#Corona-classics 4 Hannes Minnaar: 'I rolled into the frame of classical-romantic piano virtuoso'

Hannes Minnaar falls head over heels. His #corona tour with the Goldberg Variations of Bach starts on 1 July, exactly the day when the concert attendance limit is loosened. - Provided 1.5 metres distance et cetera. Although the Grote Kerk in Zwolle can admit considerably more than 100 people, the concert is already completely sold out. Those lucky enough to secure a ticket will be treated to the brand new Gedanken zu Bach By Daan Manneke.

He wrote it especially for this programme, at the request of Hannes Minnaar. Modern music is not the first association that comes to mind when hearing his name. 'Yet I have always been interested in it,' stresses the young pianist. 'As a teenager, I played music by composers such as György Ligeti, Simeon ten Holt and JacobTV, on his own initiative!' - That changed when he started studying at the Amsterdam Conservatory: 'During my training, the emphasis was on the classical-romantic repertoire.'

Piano virtuoso

In 2010, his career gained momentum when he won third prize in the Queen Elisabeth Competition. 'As a result, I naturally rolled into the frame of the classical-romantic virtuoso, was asked for piano concertos by Beethoven, Chopin and Rachmaninov. Fantastic repertoire, but with a performance history that weighs like lead on your shoulders. Paradoxically, the interpretations of all those phenomenal predecessors actually worked for me in an inspiring and sharpening way. Through all the doubt, I discovered more and more my own voice. And my love for contemporary music never disappeared.'

Thus, during his debut in the 2019 Master Pianist series, he played three volumes from Vingt regards sur l'Enfant-Jésu By Messiaen. 'It fitted perfectly into my programme, which also included music by César Franck. Moreover, I had long wanted to play something by early Messiaen. Like "Le Baiser de l'Enfant-Jésus". That is a total immersion in (almost?) kitschy sound beauty, without even a trace of irony or guilty pleasure. It's a total, loving fascination with some euphonious chords to paradisiacal effect. This piece made me wonder what music actually is. It only works if you completely surrender to it.'

Tombeau pour Ton de Leeuw

The repertoire of his Van Baerle Trio also includes Tombeau pour Ton de Leeuw by Daan Manneke. Although that took lessons from Messiaen, Minnaar hears no references to the French grandmaster's music. 'In Tombeau pour Ton de Leeuw rather, Daan's love of Renaissance and early Baroque music shines through. The gestures are gamba-like, dashing, with modal rather than tonal harmonies. This is true of much of his music, by the way.'

Thanks to this piece, Minnaar got to know the composer personally. 'Coincidentally, our Zeeland roots do make us distantly connected. My father comes from the same village as Daan, Kruiningen - near Yerseke where I grew up myself. Before my father was born, Daan used to give piano lessons to my older uncles and aunts at my grandparents' house. And my first piano teacher was a sister of Daan's wife. Yet despite all that, it took until that trio of Tombeau pour Ton de Leeuw before we got in touch.'

Bach Chorale

In 2018, Minnaar played on the occasion of Mannekes eightieth birthday the premiere of his piano cycle Grand Archipelago. The 50-minute piece was written for six different pianists. 'The six of us sat on stage, listening to each other. We took turns playing the part dedicated to us, a beautiful and unique experience. The part for Jelena Bazova contained literal quotes from a Bach chorale, to which Daan gave a special, own twist.'

Minnaar was so pleasantly affected that he asked Manneke to write a solo piece with Bach references for him. 'He happily responded positively and gradually my idea took more shape. I thought it would be nice to have the new composition as an introduction to the Goldberg Variations to programme a tour in 2021. Daan agreed, but then suddenly this "corona tour" occurred.''

'Fortunately, Daan had already started during the crisis, so he was able to complete his composition in time. This one lasts just under 10 minutes, but consists of six separate parts that together form a whole, a kind of mini Archipelago. At its heart is an intensely sad Aria/Ayre, incorporating the harmonies of the Bach chorale 'Ach wie flüchtig, ach wie nichtig' in the left hand, while the right hand quotes fragments from John Dowland's 'Flow my tears'.

'Around this is completely different music, including a berceuse and two toccatas. The whole ends in a powerful dominant that acts as a colon for G major, the key of the Goldberg Variations. I am very happy with it. Gedanken zu Bach is totally contemporary and fits the programme ideally.'

Postscript 9-9-2020. The 6 August concert was streamed live and can now be seen on YouTube. At Manneke's request, his piece comes not at the beginning, but after the 15th Variation. Nice!