras Helsinki: Sibelius Academy, Martti Rousi Rostock: Hochschule für Musik, Julian Steckel Stockholm: Royal College of Music, Torleif Thedéen Bazel: Musik Akademie, Ivan Monighetti Groningen: Prins Claus Conservatorium, Jan-Ype Nota 44 Job Cohen presents Anner Bijlsma with the first Award 45

26 The National Cello Competition is part of the Cello Biennale Amsterdam. Dutch cello students or cello students of other nationalities who are studying in the Netherlands may enter this competition if they are younger than 27 years of age. The competition is organized in three rounds during which contestants are required to play before an international jury and the public. In the first round, on Friday 21 and Saturday 22 October contestants are required to play the Cello Sonata in B flat (G.565) by Luigi Boccherini and the assignment composition, Air for cello solo by Rob Zuidam. During the second round, on 25 October, six selected candidates three of them in the morning and three in the afternoon will play the Sonata no.4 in C for piano and cello, op. 102, no.1 by Ludwig van Beethoven, the 3rd and 4th movements of Ravel s Cello Sonata, and two self-chosen pieces: a solo piece (whole or part) composed after 1970 and a virtuoso piece for cello and piano. The final takes place on Friday 28 October. Three finalists compete with each other to gain the highest rating of the three performances of the 1st Cello Concerto in E flat by Dmitry Shostakovich, played together with the Symphony Orchestra of the Amsterdam Conservatory, conducted by Judith Kubitz. In the first two rounds, contestants play with their own accompanists or with one of the following contest accompanists: Geneviève Verhage, cello (Boccherini); Rosanne Philippens, violin (Ravel); Daniël Kramer, piano (Beethoven and the freechoice works for cello and piano). The members of the jury of the 6 th Netherlands Cello Competition are: Gregor Horsch (the Netherlands) Monika Leskovar (Croatia) Raphaël Pidoux (France) Martti Rousi (Finland) Julian Steckel (Germany) Pieter Wispelwey (the Netherlands) Jan Willem Loot (the Netherlands): chair secretary Patty Hamel The contest prizes are: First prize: 8,000.- Second prize: 6,000.- Third prize: 4,000.- Incentive prize: 2,000.- Public prize: 1,000.- Prize for best interpretation of the commissioned work: 1,000.- Solo concert with orchestra The First Prize Winner will be offered a solo concert by either the Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest or the Nederlands Kamerorkest. Sena Cello CD Prize The Sena Cello CD Prize is a new prize that enables the winner of the National Cello Competition to make a (debut) CD. The prize is donated by Sena. The Start in Splendor Prize The Start in Splendor * Prize gives the winner of the Netherlands Cello Competition the chance to put cultural entrepreneurship into practice on the professional stage. Following the successful approach adopted by Splendor Amsterdam the young musician becomes her/ his own programme-maker, business leader and publicity department. She/he will be coached by Splendor musicians and the staff of the Cello Biennale Amsterdam. The Start in Splendor project is financed by the Anner Bijlsma Award, the international prize for supporting young cello talent. *Splendor Amsterdam is one of the most beautiful working examples of cultural entrepreneurship. Splendor is a collective of 50 musicians, composers and stage artists, all of them with experience in presenting exceptional programmes and in attracting an audience. In 2013, they worked together to convert an old bath-house in the centre of Amsterdam into a cultural sanctuary. The Splendor musicians manage their own performance hall, do their own programming and take care of the publicity for their own concerts. Splendor is a breeding ground for unrestricted experimentation and try-outs. It s a place where stage artists inspire each other and where they inspire their public. Kronberg Academy Master-Class Prize The Kronberg Academy Master-Class Prize enables the three finalists to follow master classes at the Kronberg Academy in Germany, financed by the Academy. The Kronberg Academy is a string-players academy that coaches international top talent. It was founded 23 years ago and arose from master classes for the cello held under the patronage of the cellist Mstislav Rostropovich and the widow of Pablo Casals, Marta Casals-Istomin. Contestants: Alexander Warenberg (Nederland) Anastasia Feruleva (Rusland) Begonia Chan (Nieuw-Zeeland) Camillo Cabassi (Italië) Carlos Nicolás Alonso (Spanje) David Poskin (België) Dominique Bos (Nederland) Felicia Hamza (Duitsland) Iedje van Wees (Nederland) Irene Enzlin (Nederland) Jobine Siekman (Nederland) Kalle de Bie (Nederland) Melle de Vries (Nederland) Patrick Karten (Nederland) D Addario will donate a set of Kaplan Cello Strings to every contestant in the Netherlands Cello Contest The Netherlands Cello Competition is partly sponsored by the Prins Bernhard Cultuur Fonds, Sena, the SEC Foundation and the J.C.P. Foundation. The laureates will also be offered concerts in various concert series and festivals in the Netherlands. 29 October 2016, hrs: Cello Coupé, Grote Zaal, Muziekgebouw, Amsterdam 2 November 2016, hrs: Lunch Concert, Kleine Zaal, Het Concertgebouw, Amsterdam 20 November 2016, hrs: Theater de Veste, Delft 28 January 2017, hrs: Noorderkerk, Amsterdam February 2017: Start in Splendor, Splendor Amsterdam March 2017: Kamermuziekfestival, Schiermonnikoog July/August 2017: Wonderfeel, Grachtenfestival, Delft Chamber Music Festival 10 November 2017: Sneak Preview of the Cello Biennale Amsterdam 2018, Grote Zaal, Muziekgebouw, Amsterdam In addition, there will be concerts in De Flint/Sint Aegtenkapel (Amersfoort), Muziekgebouw, the Van Gogh Museum, the Tolhuistuin and the Concertgemaal (Amsterdam). The laureates will also be invited by friends of the Cello Biennale to give house concerts

27 advertisement 20 Thursday 20 October , Grote Zaal PRE-OPENING CONCERT Instant Happiness Via Berlin Cello8ctet Amsterdam: Sanne Bijker, Claire Bleumer, Karel Bredenhorst, Anne Korff de Gidts, Rares Mihailescu, Marcus van den Munckhof, Simon Velthuis, Lieselot Watté cello Dagmar Slagmolen director Jan Kuijken music Dieuweke van Reij costumes and scenography Robert van Delft sound Pim Veulings choreographical advice Instant Happiness Jan Kuijken is the ideal person to work on The Acting Cello, the theme of this festival. This is because, Kuijken is himself a cellist and a composer who, in addition to music for the concert hall (including, a string quartet for the famous Quatuor Danel, and many more) has a lot of experience in writing for dance and theatre performances. Moreover, he has regularly busied himself with the acting cello. For instance, he worked with the actress Marlies Heuer on the Double Concertino for cello, actress and loudspeakers in which he himself played the cello. In that performance, the actress, with her text and actions, entered into a dialogue with pre-recorded scraps of music, speech and sounds from the loudspeakers. Then the cellist did the same thing with his instrument, using speakers from which pre-recorded music could be heard. In Instant Happiness, the first movement of what, in the end, will probably be a triptych, Jan Kuijken and Dagmar Slagmolen (Via Berlin), together with Cello8ctet Amsterdam investigate the present-day urge to satisfy ones needs immediately. According to the German philosopher, Max Scheler, the existence of culture and civilization is due to our capacity not to pay immediate attention to primitive urges, but to delay them. At the present time, civilization often seems to be far away. Needs must be immediately satisfiable, and products should be available in large quantities and with lots of choice. Every imaginable sort of food or drink can be found at every street corner and stylish clothing is available in huge retail palaces, for next to nothing. This theatre performance is based on the fact that the obsessive demand for throw-away fashion, results in disgraceful working conditions in Asiatic clothing factories. How does this self-designed system of demand and supply, and the stifling power relationship, work? Why can t we escape from it? Can one do some good within a bad system? Or is the system stronger than free will? These are the main questions in this visual music performance, narrated by eight cellists with raw music and gripping choreographies. The above performance was originally produced for the Oerol Festival, held on the Friesian island of Terschelling. At a later date it was adapted for Theatre, and this will be the premiere of the theatre version. 49

28 Friday 21 October Friday 21 October ca , Grote Zaal NATIONAL CELLO COMPETITION First round Keep an eye on the website for the final schedule: Participants: Kalle de Bie Dominique Bos Camillo Cabassi Begonia Chan Irene Enzlin Anastasia Feruleva Felicia Hamza Patrick Karten Carlos Nicola s Alonso David Poskin Jobine Siekman Melle de Vries Alexander Warenberg Iedje van Wees Participants will be accompanied by: Genevie ve Verhage cello (Boccherini) Luigi Boccherini ( ) Sonate in B flat major, G Allegro moderato - Largo - Allegro Rob Zuidam (1964) Air for cello solo* (world premiere) uur, Entreehal Opening of the Cello Biennale Amsterdam , Grote Zaal Opening concert Antonio Meneses cello Pieter Wispelwey cello Biennale Cello Band: Larissa Groeneveld, Jelena Oc ic, Timora Rosler and Jeroen den Herder cello Slagwerk Den Haag: Pepe Garcia, Joey Marijs, Enric Monfort and Fedor Teunisse percussion Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest Nuno Coelho conductor Mayke Nas (1972) New composition (Biennale Cello Band & Slagwerk Den Haag, world premiere) Ernest Bloch ( ) Schelomo (Meneses) interval Eduard Lalo ( ) Cello concerto in D minor (Wispelwey) - Prelude: Lento Allegro maestoso - Intermezzo: Andantino con moto Allegro presto - Introduction: Andante Allegro vivace 22.45, Restaurant Zouthaven Cello Lounge Karel Bredenhorst cello 23.30, Bimhuis LATE CELLO NIGHT BartolomeyBittmann Matthias Bartolomey cello Klemens Bittmann violin and mandola Matthias Bartolomey and Klemens Bittmann use their instruments to depart from deeply rooted classical traditions by working together to find new directions. Their music has the spontaneity of improvisation and jazz with elements of rock, and their compositions include intimate ballads and fast up-tempo rhythms. Read Floris Kortie s interview on page 30. Antonio Meneses 50 * Composed to a commission from the Cello Biennale Amsterdam with financial support from the Performing Arts Fund NL (FPK) Pieter Wispelwey BartolomeyBittmann 51

29 Friday 21 October Friday 21 October The Netherlands Cello Competition - First Round In the First Round of the Netherlands Cello Competition, contestants were selected on the basis of a preliminary round, held on 29 June, during which they played a Prelude of a Bach suite, David Popper s Study, No. 29 and Tchaikovsky s Pezzo Capriccioso. During this First Round, every candidate will play a piece entitled Air, a piece specially composed for this occasion by Rob Zuidam and also the Sonata in B flat major by Boccherini. The majority of cello sonatas by Luigi Boccherini are early works, composed for he himself to play during his many tours, as proof of his formidable capacities as virtuoso cellist. However, the Sonata in B flat major for cello and bass, G.565 was probably composed at a somewhat later date, but with the same function as the earlier sonatas. That soon becomes obvious because, although there are two soloists sitting on the stage, it is clear that it is not a balanced duet that they are playing, but a cello sonata with an accompaniment. The accompaniment, which Boccherini calls basso, can be played on a cello, or on a double bass, or even on a keyboard instrument, as that was not exceptional in the 18 th century. Boccherini probably intended his sonatas to be played either by two cellos or by cello and double bass. That he was very satisfied with this sonata, is obvious, because anyone who listens to it carefully will recognise the first and last movements, as Boccherini used these again for his Cello Concerto in B flat major. Traditionally, in the First round of this competition, in addition to a work from the greatest cello player among the composers, Luigi Boccherini, there is always a new composition in the programme. In earlier editions of the Biennale, Theo Verbey, Wilbert Bulsink, Oene van Geel, Yannis Kyriakides and Micha Hamel composed the assignment work. This year, Rob Zuidam has written a composition for solo cello called Air. On Thursday 27 October another new cello concerto by Zuidam will be performed, composed for Ivan Monighetti and the Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest. Opening concert Mayka Nas likes to cause confusion a nice sort of confusion, though. Take her composition Anyone can do it for six completely unprepared players, not necessarily endowed with any particular musical talent. That s a scenario that appeals. It says something about me. Namely, that I want to live in a world in which people are allowed to do these sorts of strange things. And how about I Delayed People s Flights by Walking Slowly in Narrow Hallways for four players, four chairs and four strengthened blackboards with live electronica? But don t think that it s all a joke. You don t get assignments from the Concertgebouw Orchestra, Asko Schönberg or the Cello Biennale by telling jokes. For the Cello Biennale, Nas has written a new work for four cellos, percussion ensemble and orchestra. Accompanied by projections of images on a large screen, the theme of this Biennale - The Acting Cello, the cello as actor - is illustrated in a striking way. Ten reasons why Mayke Nas composes 1. to waste time on purpose 2. to look for problems 3. number fetishism 4. madness 5. promise 6. obsessional neuroses 7. sex, drink and baked goose liver 8. not good at anything else 9. an extraordinarily cheerful idea to loosely quote Stockhausen 10. to eliminate the need to sleep. Ernest Bloch Now what is typically Dutch? Tulips and wooden schoes? That s a bit kitsch. Cheese, herring and syrup waffles? Or would the Dutch East India Company (the VOC) and the Masters of the Dutch Golden Age be preferable? In the Netherlands, no one has ever come up with a completely coherent image of what exactly the Dutch culture embraces. The Dutch are perhaps too sober for that. Where Jean Sibelius gave Finland a national sound, and Edvard Grieg established the Norwegian key signature and where Béla Bartók found the true Hungarian sound, there was very little interest in the Netherlands for a Dutch musical style. Yes, brave attempts have been made by Cornelis Doppers in his Rembrandt Symphony and Bernard Zweers in To be in My Fatherland, but apart from cartouches at the Concertgebouw and street names in Amsterdam South, they have not led to much fame. It is even more troublesome when the country that you want to associate with, doesn t even exist. Jews lived scattered around the globe and assimilated the local culture wherever they went, to a greater or lesser extent. Nevertheless, or perhaps due to that, towards the end of the 19 th century there was a growing desire to strengthen Jewish culture in an attempt to connect the Chosen People with the modern world. New life was blown into the dead language, Hebrew, and ways of establishing a Jewish State were investigated. With these developments as background, the Jewish-Swiss, Ernest Bloch, composed a number of pieces between 1911 and 1915 that he called his Jewish cycle. The last and most iconic of this series is Schelomo, Hebrew Rapsody. For Schelomo, Bloch searched for a suitable language for a cantata based on the Bible story about King Solomon. French, German and English were unsuitable and his Hebrew was not good enough. Then Bloch met a musician who played so beautifully, that he realised he had found the voice of the storyteller. It was a voice that was universal, one that could sing without words: it was the voice of the cello! At the end of the 19 th century, Spanish music was in vogue in France. Some well-known compositions from that time are Liszt s Rapsodie Espagnole, Bizet s Carmen, Ravel s Rapsodie Espagnole and Debussy s Iberia. With his Symphonie Espagnole, which is, in fact, a violin concerto, Eduard Lalo was one of the first composers who took up this trend. Where did the fascination for Spain come from, one might ask? In the case of Lalo, it is said that his family background influenced him. Some people even call him a French-Spanish composer. But that s a bit exaggerated, as the Lalo family had already lived in Belgium and France for about three hundred years when Lalo began working on his Spanish symphony in No, in the first place, it was Pablo de Sarasate who inspired him. It was the virtuoso violinist/composer - the Spanish Paganini who bewitched Lalo. It was for him that he wrote his violin concerto. But even then, two years later, the sounds of Spanish are again present in his Cello Concerto in D minor, and that would have had little to do with de Sarasate. Had he then been influenced by his family ties, or was it his way of reacting to those critics who found his approach too German? As it is, there are things to hear that are much more interesting in his Cello Concerto than those Spanish tones. One example is the enormous power and urgency that radiates from this work. It speaks the language of flexed muscles, especially in the first and last movements. Another noticeable feature is that the cellist is never incorporated in with the orchestra.``if a soloist is invited onto a concert platform, then they must be given the leading role, and not treated as a soloist within the orchestra. If the concerto genre doesn t appeal to composers, then ask them to write symphonies instead, or something else for an orchestra, but don t let them irritate me with solo fragments that are constantly interrupted by the orchestra. Just as the concerto itself, Lalo speaks his mind: bursts of sound from the orchestra, virtuosity from the cellist and exceptionally rich melodies

30 22 Saturday 22 October 22 Saturday 22 October , Grote Zaal NATIONAL CELLO COmpetition First round (continued from Friday 21 October) and 12.30, Kleine Zaal Show for young children Cello&Co In cooperation with Splendor Amsterdam Michiel Weidner cello and cimbalom Maarten Ornstein bass clarinet and tárogáto Jeannine Valeriano voice Are you between 4 and 8 years of age? At Cello&Co everything is possible. Cello is friends with all sorts of instruments. Best of all, he likes to play with Bass Clarinet, Tárogáto and Cimbalom, with Hobby Horse and with the most beautiful instrument of all (after the cello): The Human Voice , Foyerdeck 1 NATIONAL CELLO COmpetition Announcement contestants second round , Bimhuis en Kleine Zaal MASTERCLASS Torleif Thedéen (Bimhuis) Antonio Meneses (Kleine Zaal) 16.15, Grote Zaal Hello Cello Orchestra 160 children and young people from all over the country play together in the Hello Cello Orchestra. Oene van Geel composer/conductor Emile Visser cello 19.00, Kleine Zaal FRINGE Students around the world Top talent from international conservatories 20.15, Grote Zaal Fantasía para Violonchelo y Flamenco in cooperation with the Flamenco Biennale Ella van Poucke cello Kian Soltani cello Rocío Ma rquez voice Derya Türkan kemençe Efrén López rabab, guitar Agustin Diassera percussion Leonor Leal dance Musical arrangements: Efrén López and Marijn van Prooijen A co-production of Flamenco Biennale Nederland and Cello Biennale Amsterdam 22.45, Restaurant Zouthaven Cello Lounge Harald Austbø cello 24.00, Grote Zaal (unseated, standing places) LATE CELLO NIGHT 2CELLOS Unplugged Luka Šulic cello Stjepan Hauser cello Dus an Kranjc percussion Ragazze Quartet: Rosa Arnold, Jeanita Vriens violin, Annemijn Bergkotte viola, Rebecca Wise cello Strings of the Conservatorium van Amsterdam A new programme, compiled especially for this Cello Biennale by Luka Šulić and Stjepan Hauser: 2CELLOS unplugged. `Reworked into a night concert given in a hall without chairs, the Croats entertain the public with Bach, Vivaldi, Rossini and who knows: Coldplay, AC/DC and Michael Jackson. Oene van Geel Emile Visser Cello&Co Hello Cello Orkest 2Cellos 54 55

31 Saturday 22 October Saturday 22 October Leonor Leal Derya Türkan Agustin Diassera Efrén López Fantasia para Violonchelo y Flamenco The above title gives an accurate description of the contents of this programme. It s a fantasy of flamenco-expert Ernestina van de Noort s Flamenco Biennale and of the Cello Biennale. Both festivals were founded in the same year and both link the traditional with the new with new music and new talent. If one could capture the expression of flamenco in the warm glow of the cello and if one could combine the talents of young, rejuvenating flamenco stars with those of young, adventurous top cellists, would that not ensure an extraordinary outcome? Fantasizing over that idea conjured up names, music was listened to, and it wasn t long before other lines of approach were being explored. The choice of the young flamenco star, Rocio Marquez, was made at the very beginning. Her voice, her presentation, and especially her musical adventurousness would combine and yet contrast beautifully with the classical work: the Suite for Cello Solo written by the Spanish composer Gaspar Cassadó ( ) that would form the back-bone of the programme. As a young boy, and already a protégé of the great Pablo Casals, Cassadó had composition lessons from Manuel de Falla and Maurice Ravel. With his unmistakably Spanish music, Cassadó s input was to enrich the cello repertoire, but he also wrote a lot for that most iconic of Spanish instruments, the guitar. His music provides the ideal link between the old and new songs of Rocio Marquez, on which the second part of the programme is focused. These songs range from pure, traditional flamenco to compositions written at a later date, or, as in the case of the Arabic styled, Como pas la Vida, to songs that hint back to the origins of flamenco. The third exciting input featured in this new programme is the chemistry that arises if young cellists, such as Kian Soltani and Ella van Poucke, are brought together with a percussionist such as Agustin Diassera and the kemenche player, Derya Türkan, and add to this the special role played by the rebab player, Efrén Lopez, who made many of the arrangements. Rocío Ma rquez is artist in residence of the upcoming Flamenco Biennale (13-29 January 2017). Fantasía para Violonchelo y Flamenco is the Opening Performance of the Flamenco Biennale (13 January) in the Doelen in Rotterdam and will be repeated on 14 January in Muziekgebouw Eindhoven and on 29 January in Muziekgebouw in aan 't IJ. Rocío Márquez 56 57

32 Sunday 23 October Sunday 23 October 09.30, Grote Zaal BACH&BREAKFAST Torleif Thedéen Johann Sebastian Bach ( ) Suite no. 5 in C minor, BWV Prélude - Allemande - Courante - Sarabande - Gavotte - Gigue , Bimhuis and Kleine Zaal MASTERCLASS Ivan Monighetti (Bimhuis) Martti Rousi (Kleine Zaal) 12.30, Bimhuis DE VERGELIJKING Cello makers Pieter Wispelwey tests new instruments made by the cello-makers whose cellos are on display during the Biennale , Grote Zaal Eight Lines Torleif Thedéen cello Antonio Meneses cello Timora Rosler cello José Gallardo piano Biennale Cello Band: Larissa Groeneveld, Jelena Očić, Timora Rosler and Jeroen den Herder cello Slagwerk Den Haag: Pepe Garcia, Ryoko Imai, Joey Marijs, Enric Monfort, Vitaly Medvedev and Fedor Teunisse percussion Samuel Barber ( ) Sonata for cello and piano in C major, opus 6 (Thedéen) - Allegro ma non troppo - Adagio - Allegro appassionato George Crumb (1929) Sonata for cello solo (Rosler) - Fantasia. Andante espressivo e con molto rubato - Tema pastorale con variazioni - Toccata. Largo e drammatico - Allegro vivace Heitor Villa-Lobos Bachianas Brasileiras no. 2 (Meneses) - Preludio (O Canto do Capadócio) - Aria (O Canto da Nossa Terra) - Tocata (O Trenzinho do Caipira) Steve Reich (1936) Eight Lines arr. Marijn van Prooijen (Slagwerk Den Haag, Biennale Cello Band) 17.00, Grote Zaal TAKE FIVE Dolce Far Niente Jan Bastiaan Neven cello Torleif Thedéen cello Kian Soltani cello Hans Eijsackers piano José Gallardo piano Henk Neven baritone Michail Glinka ( ) Lullaby Doubt Do not tempt me unnecessary (Neven and Neven) Alexander Borodin ( ) The beauriful girl does not love me anymore The beautiful fisher maiden Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ) The mild stars shone for us Night None but the lonely heart Alexander Raskatov (1953) Dolce Far Niente (Thedéen) Franghiz Ali-Zadeh (1947) Habil-sajahy (Soltani) uur, Kleine Zaal FRINGE Students around the world Top talent from international conservatories 20.15, Grote Zaal Orchestra of the 18 th Century Albert Brüggen cello Jérôme Pernoo cello Jean-Guihen Queyras cello Shunske Sato violin Orchestra of the 18 th Century Kenneth Montgomery conductor Robert Volkmann ( ) Cello concerto in A minor, opus 33 (Brüggen) Allegro moderato - Tranquillo - Più allegro - Allegro vivace - Tempo l Étienne-Nicolas Méhul ( ) Ouverture Ariodant Joseph Haydn ( ) Cello concerto no. 2 in D major, opus 101 Hob. Viib:2 (Pernoo) - Allegro moderato - Adagio - Rondo: Allegro interval Johannes Brahms ( ) Double concerto in A minor, opus 102 (Queyras en Sato) - Allegro - Andante - Vivace non troppo 22.45, Restaurant Zouthaven Cello Lounge Red Limo String Quartet: Sietse van Gorkom and Camilla van der Kooij violin, Rani Kumar viola, Jonas Pap cello 58 59

