Vier Letzte Lieder

The Netherlands Wind Ensemble has played a major role in my life for over 30 years. I have been extremely lucky performing with this splendid group and then also being invited to arrange for the ensemble. I owe my performing colleagues, staff members, production crew and directors Bart Schneemann and Niek Wijns so much… Now at the age of 61 and with a new generation of great arrangers coming up and deserving the same opportunities I had I made what will probably be one of my final large arrangements/orchestrations for the band: Richard Strauss’ 4 Last Songs.
We’re now halfway a 13 concert tour in the Netherlands and it has been a thrill. Of course it is all about singing in this tour and a wonderful magical alto-mezzo is enchanting us every night: Carina Vinke. So delicate, so intimate…. She sings like a viola. (my favorite string instrument…) Tonight Concertgebouw Amsterdam. Looking forward. And there is a chance that a serious recording may come out. I’ll keep you posted!

Similar Posts

  • Visit to Porto, Portugal

    Looking forward to hearing the ELLE Quartet and the ESMAE Big Band at the Academy of Music in Porto in the beginning of May 2015 at their annual Jazz Festival. ELLE and the Big Band will perform two of my Ciudades and I will give a short lecture on my music. I will keep you…

  • Catching Up 3: Agua

    One of the nicest jobs I have is coaching the YoungNBE every year; the parallel ensemble of the Netherlands Wind Ensemble with ten young talented wind players from the Netherlands or studying at an Academy of Music in the Netherlands. This is how I got to know Teresa Costa, a great young flutist from Portugal….

  • New Works for Ties Mellema

    Very bad news just after the 2015 summer.  My friend and colleague Ties Mellema – I wrote quite a few pieces for him and his Amstel Quartet and he has been a great inspiration over many years – has been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease. He is now being treated and his chances of recovery are…

  • TIEF and Marijn Migchielsen

    Last Monday Marijn Migchielsen and Rommert Groenhof premiered my TIEF! for two contrabass trombones at Marijn’s Masters Exam at Codarts Rotterdam, the Netherlands. And I could not be there….. (family reasons) I wrote the piece especially for this occasion. To miss one of the most outstanding bass trombone performances ever (at least that is what…

  • Bosquejos del Bosco (sketches of Bosch) Premiere

    Yesterday saw the premiere of ‘Bosquejos Del Bosco’ (sketches of Hieronymus Bosch; schetsen van Jeroen Bosch) for solo clarinet at the Dutch Clarinet Festival 2016 ‘Royal Clarinets’ concert. Royal because the full clarinet section of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra were the featured soloists at this concert. My piece was performed by Arno Piters (who also happens to…

  • Adaptation Canciones Flamencas

    The sax/percussion duo Lorenci/Mlacnik from Slovenia (both of them studying in Amsterdam at the ConservatoriumVanAmsterdam) asked to make an alto sax version of the three Canciones Flamencas, originally for soprano saxophone and marimba (+ bass drum ad lib.). I am a fan of the duo so I could not say no although I am really…