Witweg: A week full of music and Brahms

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.