33 Sunday 23 October Sunday 23 October José Gallardo Torleif Thedéen Timora Rosler Kian Soltani Eight Lines His Adagio for Strings has climbed high on the classical hit lists, even though, in Europe, Samuel Barber s music is seldom heard. That s not the case in America, though. When Barber died in 1981, the critic, Donal Henahan, wrote the following: There has probably never been an American composer who was praised so early in life, so continuously and for so long as Samuel Barber. His fame began immediately after his teenage years, and his Dover Beach for baritone and string quartet and the overture for The School for Scandal hit the music world like a bomb. The Cello Sonata op.6, with its many romantic lyrics, followed shortly afterwards. For this reason, it has often been suggested that the young Barber was engrossed in discovering his adult style. However, that was not entirely true. Although Barber could not completely shake off the spell of the Brahms sonatas, it was mainly the instrument itself that elicited his lyrical and melodious response. Working in close collaboration with the cellist, Orlando Cole, Barber explored how best to extract this quality from the cello - and he succeeded formidably well. Although many people are familiar with Heitor Villa-Lobos wonderful Bachianas Brasileiras, No.5 for cello octet and soprano, the other eight suites in this series are less well-known. Each Bachianas has been written for a different set of instruments, ranging from just a flute and a bassoon (No. 6) to piano and a large orchestra (No. 3). Villa-Lobos tried to mix western classical music, and in particular the music of Bach, with warm-blooded swinging Brazilian music. Bachianas Brasileiras, No.2, originally for orchestra, consists of four movements, all of them based on earlier work. Titles such as Prelúdio and Tocata, suggest the influence of Bach, even though the sound of these pieces is predominantly Brazilian. For the first two movements, Lobos used two of his songs as the point of departure. For Dança, he picked up the piano piece Lembrança do Sertão again, and in Tocata he referred back to O Trenzinho do Caipira. Originally for cello and piano, he restructured that into a short symphonic poem full of sound effects, in which a little train climbs up the mountains, puffing and groaning, only to descend again at full speed. Just like Barber and Villa-Lobos, George Crumb, with his Sonata for Solo Cello refers back to the past in which pieces are called Sonata and movements Fantasia, Tema con variazioni and Toccata. Crumb doesn t draw his inspiration from either romantics or from Bach, but from Bartók s neoclassicism. However, that s not the case in more recent and more avant-garde pieces, such as Black Angels for electric string quartet. In the first movement, pizzicati make way for a meditative melody, but then, after an unsettled middle section, both the pizzicati and the meditative melody return once more. The second movement is a lulling Sicilienne, with three variations and a coda. In the middle of the closing movement, it seems as though the cellist is starting to practice his scales over and over again. The beginning and end of the movement form a sort of palindrome in which the musical elements at the beginning re-occur in reverse order at the end. Already, at the world premiere in 1979, performed by members of the Nederlands Blazers Ensemble and Reinbert de Leeuw, it looked as though something was going wrong arithmetically with Steve Reich s Octet. Not eight, but ten musicians were there on the stage. But it s not as crazy as all that. Reich wrote parts for two pianos, a string quartet and two woodwind instrumentalists who, in addition to the clarinet, also had to play bass clarinet, flute and piccolo! Leave the flute parts to the professionals, the clarinetists must have thought at the time, as they hastened to enlist the help of two flautists. However, it wasn t long before Reich noticed that the performers had to cope with other challenges as well. So he rewrote the piece for a new range of instruments two pianos, eight string instruments, and four wind players. This, however, could no longer be described as an octet, so Reich called it Eight Lines. In this way, despite the new, larger, range of instruments, Reich retained his idea of an eight-part composition. It s thoroughbred minimal music: a piano part in 5/4 time that s continually repeated and either emphasized by long notes from the string and wind players, or supplemented by fragments of the piano part. Everything is in a continual state of change, but as soon as the listeners become gripped by the robust cadence, they will hardly notice. The arrangement for the Biennale Cello Band and Slagwerk Den Haag was made by Marijn van Prooijen

34 Sunday 23 October Sunday 23 October Dolce Far Niente Some words are impossible to translate the Dutch word gezelligheid and the Spanish duende, for example; or the Russian word taskà. Nabokov had this to say: at its deepest and most painful, taskà is a sensation of overwhelming spiritual anxiety, often for no particular reason. At a somewhat less morbid level, the word describes a dull pain in the soul, an unfocused desire, a vague restlessness or nostalgia strong enough to make one feel ill. In most cases, this boils down to a desire for something or someone: love pangs, nostalgia, or boredom. If stricken by a heavy attack of taskà, the better romanticists will not rush to the bottle in an attempt to forget all their troubles as quickly as possible, but will first wallow in it a bit, and derive some enjoyment from the bittersweet, but deadly-serious, sorrow. Then it s typically Russian! Enriching a song by adding a cello part is a wonderful discovery that the Russians, in particular, were very fond of putting into practice. The majority of these songs, composed by, for instance, Mikhail Glinka (Lullaby, Doubt, Don t Tempt Me), Alexander Borodin (The Pretty Girl No Longer Loves Me, (The Beautiful Fisher Maiden), and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (The Soft Stars Shone for Us, Non but the Lonely Heart) were all supplied with a cello part by the composer. A number of other songs were also given cello parts by anonymous Russian arrangers, to give them a bit more taskà. The Russian composer Alexander Raskatov has a special link with the Netherlands. In 2003, Dutch television made a documentary about this composer, at a time when preparations were being made for the world premiere of his viola concerto Path-Put- Chemin-Weg that would be performed by Yuri Bashmet and the Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest, conducted by Valery Gergiev. The world premiere of Alphabet of Death, that he composed later for Dutch television, took place at the Muziekgebouw aan het IJ in Amsterdam in 2011, and the premiere of his cello concerto for David Geringas and Asko Schönberg took place during the Cello Biennale of However, his greatest success was the world premiere of his opera A Dog s Heart performed at the main Amsterdam opera house, Het Muziektheater, in Today, there will be no premiere, but an old work - a key work, nevertheless, because the title Dolce Far Niente relates, in this case, not only to the typical Italian aptitude for doing nothing, but mainly to a change in Raskatov s composing that, up to that time, had had a strongly modernist character. Now, his work had to be much less complicated and the form of his compositions had to be more relaxed: a static non-action, as he himself describes. With music reminiscent of the innocence and carefreeness of his youth, Raskatov seeks to escape from serious, academic music-making. This is why, in many of his pieces, Raskatov writes for instruments reminiscent of childhood. We can also identify youthfulness in Dolce Far Niente. Both performers ring little bells and the pianist also has to whistle. The music comes from nothing and is built up gradually, using motives and fragments of a naïve and childish character that are then strengthened by the little bells and that whistling. Doing nothing is quite an art form! The Azerbaijani composer Frenghiz Ali-Zadeh is musically bilingual. She is fluent in western composition techniques, in particular those of the Second Viennese School, and also in her musical mother language: mugham. This latter is a very complex musical style, based on different modes. In mugham, improvisation is very important, but within a strict framework. Since 2003, mugham has been protected by UNESCO World Heritage. In Habilsajahy, Ali-Zadeh has combined the two musical worlds. Cupo, quasi niente, meaning dark, almost nothing is given at the head of the music to indicate the tempo to be used. It is clearly another sort of niente compared with Raskatov s carefreeness. The cello emerges very slowly from the dark nothingness. The piano, mainly played in an unorthodox fashion, is given an unpretentious, mainly rhythmical, role. This composition will be played by the young Iranian- Austrian cellist, Kian Soltani, one of Ivan Monighetti s students, the cellist for whom Ali-Zadeh wrote Habilsajahy. Albert Brüggen Henk Neven Jan Bastiaan Neven Jérôme Pernoo Shunske Sato 62 63

35 23 Sunday 23 October Lees nu 2 weken gratis Reageer snel via Bezorging stopt automatisch Orchestra of the 18 th Century Those of you who have ever heard a recording of Bach s St Matthew Passion conducted by Willem Mengelberg will understand why the younger generation of musicians in the 1960s wanted a change of course. Away with an excessive number of instruments, turgidly slow speeds and modern instruments, and back to the instruments, tempo and approach that the composer had in mind. Names such as Kuyken, Harnoncourt, Leonhardt, Koopman and Brüggen have brought Baroque music back to life. And why stop at Bach? It s a small step to Mozart, and then the 18 th century is just round the corner. But it usually stops with the Romantic Movement. After all, the modern orchestra is a 19 th century discovery. Nevertheless, the difference in sound between the natural horn (Brahms favourite) and the French horn, that seems to have been made for a Star Wars overture, is enormous. And what should we think of gut strings, and wooden traverse flutes instead of metal ones? The Orchestra of the 18 th Century will gladly remove the dust from Haydn for you, dish up fairly unknown (Early) Romantic composers and offer you a thoroughly revised interpretation of Brahms. Robert Volkmann is often referred to as the missing link between Brahms and Schumann. The word missing is appropriate, because his name is missing from both history books and from concert programs. That is strange, because Liszt was a great fan of Volkmann, and Brahms was a good friend. But just as importantly, audiences loved his music, and talked about him in the same breath as they would talk about Beethoven. His Cello Concerto in A minor, op. 33 from 1853 was even more popular than those of Schumann and Haydn. It was also David Popper s favourite concerto. This is a powerful piece, precise and refined, written in sonata form, in one movement. Why then did it slip out of the public eye? Researchers have not yet found the answer. With the Overture Ariodant by Étienne Méhul, the orchestra keeps nicely within the boundaries set by its name: the premiere of the opera took place in Paris in October Méhul was the most important composer during the French Revolution and the first opera composer to be called a romanticist. As a direct predecessor and as a source of inspiration for composers such as Berlioz and Weber, Méhul s influence was very strong. In the Overture Ariodant, the cello section has an important role to play. In fact, Méhul was one of the composers who emancipated the cello and gave it its own voice. After two outsiders, a classic favourite: Joseph Haydn s Cello Concerto No.2 in D major wellloved and often played. It s easy to forget that, in his time, it was a novelty to let the cello play the melody rather than the bass line, and also to let it play at a height more suitable for the violin. Add to this double stopping and other technical difficulties, cut a few centimetres off the neck of the cello (cellos in Haydn s time were a bit shorter) and the result was amazing. In the year that Volkmann composed his Cello Concerto, Robert Schumann, Albert Dietrich and the young Johannes Brahms decided to give their new friend Joseph Joachim a very special present. Together, they composed a violin sonata for him, with each composer writing one movement. But the common overall theme had to provide some unity. This theme consisted of the notes F-A-E, which stood for Joachim s very romantic motto: Frei Aber Einsam [Free but lonely]. And, of course, immediately on completion, Joachim, a famous violinist, had to play the sonata, with Clara Schumann at the piano. Joachim knew immediately who had written each part. It was the beginning of a nice friendship. Thirty-five years later, however, the sphere had changed. By then, Joachim was divorced. Brahms made the mistake of siding with the former Mrs Joachim. That cooled their relationship. Although Brahms a man of unwavering morals would not go back on his expression of sympathy, he tried, nevertheless, to patch up his valued friendship with Joachim by returning to Joachim s motto and using it to write the Concerto for Violin and Cello in A minor. Together with the two wonderful Cello Sonatas it is the only reason why we can, grudgingly, forgive Brahms for never having written a cello concerto. For a time, both critics and the public had difficulties getting used to the shared spotlight for the two soloists. Has this piece been relegated to the Baroque Concerti Grossi? Or was it more likely a continuation of the line of thought that Brahms began in his Second Piano Concerto? However, while that concerto is more like a symphony with piano, the emphasis in this double concerto seems to be more directed towards playing together, almost like chamber music. Significantly, this was Brahms final orchestral work. From then onwards, he only wrote songs, piano music, and chamber music. 65

36 Monday 24 October Monday 24 October 09.30, Grote Zaal BACH&BREAKFAST Ivan Monighetti Johann Sebastian Bach ( ) Suite no. 1 in G, BWV Prélude - Allemande - Courante - Sarabande - Menuet - Gigue , Bimhuis and Kleine Zaal MASTERCLASS Jérôme Pernoo (Bimhuis) Gregor Horsch (Kleine Zaal) 12.30, Bimhuis LUNCH CONCERT Students around the world Top talent from international conservatories 14.15, Grote Zaal Kreutzer Sonata Jelena Očić cello Pieter Wispelwey cello Ivan Monighetti cello José Gallardo piano Paolo Giacometti piano Claudio Martínez Mehner piano Leoš Janáček ( ) Pohadka (Očić) Franz Schubert ( ) Fantasie in C major, D. 934 opus 159 (Wispelwey) - Andante molto - Allegretto - Andantino - Allegro - Allegretto - Presto Ludwig van Beethoven ( ) Violin sonata No. 9 in A major, op. 47 Kreutzer sonate (Monighetti, arr. Carl Czerny) - Adagio sostenuto - Presto - Andante con variazioni - Presto 17.00, Grote Zaal TAKE FIVE The Master and Margarita premiere A visual musical performance about how evil takes over a city Maya Fridman cello Kian Soltani cello Creative Performance Lab, masterstudenten van het Conservatorium van Amsterdam: Lizzie Hetherington, Tatiana Rosa, Leire Ruiz, Nanna Ikonen, Leo Grimaudo, Vitaly Vatulya, Xavier Boot and Carla Regio Dagmar Slagmolen director 19.00, Kleine Zaal FRINGE Students around the world Top talent from international conservatories 20.15, Grote Zaal Amsterdam Sinfonietta dares! Raphaël Pidoux cello Daniel Müller-Schott cello Julian Steckel cello Amsterdam Sinfonietta Candida Thompson violin and leader Olli Mustonen conductor Franz Schubert ( ) Arpeggione sonate in A minor, D. 821 (Pidoux, arr. Roland Pidoux) - Allegro moderato - Adagio - Allegretto Claude Debussy ( ) Cellosonate in D minor (Müller-Schott, arr. Jorge Bosso) - Prologue: Lent, sostenuto e molto resoluto - Sérénade: Modérément animé - Finale: Animé interval Anton Bruckner ( ) Adagio from the String Quintet in F major Robert Schumann ( ) Fünf Stücke im Volkston opus 102 (Steckel, arr. Mladen Miloradovic) - Mit Humor - Langsam - Nicht zu schnell, mit viel Ton zu spielen - Lebhaft - Stark und markirt Olli Mustonen (1967) Sonata for cello and chamber orchestra (Müller-Schott, arr. Olli Mustonen) - Misterioso - Andantino - Precipitato - Con vision 22.45, Entreehal Cello Lounge XL Jörg Brinkmann cello Abdelhadi Baaddi human beatboxer 66 67

37 Monday 24 October Monday 24 October Kreutzer Sonata Leos Jana ček was a late-developer. After years of small successes and larger flops, it was the performance in Prague of his opera Jenu fa that gave him a definitive breakthrough. Janáček was then 62 years of age. This stimulated a period of enormous creativity, during which he finally shook off the romantic influences of Dvor ák and Smetana and developed a completely new style of his own. He wrote Pohádka after his successful opera Jenu fa, but before that opera had gained success. These were very frustrating years for Janáček, because he realized all too well that he had far outgrown the status of a provincial organ teacher, but he had difficulty in convincing the Prague opera of that fact - not to mention the rest of the world. For Pohádka, a piece that is similar in many ways to the piano cycle On an overgrown path, he drew inspiration from a folk tale full of magic and hocus-pocus. In three movements we hear how Prince Ivan and Princess Maria fall in love (Con moto), how they overcome hindrance and opposition (the second Con moto) and finally, as with all good folk tales, how they live long and happily ever afterwards (Allegro). To quote Mischa Spel s succinct remark: Schubert is like Mozart. His music seems simple, but the simplicity conceals the complexity. This is why the Fantasia in C for violin and piano is such a notable exception in Franz Schubert s work, because although one can say many things about this composition, it is not simple. On the contrary, ever since the premiere, the critics have been in agreement about that. But what does Schubert do to make the piece so complicated? We don t have to puzzle over why. It was deliberate because, whereas for Schubert, every florin counted, the virtuoso composer-violinist Niccolò Paganini was swimming in wealth. In an attempt to capture a share of the popularity enjoyed by the virtuosos of his time, For once, Schubert went to great lengths to impress. He pulled out all the stops to allow both the pianist and the violinist to excel. Unfortunately for the Fantasia, without the intended effect: the public including the critic walked out of the concert hall, uninterested, halfway through the performance. Poor Schubert! The Fantasie has one movement, divided into four sections: a slow opening in C, followed by a fast section full of Hungarian verve. This is followed by variations on the melody of his own song Sei mir gegrusst, the central point of the composition as far as the length of the piece is concerned, because the sphere is more joyful than we are used to hearing in the work of the late, tormented, Schubert. The last section is just as lively, but more wild. It is spectacularly difficult for the violin; not to mention the cello! Above the violin sonata, that we know as the Kreutzer Sonata, Ludwig van Beethoven wrote the words: Sonata mulattica composta per il mulatto Brischdauer, gran pazzo e compositore mulattic. But Rudolph Kreutzer, the person to whom this sonata is dedicated, was not a Mulat (a half-blood). The explanation is that Beethoven didn t compose this piece for Kreutzer, but for George Polgreen Bridgewater, a famous virtuoso violinist of mixed parentage, Polish and West Indian. Beethoven heard him playing during a visit to Vienna and, very impressed, decided to compose a sonata for him. Beethoven and Bridgewater played the piece at a public recital, without even rehearsing it. For Bridgewater, especially, that was an incredible achievement although, of course, we have no idea how it sounded! After this recital, the composer and the virtuoso went to a tavern, where Bridgewater insulted one of Beethoven s lady friends reason enough for the irritable composer to immediately eliminate Bridgewater s name from the manuscript. Beethoven then re-dedicated the composition to Rudolph Kreutzer, who was considered to be the greatest violinist of his time. Kreutzer studied the piece, found it unplayable, and never performed it. Since then, history has caused the balance to veer in Beethoven s direction: because, whereas the Kreutzer Sonata has long been a favourite with musicians and the public, the name of Rudolph Kreutzer is usually only to be found in a foot note. Kian Soltani en Maya Fridman Amsterdam Sinfonietta Julian Steckel Daniel Müller-Schott 68 69

38 Monday 24 October Monday 24 October The Master and Margarita In the Netherlands, the book The Master and Margarita by Michail Bulgakov has a certain cult status. Many Russians consider it to be the best book ever written. Bulgakov s book is a humorous, biting critique of the Soviet regime, written during the tyrannical years under Stalin. It s a fable and a love-story, rolled into one. The book is stuffed with characters from, and referring to, the Bible, Pushkin, Faust and the daily reality of Russia under Stalin. Knowing that he would never be able to publish the book, Bulgakov wrote without constraint about censorship, the secret service and punishment; themes that are still very relevant today. Artistic director, actress, theatre-maker and cellist, Dagmar Slagmolen has devised a visual musictheatre performance about how evil takes control of a city. Refined and seductive, and very relevant at the present time. Based on Bulgakov s masterwork, the cello is given a prominent role: it s task is to represent a central point of purity, beauty and femininity something that evil cannot reach. Something that surmounts evil, but which, by doing so, becomes even more desirable. The young Russian cellist, Maya Fridman is cut out for this role. Kian Soltani is the devil. In Dagmar Slagmolen s performances, music is always the main narrator. For this performance, she has chosen music from the Russian world-repertoire. The ensemble is made up of Master students from the Conservatorium of Amsterdam. See the article 'Manuscripts don't burn' by Saskia Törnqvist on pag. 12. THE D ADDARIO ORCHESTRAL FAMILY IS PROUD TO SUPPORT THE 2016 CELLO BIENNALE AMSTERDAM Amsterdam Sinfonietta dares! The arpeggione, an instrument somewhere between the cello and the guitar, is more or less extinct. It s not the only one either: who has ever heard of the baryton or the chalumeau? A new instrument often fell into disuse due to a lack of qualitative repertoire, or because the person who developed the instrument had no reputation in the music world. Neither of these factors is true in the case of the arpeggione: the builder, Staufer, was famous and Franz Schubert s Sonata in A minor, D821 is not only a fantastic piece for the arpeggione, it is one of his best chamber-music compositions. No, the short-comings of the arpeggione lie in the instrument itself. Its tone is thin and nasal, never to become warm and full - a `must in the Romantic Movement. The outbreak of war, on the one hand, and his intestinal cancer, on the other, completely paralysed Claude Debussy s artistic capacities. In 1915, during a short period of returned inspiration, he began to work on a series of six sonatas for different instruments. For Debussy these sonatas meant: returning to basics, to the classical form, and to the purest music. That was necessary, after years of fighting against the established order. You must realise, dear friend, that I haven t been able to write music for almost a year. I ve almost had to learn all over again how to do it. For me, it was a discovery, and I found that even more beautiful than I did earlier on! Is that because I have been prevented from doing it for so long? I don t know. There is such beauty in pure music Debussy died halfway through this sonata project, so there is no sonata for oboe, horn and harpsichord in this series, as Debussy had planned. However, he wrote the Cello Sonata. It s not for me to gauge its quality, but I love its proportions and form; almost classical, in the good sense of the word. Anton Bruckner, the composer of a powerful oeuvre, full of depth, suave, refined, was completely unworldly as a person. Half idiot, half God was how Mahler described his teacher. Each of Bruckner s symphonies are cathedrals of sound and they form the core of his oeuvre, with a substantial pile of music for choir and orchestra alongside. The String Quintet in F major is like an edelweiss flowering between those orchestral mountain tops. Many people refer to it as a symphony for five string players. That is ridiculous! Where Bruckner composed his symphonies as though he was sitting behind a large organ, pulling open registers of mighty brass, sultry strings, or sweet-sounding woodwind instruments, this quintet by contrast is real chamber music. It s not a mini-symphony, but intimate, heavenly music. Medical historians are not completely decided as to which brain disease Robert Schumann suffered from but everyone agrees that there was something seriously wrong with him. Extreme mood changes, anxiety, hearing voices in his head led, in the end, to an unsuccessful suicide attempt. After that Schumann was taken away to languish in a mental institution. Although his mental illness was, of course, a personal disaster for the composer and for those around him, it is a blessing for us. There were times when Schumann could not put pen to paper, but during a hypomanic period he carried on working almost continuously, and full of inspiration, for months on end. Each work was completed within three to four days, and before the ink had dried, he started on the next opus. That can t be healthy. Usually that sort of activity heralded a breakdown. Strangely enough, there is no hint of mania, mood changes or a threatening breakdown in the Fünf Stücke im Volkston, op.102: Schumann seems to be more balanced and relaxed than ever. The human spirit continues to be just one big puzzle This year, Olli Mustonen, was nominated for a Grammy award, as pianist, but he is also a highly respected conductor and a high-ranking composer. Olli Mustonen is a rare multi-talent. In 2006, he wrote the Sonata for cello and piano for Daniel Müller-Schott, a former child-prodigy from Germany. Since then, Mustonen has re-worked his cello sonata into a version for cello and strings, flute, oboe, (bass)clarinet, (contra) bassoon and harp. So now he has cut his own instrument out of the composition altogether. Not that the piano had played a dominant role in the first place, because it is the cello that occupies the shining middle point of the composition. The piano s task and so now that of the orchestra is mainly to accompany the cello. A hint of fellow countryman, Sibelius, wonderful cantilena passages for the cello, exciting rhythms and almost symphonic explosions of sound make this sonata a much loved composition by musicians and the public alike. Be surprised by what a warm coat of strings, wind and harp can do for this Finnish sonata. 71

39 Tuesday 25 October Tuesday 25 October 09.30, Grote Zaal BACH&BREAKFAST Daniel Müller-Schott Johann Sebastian Bach ( ) Suite no. 3 in C major, BWV Prélude - Allemande - Courante - Sarabande - Bourrée - Gigue and , Grote Zaal NATIONAAL CELLO COmpetition Second round Participants will be accompanied by: Daniël Kramer piano Rosanne Philippens viool Ludwig van Beethoven ( ) Sonata no. 4 in C major for piano and cello, opus 102, no. 1 - Andante Allegro Vivace - Adagio Allegro Vivace Maurice Ravel ( ) Sonata for violin and cello 3 rd movement, lent and 4 th movement, vif Solo piece, or part of it, by choice, written after 1970 Virtuoso piece for cello and piano 19.00, Kleine Zaal FRINGE Students around the world Top talent from international conservatories 20.15, Grote Zaal Heavenly Fire Gregor Horsch cello Monika Leskovar cello Martti Rousi cello Nicolas Altstaedt cello Saeko Oguma viola José Gallardo piano Biennale Cello Band: Larissa Groeneveld, Jelena Očić, Timora Rosler en Jeroen den Herder cello Aurélien Pascal cello Bruno Philippe cello Lucie Chartin soprano Drew Santini baritone Cappella Amsterdam Daniel Reuss conductor Galina Grigorjeva (1962) Prayer (Horsch) new version for cello and mixed choir Santa Ratniece (1977) Fuoco Celeste (Leskovar) Jean Sibelius ( ) Malinconia opus 20 (Rousi and Gallardo) Ēriks Ešenvalds (1977) In Paradisum (Altstaedt and Oguma) Martti Rousi Gregor Horsch Nicolas Altstaedt Monika Leskovar interval 16.30, Foyerdeck 1 NATIONAAL CELLO COmpetition Announcement finalists 17.00, Grote Zaal TAKE FIVE Zapp4&Jérôme Pernoo Jérôme Pernoo cello Zapp4: Jasper le Clercq, Jeffrey Bruinsma violin, Oene van Geel viola, Emile Visser cello Gabriel Fauré Requiem (arr. Jacobus den Herder) - Introitus et Kyrie - Offertorium - Sanctus - Pie Jesu - Agnus Dei - Libera Me - In Paradisum 22.45, Entreehal Cello Lounge XL Maarten Vos cello 72 73

