Thinking back, this has been a week filled with music, and
with music composed by Brahms! I am not a fan of Brahms, so it struck me that
the three concerts I attended this week all had Brahms programmed. And each
Brahms was different: Brahms with a full orchestra, and variations on Brahms with
a tenor as soloist, Brahms for piano and Brahms performed by a string sextet,
all at different venues and in different towns and concert halls.
The first concert took place last Thursday in the “Concertgebouw”
in Amsterdam with the famous Concertgebouw orchestra. I had booked tickets
because Fauré’s
Requiem was on the programme. I love that Requiem and find it very
emotional for personal reasons. I had sung it as well, but that is different
from hearing a live performance by a fantastic orchestra, and a semi-professional
choir in a splendid concert hall. Sitting on the so called “podium”, more or
less next to the orchestra, was an extra bonus. It is fascinating to see how a
conductor conveys his instructions not just by means of his hands, but by
subtle facial expressions, lost on the audience in the main hall. Besides, I
could also see the organist, and by now most people will know I love pipe
organs. The organ in the Concertgebouw isn’t often used, so it is great to hear
it.
Before the interval Brahms was on the programme: The tragic Overture
Opus 81. This was followed by Glanert's Four Preludes and Serious Songs, after
Brahms, sung by
the baritone, Russell Braun. So this was half Brahms,
half Glanert who is a modern composer. For me the Requiem was the highlight of
the concert.
On
Saturday evening I went to “Steeckershil”,
the privately owned concert hall in the converted loft of an old farmhouse.
Here I listened to a piano recital by Leonard van Lier, who played Schubert,
Chopin, Ravel and Debussy. But also two interesting pieces by Brahms which I
enjoyed, Capriccio opus 76 nr. 2 in b and Intermezzo opus 118 nr. 2 in A. It is
a real joy to go to concerts in this former farmhouse because of the
atmosphere, the entourage, and not least of all because of the warm welcome and hospitality of the couple living here, and of the other organisers of the concerts. Before and after the recital and in the interval there
are drinks, sweet and savoury snacks buffet style, and there is ample
opportunity to socialise with the musician(s) enjoying a glass of wine and very
nice food, all lovingly prepared.
Last
night I had tickets for a concert in Delft, organised by the NMF, het “Nationaal Muziekinstrumenten
Fonds”(the
Dutch Musical Instruments Foundation), which is a charity lending musical
instruments to promising musicians who haven’t got the money to buy a good
instrument. Once a year they organise presentation concerts for the friends of
the foundation. Musicians benefitting from the foundation perform and explain
why they are happy with their instruments given on loan, when an instrument was
built and who the builder was. Usually the NMF tries to organise the concerts
in historic buildings which are normally not open to the public, buildings
which have the status of monument or are perhaps privately owned. This time it
was in the Prinsenhof in Delft, once a nunnery,
later the home of William of Orange of the Netherlands who was murdered here. The chapel
is now used by the Eglise Wallone, and the Prinsenhof a very
interesting Museum worth visiting, as is all of Delft. The programme was
varied, and the combination of musicians changed every time. They were all
string players, with one exception: a cellist playing a “singing saw”!!! It was
a surprise at the end of the concert. The “saw” was no longer a real saw, but a
piece of metal without teeth which looked like a saw blade. Annette Scholten
played El cant dels ocells(1939) by Pablo Casals. It was absolutely amazing.
One could hear the birds sing! A surprising end to a lovely concert, played by
young, enthusiastic and gifted musicians.
There
was another surprise before the interval, a piece for violin and a narrator. A
young boy told the story while the violin illustrated it. Or perhaps it was the
other way round. The boy had won a contest for the best young reader in
Holland, and indeed he did very well. It was a fairy tale by Alan Ridout, for violin and voice, called Ferdinand the Bull (1971), the story of a Spanish bull who did not like fighting. Hilarious and very
funny, not in the least by the clever way it was told and played.
But
I haven’t mentioned yet that the first piece after the interval was a string
sextet by Brahms, nr. 2 in G, opus 36. I may be converted to appreciating
Brahms more after three doses of Brahms within a week!
The "Prinsenhof" and the chapel, now the "Eglise Wallone" seen through the transparent walls of the covered courtyard.
The
concert took place on the day my father was born, way back in 1912, and it has
always been a special day for me. This was a perfect way to remember him. He
would have loved the concert and especially the building.
The
concert hall is Delft is very unusual. It is in fact a former courtyard between
the Prinsenhof and the Chapel. This courtyard has been covered by a transparent
roof supported by metal posts. Through this construction the floodlit walls of
the Chapel are visible. The tower of the “Oude Kerk” forms another backdrop. It
is an ingenious construction and looks fabulous at night. Unfortunately my
camera did react strangely to the floodlight and so the walls of the chapel
seem yellow in that light. In fact for me they had the same brick colour they
have in day light.
The covered courtyard seen from the chapel and towards the chapel
The stage lights were a fluorescent blue!
The musicians, and below a better view of the "singing saw"
The tower of the "Oude Kerk" in Delft
Sorry about the poor quality of the photo's. I only had a simple pocket camera.