During the big January cleaning in my private museum, I rediscovered the book released in 2007, on the occasion of the Music Building on the IJ, which opened two years earlier. I had forgotten that it came with a CD with four pieces on it. The fourth piece is a recording of the opening speech given by Jan Wolff [hints]former director IJsbreker, enthusiastic advocate for a concert hall for new music and first director of the Muziekgebouw aan het IJ[/hints] for more than 20 years, on 15 June 2005.
Jan was an amiable man to bump into at concerts. Two memories immediately jump out of the mists of time. Once, I spoke to him in his office about a symposium on world music to be set up together. It was about the need for professionals to take a fresh look at this again. Next to the window of his room hung a timetable showing the arrival and departure times of the neighbour's cruise ships. How he talked about this (and his private ship, a historic case of beautiful wood) immediately broke any ice. That friendly ambience was reinforced when I took my proposal out of the bag.
Red folders
At the time, I was quite fond of coloured A4 folders. Excitedly, Jan praised the colour choice and said something along the lines of 'the plan can't go wrong now'. That it didn't come off in the end was due to the lack of money, not him.
Years later, in addition to my journalistic work, I myself had a part-time job as a music programmer at Stichting Cultuur aan het IJ, the predecessor of today's Tolhuistuin. In the garden, we programmed with a small, funky and decisive team Summer in the Tolhuistuin, in a decidedly pleasant 'us against the rest' atmosphere. Because I once received from Jan a beautiful Brazilian chorinho-night in Panama (with probably the thickest programme book Panama had seen up to that time), I decided to call him to tell him that I had booked a fine chorinho and musette (!) group of Brazilians from Paris: Orquestra do Fubá.
Foot
When I spoke to him on the line to invite him, Jan sounded as cheerful as ever. But what he said was shocking: while I was talking to him, he was in hospital and a foot had been taken off in his battle with cancer just moments before. In an imperturbable tone, this was communicated to me, and he accepted my invitation to the Orquestra do Fubá concert. He did, however, ask about the Tolhuistuin's wheelchair conditions, and whether his sweetheart could also be on the guest list, 'because he had to drive him'.
The sailing schedule, the red folder, the bizarre phone call for Fubá - sharp memories, but the sharpest is this one: Jan had discovered that the Orquestra do Fubá album featured a Brazilian violinist with a great talent, including for Bach. But on the afternoon in the Tolhuistuin it turned out that that musician had since emigrated to Brazil. I had the line-up of the touring group not checked with the line-up of the album, as happy as I was when I got a deal on the proposed fairy.
Music programming is a craft, I realised with a shock - but Jan did not bring it at all triumphantly, rather kindly: 'pay attention to that.'
Passionate words
When listening to Jan's opening speech it all comes back. Just imagine: for more than two decades, under various municipal and national cultural politicians, you keep breaking the ice for a passion that only you see keenly in front of you. And then suddenly there are the first tones! Jan's words are 'morphed' with an occasional composition by Louis Andriessen, played by wind players from Orkest de Volharding and the then unconnected ensembles Asko and Schönberg. The passion of Jan's words touches me: here is not someone laughing at his opponents that this hall is there after all after all the opposition. Here stands a believer in current music, who wants to convey his passion. But a faith with a benevolent irony.
https://soundcloud.com/jair-tchong/de-opening-premiere
This sound recording is of great cultural-historical importance: for more than 20 years, Jan fought for a new hall for contemporary music, but seven years after the opening, the amiable initiator died, and his dreamed-for hub of internationally high-profile Dutch contemporary music ensembles severely under attack from years of budget cuts. Worse, political disdain and cold disinterest brought an entire sector to the brink of collapse.
Jan, the folders have since been replaced by binders (a better filing system). But your words and deeds are not forgotten.
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