40 25 Tuesday 25 October JAZZ / WORLD / IMPRO DIT NAJAAR O.A. ZA 22 OKT JUSTIN KAUFLIN TRIO ZO 23 OKT URI CAINE TRIO FEAT. MARK HELIAS & CLARENCE PENN WO 26 OKT DINO SALUZZI GROUP VR 28 OKT MARC RIBOT CERAMIC DOG ZA 29 OKT BEN VAN GELDER AMONG VERTICALS ZO 30 OKT JOHN BEASLEY SOLO ZO 30 OKT BOI AKIH LIQUID SONGS MA 31 OKT JOHN SCOFIELD COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN WO 2 NOV STEVE LEHMAN OCTET DO 3 NOV ROY DACKUS INCEPTION FEAT. ALEX SIPIAGIN VR 4 NOV RUDRESH MAHANTHAPPA BIRD CALLS ZA 5 NOV 10 JAAR CLAZZ MUSIC ZO 6 NOV SALIF KEITA ZO 6 NOV DONNY MCCASLIN QUARTET MA 7 NOV MONDAY MATCH DANCE & MUSIC IMPRO LAB WO 9 NOV BASSEKOU KOUYATÉ & NGONI BA DO 10 NOV JAKOB BRO TRIO FEAT. JOEY BARON, THOMAS MORGAN VR 11 NOV BRAD MEHLDAU / JOSHUA REDMAN ZO 13 NOV BIG BAND KONINKLIJK CONSERVATORIUM O.L.V. DARCY JAMES ARGUE MA 14 NOV AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE QUARTET WO 16 NOV THE EX TRIBUTE TO GETATCHEW MEKURIA DO 17 NOV LUC EX MUSIC OF INEVITABLE SOUNDS VR 18 NOV AZIZA: HOLLAND/POTTER/LOUEKE/HARLAND ZA 19 NOV MICHAEL MOORE QUARTET ZO 20 NOV THE NECKS 30TH ANNIVERSARY WO 23 NOV OMER KLEIN TRIO DO 24 NOV PLOCTONES ZA 26 & ZO 27 NOV PRINSES CHRISTINA JAZZ CONCOURS MA 28 NOV KONRAD KOSELLECK BIG BAND VR 2 DEC BENJAMIN HERMAN & ROBIN NOLAN ZA 3 DEC LEE KONITZ & JEFF DENSON TRIO ZO 4 DEC MARK TURNER QUARTET FEAT. AVISHAI COHEN (TR), JOE MARTIN, DAMION REID WO 7 DEC UITREIKING BUMA BOY EDGAR PRIJS DO 8 DEC NATE WOOLEY QUINTET VR 9 DEC COLOMBIA FESTIVAL ZA 10 DEC ALFIE RYNER ZO 11 DEC ANA MOURA DO 15 DEC LAMA TRIO & JOACHIM BADENHORST VR 16 DEC SPOKEN BEAT NIGHT DO 22 DEC HERMINE DEURLOO & REMBRANDT FRERICHS, JULIAN SARTORIUS, JÖRG BRINKMANN VR 23 DEC DAVID KWEKSILBER BIG BAND WO 28 DEC FAMILIECONCERT MILE(S)TONES DO 29 DEC ALL ELLINGTON ZA 31 DEC OUD & NIEUW CONCERT VR 6 JAN MAARTEN HOGENHUIS TRIO WO 11 JAN STEFANO BATTAGLIA TRIO DO 12 JAN MAKAYA MCRAVEN ZA 14 JAN FAY CLAASSEN LUCK CHILD DO 19 JAN SONS OF KEMET VR 27 JAN CRAIG TABORN SOLO VR 3 FEB BRUUT! ZA 4 FEB DAVID KWEKSILBER BIG BAND DO 9 FEB JEROEN VAN VLIET MOON TRIO VR 10 FEB CATRIN FINCH & SECKOU KEITA ZA 18 FEB QUINTESSENTIAL LOUIS HAYES 80TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION BAND DO 23 FEB PABLO HELD TRIO DO 2 MRT ZHENYA STRIGALEV NEVER GROUP VR 3 MRT THE GLOAMING VR 3 MRT AVAILABLE JELLY ZO 5 MRT CROSS LINX VR 17 MRT THEO BLECKMANN ZO 19 MRT CHRIS LIGHTCAP S BIGMOUTH DO 6 APR KRIS DAVIS TRIO DO 11 MEI ALEX SIMU QUINTET ECHOES OF BUCHAREST ZA 20 MEI IVO PERELMAN & MATTHEW SHIPP ZA 17 JUN DAVID KWEKSILBER BIG BAND VOLLEDIGE AGENDA OP The Netherlands Cello Competition - Second round Of the five cello sonatas that Ludwig van Beethoven composed, the Fourth Cello Sonata is the most enigmatic. It is introvert and has intangible spirituality, qualities already evident in the opening bars. The piece begins reluctantly, as though someone is walking gropingly in the dark, across a room, trying not to bump into anything. Slowly, this first movement gains stature with a more outspoken, though short, Allegro vivace and, by comparison, an even more unfathomable Adagio. Every time Beethoven comes a step closer, he seems to shrink back again. The same applies to the Allegro vivace. Even towards the end, Beethoven surprises the listener, because, after a series of false closing passages, only in the very last bar does it become clear that the piece has really ended. It was the First World War that probably left France with the biggest scars in its history. Every hamlet still has its well-kept monument to all the local people who died. The war haunted Maurice Ravel, giving Heavenly Fire The music of present-day Baltic composers has a character very much of its own. It is predominantly characterized by heavenly sounds, a preference for choirs and minimal harmonic development. Frits van der Waa remarked in the Volkskrant that: The Soviets, who occupied the Baltic States for half a century, would have nothing to do with anything spiritual. Not surprisingly, this triggered a reaction. To understand the music from the Baltic States you need to realize that religion offered an eternal and deeply penetrating buttress to a repressive existence. The musical equivalent of that deeply-rooted belief is a trust, equally as strong, in the key-note system. In contrast to the most famous composers from Bach to Mahler, there are hardly any key changes or modulations, to use the professional term in the music of Arvo Pärt and Tolvo Tulev. Prayer from the Ukrainian-Estonian composer, Galina Grigorieva was written in 2007, but this programme features the premiere of a version for mixed choir and solo cello, specially re-worked for this Biennale. Latvia has a very strong song and choir tradition. Riga-born Ēriks Es envalds is especially wellknown in the choir world. In 2012, he composed In Paradisum for choir, cello and viola as an In Memoriam for his grandmother, who died at 90 years of age. him a huge sense of powerlessness. Physically, he was considered too small and lightweight for the army, so, during the war, he worked as an ambulance driver, but that didn t last for long. The only thing he could do was to compose music. Ravel composed many homages, some long after the war had ended, but not only for war victims. He composed his Sonata for Violin and Cello in memory of Claude Debussy, who died of cancer in The musical material for the Sonata for Violin and Cello was developed from two themes. The first is a play with broken thirds in major and minor keys, and the second is a sequence of sevenths. Using this sparse material and the violin and cello setting (with no piano accompaniment), Ravel the composer of rich harmonies forced himself to compose out of the melody, rather than from the harmony, and to achieve as strong an effect as possible with sparse means, two themes and only two instruments. Fuoco Celeste, a composition dating from 2011 from another Latvian composer, Santa Ratniece, is based on the religious texts of St Francis of Assisi. Love for the Almighty and the natural world that he had created is sung passionately by the choir and cello. A few weeks after his one-and-a-half year old daughter died of typhoid, Jean Sibelius composed Malinconia for cello and piano. Sibelius was heartbroken at the death of his youngest child, and that can be heard in the music; in the heavy, dark melodies cast against a despairingly splattering piano. The parallel chords and almost minimal sounding repeats seem to anticipate the composing styles in Finland and the Baltic States a hundred years later. Gabriel Fauré had the following to say about his Requiem: This is how I see death, as a happy tradition, striving to reach the happiness above, rather than a painful experience. So it is not a bombastic, heavy work like the Requiems of Mozart, Berlioz or Verdi. No, Fauré s Requiem is consoling and hopeful. He even left the most emotive section - Dies Irae - about the Day of Judgement, out. There are different versions of this piece. The first of these - for choir, (boy) soprano, harp, kettle drums, organ and strings (1 violin, violas, cellos and double bass) inspired Jacobus den Herder to write a version for choir, soprano and ten cellos. It sounds heavenly! 74 75

41 Wednesday 26 October Wednesday 26 October , Bimhuis en Kleine Zaal MASTERCLASS Pieter Wispelwey (Bimhuis) Raphaël Pidoux (Kleine Zaal) uur, Bimhuis LUNCH CONCERT Students around the world Top talent from international conservatories 14.15, Grote Zaal Cellists play cellists Kronberg Academy presents Ella van Poucke cello Aurélien Pascal cello Bruno Philippe cello Ragazze Quartet: Rosa Arnold, Jeanita Vriens violin, Annemijn Bergkotte viola, Rebecca Wise cello Szymon Marciniak double bass Luigi Boccherini ( ) Celloconcert in G major, G.480 (van Poucke) - Allegro - Adagio - Allegro Thomas Demenga (1954) Efeu voor cello solo (Pascal) David Popper ( ) Fantasy on Little Russian Songs, opus 43 (Pascal) Don Jaffé (1933) Passions, Sonate for cello solo (Philippe) Carlo Alfredo Piatti ( ) Serenade for 2 cellos and strings (Pascal en Philippe) Adrien François Servais ( ) From the 6 Caprices opus 11: no. 2 in D major, no. 4 in A major and no. 6 in C major Giovanni Sollima (1962) - Terra Aria - Terra Danza 17.00, Grote Zaal TAKE FIVE Queyras, Amy, Spronk & Janssen Anton Mecht Spronk cello Jean-Guihen Queyras cello Biennale Cello Band: Larissa Groeneveld, Jelena Očić, Timora Rosler and Jeroen den Herder cello Symphony Orchestra of the Conservatorium van Amsterdam Score Collective Judith Kubitz conductor Guus Janssen (1951) 'Out of Step' for solo cello and ensemble* (Spronk, world premiere) Gilbert Amy (1936) Après Ein... Es Praeludium (Biennale Cello Band) Gilbert Amy Celloconcert (Queyras) - Modéré, quasi improvisé - Allegro giusto - Aérien, suspendu, quasi senza tempo - Solo - Assez vite - Lent, solennel - Movement , Kleine Zaal FRINGE Students around the world Top talent from international conservatories 20.15, Grote Zaal Soirée Brahms Nicolas Altstaedt cello Pieter Wispelwey cello Daniel Müller-Schott cello José Gallardo piano Paolo Giacometti piano Julius Röntgen ( ) Sonate no. 10 in C minor (Altstaedt) - Allegro non troppo - Lento non troppo - Poco agitato Johannes Brahms ( ) Sonate opus 120 no. 2 in E flat major (Wispelwey) - Allegro amabile - Appassionato, ma non troppo allegro - Andante con moto - Allegro non troppo interval Anton Webern ( ) Sonata for cello and piano (Altstaedt) - Sehr bewegt Anton Webern Zwei Stücke voor cello and piano Anton Webern Drei kleine Stücke - Mäßige Achtel - Sehr Bewegt - Äusserst Ruhig Johannes Brahms Sonata for cello and piano opus 99 in F major (Müller-Schott) - Allegro vivace - Adagio affettuoso - Allegro passionato - Allegro molto 22.45, Entreehal Cello Lounge XL Katharina Gross cello Arnold Marinissen percussion and electronics *This work was commissioned by the Cello Biennale Amsterdam with financial support from the Performing Arts Fund NL (FPK) 76 77

42 Wednesday 26 October Wednesday 26 October Ella van Poucke Ragazze Quartet Bruno Philippe Aurélien Pascal Cellists play cellists Mstislav Rostropovich called the German town of Kronberg The cello capital of the world. Three cellists, two French and one Dutch, from the Kronberg Academy play music composed by composer-cellists from different parts of Europe. The life of a Spanish prince is not always a bed of roses. Louis, the youngest son of Philip V wanted to be king of Spain, but he lost the throne to his brother Charles. Although the two brothers had always got on very well together, and still did, Louis was banned. That sounds much worse than it was, because he occupied his time in exile by having his portrait painted by Goya, and by employing the cellist and composer Luigi Boccherini, who wrote him a Cello Concerto in G major. This elegant concerto with unpretentious string accompaniment is unmistakenly court music; not the pompous and stately type, but more elegant and well-groomed. In the opening movement with a cadenza Boccherini demonstrates the height of his skills. The story goes that he perfected this level by regularly standing in for violinists when, for some reason, they were unable to play in their orchestra. Typical of Boccherini, the closing movement has a dancing rhythm that alternates between playfulness and lyricism. The Swiss, Thomas Demenga, composed Efeu [Ivy] in 2010 as the compulsory piece to be played at the Grand Prix Feuermann the Berlin Cello Competition. After a repetitive opening that sounds a bit like minimal music, the cellist is required to demonstrate an ability to do the impossible. In addition to being able to play scales and glissandi extremely fast, the underside of the strings had to be played as well, and paperclips are used to give the pizzicati a bell-like sound. The cellist is also required to sing while he plays. Clearly, the cellists in 2010 had to go to extraordinary lengths to impress the jury! The soloists on this occasion all won prizes at the 2014 edition, so they don t have to impress a jury any more. Every advanced-level cellist will have heard of David Popper. His studies are renowned as lesson material, but are also notorious because they are so difficult and The Fantasy on Little Russian Themes is only suitable for the fastest fingers. In this piece, the Czech composer combines virtuosity with pleasant salon music, folksy seduction and monumental grandeur. As a child, the Jewish-Latvian, Don Jaffé, fled with his family to Siberia, but returned to Riga after the War. Then, due to undiminished antisemitism in the 70 s, he moved again, this time to Israel. He fought in the Yom Kippur War, but, as often happens with displaced souls, he didn t really find himself until later and, by that time, he was in Germany. He had always been a cellist, but it was not until just before he retired, almost 25 years after settling in Germany, that he began to compose. His first composition was Passions for cello solo. He described it as: A musical warning: I try, with the best of my ability, to warn people against dictatorship. I know it s a drop in the ocean. We ve already forgotten so much, so very much. He played music with Liszt and Brahms, with Clara Schumann, Rubinstein, Joachim, Vieuxtemps, Berlioz and Grieg. Carlo Alfredo Piatti was an absolute world star. As an Italian, raised on two centuries of operatic history, he could make his cello sing better than anyone. But he didn t have an Italian temperament. That helped him a lot among the stiff upper lips of London. It was there that he composed his Serenade for Two Cellos. Adrien François Servais, The Paganini of the cello according to Liszt, had a strong influence on the development of cello playing. This is evident in Six Caprices. He extended its range and technical possibilities by fixing a (retractable) metal spike to the bottom of his instrument. This not only supported the instrument, but allowed him more freedom to play and improved the volume of sound. It is said that he started to do this because his instrument the Stradivarius that now bears his name is very large. He copied the idea from the double bass. The Servais Stradivarius is still considered to be one of the very best cellos in the world. Anner Bijlsma played on this illustrious instrument when he recorded the Bach Cello Suites in For a ballet at another Biennale, the one in Venice, Giovanni Sollima composed a cycle using as starting point the four elements: earth, fire, air, and water. Two of them Terra Acqua and Terra Fuocco are not included here. Terra Aria is repetitive, ethereal and intangible; Terra Danza is percussive, earthy and folksy. It was originally written for one cellist, who repeatedly played over what he himself had just recorded. But it s perhaps more attractive if played, as now, by a small ensemble

43 26 Wednesday 26 October Queyras, Amy, Spronk & Janssen* It s hardly possible to imagine a greater contrast between two living composers than that between Guus Janssen and Gilbert Amy. Janssen can be heard more often in the Bimhuis, than in the hall below, but the boundaries between pop, classical and modern are rather fluid. Janssen finds it just as easy to swing and improvise as he does to accept composition assignments from established musicians, orchestras or contest organizations. He is someone who does the unexpected; who turns as easily to electronics as he does to the harpsichord. From him we hear new music. And then Amy who, in some respects is the successor of Boulez. Amy is modern; someone who organizes sounds strictly. To celebrate his 80 th birthday, this Cello Biennale is putting Gilbert Amy in extra limelight. Amy, one of France s foremost composers, has written various works for the cello. Jean-Guihen Queyras played the world premiere of the cello concerto in Tokyo, in 2000, and made a CD recording with Amy as conductor in This first performance of his Cello Concerto in the Netherlands has been programmed along with a quartet for four cellos, Après Ein Es praeludium. * For more information about Guus Janssen, see the article I just want to hear that instrument! on pag. 18. Anton Mecht Spronk Gilbert Amy Jean-Guihen Queyras Soirée Brahms It was Julius Röntgen, founder of the Amsterdam Conservatory and a highly valued pianist and conductor, who introduced the Netherlands to Bach s Hohe Messe, and the Deutsches Requiem composed by his friend Johannes Brahms. He was an influential figure. Despite this, Julius lived in the lifelong shadow of his great-uncle, the discoverer of the X-rays. An entire brass band was once sent home when it became obvious that it was not the Nobel Prize-winner who had come ashore from a Rhine cruiser at a small town in Germany. Julius called himself not the famous one. On his 60 th birthday, his good friend Edvard Grieg tried to set things right by saying X-rays penetrate as far as the bone, but your rays go straight through. Röntgen s music is a cross between the styles of his friends Brahms and Grieg. His enormous oeuvre is of mixed quality, but between the more than 800 pieces, including 14 cello sonatas, there are a number of little pearls. In 1890 it was feared that Johannes Brahms was preparing to die. He made his will and wrote to his good friend, Clara Schumann that he had stopped composing. He had had enough. But then Brahms heard the clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld play. His soft, melancholic tone grafted perfectly in with Brahms autumnal mood, and the newly-retired composer went back to work without delay. He wrote the Clarinet Quintet with Mühlfeld in mind, then the Clarinet Trio and the two Clarinet Sonatas. Brahms later re-worked the first of these sonatas for the viola and Pieter Wispelwey re-worked the second one for the cello. conciseness. The Sonata and the Three Little Pieces [Drei kleine Stücke], op 11 were written fifteen years earlier, using a lot of atonality, like that used by his contemporary, Schönberg. But again, Webern is incredibly concise and terse, so much so that he is even able to squeeze a complete sonata into a performance time of two minutes. Nevertheless, also In the Sonata, Brahms influence is frequently evident. The restless piano tremolando an imitation of a cimbalo, perhaps? the well-chosen opening notes of the cello Johannes Brahms, in his Sonata in F major op.99, wastes no time in setting the scene. The power of the Allegro is infectious. While Brahms was in his mid-fifties when he composed this piece, it s noteworthy that it s often considered as being: remarkably youthful, which is, of course, insulting to any active senior, and nonsense too. It is clearly a mature work, but also one with lots of energy. A sweet pizzicato, a warm melody from the cello and a fervent piano accompaniment: the Adagio affettuoso has a tender intimacy. This is the sound of true love, a contemporary sighed swooningly. As for the Allegro passionate, Brahms good friend Elizabeth von Herzogenberg wrote: I would so like to hear you play the Scherzo, with all its driving force and energy. No one else could play it like that: agitated, but without haste, legato and yet restless and driving from within. This lively sonata closes with a short and lightfooted Rondo. To suggest that Anton Webern was no long-drawnout composer is an understatement. His complete oeuvre can be performed in one evening! As far as possible, Webern brings musical material back to its core. There is not one superfluous note in his music, and he is very strict and consequent in applying composition rules. This is no easy fare to digest: one has to go to some effort to value Webern s music, but that gives entry to a fantastic world! Stravinsky formulated it as follows: doomed to failure in a deaf world of ignorance and indifference, he continued tirelessly cutting his diamonds, his dazzling diamonds, taken from mines that he knew so well. The very early Two Pieces [Zwei Stücke], from 1899, written in late-romantic style are clearly still influenced by Brahms. The only trait of Webern that we can recognize in them is their extreme 80 81

44 Thursday 27 October Thursday 27 October 09.30, Grote Zaal BACH&BREAKFAST Alisa Weilerstein Johann Sebastian Bach ( ) Suite no. 2 in D minor, BWV Prélude - Allemande - Courante - Sarabande - Menuet - Gigue , Bimhuis en Kleine Zaal MASTERCLASS Anner Bijlsma (Bimhuis) Daniel Müller-Schott (Kleine Zaal) 12.30, Bimhuis LUNCH CONCERT Cappella Estense This concert has been made possible with the support of the Anner Bijlsma Award Cristina Grifone soprano Panos Iliopoulos harpsichord Javier Ovejero Mayoral chitarrone, baroque guitar Maximiliano Segura Sa nchez cello, basse de violon 14.15, Grote Zaal Pidoux&Pernoo Raphaël Pidoux cello Jérôme Pernoo cello Jérôme Ducros piano Ragazze Quartet: Rosa Arnold, Jeanita Vriens violin, Annemijn Bergkotte viola, Rebecca Wise cello Antonín Reicha ( ) Quintet no. 2 in F major for solo cello and string quartet (Pidoux) - Allegro - Andante poco adagio - Finale - Allegro Jérôme Ducros (1974) Fantaisie for cello and piano (Pernoo) Francis Poulenc ( ) Sonate for cello and piano opus 143 (Pernoo) - Allegro - Tempo di marcia - Cavatine - Ballabile - Finale 17.00, Bimhuis TAKE FIVE One Page Composition Project Biennale Cello Band: Larissa Groeneveld, Jelena Oc ić, Timora Rosler and Jeroen den Herder cello Slagwerk Den Haag: Pepe Garcia, Joey Marijs, Enric Monfort and Fedor Teunisse percussion Terry Riley wrote his popular In C on one single sheet. The Cello Biennale and Slagwerk Den Haag invited five composers to wrote their own one page composition for percussion and four cellos*. See also the explanation on pag. 36 Brendan Faegre (1985) Pete Harden (1979) Hilary Jeffery (1971) Genevieve Murphy (1988) Martijn Padding (1956) uur, Kleine Zaal introduction Saskia Törnqvist uur, Grote Zaal Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest In collaboration with the Donderdagavondserie Ivan Monighetti cello Nicolas Altstaedt cello Cello8ctet Amsterdam Rotterdam Philharmonisch Orkest Joshua Weilerstein dirigent Philip Glass (1937) Symphony for Eight (Cello8ctet Amsterdam) Rob Zuidam (1964) New composition** (Monighetti, world premiere) interval Henri Dutilleux ( ) Tout un Monde Lointain (Altstaedt) - Enigme - Regard - Houles - Miroirs - Hymne Compositions by Giovanni Battista degli Antonii, Tommaso Bernardo Gaffi, Antonio Giannotti, Giuseppe Colombi, Giovanni Girolamo Kapsberger, Giovanni Battista Vitali and Alessandro Scarlatti uur, Entreehal Cello Lounge XL Amber Docters van Leeuwen cello * The One- Page Composition Project is an initiative of the Cello Biennale, Slagwerk Den Haag and November Music, with financial support from the Performing Arts Fund NL (FPK). ** Composed to a commission from the Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest and the Cello Biennale Amsterdam with support from the Performing 82 Arts Fund NL (FPK) 83

45 Thursday 27 October Thursday 27 October Lunch Concert Cappella Estense This concert was made possible by the Anner Bijlsma Award. The Anner Bijlsma Award is the international oeuvre prize of the Cello Biennale, aimed at stimulating education and developing talent with regard to the cello. The prize is awarded every few years to a person or body for their outstanding services to the cello and the cello repertoire. In 2014, the prize was awarded for the first time to the person whose name this award carries: Anner Bijsma. It is the laureate who decides how the prize money will be used and which educational or talent-developing undertaking will be the beneficiary. The Cello Biennale then gives support with regard to administration and production. The first project made possible by this prize is the study of the earliest cello music in Italy by the young cellist Maximiliano Segura Sánchez. Anner Bijlsma had made a recording of the earliest known Italian cello music in the 1970s already. Now, he is handing the baton over to a new generation so that more insight can be gained into that repertoire. This has made it possible to make a CD and to perform this music at two concerts, this lunch concert being one of them. Especially for this goal Maximiliano Segura Sánchez formed an ensemble - Capella Estense - that consists in addition to himself on cello, of Cristina Grifone (Italy) voice, Panos Iliopoulos (Greece) harpsichord and Javier Ovejero Mayoral (Spain) theorbe/renaissance and baroque guitar. See what Job Cohen has to say about the Anner Bijlsma Award on pag. 45. Ivan Monighetti Raphaël Pidoux Anner Bijlsma Pidoux&Pernoo The Czech-French composer Anton Reicha, one of Beethoven s friends, was not only the composer of twenty-five wind quintets, but more importantly, if one refers to the history books, the teacher of Franz Liszt, Hector Berlioz, Charles Gounod and César Franck. However, he saw himself mainly as a composer; My life should have been devoted to composing, but I would never have been able to live from it. That s nothing new. Mozart had financial problems throughout his life, and died in poverty. Civilized Europe has rarely recognized its true geniuses, while second-rate actors, tricksters and suppliers of fashion goods are wreathed with laurels. I m impervious to all praise or criticism; if I feel instinctively that I ve produced something of value, then that s my reward. If a good composition is unsuccessful, then that s not the composer s, but the public s fault. When he wrote these lines in his autobiography, he was a misunderstood composer, and he still is, to the present day. What a pity! Not only is Jérôme Ducros a brilliant pianist, he s also a composer but not a modern composer. We have come to understand that modern means to diverge from the norm. Okay. But what do we do if that modern has become the norm? If my teacher teaches tells me to be modern and if that means that one should pay no attention to the teacher, what should I do then? It sounds a bit like Epimenides paradox ( all Cretans are liars ). Music Publications for the Cello Biennale If they don t know you, they don t love you. And it s impossible to become acquainted with music that hasn t been published. One of the aims of the Cello Biennale is to make sure that not only well-known music is included in the programme, but also less well-known and new music; and music that, because it has never been published before, has never been heard. For the 2014 Biennale, and to mark Anner Bijlsma s 80 th birthday, a special publication was made of Reicha s string quintets, so that, at long last, we could finally get to know and appreciate them. In his article Y a-t-il une musique après la musique contemporaine? [ Is there a music form after modern music? ], published in 2010, Ducros came to the conclusion that at the present time it s impossible to be modern. So he composes in an old-fashioned tonal style, with hints of Rachmaninov, Fauré and Brahms. In France, that was already bad enough, but when, in 2012, he gave a public lecture at the Colle ge de France, a renowned academic institute, and subtly gave his opinion of modern French music, a war broke out in the French music world, a war that is still being waged. Meanwhile, unhindered by the uproar he had caused, Ducros continued to compose in the romantic style that can be heard in his Fantasia for cello and piano

46 27 Thursday 27 October EERSTE LEVENSBEHOEFTE VOOR MUSICI Francis Poulenc was once described as half monk, half gangster. He was known for his wonderful melodies, written at a time when it seemed that melodies had been banned from music. Melody was considered to be too tangible, too specific; it should be replaced by dreamy impressionism. Poulenc disagreed. The monk in him wrote wonderful melodies, but, whenever the melody became almost too beautiful, the gangster Poulenc would tighten the listener s attention with a firm dissonance. His strategy was to let his audience dream away, and then wake them up again, with a jolt. That is where Poulenc is at his best - in the domain between waking and dreaming. At the present time, the name Poulenc has almost become synonymous with vocal works such as Stabat Mater, Figure Humaine and the opera Dialogues des Carmélites, but he has written stacks of fantastic chamber music, mostly for wind instruments the exceptions are: Violin Sonata op. 119 and the Cello Sonata, op EEN GOED INSTRUMENT Een goed instrument is voor de ontwikkeling van een musicus geen luxe, maar een must. Het is eigenlijk net als de dagelijkse boodschappen. Pure noodzaak. Het NMF helpt meer dan 400 professionele musici en muziekstudenten om van hun beroep en studie een succes te maken. Door hoogwaardige muziekinstrumenten in bruikleen te geven. Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest When the Cello8ctet was still performing under its old name, Conjunto Ibérico, it performed their arrangement of the third movement of Philip Glass Symphony No.3 at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam which, in this form, was re-named Symphony for Eight. It was a good move, because Glass was sitting in the audience, and was rather impressed. Because of that, he gave the octet carte blanche to arrange his music. This resulted in the very successful CD, Glass Reflections. Today, the octet is going to play the Symphony for Eight again as an opening for this concert. With just three chords Glass is able to create a seemingly unending world of sound. Rob Zuidam is emerging more and more as an opera composer. In that genre, he reveals his preference for interesting, monomaniacal and uncompromising women. His opera Freeze is about the millionaire s daughter, Patricia Hearst, who joined her kidnappers. In Rage d amours he features Joanna the Mad, who wandered around Spain for years, along with the body of her dead husband. Suster Bertken is about Berta Jacobsdochter who, halfway through the 16 th century, had herself bricked into a church - the Buurkerk - in Utrecht. Then, in Troparion, an anonymous woman brings a dead branch into flower in the desert. Just by the choice of subjects, we can see in his operas a gradual change towards less action and fewer happenings; and, in the music, we hear fewer and fewer compelling rhythms, vaguer forms and ever more sound colouring and timelessness. Commissioned by the Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest and the Cello Biennale, Zuidam has now written a cello concerto, the title of which, at the time this publication went to press, is still unknown. He proved that he can work with the cello when he wrote the McGonagall Songs ( ). Nowadays, the popularity of these songs for soprano, ensemble and four cellos extends far afield, far beyond the boundaries of the Netherlands. Henri Dutilleux would have been a hundred this year, had he not died in The Frenchman was one of a kind: he belonged to neither a movement nor a group. He was open to the fiercest avant-guarde-ists and the most unrestrained impressionists, but, nevertheless trod his own path, and only that. He was a sort of at the T-junction, go straight on type; and he did very convincingly. As Bas van Putten put it nicely in the festival book for the 2008 Cello Biennale: In the wonderful Tout un Monde Lointain (1970), Henri Dutilleux presents his exquisite cantilenas in such a subtle way that you don t lose track of the functional harmonies for a single second. Each of the five movements, that flow from one to the next without a break, have a title and a quotation from one of the poems included in Baudelaire s Fleur du Mal. Dutilleux wrote this cello concerto for Rostropovich, who called it one of the most important additions to the 20 th century cello repertoire IBAN NL58 ABNA

47 Friday 28 October Friday 28 October 09.30, Grote Zaal BACH&BREAKFAST Gregor Horsch Johann Sebastian Bach ( ) Suite no. 4 in E flat major, BWV Prélude - Allemande - Courante - Sarabande - Bourrée - Gigue , Bimhuis en Kleine Zaal MASTERCLASS Nicolas Altstaedt (Bimhuis) Jelena Oc ic (Kleine Zaal) uur, Bimhuis LUNCH CONCERT Students around the world Top talent from international conservatories 14.15, Grote Zaal Russians Jonathan Roozeman cello Martti Rousi cello Monika Leskovar cello José Gallardo piano Jan-Paul Roozeman piano Astrid Haring harp Fedor Teunisse timpani Szymon Marciniak double bass Ere Lievonen harpsichord Joey Marijs tubular bells Bram van Sambeek bassoon Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ) Pezzo Capriccioso, opus 62 (Roozeman) Sergej Rachmaninov ( ) Sonata in G minor, opus 19 (Rousi) - Lento - Allegro moderato - Allegro scherzando - Andante - Allegro mosso Alfred Schnittke ( ) Four Hymns (Leskovar) - Hymn I for cello, harp and timpani - Hymn II for cello and double bass - Hymn III for cello, bassoon, harpsichord and tubular bells - Hymn II for cello, bassoon, double bass, harpsichord, timpani and tubular bells 16.00, Kleine Zaal DE VERGELIJKING Bows Gregor Horsch plays his cello using various bows made by bow-makers whose work is exhibited during the Biennale , Grote Zaal Nomads Jean-Guihen Queyras cello Ed Spanjaard conductor Atlas Ensemble: 6 wind players: Naomi Sato sho (Japan) Wu Wei sheng (China) Harrie Starreveld shakuhachi (Japan) & fluit Ernest Rombout oboe Raphaela Danksagmüller duduk (Armenia), Anna voor de Wind (bass)clarinet 4 strumming instruments: Elchin Nagijev tar (Azerbaijan) Kiya Tabassian setar (Iran) Ding Xueer zheng (China) 2 percussionists 7 string players: Zhao Yuanchun erhu (China) Elshan Mansurov kamancha (Azerbaijan), Neva Özgen kemençe (Turkey) Dhruba Ghosh sarangi (India) Angel Gimeno violin Max Knigge viola Dario Calderone double bass Joël Bons (1952) Nomaden 19.00, Kleine Zaal FRINGE Students around the world Top talent from international conservatories 20.15, Grote Zaal NATIONAAL CELLO COMPETITION Final The three finalists of the National Cello Competition Symphony Orchestra of the Conservatorium van Amsterdam Judith Kubitz conductor Dmitry Shostakovich ( ) Cello concerto no. 1 in E flat major, opus Allegretto - Moderato - Cadenza - Allegro con moto Circa 23.00, Grote Zaal NATIONAAL CELLO COMPETITION Results from the jury and prize-giving ceremony 24.00, Bimhuis LATE CELLO NIGHT POE: The Tell-Tale Heart Jörg Brinkmann cello Claron McFadden soprano Artvark Saxophone Quartet: Rolf Delfos, Bart Wirtz, Mete Erker, Peter Broekhuizen saxofoon Edgar Allan Poe text Chris Weeda sound Sjaron Minailo direction and light An exciting musical performance that takes place around midnight, based on a short story by the 19th century author of horror stories, Edgar Allan Poe

48 Friday 28 October Friday 28 October Jonathan Roozeman Wu Wei en Dhruba Ghosh Jelena Oc ić Russians The Russians, so strange and yet so familiar. When, in 1058, the Russian Orthodox church broke away from Rome, the country slipped into deep isolation, to the extent that the renaissance passed it by. It was not until the time of Peter the Great that great steps were made to catch up on advancements elsewhere in science, art and culture. The results can be seen in the wonderful literature, painting, dance and music since that time. However, with the arrival of communism, Russia again veered away from the West, and that is still to be seen today. Two works from Western Russians, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov, are included in the programme for this concert, and one from Schnittke, a Russian who, with his modernistic music, orientated himself towards the West, thereby bringing the wrath of the Soviets down on his head. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky made it immediately clear in his Pezzo capriccioso that he was a man of expansive gestures. The cello begins full of passion, embellished by strong chords from the piano. The title, in Italian, of this work can be translated as humorous piece, but there s not much to laugh about: even the virtuoso passages in major keys cannot really disperse the melancholic sphere. The Russians must be a gloomy lot, to call this a light piece! Tchaikovsky wrote his Pezzo for the cellist Anatoli Brandukov, Gregor Piatigorsky s teacher. Fourteen years later, Sergei Rachmaninov wrote the Sonata in G minor for Brandukov. However, this piece is viewed more as a piano sonata with cello accompaniment - and with some justification, as the piano has an exceptionally large role to play. But this doesn t detract from the cello part which, although not especially virtuoso, has much to tell. In the slow opening, the piano plays a theme of six notes which is hardly noticeable at first, but this theme is repeated throughout the piece. A passionate second theme follows and then a development, full of even stronger Russian fervour. In the second movement, rhythmical unrest alternates with poignant melodies. An Andante follows, in which the piano introduces a wonderful intimate theme containing characteristic Rachmaninov harmonies, full of longing. The cello then takes this theme over, and together, they head towards a climax, before quietly extinguishing themselves. The closing movement begins powerfully and energetically, but quickly moves into a bitter-sweet melody, of which there are many in this sonata. The composition ends in a strikingly positive mood. The Volgan-German, Alfred Schnittke, worked in the Soviet Union for most of his life, despite the fact that his early avant-garde music immediately made him unpopular with the authorities. He quickly exchanged that serialistic idiom for a new sort of music that he called polystylism. What this means is that he mixed together music styles from Baroque to modern, and everything in between, including his own earlier work. The Four Hymns cycle was written between 1974 and Schnittke dedicated each hymn to a cellist friend: Alexander Ivashkin, Karine Georgian, Heinrich Schiff and Valentin Berlinsky (of the Borodin Quartet). The cello is the binding factor between the four hymns; the accompaniment is very changeable. In the First Hymn, with kettle drums and harp, a lot of plucking is evident. In the Second Hymn, with double bass, it is the sound of bowing that is dominant. Schnittke s polystylism is more evident in the Third Hymn: Lento, with bassoon, harpsichord and tubular bells, and even more so in the Fourth Hymn, where all the instruments come together. The four movements are all very different, but the richness of sound from the cello and the mystical religious sphere (Russian church melodies, procession music, bell tones) bring them together, to give the cycle unity. 90 Claron McFadden en Artvark Saxophone Quartet 91

49 Friday 28 October Friday 28 October Nomads You are probably acquainted with many more nonwestern musical instruments than you think. Even if you have never heard of the ud or the duduk, you will no doubt be familiar with the sound. If a Hollywood film wants to place you for a while in Japan, then you will hear the sound of the shakuhachi or the sho. If, instead, they want you to be in China, then you will hear a sheng and a pipa. What, then, if they need to conjure up ancient Persia? Then they will be sure to use the sound of the zuma. At best, these attempts at let s just give it a bit of local colour are enormous clichés. The reality is that the influence of globalisation, Hollywood and Western pop music can be disastrous for many cultures. To quote the composer, Jöel Bons: The greatest danger from globalisation is that everything becomes the same. But if you appreciate and cherish the differences, and, in the meantime, look for similarities and possibilities, then, for creative people, this can be a gold-mine. But, how does one do this in practice? Simple! Bring the best, and most brilliant, musicians from the Far East, Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe together and have new music written for them. After all, the language of music is international. But the truth is: it s not quite as easy as that. Many non- Western musicians cannot read music and have never played under a conductor. Every musical tradition has its own set of rules; its own language. Before you know it, you ve created a Babel-like confusion! Or worse: while we were writing this booklet, a four-day war broke out between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Can musicians from those countries then still play together? In addition, there s the logistical challenge: how do you get musicians from all those distant places together? Despite all this, Joël Bons has succeeded. In 2002, he founded the Atlas Ensemble, made up of top musicians from Armenia, Azerbaijan, China, India, Iran, Japan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey and the Netherlands. Their repertoire includes specially commissioned works, written by composers from all parts of the world. Asiatic oral and improvisation traditions are placed alongside European notation and composition techniques; divergent musical forms, sound ideals and performance practises that, by exploring each other s territory, either create strong contrasts, or blend magically together. Their most recent project is Nomads. Composed and compiled by Jöel Bons, this project has been specially commissioned by the Cello Biennale. The leading role is reserved for the famous cellist Jean- Guihen Queyras. His task is to enter into a series of dialogues with instruments from other cultures. Authentic music played by soloists from different traditions, together with newly composed music, creates a continuous mosaic. Bons: A lot of the music that is being written at the present time, stems from a concept or from a compositional idea the instruments and musicians are marginally important and subservient to the concept. For Nomads, my point of departure is to utilize the characteristic tone qualities and idiomatic possibilities of the instruments and to allow space for the artistic qualities of the musicians. In my composition Tour à Tour, I made a modest attempt to let the beauty of the sound of the Atlas instruments and musicians be heard, and to give a number of players the space within the framework of my composition to do what they are so good at: fantastic improvising. In Nomads, my aim is to let the glorious colour of all the instruments and the cultural differences bloom in full glory, in conversation with Jean-Guihen Queyras, whose amazing tone and superior intonation have so enormously inspired me. The cello combines well with related string instruments, such as the sarangi (played by the Indian master-player, Dhruba Ghosh), the Azerbaijani kamancha (Elshan Mansurov), the Chinese erhu (Yang Xue and Yan Jiemin) and the Turkish kemençe (Neva Özgen); with instruments from the wind family, such as the Chinese sheng, the Japanese sho (mouth organs played by Wu Wei and Naomi Sato), the shakuhachi (Harrie Starreveld) and the Armenian duduk (Raphaela Danksagmüller); and with plucked instruments such as the sitar (Kiya Tabassian) and the Azerbaijani tar (Elchin Nagijev). The Final of the National Cello Competition Those who listen carefully to the music of Dmitri Shostakovich, will realise that his compositions consist of two musical layers two pieces of music played simultaneously. This idea of duality perhaps originates from the divided world in which he lived. On the one hand, there was the Soviet regime that was always critical about any music composed without giving honour and glory to communism, the party and its leader. Shostakovich escaped, in the nick of time, with his opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and the Fourth Symphony (which he swiftly withdrew), but knew that he was only a few critical notes away from the terrors of a Siberian gulag. On the other hand, he could not stomach slavishly writing safe pieces. Anxiously, he withheld a number of very personal pieces, and, in other compositions, carefully concealed his criticism. In this way, he managed to delight the party leadership with the closing fanfare of his Fifth Symphony, because they took it to be a real ode to communism! Meanwhile, there were people in the audience who burst into tears, because they recognized the repression and terror hidden in the double bottom at the end of the symphony. Both of his cello concertos were written after Stalin s death. But that didn t remove the freeze of idealogical censorship: working in total freedom was still out of the question. Could that be why Shostakovich sandwiched the dark, melancholy middle movements an elegy-like, tear-jerking Moderato and the plaintive Cadenza between the two seemingly lighthearted, humorous movements? The opening theme of the Allegretto that is repeated in the Finale is a variation on Shostakovich s musical signature, D-E flat-c-b [in German: D-Es-C-H, the beginning of his name, D. Sch]. He used that theme for his most personal pieces, such as his Eighth String Quartet and his Tenth Symphony. All the more reason to listen carefully between the lines! POE: The Tell-Tale Heart Creating tension and excitement from contrasts sound and silence, darkness and light. On an empty stage, a solitary cellist plays a lament in the dark. Four saxophones move slowly, playing a counter-melody. The murderer steps into the light and begins her story. The cellist, Jörg Brinkmann plays the leading role as the the tale-telling heart in this new production for music-theatre by the Artvark Saxophone Quartet, singer (Claron McFadden) and cellist (Jörg Brinkmann). The musicians became acquainted during earlier special music projects. For this new production, they are working together for the first time as a separate ensemble. They chose, as a starting point, The Tell-Tale Heart, a short story written by the 19 th century author of horror stories, Edgar Allan Poe. Like all good horror stories, it is set around a dilapidated country house, thunder and lightening, a butler and, of course, a murder! The musicians have made the soundtrack themselves. Those who have already heard Jörg Brinkmann play, or have seen the production Sly Meets Callas by McFadden and Artvark, will know that, musically, this will be an exciting performance: partly improvised and, for the rest, sometimes making use of existing songs or compositions, and at other times, of new music that has been specially composed. The premiere of the production will be held at the Bimhuis. And it goes without saying it will start at midnight! The Tell-Tale Heart is a short story about a woman whose mental existence is positioned in that narrow area between reason and madness. She tells the audience about her obsessive disgust for the lazy eye of an old man, who shares a house with her. One day, she decides to murder the old man, so that she won t have to see the eye again. After murdering him, she is busy hiding the body under the floor of the victim s room, when the police arrive at the door the neighbours had heard a strange sound. Self-assured, the murderess shows the police around the house, including the room in which the body is hidden. Suddenly, she hears a sound resembling a heartbeat. The sound gets louder and louder. The policemen do not react, but continue with their jovial conversation. The murderess, however, convinced that the men can hear the heart-beat, but are making fun of her, becomes more and more stressed, until she can t stand their mocking any longer, and confesses to what she has done

50 Saturday 29 October Saturday 29 October 09.30, Grote Zaal BACH&BREAKFAST Julian Steckel Johann Sebastian Bach ( ) Suite no. 6 in D major, BWV Prélude - Allemande - Courante - Sarabande - Gavotte - Gigue , Bimhuis en Kleine Zaal MASTERCLASS Jean-Guihen Queyras (Bimhuis) Julian Steckel (Kleine Zaal) 14.00, Bimhuis FAMILY PERFORMANCE The Suleika s and the Mystery of the Sensitive String in cooperation with Oorkaan (6+) Trio Suleika: Pepijn Meeuws cello Emmy Storms violin Maarten den Hengst piano Jochem Stavenuiter director A musical performance full of unexpected happenings. Variety in excess: there are comical scenes, unexpected conjuring tricks and painful situations - and some of the most beautiful music ever written for piano trios , Grote Zaal Residentie Orkest Alisa Weilerstein cello Alexander Rudin cello Residentie Orkest Nicholas Collon conductor William Walton ( ) Concerto for cello and orchestra (Weilerstein) - Moderato - Allegro appassionato - Thema en improvisaties Dmitry Shostakovich ( ) Cello concerto no. 2 in G minor, opus 126 (Rudin) - Largo - Allegretto - Allegretto 16.30, Grote Zaal Die 12 Cellisten der Berliner Philharmoniker Ludwig Quandt, Bruno Delepelaire, Stephan Koncz, Nikolaus Römisch, Christoph Igelbrink, Olaf Maninger, Martin Menking, Knut Weber, Rachel Helleur, David Riniker, Solène Kermarrec, Martin Löhr cello Johann Sebastian Bach Brandenburg concerto no. 6 in B flat major, BWV 1051 (arr. Valter Despalj, Ludwig Quandt) - Allegro Francis Poulenc ( ) Figure Humaine (arr. David Riniker) - De tous les printemps du monde - En chantant, les servantes s élancent - Aussi bas que le silence - Toi ma patiente - Riant du ciel et des planètes - Le jour m étonne et la nuit me fait peur - La menace sous le ciel rouge - Liberté Sebastian Currier (1959) Spark Chiel Meijering (1954) Whatever lies ahead* (world premiere) - And there will be peace - Live hack Astor Piazolla ( ) Lunfardo (arr. Harold Noben) Revirado (arr. David Riniker) Horacio Salgán ( ) A Don Augustín Bardi (arr. David Riniker) 21.00, Grote Zaal Cello Coupé A non-stop carousel of musical surprises in the theatrical setting of a Parisian Grand Café - this is the closing party of the Cello Biennale The stage of the Grote Zaal of the Muziekgebouw will be transformed into a Grand Café that will become fuller and fuller as more and more musicians enter: a band, ensembles and very many cellists. The background music in this café will highlight pieces played at this Cello Biennale. These musicians and groups will be at the party: Nicolas Altstaedt BartolomeyBittmann Maya Fridman Larissa Groeneveld Jeroen den Herder Gregor Horsch Monika Leskovar Ivan Monighetti Jelena Oc ić Jérôme Pernoo Raphaël Pidoux Jonathan Roozeman Timora Rosler Martti Rousi Julian Steckel Geneviève Verhage Alisa Weilerstein Die 12 Cellisten der Berliner Philharmoniker Slagwerk den Haag Julian Schneemann Ragazze Quartet James Murray light and projections Astor Piazolla Escualo (arr. David Riniker) Tres minutos con la realidad (arr. David Riniker) 94 This work has been made possible by financial support from a private sponsor 95

51 Saturday 29 October Saturday 29 October Alisa Weilerstein Residentie Orkest Both of Dmitry Shostakovich s cello concertos have been programmed into this Cello Biennale. His Second Cello Concerto, now being played is clearly related to his First Cello Concerto, but it is darker, more introvert and bare. In the intimate opening movement, it s mainly the lower regions of the cello that can be heard; more pensively melodic than virtuoso. The humorous and lighter Allegretto functions mainly as an upbeat for the last movement, also an Allegretto, that follows on without a pause. This third movement, with its blast of trumpets and roll of drums conjures up an image of the opening of a medieval tournament. After that, we sink from swooning romanticism to brisk humour - swinging rhythms alternating with amusing and lyrical passages. Towards the end, it becomes more threatening and ironical. Bringing laughter close to tears is an effect that Shostakovich uses more often. Whereas Shostakovich wrote both his cello concertos for Mstislav Rostropovich, Sir William Walton wrote his Cello Concerto for another top Russian cellist, Gregor Piatygorsky. Walton had a difficult relationship with the music of his contemporaries. He flirted more than once with Schönberg s atonality and dodecaphony and only allowed us to hear a jazzy dash of Hindemith or Ravel. A composer of his generation could not completely ignore modern developments. But Walton who, as most Britons, was raised in a tradition of sweet choir music and Purcell, preferred to steer through safe waters. So in his Cello Concerto, Walton is not concerned at all with Modernism. Although he wrote this introspective concerto almost thirty years before his death, it seems as though he was looking back on life. The ticking rhythm that reappears throughout the composition emphasizes the passage of time. A bitter-sweet melancholy is never far away. 96 Pepijn Meeuws Alexander Rudin Die 12 Cellisten der Berliner Philharmoniker Die 12 Cellisten der Berliner Philharmoniker As an orchestra within an orchestra, The 12 Cellists plan their concerts and tours around those of the Berliner Philharmoniker (which is perhaps the best orchestra in the world after our own Koninklijk Concertgbouworkest, of course!). But although the quality of their playing goes without saying, their choice of repertoire does not. From pop to Baroque; from tango to Romantic; and from Classical to Modern, The Twelve are willing to give any style a try. During the Second World War, Francis Poulenc wrote a composition in eight movements. Composed to texts written by Paul Élouard, it was one loud scream for freedom. Poulenc hid the composition from the occupying forces, in order to perform it after liberation. Love and death, hope and despair are core emotions, evident in this work, even without the texts. New music is important for the 12 Berliners, and tens of pieces have been written for them by composers such as: Iannis Xenakis, Tan Dun, Arvo Pärt and Wolfgang Rihm. The ensemble also gave an assignment to the American Sebastian Currier, after playing his harp concerto Traces (2009) with the Berliner Philharmoniker. The Berliners repertoire is now being extended further with a new work from Chiel Meijering, one of the most loved, most productive and most accessible composers in the Netherlands. Commissioned by the Cello Biennale, he composed the two-movement piece, Whatever Lies Ahead specially for The Berliners. The first movement is slow and contemplative. To make the most of their heavenly intonation, Meijering had the guts to give these twelve top cellists relatively simple, slow notes to play. The music was written after seeing images of one of the many bombardments in Syria and the deep despair on the faces of civilians caught up in it. This movement must feel timeless, standing above all the violence, with no one voice dominating another; the human conflict has stopped, only music can bring people together. In the much shorter, rocking second movement, the battle is elevated to positive sparring under the motto Aggressive? Start a rock band! The twelve cellists are tango specialists. How can the national music of the passionate Argentinians become a speciality of a group of cellists from that cold Germany? Yes, it can, and they have evidence to prove it: during a visit to Buenos Aires, one of the twelve cellists gave a copy of their own tango CD to the barman of an authentic tango tavern. The Berliners were prepared for frowns. But nothing like that happened: the couples on the dance floor just carried on dancing. Now that s the ultimate reward! Tango is a 19 th century fusion of the music of the African slaves, Italian and Spanish seasonal workers and South American cowboys. It s fiery dance music until Astor Piazolla turned everything upside down. He mixed the traditional tango with classical music and, by so doing, took the tango out of the dance hall and onto the concert stage. Horacio Salgan is not half as famous as Piazolla, but he was also a tango-renewer of note. 97

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53 Geopend vanaf 09:30 uur voor koffie, gebak, lunch, diner en borrel. Cello Biënnale Concertmenu 2-gangen 29,50 3-gangen 36,50 Kijk op onze website voor het menu en reserveer direct Ook tijdens de 6e Cello Biënnale is pop-up restaurant Brasserie Biënnale te vinden op het Atrium van het Muziekgebouw aan t IJ. U bent van harte welkom vanaf uur tot aanvang van het avond concert. Reserveren gedurende de Biënnale op Het team van Restaurant Zouthaven en Brasserie Biënnale wenst u een smakelijke en muzikale Cello Biënnale!

54 Cellists Nicolas Altstaedt (1982) studied at the Hochschule für Musik in BerlIn under Boris Pergamenschikow and later under Eberhard Feltz. Nicolas Altstaedt enjoys playing an abundance of contemporary music, including works by Thomas Adès, Jörg Widmann, Matthias Pintscher, Fazil Say, Sofia Gubaidulina and Moritz Eggert. He played György Kurtág s Concerto for cello and piano on the occasion of the composer s 85th birthday, gave the première of the Cello Concerto by Georg Friedrich Haas and played the Cello Concerto Versuchung by Wolfgangt Rihm to mark the composer s 60th birthday. In 2012, Nicolas Altstaedt succeeded Gidon Kremer as artistic director of the Lockenhaus International Chamber Music Festival. Nicolas performed several times during the 2014 Cello Biënnale. Amongst others, he played the cello solo in the world permière of Richard Rijnvos barbara baccante. Dutch cellist Anner Bijlsma (The Hague, 1934) took his first music lessons from his father and went on to study with Carel van Leeuwen Boomkamp at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague, concluding his studies with the Prix d Excellence. Between1962 and 1968, Bijlsma was principal cellist of the Concertgebouw Orkest. For over 50 years, Anner Bijlsma has been a continual source of inspiration for cellists and other musicians throughout the world. Anner Bijlsma has played a central role in the Cello Biennale Amsterdam from the start in During a concert held at the last Cello Biennale, especially organized to celebrate his 80 th birthday, he was the first to receive an international oeuvre prize to stimulate education and develop talent in relation to the cello named after him: the Anner Bijlsma Award. Jörg Brinkmann (Kempen, 1976) studied the cello at the ArtEZ Conservatorium Arnhem under Michael Gustorff. Like the other members of the string quartet ZAPP4 with whom he regularly plays, he gains inspiration from everything around him. Also for him, the label jazz is too restricting. Brinkmann is just as happy playing with a pop band as with theatre orchestras or chamber music ensembles. He uses his cello as a (percussion) guitar or as a doublebass that makes funk accents or that swings in four-time. And if he adds colour to his instrument by using electronics, then he does so in a subtle and tasteful manner. Both his playing style and his compositions are characterized by a perfect fusion of structure and personal variations, of purely bowed lyrics and lively rhythms. He is not afraid of using challenging, divergent beats. Dutch cellist Albert Brüggen (1964) began to play the cello when he was seven years of age. He had lessons from Elias Arizcuren and Dimitri Ferschtmann at the Sweelinck Conservatorium in Amsterdam, and graduated in At the same time, he followed various Master s courses. In 1992, he won the 2 nd prize at the International Cello Competition in Eindhoven. On completion of his studies, Albert Brüggen turned his attention to the practice of Old music, to playing continuo and to performing on authentic instruments. Nowadays, he is much in demand throughout Europe as both a continuo-player and a soloist, and has played with almost all important Baroque orchestras. He is a member of the Orchestra of the 18 th Century and of Musica Alta Ripa and the regular cellist of Cantus Cölln. Maya Fridman (Moscow,1989) started her musical studies in Professor A. V. Smirnov s class at the music school run by Galina Vishnevskaya. In 2009, Maya graduated from the Moscow State Institute of Music, named after A. G. Schnittke. Then she moved to the Netherlands where she continued her studies with Dmitry Ferschtman at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. Maya forms a duo with composerpianist-singer Jyoti Verhoeff. Together, in 2013, they reached the finals of the Grote Prijs van Nederland, where Maya was acclaimed with the title: Best Musician, She has recently released her first CD album, entitled The Invisible Link, with music by Schnittke, Vask and Pärt. Larissa Groeneveld studied under Dmitry Ferschtman at the Sweelinck Conservatorium in Amsterdam and graduated in She continued her studies at the Hochschule für Musik in Stuttgart under Natalia Gutman. She also took master classes from a.o. Mstislav Rostropovich and Yo Yo Ma. Larissa Groeneveld has a wide repertoire extending from Bach to pieces composed by contemporary composers. Some of these have been specially written for her by composers such as: Theo Loevendie and Theo Verbey. At the 2010 Cello Biennale, she performed the world premiere of Bandersnatch for cello and pianola by Theo Verbey, and, in 2012, Words and Song without Words by Yannis Kyriakides. Since 2001, she has been mainsubject teacher for the cello at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague. Larissa Groeneveld plays a cello made in Venice in 1765, by Domenico Busam. Jeroen den Herder (Zutphen, 1971) studied under Maria Hol, Dmitry Ferschtman and Christopher Bunting, graduating cum laude. He has performed with the Cello Octet Conjunto Ibérico (the present Cello8ctet, Amsterdam) as their principal lead cellist for almost ten years. He is also a member of the Ruysdael Quartet, together with Joris van Rijn, Emi Ohi Resnick and Gijs Kramers, and, as a Newmusic enthusiast, since 1999, he has played with the Nieuw Ensemble as their regular cellist. He has given concerts in more than twenty countries all over the world, and is currently returning regularly to Minsk (Byelorussia) to give master-classes. Jeroen den Herder is a mainsubject cello teacher at the conservatories of Amsterdam and Rotterdam and is the initiator and artistic leader of the Cello Festival in Zutphen. Gregor Horsch (Ettenheim, 1962) studied in Freiburg under Christoph Henkel and in Manchester under Ralph Kirshbaum. In 1997, he was appointed Principal Cellist of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Horsch is a multi-talented cellist with an impressive career as soloist, player of chamber music and teacher. He was the winner of the 1988 Pierre Fournier Award in London, a prize winner at the 1989 Scheveningen International Music Competition, and also at the 1990 Gaspar Cassadó Cello Competition in Florence. As a soloist, Gregor Horsch has premiered music composed by Keuris, Rihm and Kurtag. He gives master-classes all over the world and is a much sought-after juror at international competitions. His CD recordings of works by Röntgen and Moór have been received with great enthusiasm. Gregor Horsch plays a cello made by Giovanni Battista Rogeri, in

55 Cellists Monika Leskovar (Croatia, 1981) began to study the cello as a young talent. She had lessons with Valter Dešpalj in Croatia, before moving to Berlin, where she studied with David Geringas, later becoming his assistant. During her study period, she won various cello competitions, including prizes presented by Yehudi Menuhin and Mstislav Rostropovich. Monika Leskovar is currently teaching at the famous Lugano Conservatory of Music. During the 2008 Biennale, she played, together with Giovanni Sollima, the premiere in the Netherlands of Sollima s composition: When we were trees. She plays on a wonderful instrument, made in Milan by Mantegazza, in 1765, on loan from the Kronberg Academy. Antonio Meneses (Recife, Brazil, 1957) was born into a family of musicians and began his cello studies at the age of ten. Six years later, he was invited to join Antonio Janigro s cello class in Germany. In1982, he was awarded 1 st Prize and a Gold Medal at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. Since then, Antonio Meneses has created an impressive solo career for himself, and has performed with most of the world s leading orchestras. He is also a devoted chamber music performer and has collaborated with the Emerson Quartet and the Vermeer Quartet, as well as with pianists such as Nelson Freire, Menahem Pressler and Cristina Ortiz. He has been a member of the Beaux Arts Trio since 1998 until it stopped in Antonio Meneses plays on a cello made by Alessandro Gagliano in Naples, around Ivan Monighetti was Mstislav Rostropovich s last student at the Moscow Conservatory. He won many prizes at international competitions, including the 1974 Tchaikovsky International Competition. His career has taken him all over Europe, and to America, Japan and Korea. As a soloist, he has performed with many of the world s great orchestras and conductors, including Kurt Masur, Charles Dutoit, Valery Gergiev, Penderecki and Rostropovich. His appearances at major contemporary music festivals and his friendship with composers such as Penderecki, Tan Dun, Xenakis, Schnittke and Gubaidulina have given him a wide reputation in the field of modern music. Many works, written especially for him, are now part of the established cello repertoire. Ivan Monighetti is a Cello Professor at the Basel Academy of Music and he also teaches at the Escuela Superior Reina Sofi in Madrid and the Moscow Conservatory. Daniel Müller-Schott (1976) studied under Walter Nothas, Heinrich Schiff and Steven Isserlis. Thanks to the personal mediation of Anne-Sophie Mutter, Müller-Schott was able to study for a year under Mstislav Rostropovich. In 1992, when he was only 15 years old, he won the 1 st Prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition. Müller-Schott has played with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre National de France and the Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest and has worked with musicians such as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Kurt Masur, Bernard Haitink and André Previn. He also performs regularly in chamber music ensembles with, among others, Anne-Sophie Mutter and André Previn. Daniel Müller-Schott plays a cello made by Matteo Goffriller in Jan Bastiaan Neven had his first cello lessons from Jan Hollinger when he was ten years old. At a later stage, he went to the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf to study under Johannes Goritzki and then, with the help of a scholarship from the Prins Bernhard Fonds, to the New England Conservatory in Boston to study under Colin Carr and Laurence Lesser. Jan Bastiaan has played on many international concert platforms and festivals and, as soloist, has performed with orchestras such as the Nederlands Kamerorkest and Orquestra Clássica do Sul. Jan Bastiaan Neven is a substitute solo cellist for the Nederlands Kamerorkest, and member of the Erard Ensemble and The Amsterdam Chamber Soloists. He plays a cello made by Antonio Pelizon, on loan from the Nationaal Muziekinstrumenten Fonds. Jelena Oc ic is praised worldwide for her energetic, poetic and virtuoso playing style. As soloist, Jelena has played with orchestras and chamber music ensembles in Europe, the US and Asia. As a chamber-music musician, she has played with musicians such as Konstantin Bogino, Vladimir Mendelssohn, José Gallardo, Pavel Vernikov, Marco Rizzi and Federico Lovato. Her recordings, with the pianist Federico Lovato, of the Sonatas by Ginastera, Hindemith and Kabalewsky for the Challenge Classics label, has been reviewed with praise. Her most recent CD is devoted to Baroque music. Composers such as Cornell, Šenderovas, Sorg and Prohaska have written compositions in her name. Jelena Oc ic teaches the cello at the Musikhochschule in Mannheim and at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. In addition, she is frequently sought after as a member of the jury at international music contests. Aurélien Pascal (Paris, 1994) began his cello studies at the Conservatoire de Rueil- Malmaison and the Paris Conservatoire Régional, after which he moved to the Conservatoire National Supérieure de Music de Paris to study with Philippe Muller and Raphael Pidoux. He also took master classes from János Starker, Frans Helmerson, Arto Noras and Gary Hoffman. Pascal won the 1 st Prize at the André Navarra International Cello Competition, was awarded the Grand Prix Emmanuel Feuermann and received the prize for the best Interpretation of Ernst Toch s Cello Concerto. Aurélien Pascal has performed with many orchestras and ensembles, including: the Helsinki Philharmonic, the Tapiola Sinfonietta, the Gunma Symphony Orchestra and the Potsdam Chamber Academy. Aurélien Pascal has been studying at the Kronberg Academy under Frans Helmerson, since Jérôme Pernoo (Paris, 1972) studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris under Xavier Gagnepain and Philippe Muller. He was a laureate at the Tchaikovsky Competition and the Rostropovich Competition in Paris and was 1 st prizewinner in in Pretoria. Pernoo forms a duo with the pianist Jérôme Ducros with whom he has given recitals in New York, Paris and London. Jérôme Pernoo has made many CD recordings, amongst which a spectacular recording of the Cello Concertos by Offenbach and Connesson; the latter composed specially for him. Pernoo is the founder and Artistic Director of the Festival Les Vacances de Monsieur Haydn and a cello teacher at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris. During the 2012 Biennale he played in a night concert with the French jazz-cellist, Vincent Courtois

56 Cellists Bruno Philippe (Perpignan, 1993) studied at the Conservatoire régional de Paris with Raphael Pidoux and later at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris with Jérôme Pernoo. In 2014 he moved to the Kronberg Academy where he is now studying as a Young Soloist under Frans Helmerson. In 2011 he won third prize and a prize for best solo performance at the 3 rd André Navarra Competition in Toulouse (France), and in 2014 he won 3 rd prize and the audience favourite award at the 63 rd Internationaler Musikwettbewerb der ARD in Munich. He performs in the most prominent concert halls of Berlin, Paris, and Toulouse. He plays a cello made by Frank Ravatin provided by the Mécénat Musical Société Générale. Raphaël Pidoux (France, 1967) learned to play the cello from his father. At the age of seventeen he entered the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris where he studied under Philippe Muller, Jean- Claude Pennetier and Christophe Coin. Later he studied under the direction of Janos Starker in Bloomington (US). He was a prize winner at the Bach Cello Competition in Leipzig. Besides his international career with the Wanderer Trio, Raphaël Pidoux frequently plays with Christophe Coin, accordionist Richard Galliano, the Ensemble Baroque de Limoges and the Mosaïc Quartet, as well as with orchestras such as Les Siècles and Orchestre de l Opéra de Rouen. Raphaël Pidoux teaches at the Conservatoire national supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris and plays a cello made by Goffredo Cappa, around Ella van Poucke (The Hague, 1994) began to play the cello when she was about six years old. Then she studied at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague, before continuing her studies at the Kronberg Academy in Germany under Frans Helmerson. She has also had lessons from Steven Isserlis, Menahem Pressler, Mischa Maisky and the Emerson Quartet. She has won prizes at various (inter)national music contests. In 2015, she won the 1st prize at the Isang Yun Cello Competition in Korea. In addition to her work as a soloist, Ella is extremely active as a chambermusic musician. She has worked together with musicans such as: Gary Hoffman, Colin Carr, Gidon Kremer and András Schiff and has played in important concert halls in Europe, the US and Asia. During the 2012 Cello Biënnale, she performed the premiere of the Cello Concerto by Uljas Pulkkis. Jean-Guihen Queyras (Montreal, Canada, 1967) has so far been a guest at four of the five Cello Biennales, and has given a number of highly successful concerts and master classes there. In addition to Queyras impressive career as a soloist, he is also a member of various chamber-music groups including the Arcanto Quartet and a quartet in which he is joined by the zarb specialists Kevan and Bijan Cheminari, and the kemençe player, Sokratis Sinopoulos. Jean-Guihen Queyras is a teacher at the Musikhochschule in Stuttgart and Artistic Director of the Rencontres Musicales de Haute- Provence Festival in southern France. He plays a cello made by Gioffredo Cappa, dating from 1696, generously loaned to him by the Mécénat Musical Société Générale. Jonathan Roozeman (Helsinki, 1997) studies at the Sibelius Academy, Helsinki, under Professor Martti Rousi. In 2012, he won the 2 nd Prize at the fourth National Cello Competition in Amsterdam. In 2013, he was awarded a Special Prize at the fifth Paulo Cello Competition in Helsinki, and he was one of three finalists in the Prémio Internacional Suggia Competition in Porto, Portugal. He also reached the semi-finals in the 3 rd Gaspar Cassadó International Violoncello Competition in Hachioji, Japan. As a soloist, he has performed with orchestras in Finland, Lithuania, and Estonia. In 2015, he was chosen by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra to represent Finland at the Nordic Soloist Competition in Bergen, Norway. He plays a cello made by David Tecchler in 1707, loaned to him by the Finnish Culture Foundation. The Israeli-Dutch cellist Timora Rosler won a 1 st Prize at the 1996 Stuttgart International Cello Competition. In 1997, she received the Vriendenkrans from the Koninklijk Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. A year later, she won a Special Prize for Interpretation at the XI International Bach Competition in Leipzig. She has participated in numerous music festivals including those held in Ravinia, Aspen, Banff, and Prussia Cove. Rosler has appeared in concerts in Europe, the US, Canada, Argentina and Israel and has performed as a soloist with various orchestras, such as the Brussels Philharmonic, the Janácek Philharmonic, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, the Haifa Symphony Orchestra and the Orquesta de Cámara Mayo of Buenos Aires. Timora Rosier is a cello professor at the Utrechts Conservatorium, She plays on a cello made by Thomas Dodd in Martti Rousi (Finland, 1960) studied under Timo Hanhinen and Seppo Kimanen. He continued his study at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki under Arto Noras, moving at a later stage to the Indiana University in the US, where he studied under Janos Starker. Martti Rousi is a laureate of the Finnish National Music Competition in Turku and, in 1986, won the 2nd Prize at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. He has worked with prominent orchestras, such as the Moscow Symphony Orchestra and the Marinsky Orchestra, and with conductors such as Valery Gergiev and Olli Mustonen. Rousi also plays in a piano trio that he formed with Leonidas Kavakos and Peter Nagy. Since 1995, Martti Roussi has worked as a cello professor at the Sibelius Academy, Helsinki. Alexander Rudin (Moscow 1960) studied the piano and cello at the Gnessin Institute and, at the Moscow Conservatory, conducting under Dmitry Kitayenko. He has won prizes in many international competitions, and has performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Wiener Symphoniker and the Danish Radio Orchestra. His interest in authentic performance practice has led him to play early music and baroque music on both the cello and the viola da gamba, in an historically correct manner. As conductor, Rudin works with student orchestras, and has been the director of the Musica Viva Chamber Orchestra since He is a professor at the Moscow Conservatory, where he teaches chamber music. He also teaches at Yaşar University, Izmir, Turkey

57 Cellists Maximiliano Segura Sánchez (Spain) began to study the cello at the Conservatorio Superior de Música in Málaga. In 2008, he moved to the Conservatorium van Amsterdam to study under Maarten Mostert. He later gained his Master s diploma in the Baroque Cello after intensive studies under the guidance of Viola de Hoog and Anner Bijlsma. He has played with ensembles such as: the Holland Baroque Society, the Odyssee Ensemble, the Ensemble Eik en Linde and founded the Cappella Estense and the Amsterdam Corelli Collective. Maximiliano has worked under the guidance of Baroque specialists, such as: Richard Egarr, Giulo Prandi, Sigiswald Kuijken, Alfredo Bernardini and Menno van Delft and took part in various Old Music Festivals. Maximiliano was the first musicians to benefit from part of the Anner Bijlsma Award that Anner himself received at the 2014 Biennale. Kian Soltani (Bregenz, Austria, 1992) is a representative of the youngest generation of international cello soloists. He was born in Austria into a family of musicians, originally from Persia. He studied with Ivan Monighetti at the Musik-Akademie Basel in Switzerland. Since 2014, Soltani studies at the Kronberg Academy with Frans Helmerson. He has won various international cello contests: the Karl Davidoff Competition in Latvia, the Antonio Janigro Competition, and, in 2013, the Paolo Cello Competition in Helsinki. Kian Soltani is a many sided top talent, who made a great impression at the Sneak Preview of the Cello Biennale in At this Biennale he will be performing in the production of The Master and Margarita, playing in a programme that includes Spanish music and Flamenco and he will also be playing a work written by the Azerbaijan composer, Franghiz Ali- Zadeh. Julian Steckel studied under Ulrich Voss, Gustav Rivinius, Boris Perkamentchikov, Heinrich Schiff and Antje Weithaas. He has won prizes at various cello competitons, including, in 2010, the Internationaler Musikwettbewerb der ARD. In addition to his many concerts as soloist, Julian Steckel is a devoted chambermusic player and has performed with musicians and ensembles including: Janine Jansen, Christian Tetzlaff, Lars Vogt, Denis Kozhukhin, the Ebène Quartet and the Modigliani Quartet. Since 2011, he has taught at the Hochschule für Musik in Rostock. Julian Steckel has already performed in Amsterdam on several occasions as soloist with the Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest, but will be present at the Cello Biennale for the first time this year. He will also serve as a member of the jury at the National Cello Competition. Anton Mecht Spronk (1994) started having cello lessons from his father, Frank Spronk, when he was four years old. At the age of 12, he continued his studies under Monique Bartels. In 2012, he moved to Zürich to study under Thomas Grossenbacher, and attended master classes given by Colin Carr, Valter Despalj, Anner Bijlsma, Jens Peter Maintz, Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, Troels Svane and László Fenyö. He also has links with the Internationale Musikakademie in Liechtenstein, where he also participates in master classes. Anton won the 1 st Prize, the Audience Award and the Award for the Best Interpretation of the Commissioned Work at the National Cello Competition of the Cello Biennale Amsterdam in Anton plays a cello made by Vuillaume in 1865, on loan from the Nationaal Muziekinstrumenten Fonds. Torleif Thedéen is one of the most highly regarded contemporary cellists, who regularly plays with major orchestras of world fame, including the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Berliner Symphoniker, the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, the Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest, and the Israel Sinfonietta, under conductors including: Esa-Pekka Salonen, Paavo Berglund, Neeme Järvi, Franz Welser-Möst, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Leif Segerstam and Eri Klas. Torleif Thedéen is also active as a chamber musician, appearing in prestigious concert venues such as the Wigmore Hall in London, the Carnegie Recital Hall in New York and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. He often participates in major Music Festivals, such as the Verbier Festival, the Prague Spring Festival, and the festivals at Schleswig-Holstein, Bordeaux, Oslo, Bath, Stavanger and Kuhmo. Geneviève Verhage (1985) received her bachelor s degree from the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague having studied with Monique Bartels. She then moved to The Royal College of Music in London where she received her master s degree with Melissa Phelps. As a member of the Ragazze Quartet she studied at the Nederlandse Strijkkwartet Akademie. Lessons from Jean-Guihen Queyras, Bernard Greenhouse, Luc-Marie Aguera and the Kronos Quartet, as well as from directors Ria Marks and Titus Tiel Groenestege have been of great influence on her development as a cellist. In addition to giving classical concerts, Geneviève partakes regularly in music theatrical performances. She toured with Orkater/ Via Berlin, Oorkaan, Opera Zuid/ICK and has performed with Leine Roebana, Circus Treurdier and Nynke Laverman & Sytze Pruiksma. Geneviève plays an Hyppolite Silvestrecello from 1865 on loan from the Nationaal Muziekinstrumenten Fonds. Emile Visser (The Netherlands, 1973) studied under Godfried Hoogeveen and Dmitry Ferschtman at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague. He is a cellist in Zapp 4, a string quartet that focuses on playing improvised music, jazz, rock and world music. Since the start in1995, this quartet has built up a reputation for being one of the most single-minded, swinging string quartets in the Netherlands. Emile is also a member of the Metropole Orkest, a multi-faceted orchestra incorporating a rhythm section and a big band. Under the direction of Vince Mendoza, the orchestra, accompanies major artists, but also gives its own concerts. Visser s other musical activities include concerts with the cello quartet Djessus alongside Ernst Reijseger and appearances with the group Bayuba Cante and with Ilse de Lange. Alisa Weilerstein (Rochester, USA, 1982) started playing the cello at four years of age and made her concert-stage debut when she was thirteen. As a soloist she has performed with a number of major orchestras on four continents. She is also active in chamber music and performs with her parents, violinist Donald Weilerstein (the founding first violinist of the Cleveland Quartet) and pianist Vivian Hornik-Weilerstein, as the Weilerstein Trio. Her brother, who will be conducting the Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest during this Biennale, is the violinist and conductor, Joshua Weilerstein. A champion of contemporary music, Alisa Weilerstein has worked extensively with composers such as Osvaldo Golijov, Lera Auerbach and Joseph Hallman, several of whose works, written specifically for her, she premiered. Alisa Weilerstein plays a cello made by William Forster in

58 Other musicians Pieter Wispelwey (Haarlem, 1962) began to study the cello with Dicky Boeke, and later at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, with Anner Bijlsma. In 1992, he was the first cellist to receive the Nederlandse Muziek Prijs. Pieter feels just as comfortable playing a Baroque cello as he does playing a modern instrument. Wispelwey has an impressive discography. He has made over thirty CD recordings, including, on three occasions, all Bach s Cello Suites. In 2013, his CD recording appeared of works by Schubert, played on authentic instruments and also a CD with a recording of the Cello Concerto by Lalo, coupled with the seldomplayed 2 nd Cello Concerto by Saint-Saëns. Pieter Wispelwey plays on a modern cello made by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini in 1760 and a Baroque cello made by Pieter Rombouts in Young Croatian cellists Luka Šulić and Stjepan Hauser, also known as 2CELLOS, have achieved sensational success by taking the cello to a new level. 2CELLOS rose to fame in 2011 when their version of Michael Jackson s Smooth Criminal took the world by storm. The YouTube video became a massive viral sensation leading to a record deal with Sony Masterworks and an invitation to join Sir Elton John on his worldwide tour. Aside from their online success, 2CELLOS main focus is on playing live. All of their performances in the US., Japan and Europe are always completely sold out, and so was their Night Concert at the 2014 Cello Biennale. Soprano Lucie Chartin studied Early Music singing with Maarten Koningsberger and Xenia Meijer at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. She has performed as an ensemble singer with Cappella Amsterdam, Ensemble Pygmalion and the Nederlands Bach Vereniging, working with conductors such as Daniel Reuss, René Jacobs, Tan Dun, Hans- Christoph Rademann, Roy Goodman and Jan Willem de Vriend. As a soloist, she has sung various oratoriorepertoire roles in the Messiah, Mozart s Requiem, Giacomo Carissimi s Jephte, and Bach s Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich (with Yannick Nézét-Seguin and the Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest). She also performed the role of Belinda in Dido and Aeneas under Richard Egarr in Amsterdam and created the role of Mariken s Soul in Mariken in de Tuin der Lusten by Calliope Tsoupaki, with Asko Schönberg. Agustin Diassera (Huelva 1977) investigated as a young percussionist different timbres and musical styles while at the same time studying flute and harmony. In 1999, after he had obtained his degree in Music Education at the University of Huelva, he received a grant to study the Indian tabla at the Indian Institute of Art and Culture in London with Shiv Shankar. Back in Spain, he worked with artists such as Joaquín Cortes, Manolo Sanlucar, Archangel, Jose Antonio Rodriguez, Juan Carlos Romero, Enrique Heredia Negri Falete, Esperanza Fernández, Miguel Poveda, Pepe Roca, Matt Bianco, Trio Arbós, Mauricio Sotelo, and Fami Alqhai. As a composer his latest projects have been Metaphor with the Orquesta de Córdoba for the Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía as well as Architecture of Shadows for dancer Rubén Olmo. Jérôme Ducros is a French pianist and composer. After his studies in Orléans and Paris he won the second prize at the Umberto Micheli International Music Contest in Milan. He regularly plays with singers and instrumentalists, such as Dawn Upshaw, Ian Bostridge, Philippe Jaroussky, Renaud and Gautier Capuçon and the Ebène Quartet and has made several CD s with them. He has given many recitals with the cellist Jérôme Pernoo and has composed several works for him. At the 2012 Biennale, Ducros played works by Connesson together with some of his own compositions. His composing style shows a restoration of old values, such as tonality. Hans Eijsackers (The Hague, 1967) studied classical piano at the Sweelinck Conservatorium in Amsterdam (with, a.o., Jan Wijn) and at the Mozart Academy in Cracow. He has performed numerous solo programmes, including recitals in New York and London. Eijsackers is often asked to act as an accompanist for singers, and in this capacity, with Henk Neven, he won the Mees Pierson Prize in He is a regular accompanist at the Internationaal Vocalisten Concours in s-hertogenbosch. Eijsackers teaches at the conservatories of The Hague and Tilburg as a main-subject teacher for the piano and chamber music and has been appointed as Professor of Song Design and Performance at the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Dusseldorf. José Gallardo (Buenos Aires, Argentina) started piano lessons at the age of five, at first at the Buenos Aires Conservatory. Later, he continued his studies with Poldi Mildner at the Faculty of Music of the University of Mainz, completing his diploma in He is very fond of chamber music and has won many national and international awards playing in this genre. He has performed at numerous festivals, including the Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival, the Asiago Festival, the Schwetzingen Festival, the Kronberg Cello Festival, and the Rheingau Music Festival, working with musicians such as Alberto Lysy, Gidon Kremer, Chen Zimbalista, Julius Berger and Nicolas Altstaedt. From 1998 to 2008, he taught at the Faculty of Music of the University of Mainz and subsequently at the Leopold Mozart Centre of the University of Augsburg. Paolo Giacometti is a Dutch-Italian pianist (Milan, 1970), a former student of Jan Wijn at the Sweelinck Conservatorium in Amsterdam, where he graduated summa cum laude. His musical development has also been strongly influenced by Gyorgy Sebök. He gained recognition through his recordings, including the ones with cellist Pieter Wispelwey and he recorded the complete piano works of Rossini. He has also played with orchestras, conductors and soloists known throughout the world and has won many prizes at (inter)national piano contests. He was given the prestigious Benchmark award and the distinction 'Performance of Outstanding Quality' by the BBC s Music Magazine for his recording of Schumann s Humoreske, Fantasiestücke and Toccata. Paolo Giacometti has taught at the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Dusseldorf, since September

59 Other musicians Astrid Haring studied the harp under Ernestine Stoop for her Master s Degree at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague, and graduated Summa Cum Laude. She also won the Fock Medal (for the best examination of that year) for her examination piece. Devoted to multidisciplinarity within the arts, Haring has taken part in a number of music theatre productions and performances that incorporate live dance. Between 2009 and 2012 Haring frequently collaborated with the singer Nynke Laverman and brought out a CD with guitarist Camiel that combines several genres: jazz, soul and Brazilian music. In 2008, Haring formed a duo with Brandt Attema (bass trombone), and, since 2011, another duo with her former harp teacher Ernestine Stoop. In addition, Haring regulary performs with the most prominent Dutch orchestras and ensembles. Daniël Kramer has gained recognition as a versatile and animated pianist. He has performed as soloist with the Residentie Orkest, the Radio Kamer Philharmonie and the Nederlands Kamer Orkest under conductors, such as Peter Eötvös and Reinbert de Leeuw. He won 1st prize at the Prinses Christina Concours, the Concorso Seghizzi (the prize for song accompaniment) and the Olivier Messiaen Music Contest in Paris. The piano lessons given by Ton Hartsuiker have greatly influenced Kramer s playing, and, during his studies at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, he was inspired and challenged for many years by Håkon Austbø. Coaches, such as Aimard, Perahia and Claude Helffer have also contributed to his forming. Leonor Leal (Jerez de la Frontera, Spain) began her education in classical and Spanish dance in Jerez. Lessons from various prominent flamenco teachers followed in both Jerez and Seville. Her first performances as a professional were with dance groups led by Antonio El Pipa, Andrès Marin, and Javier Baron, and also with Cristina Hoyos Ballet Flamenco de Andalucia. These performances helped her to gain a place at famous events, such as Femenino Plural, Alicia, El Pais de las Maravillas, Serenata Andaluza and Viva Jerez. She presented her own work, Leoleole, for the first time at the Jerez Festival in At the illustrious contest in Madrid that same year, she was rewarded a distinction for being the most outstanding female dancer at the contest. Ere Lievonen plays the harpsichord, the forte piano, the piano and the organ and is specialised in both old and modern music. So he has played at many modern and old music festivals in Europe and the US. Lievonen studied in Finland and the Netherlands with, a.o., Jacques van Oortmerssen, Miklós Spányi, Jacques Ogg, Bart van Oort and Annelie de Man. Apart from solo concerts, Lievonen regularly performs in various chamber music formations. He plays in his own ensemble Salon Eusebius, in Baroque ensembles, such as ALGO and Beauty and the Beasts, and in the Ambrosius Ensemble. Since 2009, Lievonen has been the regular organist of the unique microtonal Fokker organ in the Muziekgebouw aan t IJ. Jan Willem Loot is the chair person of the piano and organ jury at the National Cello Competition. He was general director of the Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest until December Loot studied law at the University of Groningen and, subsequently, cello, under René van Ast and Bertus van Lier. He was director of the Overijssels Philharmonisch Orkest in Enschede and the Amsterdam Philharmonisch Orkest (which later became the Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest). Following his retirement in 2008, he was appointed Artistic Director of the Orchestre National de France. Jan Willem Loot served as Chairman of the jury at the National Cello Competitions of 2010, 2012 and Efrén López created several projects in the field of Roots and Early music (such as: L Ham de Foc, Evo and Trio Petrakis / López / Chemirani), and contributed to many other projects across Europe, Asia and North America, working together with a.o. Ross Daly & Labyrinth, Jordi Savall, Sima Bina, Oni Wytars, Daud Khan Ensemble. He approaches early and traditional music languages through the study of modal music systems (makam, raga), working together with masters from Greece, Turkey, Afghanistan, Iran and India. He has performed in prestigious festivals all over the world and recorded more than 60 CD s, including works as a solo artist as well as collaborations. He also gives workshops and masterclasses on composition, modal music theory, as well as techniques of several instruments (fretless guitar, hurdy gurdy and Afghan rabab). Claudio Martínez Mehner (1970), a Spanish piano soloist and educationalist, studied at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid, the Peabody Institute in London, the Moscow Conservatory, the International Piano Foundation Theo Lieven and the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg. In 1991 he won the 1 st prize at the Pilar Bayona Competition. A chamber music specialist, Martínez Mehner has recorded an album with the Casals Quartet, and as a soloist, he has played with the Münchener Philharmoniker, the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra and the orchestra of the Teatro Alla Scala, among others. He is a Professor at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Aragón and is Assistant to Dmitry Bashkirov at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía. The American soprano Claron McFadden (1961) studied voice at the Eastman School of Music and received her bachelor s degree with distinction in In the same year she moved to the Netherlands. Soon she became a great name in Baroque as well as in the traditional and modern repertoires. In opera, McFadden is in great demand as a soloist. She sung the title role in the opera Lulu for the Glyndebourne opera, the role of Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos with the Nationale Opera, and many other roles from the Baroque repertoire. She has worked on various projects on which a number of artistic disciplines have converged, such as Pité! by Alain Platel, David Kweksilber s Big Band and Muziektheater Transparant. She was awarded the Amsterdamprijs voor de Kunst Claron McFadden is known for her unique interpretations of present-day music and has given many world premiere performances

60 Other musicians Szymon Marciniak is regarded worldwide as a leading double-bass virtuoso. He has appeared as soloist throughout Europe as well as in Canada and the US. He made his solo debut as headliner at the ISB Convention in Rochester NY in His debut CD of the Sonatas and Miniatures of Adolf Misek was released in 2012 and has received critical acclaim in Europe, the UK (Strad magazine) and the US (Fanfare). Szymon was principal bass of the Residentie Orkest until 2013 before moving to Berlin, where he now works as a freelance musician. He is a member of the New European Ensemble and his particular interest in the contemporary bass repertoire has led him to collaborate with several living composers. Szymon served as a judge for the 2014 David Walter ISB Composition Competition. Joey Marijs gained his Master s diploma in 2006 from the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague where he had studied under Wim Vos, Luuk Nagtegaal and Hans Zonderop. During his study, he played with the Residentie Orkest, the Radio Philharmonisch Orkesr, the Metropole Orkest, Asko Schönberg, the African percussion group Anumadutchi and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra. He is also a member of the Anstatt Dass Trio - a trio that plays Entartete Musik, and, in particular the music written for Bertolt Brecht s texts in their own unique style. During his study, he was actively involved in projects orientating around György Kurtag and Steve Reich. He is one of the founders of the Klang Ensemble, and that led him to form the Switch Duo with saxofonist Eric-Jan de With. Flamenco singer Rocío Márquez (Huelva, 1986), is praised by both the press and the public for her interpretation of the classical flamenco repertoire. At the same time she moves with just as much pleasure, and a keen eye for renewal, outside those established paths. Márquez studied solfège at the Conservatorio Profesional de Música de Huelva Javier Perianes, flamenco singing at the Cristina Heren Foundation and studies music at the University of Seville. Applying a mixture of knowledge and daring, melody and radicality, she creates a fusion of the new with the old, and arrives at an enormously stratified interpretation of flamenco. Márquez is a singer who searches for her voice by delving into tradition, and by so doing, broadcasts the message that classicism and the avant garde do not cancel out, but renew each other. The baritone Henk Neven, whose teachers included Margreet Honig and Maarten Koningsberger, graduated cum laude from the Dutch National Opera Academy and summa cum laude from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. The baritone won the Fortis MeesPierson Award in 2008; a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship in 2009 and the Nederlandse Muziek Prijs in He has sung with the Nederlandse Opera in various productions and joined the stage productions of, for example, the Theater an der Wien in Vienna, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin and the Opéra National de Paris. In the current season, Henk Neven will fulfill solo assignments with the Rotterdam Philharmonisch Orkest, the National Orchestra of Lyon, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and the Noord Nederlands Orkest. He regularly works with pianist Hans Eysacker, both for recitals and for CD recordings. Saeko Oguma studied the viola at the Toho Gakuen Music Academy in Tokyo, and then gained orchestral experience with the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin and with a number of large Japanese orchestras. At the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, she furthered her studies under the tutelage of Sven Arne Tepl, Marjolein Dispa and Nobuko Imai. While studying in the Netherlands Saeko won the 2 nd Prize at the International Johannes Brahms Contest in 2008, and then, in 2009, the 1 st Prize at the 1 st National Viola Competition in Amsterdam. She has played with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, the Berliner Symphoniker, the Conservatoriumorkest van Amsterdam and with Cappella Amsterdam. She regularly performs in chamber ensembles at festivals in Japan and in Europe. Since 2009, Saeko Oguma has been reserve leader of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Rosanne Philippens began to play the violin when she was three years old. She studied with Coosje Wijzenbeek and Vera Beths. In June 2009, she graduated from the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague, summa cum laude. In 2014, Rosanne won 1st Prizes at the International Violinwettbewerb in Freiburg, Germany, and at the Nationaal Vioolconcours Oskar Back in As soloist, Rosanne has played under conductors, such as Stefan Asbury, Etienne Siebens and Martin Sieghart and with orchestras, such as the Hermitage State Orchestra of St Petersburg, the Philharmonisches Orchester Freiburg and the Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen. Rosanne Philippens plays regularly with the pianist Julien Quentin. Rosanne plays on the exceptional Barrere Stradivarius, from 1727 (the violin on which Janine Jansen played for fifteen years), made available by the Elise Mathilde Fund. Jan-Paul Roozeman (1994) studied the piano under Erik T. Tawaststjerna at the Sibelius Academy and under Naum Grubert at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. Jan- Paul has performed as soloist, chamber musician and orchestral soloist at various international festivals in, for example, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Latvia, Estonia, Armenia and Nagomo Karabach, and Finland. He has won a number of prizes, including the Young Musician of the Year title in 2009, awarded by the Pro Musica Foundation; the 2nd Prize at the International EPTA Contest in Waterloo, Belgium (2010); the Grand Prix at the internal competition of the Sibelius Academy when he was rated as the best student from the Youth Department (2012). Two years later, he won the 2nd Prize in the Ilmari Hannikainen Competition in Finland (2014). Drew Santini is a baritone from Canada, who studied in New York. He gained his Bachelor s diploma from the Manhattan School of Music and his Master s diploma from the Juilliard School. He also attended Master Classes given by Thomas Hampson and Roberta Alexander. Santini has played opera roles such as Papageno in The Magic Flute and Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro. He has worked with conductors such as James Levine and Valery Ryvkin, and with orchestras including the Holland Baroque Society, the International Symphony Orchestra and Concerto Barocco. He has also given world premieres of works by Stephen Schwartz, Jennifer Griffith and Gregory Spears. Drew Santini recently became the first singer in over ten years to be awarded the Grand Award of the National Music Festival of Canada

61 Other musicians Conductors and directors Bram van Sambeek (1980) was the first Dutch bassoon player to win the prestigious Nederlandse Muziek Prijs (2011). He also won the important European prize, the Borletti Buitoni Trust Award. With these successes in hand, Van Sambeek gave up his job as solo bassoonist at the Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest. Since then, he has travelled all over the world, both as soloist and to take part in chamber music festivals. In 2010, Bram van Sambeek received a Carte Blanche invitation to play in the Concertgebouw, and, in 2015, a Wild- Card to play in the Muziekgebouw. In addition to his classical concerts, Van Sambeek plays world music, pop, and rock music. His enthusiasm for the bassoon has led, among other activities, to forming (specially for the Holland Festival) the world s largest bassoon orchestra (comprising 274 bassoonists!). Shunske Sato (Tokyo, 1984) is a classical and Baroque violinist and viola-player. His concert career started in the U.S. when he was twelve years old, when he won the 1 st Prize at the Young Concert Artists Competition in Sato was taught by Chin Kim, Dorothy DeLay, Masao Kawasaki, Jaime Laredo, Gérard Poulet and Mary Utiger. Sato is currently leader of both the Concerto Köln and the Nederlandse Bachvereniging. He was the first violinist to play Paganini s 2nd Violin Concerto on the Baroque violin. His recordings cover a broad repertoire from Eugène Ysaÿe s Six Sonatas for solo violin and the complete sonatas for violin and piano by Edvard Grieg, to his recent recordings of the 12 Fantasias for solo violin by Georg Philipp Telemann. Fedor Teunisse, percussion, is one of the most outstanding Dutch musicians. As a percussionist he plays in all manner of ensembles and orchestras. He teaches at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague and is the Artistic Leader of both the Asko Schönberg, and of Slagwerk Den Haag with whom he has worked as percussionist since Together with composers and instrument makers, he has developed new instruments, and new possibilities for percussion to add expression to music. During the 2010 Biennale, he took responsibility for the percussion section in the celebrated Match for two cellos and percussion by Maurizio Kagel. Candida Thompson studied the violin under David Takeno at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and graduated as a soloist with an honour s diploma. She developed her qualities further at the Banff Arts Centre in Canada and has played with several international orchestras. She is also regularly invited to lead chamber orchestras in Europe. Intensively engaged in chamber music, Candida Thompson is a regular guest artist at chamber music festivals all over the world and has collaborated with many other renowned musicians. In 2003, she was appointed Artistic Director and lead violinist of the Amsterdam Sinfonietta. Her musical approach and leadership guarantees energetic performances by strongly committed musicians who have fostered a special relationship with their audiences. Derya Türkan (Istanbul, Turkey, 1973) graduated in 1995 from İhsan Özgen s violin class at the State Music Conservatory of Turkey. He was a member of the Istanbul State Music Ensemble for seven years, but since 2000, he has had a full-time position at TRT Istanbul Radio. During this time, Türkan has performed with many Turkish artists, including Alaadin Yavaşça, Bedri Sıdkı Sezgin, Niyazi Sayın and Erol Deran. Sinds 1992, he has also been a member of the Kudsi Ergüer Group and the Anatolian Group and has participated in the CD albums recorded by the Kudsi Ergüer Group, such as Islam Blues, Ottomania, Osmanlı Davulları, La banda Allaturca and Tac Mahal. Derya Türkan also gives concerts as a soloist and has taught in the US at Harvard University, UC Santa Cruz and at MIT. Noriko Yabe (Yokohama, Japan, 1974) had her first piano lessons at the age of six. When she was twelve, she made her debut as a soloist with an orchestra in the USA. After studying piano at the Toho-Gakuen High School and College of Music in Tokyo with Fujiko Yamada and chamber music with Shigeo Neriki, Hamao Fujiwara, Ryosuke Hori and Akira Miyoshi, Noriko continued her study with Willem Brons at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. She graduated in 2003 and, immediately afterwards, was appointed Class Accompanist of the Cello Department. Noriko is a regular guest pianist at music festivals and master classes such as the International Holland Music Sessions and the Cello Biennale Amsterdam. Nuno Coelho (1989) began his musical career as a violinist. He studied under Professor Brian Finlayson at the Kärntner Landeskonservatorium in Klagenfurt, gaining his Bachelor s Degree in From 2012 to 2014 he studied for his Master s Degree at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels, under Professor Yuzuko Horigome. Nuno Coelho is currently living in Zürich, Switzerland, where, since 2014, he has been following a Master s course in Orchestral Conducting at the Zürcher Hochschule der Kunst, under Professor Johannes Schlaefli. He has also followed master classes from renowned conductors, such as: Neeme Järvi, Gennady Rozhdestvensky and Bernard Haitink. Since 2014, he has been Chief Conductor and Artistic Leader of the Phoenix Chamber Orchestra in Brussels. He was recently appointed Assistant Conductor to Marc Albrecht for the Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest. Nicholas Collon (UK,1983) is a British viola-player, pianist, organist and conductor. One of Collon s mentors was Sir Colin Davis. Collon has also appeared on the concert platform as Assistant Conductor to Sir Mark Elder. In 2005, Collon, and associates, established the Aurora Orchestra, for which he is the Artistic Leader In the season , Collon was the Assistant Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. In April 2007 he conducted Mozart s Magic Flute, the first opera ever to be staged at the West Bank, where, in 2009, he returned with La Bohème. His debut with the English National Opera took place in 2012 and, in 2013, he conducted the première of Jonathan Harvey s opera Wagner Dream. In 2015, Collon became chief conductor of the Residentie Orkest in The Hague

62 Conductors and directors Judith Kubitz studied conducting with Sir Colin Davis, Sir Charles Mackarras and Mariss Jansons, among others. She worked at the state theatres of Schwerin, Cottbus and Kassel where she acquired a thorough experience in music theatre. Lately, she has led performances of Verdi s La Traviata and Mozart s Magic Flute in Berlin and of Bizet s Carmen and Wagner s Flying Dutchman in Bern. In the Netherlands, she has conducted the Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest and the Staatsorchester Braunschweig in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. During the 2014 Biennial she conducted the Symphony Orchestra of the Conservatorium van Amsterdam in the world premiere of Richard Rijnvos barbara baccante. Judith Kubitz is Chief Conductor of the Philharmonie Baden- Baden. Sjaron Minailo is a talented director of music-theatre and opera productions. Minailo studied at the Thelma Yelin High School for the Arts in Tel Aviv and gained a Master s Degree in Theatrical Sciences at the Universiteit van Amsterdam. From 2009 to 2012, he was linked to the Kameroperahuis during which time he realized a number of successful productions and tours. Minailo has been a regular guest at the Operadagen Rotterdam since He has also collaborated with prominent organisations and artists in the field of theatre music, such as: Reinbert de Leeuw, Asko Schönberg, Slagwerk Den Haag, the National Opera, Brno (2013), the Mondriaan Kwartet, the Opera Studio Nederland and the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. Sjaron Minaillo is the Artistic Leader of his own Studio Minailo a studio specialized in developing innovative music-theatre productions. Kenneth Montgomery (Belfast, 1943) started his professional career at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera and the English National Opera (then known as the Sadler s Wells Opera). In 1973, he was appointed Chief Conductor of the Bournemouth Sinfonietta, and later of the Glyndebourne Touring Company. His reputation in the Netherlands grew rapidly following his 1970 debut with the Nederlandse Opera Stichting, his appointment as Chief Conductor of the Radio Symfonie Orkest and then as Chief Conductor of the Groot Omroepkoor. In addition to his many guest appearances in France, Belgium, Italy, the US, Canada and Australia, he also holds an appointment as Artistic Director of the Northern Ireland Opera and with the Opera Class at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague, where a special professorial chair has been created in his name. Olli Mustonen (Finland, 1967) is a pianist, composer and conductor. The son of pianist, Seppo Mustonen, Olli began to take piano, harpsichord and composition lessons when he was five years old. He studied the piano first with Ralf Gothoni and later with Eero Heinonen. From 1975 onwards, he had composition lessons from Einojuhani Rautavaara, and wrote his first composition that same year. He represented Scandinavia Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden in the Eurovision Young Musicians Competition in 1984, and won the 2nd Prize. He has been Artistic Director of the Korsholm Music Festival since 1989 and has conducted the chamber orchestra, Tapiola Sinfonietta (Helsinki) since Mustonen has worked with top orchestras and conductors worldwide, including: Vladimir Ashkenazy, Pierre Boulez and Daniel Barenboim. Daniel Reuss (1961) studied choral conducting at the Rotterdams Conservatorium under Barend Schuurman and became Artistic Director of Cappella Amsterdam in Under his artistic leadership, this ensemble has acquired a prominent position in the Netherlands during recent years, for both early music and the modern and contemporary repertoire. Reuss regularly works with ensembles and orchestras across Europe, including the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, MusikFabrik, Scharoun Ensemble, the Concertgebouw Kamerorkest and the Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest. Daniel Reuss has been Chief Conductor of the Ensemble Vocal Lausanne since Dagmar Slagmolen (the Netherlands, 1980) graduated in 2005 from the Acting Department of the Drama Academy, Artez, in Arnhem. At first, she worked as a freelance actress and was attached for quite a long time to the drama groups de Appel and Alaska. In recent years, Dagmar has developed skills as a director/producer. In this capacity, she has directed performances of the group Cello8ctet Amsterdam (such as the highly praised family show Cellostorm ), Amsterdam Sinfonietta, Calefax, the Nederlands Kamer Koor, the Ragazze Quartet, the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and the Philharmonie Zuidnederland. Both an actress and a cellist, she intertwines live (classical) music with new theatre texts and large themes for her own musictheatre group, Via Berlin, that she founded in 2008, together with violinist Rosa Arnold and producer Ria Marks. Ed Spanjaard was the Chief Conductor of the Limburg Symphony Orchestra and of the Nieuw Ensemble, the former until the end of the 2012 season. In addition, he often works as Guest Conductor for the Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest, the Dutch radio orchestras and the Nederlands Kamerkoor. He has also conducted the Münchner Philharmoniker, the Staatskapelle Weimar, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Opéra de Lyon, the Ensemble Intercontemporain in Paris, the Ensemble Modern in Frankfurt and KlangForum in Vienna. In 2012, under his direction, The Nederlandse Reisopera produced the complete cycle of Der Ring des Nibelungen by Richard Wagner. In October 2013, Ed Spanjaard conducted the Orchestra of the 18th Century in their very successful semiconcertante production of Mozart s Così Fan Tutte. Jochem Stavenuiter established, together with Paul van der Laan, the mime-theatre group, Mimetheatergroep Bambie, for which Stavenuiter is the Artistic Leader. Together with changing groups of guest players, they put on physical performances that are both wild and poetic, naïve and cruel, raw and refined. He undertakes a large number of performances with the Bambie Group and is also active in a number of co-productions that are frequently put on in the Netherlands and abroad. In addition, he has played with groups such as: Rotheater, Alex D electrique and Orkater. Since 2014, he has made regular appearances with the Noord Nederlands Toneel and, in addition to performing his own intimate solo piece Eleonora, he has also performed pieces such as Fellini and the Twelve Members of the Jury

63 Composers premieres Joshua Weilerstein s career is developing very rapidly. He grew up in a musical family and studied the violin and orchestral direction, receiving his diploma for both disciplines in In 2009, while still a student, he won 1st Prize at the Malko Competition for Young Conductors in Copenhagen. Immediately after graduating, he was appointed for three years as Assistant- Conductor of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. This gave him opportunities, as Guest Conductor, to work with a number of top orchestras, such as: the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra. On several occasions he has also successfully conducted the Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest. Joshua Weilerstein is currently Artistic Director of the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne. Joël Bons is composer and Artistic Leader of the Nieuw Ensemble and of the Atlas Ensemble and teacher of composition at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. He studied composition with Heppener, Donatoni and Ferneyhough. His music is performed by prominent ensembles in the Netherlands and elsewhere. In 1988 he travelled to China and made acquaintance there with young composers who later, via the Nieuw Ensemble made their name in the Western world. In 1998, Bons and the ensemble were awarded with the Prins Bernhard Fonds Muziekprijs. In 2002, he founded the Atlas Ensemble, a unique chamber orchestra that brings together musicians from the Far East, Middle East and Europe for which, in 2005, Bon was awarded the prestigious Amsterdamprijs voor de Kunsten. His recent work includes: Green Dragon, Summer Dance, Revolutions and Pendule. Bons has led master-classes and composition workshops in many countries. Brendan Faegre (Portland, USA, 1985) studied composition with Martijn Padding, Peter Adriaansz, Lasse Thoresen, Don Freund, Claude Baker, and Michael Gandolfi. He received Master of Music degrees from the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague and the Indiana University, and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Puget Sound. As composer, drummer, and band leader Brendan Faegre crafts music that unites the traditions within which he was formed: jazz and rock drumming, Hindustani classical and contemporary concert music. In 2013 he debuted the Brendan Faegre Edge Ensemble, a group challenging the boundaries between notated and improvised music. Faegre has led the ensemble in premieres of his own works, newly commissioned pieces from other young composers, and improvisations around strictly notated music by well-known living composers. Oene van Geel (1973), viola-player and composer, is a musical adventurer. Influenced by jazz, Indian music, chamber music and free improvisation, he applies his virtuoso improvisation skills and his talent for composition to a wide range of musical activities. He is currently active as a player with: Zapp4, Estafest, The Nordanians and Haanstra & van Geel. He is also regularly invited to play as an improvising guest soloist. He won the Boy Edgar Prijs, the Sena Performers Composition Prize (together with Zapp4), and the Kersjes Prijs (together with Zapp4), the Deloitte Jazz Award, the Dutch Jazz Competition and the Jur Naessens Music Prize. Oene composes for his own groups, but also for other ensembles and soloists, such as: the David Kweksilber Big Band, the Osiris Trio, the Nationale Opera, Amsterdam Sinfonietta, the Matangi Quartet and Calefax. Galina Grigorjeva (Simferopol, Ukraine, 1962) studied at the Simferopol Music School and then at the Odessa Conservatory. In 1991, she graduated from Yuri Falik s class at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, before moving on to the Estonian Academy of Music, studying with Professor Lepo Sumera. In 2003, Grigorjeva received the Heino Eller Music Award and a year later the Estonian Culture Capital Award. Her music is based on melodical thoughts and is praised for its spiritual and subtle sound texture. Galina Grigorjeva s compositions are strongly influenced by the Slavonic tradition of liturgical music and early European polyphony. Her music has been performed at festivals in Estonia and further afield by choirs, ensembles and chamber orchestras, such as: the Hortus Musicus Consort, the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, the Moscow Chamber Orchestra and the percussion ensemble Kroumata. Pete Harden (UK, 1979) is a composer and electric guitarist based in the Netherlands. His music has been called intriguing, fierce, exciting (Volkskrant). Having studied with Louis Andriessen and Richard Ayres he helped to establish Ensemble Klang, for whom he is Artistic Director. His output ranges from music-theatre pieces; a set of works in information aesthetics that explore the beauty of data; to works exploring microtonal tunings. These all show a passion for discovering new forms and structures, unexpected combinations of sounds and material, and for marrying conceptually rigorous content with an outer lightness. He has had works commissioned and performed by, among others Bang on a Can All-stars (New York), Slagwerk Den Haag, Orkest de Ereprijs, Saskia Lankhoorn, Marco Blaauw, the Orgelpark and Leda Dance Company (France). Guus Janssen (1951) studied piano and composition at the Sweelinck Conservatorium, Amsterdam. Janssen s compositions extend from piano music and chamber music to symphonic works. In addition to being performed by Janssen s various ensembles, his compositions have also been played by, for example, the Mondriaan Quartet, the Nieuw Ensemble, the Radio Kamerorkest and the Concertgebouw Orkest. In 1981, he received the Boy Edgar Prijs for his work in the field of jazz and improvised music. For his compositional work, he was awarded the prestigious Matthijs Vermeulen Prijs in In 2008, his triple concerto Verstelwerk, played by the Riverside Orchestra, was received with ovation at the Carnegie Hall in New York. During that same season, Janssen worked as Composerin-Residence for the Brabants Orkest. In December 2012, he received the Johan Wagenaar Prijs for his entire oeuvre. Hilary Jeffery (England, 1971) is a trombonist and composer. He has more than 25 years of experience as a professional trombonist, playing in many styles and areas of music, including: rock, techno, electronics, jazz, pop, afrobeat, contemporary classical, and free improvisation. As a composer, he has received commissions from: Slagwerk Den Haag, GRM Acousmonium, the David Kweksilber Big Band, Lysn, and Sonic Acts. He has been invited for residences with, for example, Recollets in Paris (2012), won composition prizes, such as the Henriette Bosmans Prijs (2009); and his music features in many different recordings, on various labels, including: Aquarellist, Col Legno, FMR, Dilemma, Important Records, Mikroton, New World Records, Soul Jazz, Sloow Tapes, Sub Rosa, Zeitkratzer Records, and Karl Records

64 Composers premieres Orchestras and ensembles Jan Kuijken (Bruges, 1964) studied cello and piano at the Academie Asse. Later he became interested in composition, and, more specifically, to composing for the theatre, dance and film. He has written music for twenty or so productions, for example: four productions with Josse De Pauw - Die siel van die mier, Liefde zijn handen, De Gehangenen and Huis. For the last of these, his composition was for symphonic orchestra. In the Netherlands, he works regularly with Marlies Heuer, and, together, they have composed Dubbelconcertino, Szymborska! and Happy Days. Since 2000, he has been composer-in-residence for the LOD production house in Ghent. In 1992, in Paris, he was awarded le grand prix international de video danse for his music for the dance video Tristitia by Karin Vyncke. Chiel Meijering (Amsterdam, 1954) studied composition with Ton de Leeuw, percussion under Jan Labordus and Jan Pustjens and piano at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. Meijering has an enormous output of works; so far he has written over 900 compositions, for almost every imaginable instrumentation, but mainly for some form of small-ensemble setting. Many of these pieces, written for renowned chambermusic ensembles, are performed regularly in the Netherlands and abroad. A strong characteristic of Meijering s works is that he uses a large variety of styles. Without any difficulty, he seems to be able to move effortlessly between different musical worlds and genres and thus creates a different texture for each of his works. Some of these works are reminiscent of pop, jazz or world music, others are written in a classical tradition, or show avantgarde elements. Genevieve Murphy studied first at the Junior School of the Glasgow Royal Conservatory. She gained her Bachelor s Degree in Music at Birmingham Conservatory, followed, in 2013, by a Master s Degree in Composition at The Koninklijk Conservatorium of The Hague. Amsterdam Sinfonietta, the Nieuw Ensemble, the Nederlands Blazers Ensemble and musicians of the Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest have performed her compositions. Genevieve often collaborates with visual artists, free improvisers, choreographers and producers. This year, she performed her durational work Drip for Me in the gallery W139 continuously, for 12 hours. It was a compositional process that formed a score of 25 meters in length. Genevieve was recently nominated for the International Rostrum of Composers, in the category composers under 30 years of age, She is currently composing for the Dutch Design week (Eindhoven) and La Fenice Theatre (Venice). Mayke Nas (1972) studied piano and composing. She enjoys creating music which requires musicians to breath simultaneously with the music, for moving chairs, wired blackboards, and open bridges. She works with the Nieuw Ensemble, Asko Schönberg, Slagwerk Den Haag, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bl!ndman, Neue Vocalsolisten, Eighth Blackbird, the Ragazze Quartet and other musical wizards. Theatre, video, text and choreography are often an integral part of her compositions. In 2005, she adapted I Delayed People s Flights By Walking Slowly In Narrow Hallways for four players, four chairs and four amplified chalkboards with live-electronics from Peter Handke s play Self-Accusation for Slagwerk Den Haag in collaboration with Wouter Snoei. In 2006, she revived the concept of audience-participation in the fluxus-inspired performance-piece Anyone can do it, for six completely unprepared players, not necessarily gifted with any musical talent. Martijn Padding (Amsterdam, 1956) studied composition with Louis Andriessen, piano with Fania Chapiro and musicology at the Universiteit Utrecht. His oeuvre ranges from solo instrumental works to large-scale orchestral compositions and music theatre. His more recent works are less prone to the angular construction and pithy harmonic structure of his earlier pieces, and although, often, Padding s music still exhibits a technicalmusical aspect, a theatrical element is increasingly evident. Padding s compositional aesthetic precludes any hierarchical relationship between, for instance, modernistic elements, influences from popular culture and historicallybased doctrines. On the occasion of the 80th birthday of Anner Bijlsma, Padding wrote a special Homage to Anner. It was performed in his presence by Jean-Guihen Queyras during the 2014 Biennial. Padding is currently teaching at the Composition Department of the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague. Rob Zuidam studied composition at the Rotterdams Conservatorium under Philippe Boesmans and Klaas de Vries from 1984 to In 1989 he became Composition Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center in the US, where he had lessons from Lukas Foss and Oliver Knussen. In 1989 he received the Koussevitzky Composition Prize for his piece entitled Fishbone. In 2003 he was commissioned by Tanglewood to write the music for the opera Rage d amours. In 2010, Zuidam went to the US on an Erasmus Visiting Professorship to Harvard University to fulfill a teaching assignment on Contemporary Music in the Netherlands. In his work on a Berliner Chorbuch with the Berlin-based RIAS Kammerchor was recorded, and the following year, 2015, saw the world premiere of a piano concerto for the American master pianist, Emanuel Ax. The Amsterdam Sinfonietta is an ensemble of 22 gifted musicians from all around the world. The group performs without conductor, under the direction of Candida Thompson, artistic director since The ensemble s defining feature is the strong involvement and artistic drive of each individual member. It collaborates with renowned artists and performs in major venues throughout the world. Amsterdam Sinfonietta has gained a reputation for distinguished performances and innovative programming, featuring a well-known repertoire combined with commissions, new arrangements or rarely performed works. Recent commissions have included world premieres of compositions by Gubaidulina, Mansurian, Gruber, Van der Aa and Vasks. During recent seasons Amsterdam Sinfonietta has initiated and recorded new arrangements of various chamber music works. These include works by Beethoven, Brahms, Mahler, Schulhoff, Haas, Shostakovich and Berg. The Atlas Ensemble brings together top musicians from the Far East, Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe. In especially composed works, the ensemble offers a unique sound palette of Western and non- Western instruments. The Atlas Ensemble was founded in 2002 by the composer Joël Bons and performed its debut concert under the conductor Ed Spanjaard at the Berliner Festspiele. Its first performance in the Netherlands was at the Matinee op de Vrije Zaterdag at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and it was broadcast on television. In 2004, the Atlas Ensemble was Ensemble-in-Residence at the Holland Festival, where it gave nine concerts. In 2005, Joël Bons was awarded the Amsterdamprijs voor de Kunst. In 2009, the international Atlas Academy was established with the aim of amassing a new intercultural repertoire, and of furthering mutual influences between different music cultures. The academy led, in 2012, to initiating the Atlas Festival, which was held in the Muziekgebouw. In 2013, the Atlas Ensemble was invited to play at the Helsinki Musica Nova Festival in Finland and also in Santiago de >

65 Orchestras and ensembles Compostela, Spain. The second Atlas Festival, in 2014, held, as before, at the Muziekgebouw was a great success. The exceptional quality of the Atlas Ensemble is due to the fact that the players from the various cultures have been selected on the basis of them being top-level musicians and key-figures within their own musical cultures. The power of this group rests in the way the musicians combine deep-rooted traditions with a spirit open to new ideas. In Nomads, the cello joins not only related, but unfamiliar, string instruments, such as the Chinese erhu (Zhao Yuagchun), the kamancha from Azerbaijan (Elshan Mansurov), the Turkish kemençe (Neva Özgen) and the Indian sarangi (Dhruba Ghosh), but also unfamiliar wind instruments, such as the Chinese sheng and the Japanese sho (mouth organs, played, respectively by Naomi Sato and Wu Wei) and the Armenian duduk (Raphaela Danksagmüller), and little known plucking instruments, such as the Iranian setar (Kiya Tabassian) and the tar from Azerbaijan (Elchin Nagijev). The Artvark Saxophone Quartet is a bare saxophone quartet. Away with the seats! Away with the music stands! Artvark meanders through musical traditions and moves around the concert stage, improvising its own choreography. Rolf Delfos (alto/soprano), Bart Wirtz (alto), Mete Erker (tenor) and Peter Broekhuizen (baritone) bring together their own separate backgrounds to create a unanimous and original sound. Artvark is known for its innovative compositions, its wayward soloists and the adventurous groove of four saxophones. They have also made a music-theatre programme with the most jazzy actor in the Netherlands, John Buijsman, and have recently embarked on an exciting collaboration with singer, Ntjam Rosie, positioned along the border between pop and world music. BartolomeyBittmann is a duo consisting of cellist Matthias Bartolomey and violinist and mandola-player Klemens Bittmann. They share a passion for creating new sounds. With their instruments, they depart from deeply rooted classical traditions, in search of new musical pathways. Their music has the spontaneity of improvisation and jazz. It contains elements of rock, intimate ballades and fast, up-tempo, compositions. Nikolaus Harnoncourt described their performance as... superbly composed and fabulously played! They played at the Biennale Sneak Preview in 2015 and will be there to jazz you up again on Friday 21 October The Biennale Cello Band is a cello ensemble specially formed for this sixth edition of the Cello Biennale. It is drawn from teachers attached to various Dutch conservatories. Cellists Larissa Groeneveld, Jelena Oc ic, Timora Rosler and Jeroen den Herder, together with the percussion group Slagwerk Den Haag form this Ensemble-in- Residence that will play various world premières during the Biennale. Chamber choir Cappella Amsterdam was founded in 1970 by Jan Boeke. Chief conductor Daniel Reuss has been the choir s artistic director since Cappella Amsterdam employs a range of (authentic) vocal techniques, from older to modern, to suit the voicing of every composition. The repertoire revolves around two extremes: old masters and modern music. Special attention is paid to the works of Dutch composers, from Sweelinck to Andriessen and Ton de Leeuw. Cappella Amsterdam works with top Dutch and international ensembles and orchestras, including the Orchestra of the 18 th Century and Asko Schönberg. The CD of choral works by Leoš Janác ek was awarded the Edison Classic 2013, and the CD Warum ist das Licht gegeben dem Mühseligen? (choral works by Johannes Brahms) has been awarded the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik. Cello & Co is cellist Michiel Weidner, (bass) clarinet player Maarten Ornstein and singer and spoken word performer Jeannine Valeriano. Michiel is probably the only professional cembalo-playing cellist in the world. Besides playing in Amsterdam Sinfonietta, all kinds of chamber music groups and ensembles Michiel is making shows for children as long as he can remember. Maarten Ornstein is a fantastic jazz musician who not only has many creative ideas but also makes sure they become reality. With his free funk ensemble DASH he brings down the ceiling and makes recordings, but he also creates a project with lute player Mike Fentross (Purcell, Monteverdi). Jeannine Valeriano is a performance poet, telling stories with song and spoken word. Her famous Spoken Beat Nights are electrifying events with guests from the world of music and language. Cello8ctet Amsterdam is a unique formation in the world of music. The Cello8ctet is known for new music and successful crossovers between various musical styles and arts. With radiant performances, the octet presents original works by some of today s most notable composers. They have played over 70 premières, most of them dedicated to the ensemble, by composers such as Xenakis, Donatoni, Denisov, Gubaidulina, Pärt, Boulez, Loevendie, Riley, Kagel and Glass. After the premiere of his first work for the group, Arvo Pärt said: The Octet is a piece of gold, I discovered this group 10 years too late. Cello8ctet Amsterdam has been present during each and every Cello Biennale to date and has given may memorable performances, such as Hardglas with Conny Janssen Danst and Gesang der Geister with Cappella Amsterdam. Die 12 Cellisten der Berliner Philharmoniker perform throughout the world. They first presented themselves as an ensemble in 1972 with a programme mainly consisting of transcriptions and of a single work composed for this ensemble. Meanwhile, a number of pieces have been written for the ensemble, such as Twelve angry men (1996) by Brett Dean, a viola-player who, at that time, was a colleague, also working with the Berliner. The members of the present ensemble are Ludwig Quandt, Dietmar Schwalke, Nikolaus Römisch, David Riniker, Martin Menking, Christoph Igelbrink, Stephan Koncz, Solène Kermarrec, Rachel Helleur, Richard Duven, Olaf Maninger, Martin Löhr and Knut Weber. Their latest album, Hora Cero appeared earlier this year, featuring works by Ástor Piazzolla, Horacio Salgán, Jose Carli and Pasquale Di Stefano

66 Orchestras and ensembles The Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest, a partner of the Cello Biennale Amsterdam, is the regular orchestra for the productions of the Nederlandse Opera in the Muziektheater of Amsterdam. In addition, the orchestra regularly gives concerts in the Concertgebouw Amsterdam. They are also a welcome guest in other Dutch cities and abroad. The NedPhO plays classical music at the highest level and works closely with international soloists and conductors. In addition, the NedPhO regularly gives new musical talent the opportunity to gain experience by playing with the orchestra. In this way, the orchestra looks to its own future by fostering the passion and performance techniques of the orchestra. The NedPhO is currently under the leadership of Chief-conductor, Marc Albrecht. The Orchestra of the 18 th Century, founded by Frans Brüggen, is a large chamber orchestra of around 50 musicians from 23 different countries. The Orchestra s instrumental power is almost equivalent in volume to the more extensive orchestras of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Its members specialize in the music of that era and play authentic instruments, or replicas of that time. The orchestra has an outstanding international reputation due to the high levels at which its members play and the interpretations it makes of the various compositions. Some later works are also included in its repertoire, such as Igor Stravinsky s Apollon Musagète and Luciano Berio s Rendering. Prominent names among the orchestra s guest conductors are: Kent Nagano, Thomas Zehetmair, Gustav Leonhardt, Edo de Waart, Kristian Bezuidenhout, Ed Spanjaard and Sir Roger Norrington. Over the years, the Symfonie Orkest van het Conservatorium van Amsterdam has been an important contributor to the Biennale programme. For example, the orchestra, under the leadership of the composer, gave the historical performance of The Map, a multimedia cello concerto by Tan Dun. In addition, on several occasions, the Orchestra has accompanied the three finalists of the National Cello Competition and they will also perform this task this year. In addition, and also under the leadership of the German conductor Judith Kubitz, the orchestra will perform the premiere in the Netherlands of the cello concerto by Gilbert Amy during the Take-Five concert on Wednesday 26 October. The Conservatorium van Amsterdam is a partner of the Cello Biennale Amsterdam. The Ragazze Quartet consists of violinists Rosa Arnold and Jeanita Vriens, viola-player Annemijn Bergkotte and cellist Rebecca Wise. This quartet has followed the two-year, full-time curriculum of the Nederlandse StrijkKwartet Academie (NSKA) and then a year s coaching from Luc-Marie Aguera, violinist with the Quatuor Ysaÿe. In 2013 the Quartet won the Kersjes Prijs and was invited to play at the prestigious Verbier Festival in Switzerland. It also toured around China and travelled to Japan and Indonesia. The Ragazze Quartet plays at the Concertgebouw and the Muziekgebouw, but can also be heard live at festivals, such as Oerol on Terschelling and Wonderfeel in s Graveland. The Ragazze Quartet works with performing partners ranging from young musicians and theatremakers to prominent organisations such as the Nederlands Dans Theater, the Kronos Quartet, Orkater, and the Holland Festival. The Residentie Orkest from The Hague, has been one of the larger Dutch symphony orchestras for 110 years already. In its early years, the orchestra attracted illustrious names, such as: Richard Strauss, Igor Stravinsky, Max Reger and Maurice Ravel. Guest conductors such as Arturo Toscanini, Bruno Walter and Leonard Bernstein stood in front of this orchestra. In addition to its own series of concerts in the Dr. Anton Philips Zaal, the orchestra also performs in many other concert-halls both in the Netherlands and elsewhere. One of the orchestra s annual highpoints is the Hofvijver concert. This concert takes place, in conjunction with the Nederlandse Opera, during the Festival Classique in The Hague. The Residentie Orkest has taken part in the Cello Biennale Amsterdam several times, with soloists such as: Quirine Viersen, Miklos Perenyi, Alban Gerhardt, Jian Wang and Jérôme Pernoo. The Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest (RPhO) was founded in Under the direction of Eduard Flipse and Edo de Waart, its international popularity ratings rose noticeably, a trend that was continued under David Zinman, James Conlon and Jeffrey Tate, among others. From 1995 onwards, the Chief Conductor of the RPhO has been the world famous Valery Gergiev, who is also the Artistic and General Director of the Mariinsky Theatre (once known as the Kirov Opera) in St. Petersburg, Russia. One of the projects that has emerged from this appointment is the Gergiev Festival. In 2008, this position was taken on by the young Canadian star-conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin. The RPhO is one of the Netherlands top orchestras. This year, it will appear at the Cello Biennale Amsterdam for the first time. Score Collective is the ensemble for top Master s students at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. The 20 or so selected musicians play music from the last 50 years, including, each year, a completely new work composed by a composition student from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. New music cannot be newer than this! During the Cello Biennale 2016, Score Collective will play a new work by Guus Janssen during the Take-Five concert on Wednesday 26 October. The soloist will be Anton Mecht Spronk, the winner of the National Cello Competition Slagwerk Den Haag, founded in 1977, is an internationally renowned percussion ensemble, specializing in the repertoires of the 20 th and 21 st centuries. Although the ensemble mostly performs on the traditional instrumental arsenal, they also use porcelain, horse jawbones, glass or 3D-printed instruments new instruments often developed by the musicians of this ensemble. Slagwerk Den Haag, together with the Biennale Cello Band form the Ensemble-in- Residence of the Cello Biennale They are going to play several world premieres during the Biennale

67 Contestants National Cello Competition Trio Suleika, founded in 2001, consists of pianist Gabriele Leporatti, violinist Emmy Storms and cellist Pepijn Meeuws. In 2002, Trio Suleika won the Vriendenkrans, the public prize and a master-class prize at the Vriendenkrans Competition held at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. At the time, the Suleika Trio was following a master-class with Menahem Pressler of the legendary Beaux Arts Trio. Their selection, in 2004, for the national concert series The Debut, helped the Suleika Trio to gain a prominent place in the Dutch music world. In 2007, the Suleika Trio was awarded the Kersjes Priis. In its repertoire, The Suleika Trio combines classical pieces with more experimental work, a substantial number of which have been commissioned. At this Biennale, the Suleika Trio will repeat the highly acclaimed childrens show The Mystery of the Sensitive String with pianist Maarten den Hengst. Zapp4 is a band with the line-up of a string quartet. The quartet combines pop, jazz, rock, world music, improvisation and fantasy with tough solos, and always in a catching way. There is never a break in the swing and groove, while the poetic side is also repeatedly evident in both their own compositions as in those of others. In 2005, Zapp4 won the Kersjes Prijs, one of the most important Dutch music prizes, and in 2012, the Performer s Composition Prize awarded by Sena. Zapp4 is constantly on the lookout for exciting collaborative projects, such as with the young Dutch band Kapok, with the live-sampling wonder Jan Bang, or with the pop-guitarist Marc Ribot. In 2008, Zapp4 worked on a programme with Jörg Brinkmann. This time, they are going to undertake the same adventure with Jérôme Pernoo. Kalle de Bie (1994) started learning the cello at the age of six. He studied at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam with Jeroen den Herder and Jelena Oc ic and followed master classes with Anner Bijlsma, Uzi Wiesel, Itamar Golan, Leonid Gorokhov, Valter Dešpalj, Dmitry Ferschtman and Gary Hoffman. He was coached by a.o. the Jeruzalem Quartet, the Borodin Quartet and the Emerson Quartet. Kalle was a soloist with the Parnassus Ensemble and the State Academic Orchestra of the Republic of Belarus and won prizes at the Prinses Christina Concours (2013), the II Elsky Competition (Minsk, 2014) and the 12 th International Competition for Young Musicians Ferdo Livadic (2015). Kalle plays a cello by Jean Baptiste Vuillaume (1870) on loan from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. Dominique Bos (1995) received her first cello lessons at the age of nine from Like Viersen. Later she studied with Yke Viersen. At the age of seventeen, she was admitted to the preparatory course of the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, where she received lessons from Quirine Viersen with whom she still studies. In addition, she studies Business Administration at the Universiteit van Amsterdam. Dominique won prizes at the Britten Cello Competition and the Prinses Christina Concours (2015) and performed as a soloist with several orchestras. Begonia Chan (Hong Kong, China, 1997) started learning the violin at the age of four and the piano a year later. However, her passion soon turned to the cello at the age of eleven. In China, she had lessons from Professor Zhang YiHao at the Shenzhen Arts School, before moving to the Netherlands in 2013, to study with Lucia Swarts at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague. Begonia won prizes at the Hong Kong Youth Strings Competition, the Hong Kong Virtuosos Music Competition and at the Prinses Christina Concours. She studied with Enrico Bronzi during the Internationale Sommerakademie at the Mozarteum Universität in Salzburg, Austria, and with Rebecca Zimmerman during the Eastern Music Festival in the US. She has also attended master-classes with Laurence Lesser, Harro Ruijsenaars, Dmitry Ferschtman, Louise Hopkins, Caroline Kang, Amir Eldan, Aldo Mata, and Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt. Camillo Cabassi (Montecchio Emilia, Italy, 1992) studied at the Modena Conservatory under the guidance of Marianne Chen. After two years of specialization, he took a master-class with Natalia Gutman at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole. He continued his studies at the Musikhochschule in Basel, Switzerland under Thomas Demenga and Anita Leuzinger, where he obtained a Master of Arts in Music Performance. He is now a student of Timora Rosler at the Utrechts Conservatorium. He has attended master-classes with Giovanni Sollima, Antonio Meneses, Gary Hoffman, Nicolas Altstaedt and Johannes Goritzki. Camillo has been a finalist at the Italian National Arts Prize competition and in the last edition of the Amsterdam Grachtenfestival. He has performed in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, in the Utrecht TivoliVredenburg, and for Radio 4. Irene Enzlin (1993) was voted Young Music Talent of the Year in As soloist, she has performed with the Radio Philharmonsich Orkest, the Pro Arte Orchestra (Taiwan) and the Orkest van het Oosten, among others. She studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School in England under Pierre Doumenge and Charles Watt before continuing her studies at the Mozarteum Universität in Salzburg, Austria under Clemens Hagen. She is currently following a Master s course at the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique de Paris, under Raphael Pidoux. Irene won 1st prizes at the following music competitions: the Prinses Christina Concours, the Herman Krebbers viool- & celloconcours and the Haydn Festival. She has recently made a debut CD album for Naxos Records with the Delta Piano Trio and has won further competitions, including the Orlando Concours, the Salieri Zinetti Concours and the Vainiunas Concours. Anastasia Feruleva (Arckhangelsk, Russia, 1992) started her musical education in Russia with Tatyana Demsheva when she was five years old. She is currently based in the Netherlands where she studied under Larissa Groeneveld at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague, completing her Master s Degree with distinction. Now she is continuing her studies with Troels Svane in the Hanns Eisler Hochshule für Musik in Berlin. She has also taken part in master-classes led by Gary Hoffman, Reinhard Latzko, Luise Hopkins, Arto Noras, Dmitry Ferschtman, Godfried Hoogeveen, Miklós Perényi, Antonio Meneses, Harro Ruijsenaars, Stefan Metz, Eberhard Feltz, and Raphael Wallfisch. She plays a Rombouts cello made in 1710, kindly provided on loan

68 Contestants National Cello Competition Felicia Hamza (Düsseldorf, Germany 1995) was born into a musical family. She had her first lessons from her father, and, in 2010, was accepted into the Young Talent Department of the Conservatorium van Maastricht, where she had lessons from Mirel Lancovici and also attended master-classes given by Michael Flaksman, Gustav Rivinius and J. Epstein. She gained her Bachelor s Degree from the Conservatorium van Maastricht in Felicia has won prizes at the following music competitions: Bundeswettbewerb Jugend Musiziert (2012), Lionswettbewerb BRD (2012), and at the Concours de Violoncelle de Woluwe-Saint-Pierre- Prix Edmond Baert in Brussels (2015).. She has also received a scholarship the Sparkasse Cultur Sponsorship. Felicia Hamza has performed as soloist in Russia, Europe and China. She plays a cello made by Piet Rombouts, loaned to her by the Nationaal Muziekinstrumenten Fonds.. Patrick Karten (1992) started learning the piano at the age of four years and began to study the cello at the age of six. After studying with Caecilia van Hoof and Yke Viersen he continued his studies at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, first under Maarten Mostert and then later under Floris Mijnders. Patrick has participated in master-classes given by Dmitry Ferschtman, Reinhard Latzko, Anner Bijlsma, Enrico Dindo, Miklos Perenyi and Antonio Meneses and also in many summer courses and with various chamber music ensembles. Patrick is currently taking part in a pre-master s course with Jelena Oc ic at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. Carlos A. Nicolás Alonso (Valladolid, Spain, 1990) studied in Salamanca under Aldo Mata, before continuing his studies at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague under Lucia Swarts. He has also taken part in masterclasses given by Michel Strauss, Anner Bijlsma, Dmitry Ferschtman, Roger Regter, Harro Ruijsenaars, Peter Bruns, Marc Coppey, Roel Dieltiens, Cristoph Henkel, Asier Polo, Ángel Luis Quintana, Pieter Wispelwey and Ferenc Rados. Nicolás has won prizes at the following music competitions: II concurso de Interpretación Musical, Concurso Diputación de Toledo, Arte Joven Castilla y León and was a finalist at the Intercentros Melómano. He has played with the Castilla and Leon Young Symphony Orchestra, the Nationaal Jeugd Orkest, the Kyoss Trio, the Sarasvati Trio, and with the Ciconia Consort. David Poskin (Ghent, Belgium, 1992) began his cello studies when he was three years old, when he had private lessons from Claudine Steenackers. When he was fourteen, he was accepted as a young talent at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel. David has won prizes at various national and international competitions. In 2015, he won the Pipkov Young Cello Virtuosi Competition in Sofia and the 3rd prize in the David Popper Cello Competition in Budapest, and the Special Prize at the International Music Competition in Malta. He has attended master-classes given by his mentor, Leonid Kerbel and by Vladimir Perlin, Walter Grimmer, Alexander Boyarsky and Jerôme Pernoo. He has already played with orchestras and in chamber music as a soloist and is currently studying at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam under Dmitry Ferschtman. Jobine Siekman (1995) studied at the School Jong Talent in The Hague under Lucia Swarts and Dmitry Ferschtman and then in Gothenburg, Sweden, under Harro Ruijsenaars. Since September 2014 she has been studying at The Royal College of Music in London under Melissa Phelps. She has given concerts at the Dr. Anton Philips Zaal in The Hague and at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw as soloist and has also played in numerous chamber music ensembles. Jobine has had lessons from Jircha Prchal and has attended master-classes given by Frans Helmerson, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, Anner Bijlsma, Jean-Guihen Queyras and Valter Dešpalj, among others. Jobine is sponsored by the Kinsbergen Fund and the Muller Fund. Jobine Siekman plays a cello made by Thomas Dodd in 1800 and loaned to her by the Nationaal Muziekinstrumenten Fonds. Melle de Vries (1994) began to play the cello when he was four years old. At a later stage, he had lessons at the young talent departments of the conservatories of Groningen, The Hague, Berlin and Utrecht. He is currently studying under Maarten Mostert at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. Melle has won several prizes at music competitions: 2nd prizes at the Prinses Christina Concours and at the SJMN Concours, organised by the Young Musical Talent Foundation and a Public Prize at Classic Young Masters. When not studying the cello, Melle spends time on other forms of creativity and on philosophy. Alexander Warenberg (1998) has been playing the cello since he was five years old. When he was eight years old he had lessons from Monique Bartels, and since 2008, Alexander has been a student in the Young Talent Class of the Amsterdam Conservatory. Alexander performs both as a soloist and in chamber music ensembles. In particular, he has played as soloist with the Zagreb Soloists and at the Antonio Janigro Festival in Croatia. In the area of chamber music, Alexander has performed with Menahem Pressler, Paolo Giacometti and Lucas Jussen. He won 1st prizes at the Britten Cello Competition and at the national music competition of the Netherlands Young Music Talent Foundation. He also won first prize at the international cello contest Antonio Janigro in Croatia. He has played at various festivals such as Janine Jansen s International Chamber Music Festival in Utrecht and the Grachtenfestival in Amsterdam. Iedje van Wees (1995) started learning the cello at the music school in Tilburg when she was seven years old, and gained her music diplomas A to D there. She had lessons from, among others, Frank Spronk and Rosalie Seinstra. Iedje is very active in the orchestra world, and since 2012 she has played in the Euregio Youth Orchestra, where, from 2015 onwards, she has been leader of the cello section. Since that same year, she has also been a member of the Nationaal Jeugd Orkest. From the academic year of 2013, Iedje has been a student at the Conservatorium van Maastricht, studying under Mirel Lancovici, and from the last academic year onwards she has also been actively taking part in cello competitions. This year, in May 2016, she came fourth in the cello contest at Sint Pieters Woluwe in Brussels

69 16 Coombe Lane, Bowlish, Shepton Mallet, Somerset BA4 5XD England CELLO MAKER Kai-Thomas advert 72mmx 105 option 1:Layout 1 03/08/2012 Come and hear! Workshops for young violinists, violists and cellists 28 September 3 October 2017 Photo: Andreas Malkmus Concerts with Christoph Eschenbach Renaud Capuçon Vadim Gluzman Tabea Zimmermann Truls Mørk Frankfurt Radio Symphony Kremerata Baltica and many other friends, alumni and Young Soloists of Kronberg Academy Kai-Thomas Roth info@kai-thomas-roth-cellos.com Tel: (+44) Mob: (+44)

70 ""# $%&' ('$) *& i matthleg@gmail.com l uthier matthleg@gmail.com - gr os.com matthleg@ g mail.com Tanguy Fraval violin maker François Servais ( ) Il Paganini del Violoncello... G. Rossini tanguy@fraval-luthier.com Op zoek naar partituren, opnames of info? Contacteer ons! Nieuw: Servais - 6 Etudes & La Romanesca Servais vzw peter@servais-vzw.org Word student lid van de Foyer van Brava voor maar 15,- per jaar! Als ontmoetingsplek is de foyer per definitie de ruimte in een theater of concertzaal waar het publiek met een kop koffie of een biertje in de hand zijn muziekvrienden spreekt. De plek om ervaringen uit te wisselen en nieuwe vriendschappen te sluiten. De Foyer van Brava vervult dezelfde functie voor alle liefhebbers van klassieke muziek, opera en ballet. Ga samen met je vrienden naar de mooiste voorstellingen aangeboden door de Foyer. Word nu lid! Wat ga je beleven bij de Foyer en waar kan je van profiteren? Welkomstpakket; Vrijkaarten voor voorstellingen; Meld je aan via 10% korting in de webshop van Brava; Brava Uw gids in klassieke muziek

71 Beluister de Cello Biënnale Amsterdam in het MAX Avondconcert op Radio4. Kijk voor alle informatie op Cellomaker Tobias Gräter Theaterstraße Heidelberg info@geigenbau-graeter.de

72 bladmuziek - de meeste titels in voorraad of op bestelling leverbaar - in- en verkoop - voor alle instrumenten en alle genres Waarom surft u naar Omdat het tussen muzikale mensen en digitale wensen clickt op het world wide web. klassieke cd s - van alle labels muziekpraktijk - toebehoren voor instrumenten musicologie - literatuur over muziek is een internetsite met een schat aan bladmuziek en een uitgelezen collectie literatuur over muziek. U vindt er steeds de allernieuwste uitgaven en u kunt een keuze maken uit een groeiend aanbod van duizenden titels. De on line-catalogus en service van garanderen u snelle levering Broekmans & Van Poppel b.v. Van Baerlestraat bb Amsterdam telefoon: +31 (20) / fax: +31 (20) / music@broekmans.com Minrebroederstraat gt Utrecht telefoon: +31 (30) tegen uitstekende betaalcondities. Sinds 1914 is Broekmans & Van Poppel een begrip in de muziek. Wij leveren blad muziek voor alle instrumenten en van alle genres. Broekmans & Van Poppel levert u ook literatuur over muziek, kleine muziekinstrumenten en alle accessoires voor de uitvoerende muziekpraktijk. Daarnaast beschikt u in onze vestiging in Amsterdam over een ruim gesorteerde collectie klassieke compact discs, oude muziek tot opera en van alle labels. Er is gelegenheid tot beluisteren. BROEKMANS & VAN POPPEL The biggest online supplier of sheet music

73 Guust François vioolbouw Windroosplein ZW Amsterdam (0) route: central station tram 26 1: Muziekgebouw 2: Kattenburgerstraat (5 min. walk to violinmaker Guust François) lid N.G.V. Saskia Schouten Vioolbouwer maakt violen alten en cello's Muntelbolwerk 1c NL SZ s Hertogenbosch 0031(0) (0) info@saskiaschouten.nl HejjaCello Janos HEJJA cello specialist fine cellos making restoring HUNGARY 2142-Nagytarcsa, Bocskai u Bowmaker/Bogenmacher/Archetier Fine new bows after English tradition for the Violin family and the Double Bass Mounted in Silver - Gold - New silver Repair Restoration During the Biennal I will be running a full bowrehairing service 2 hours SPECIAL OFFER: SIBERIAN STALLION 50,= STOCKHOLDER OF ANDREA ROSIN *Orchestra-Solo-A Piacere* Cello bow-cases Maestro/Vpay/Mastercard/Visa accepted Van Oldenbarneveldtstraat 90 studio AN Arnhem, Netherlands hgtehietbrink@gmail.com mobile: +31-(0) an Strumphler Strijkstokken Nieuwbouw Restauratie Reparatie Modern en Barok lid NGV Past. Ohllaan CB Vleuten tel info@janstrumphler.nl

74 Dear Musician from your luthier Feel free to visit me at my stand, an d try out fine instrum uments to con vince yourself about their qualit ities. Love and diligenc e are the engi nes to my work. You can find me every day at the Amsterdam Cello Biennale on the Foye r Deck. I m looking forward to seeing you there! Yo urs sinc ncerely, Thilde van Norel Violin Maker from Be rlin luthier@thildevannorel.com How to get there The festival location, the Muziekgebouw and the Bimhuis, can be reached easily. The address is Piet Heinkade 1, 1019 BR, close to the Central Station in the centre of Amsterdam. Public transport The Muziekgebouw is about 10 minutes walk from the Central Station. Outside the Central Station take tram 26 (direction IJburg). The first stop is the Muziekgebouw / Bimhuis. If you have no problem with steps and slopes, get off the tram here, and walk up the steep slope of the pedestrian bridge to the Muziekgebouw. If you do have difficulty getting on and off trams and buses and walking up steep slopes, go one stop further to Piet Heinkade. Now you will reach the main entrance of the Muziekgebouw after first passing the Passenger Terminal Amsterdam (PTA) and the Mövenpick Hotel. By car From the eastern ring road A10, take the S114 turn-off marked Centrum. Then drive through the Piet Hein tunnel. Keep right at the end of the tunnel, towards Central Station. After the third set of traffic lights, take the second road off to the right. The entrance to the parking garage is in front of the Passenger Terminal Amsterdam. From Haarlem, follow the S103 towards Central Station via Van Diemenstraat. Drive along the back of Central Station and, after about 500 metres, you ll see the Muziekgebouw aan t IJ on your left. Parking The (Piet Hein) parking garage is situated below the Muziekgebouw (capacity 500+ cars; fee: 4,- per hour). From the parking garage there is an elevator that leads to the Entry Hall. Muziekgebouw visitors can get a special parking card that allows them: four hours parking for 10,-. For more information, see: muziekgebouw/adres&route. Another good parking solution is the manned Zeeburg Park+Ride. A free public-transport link operates from this parking: take tram 26 (direction Central Station), the 4th stop is for Muziekgebouw / Bimhuis. The parking fee is 8,- per day. For more information, see: If you are planning a Biennale day, and are likely to be spending more than 5 hours at the Muziekgebouw, then you can park quite inexpensively in Parking Centrum Oosterdok. This is just 6 minutes walk from the Muziekgebouw. You ll pay 1.50 per 20 minutes for the first 5 hours of parking. After 5 hours, there s a fixed charge of 10 per 24 hours. See: Address: Oosterdoksstraat 150, 1011 DK Amsterdam. Food & drink For drinks, snacks or dinner, try the Brasserie Biënnale. This has been specially constructed in the Atrium of the Muziekgebouw for Biennale guests. The Brasserie opens at For a more extensive menu, why not try the Zouthaven restaurant inside the Muziekgebouw? The Cello Lounge will welcome you post-evening concerts and the kitchen will be open until The Zouthaven restaurant will serve a special menu, or you can opt for the à-la-carte menu. To reserve a table, please contact +31 (0) or For the six mornings of Bach & Breakfast (23, 24, 25, 27, 28 and 29 October), you can have your breakfast in the main foyer or Foyer Deck 1 from with coffee or tea, a croissant and fresh juice. The ticket price includes breakfast! The Silk Road restaurant is located in the Mövenpick Hotel, just beside the Muziekgebouw offers an extensive menu and cocktails. For reservations, please contact +31 (0) , 141

75 The Cello Biennale Amsterdam wishes to thank Festival team Principal benefactors VSBfonds Fonds 21 Subsidized by Municipality of Amsterdam Fondsen Fonds Podiumkunsten Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Fonds Henri Fock Ans Otten-Nypels Fonds Bredius Fonds Middelbeek Stortenbeker Fonds Hausta Donans Fonds Sena Janivo Stichting Dioraphte Stichting Cultuur en Educatie NORMA Fonds Het Kersjes Fonds P.W. Janssen s Friesche Stichting BNG Cultuurfonds Für Elise CBA Fonds Wilhelmina E. Jansen Fonds Goethe Institut J.C.P. Stichting Fentener van Vlissingen fonds AMVJ Fonds M.A.O.C. Gravin van Bylandt Stichting Institut Français Partners Muziekgebouw aan t IJ Bimhuis Conservatorium van Amsterdam Eye Film Instituut Nederland Flamenco Biënnale Kronberg Academy Duitsland Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest November Music Oorkaan Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam Splendor Amsterdam Prinses Christina Concours Anner Bijlsma Award Uitgeverij Podium Media partners Omroep MAX NPO Radio 4 NPO Cultura BRAVA Het Parool Sponsors Van Doorne Advocaten Loyens & Loeff De Vreede Advocaten D Addario Mövenpick Patrons Marcella Bonnema-Kok, Ferdinand ter Heide, Family Macko Laqueur, Tjaco van Leersum, Julienne Straatman en Robert Bausch, Elise Wessels Casals Circle The Casals Circle consists of various groups of friends, each of them consisting of about 10 members. These groups provide financial support to the activities of the Biennale in the area of talent development and education by donating an amount of 1,000,- or more per person per year. The groups are formed by enthousiastic fans of the Biennale. In return, The Cello Biennale organises exclusive concerts and other events for members of the Casals Circle, both during the Cello Biennale and at other times. Friends and donations: An ever-increasing number of steadfast friends supports the Biennale with single or annually recurrent gifts. Their contributions are an indispensable element of the support on which the Amsterdam Cello Biennale is based. The Biennale would like to take this opportunity to thank, its many friends and donors. Maarten Mostert artistic director Johan Dorrestein managing director Michaël Neuburger production manager Dorien de Bruijn production, volunteer coördinator Tjakina Oosting production education projects Lonneke van Straalen publicity Harm van Heerikhuizen editor festival book / production Hanneke van Willigen office manager Nellie Cornelisse production festival market Christiaan de Wolf intern production Gerard Boltje finances Heather Kurzbauer English copywriting Patty Hamel NCC jury secretary Felicia Dercksen assistant educational projects and production assistant Barbara Dorrestein, Bas Goossens and Emma Kroon production assistant Imke Koldijk coordination free tickets and reception Sarafina Sap social media & website Werner Studio, Leander Lammertink graphic design Ellen Kromhout design building and Cello Coupé Mirjam van Hengel editor Vier variaties voor cello Ben Bonouvrier, Keke Keukelaar, Dirk Rietveld and Sarah Wijzenbeek photography And with the help of Marieke Bekirov Rachelle Berends Eveline van Cleeff Merel Dercksen Chieko Donker Duyvis Sofie Ehling Angela Escauriaza Lidewij Faber Francisco Fernandez Ruiz Sara Gabalawi Hadewych van Gent Nollie van Gool Romina Granata Charlotte Gulikers Eva Halbersma-Nagy Peter Halbersma Brit de Jong Mirthe de Jonge Lisa Jonk Esther ten Kate Pieter de Koe Irene Kok Marina Kok Gerrit Kracht Liesbeth Nienhuis Els van den Oever Birgit Oyen I neke Overtoom Robert Ploem Dirk Rietveld Pauline Ruys-Lee Eva van Schaik Eva Schierkbeek Catarina Tavora Renee Timmer Amke te Wies Simon Velthuis Executive Board Anton Valk chair Ester de Vreede secretary Saskia Laseur treasurer Monique Bartels Marijn Ornstein Joost Westerveld Fritz Schröder The Anner Bijlsma Award is the Cello Biennale s international oeuvre prize to stimulate education and develop talent in relation to the cello. The prize is awarded once in an unspecified number of years to a person or organization for their outstanding contribution to the cello or the cello repertoire. In 2014, this prize was given for the first time - and it went to the person after whom the award was named, Anner Bijlsma. The prize money is fifty thousand Euros. The Anner Bijlsma Award 2014 was made possible by a gift from Ferdinand van der Heijden and further contributions from the CBA Für Elise Fund and Cello Biennale Amsterdam. The sculpture given along with the prize money was made by Elena Belaerts and financed by Julienne Straatman and Robert Bausch. (For more information about this award, see Job Cohen s overview on pag. 45.) The board of the Anner Bijlsma Award is formed by Job Cohen chair Julienne Straatman vice-chair Marjoleine de Boorder Anton Valk

76 Colophon The seventh Cello Biennale Amsterdam will take place from Thursday 18 to Saturday 27 October 2018 Editor-in-chief Harm van Heerikhuizen Editors Johan Dorrestein, Maarten Mostert, Michaël Neuburger Articles Cecile Brommer, Saskia Törnqvist, Bas van Putten, Jan Brokken, Floris Kortie Programs Alexander Klapwijk Translations Susan van der Werff-Woolhouse Design & lay-out Werner Studio, Leander Lammertink Printer Mud Company Photography Uwe Arens, Jürgen Bauer, Fred van de Biezen, Ben Bonouvrier, Marco Borggreve, Simon van Boxtel, Mircea Catasanu, Celia de Coca, Axel Coeuret, Mark Daams, Merlijn Doormernik, Jelmer de Haas, Károly Effenberger, Henry Faber, Klaus Fröhlich, Nichon Glerum, Javier González, Maurice Haak, Brendon Heist, Nancy Horowitz, Liesbeth Keder, Keke Keukelaar, Henry Krul, Lodz Reklama, Kadir van Lohuizen, Paul Luckeneder, Nikolaj Lund, Eric Manas, Gregor Meerman, Jean Baptiste Millot, Gian Maria Musarra, Neda Navae, Max Parovsky, Francesca Patella, Federico Porta, Isabelle Renate la Poutré, Sytze Pruiksma, Adrian Pytlk, Dirk Rietveld, Alex Salinas, Gerardo Antonio Sanchez Torres, Saris & den Engelsman, Wouter Schenk, Foppe Schut, Gregg Segal, Evgeniy Shtyrov, Heikki Tuuli, Stephan Vanfleteren, Annelies van der Vegt, Jamy White, Sarah Wijzenbeek, Alvaro Yanez, Amber Zwartbol. Cello Biënnale Amsterdam, October 2016 Piet Heinkade 5, 1019 BR Amsterdam , Every effort has been made to identify all the copyright holders of image material. Those who think they can claim certain rights are requested to make contact with Cello Biënnale Amsterdam. There will be a Sneak Preview of the seventh Biennale on Friday 10 November