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the german orchestra

The only one - review in letter form (Why Peter Perrett is a true survivor)

Hey H., Tonight I went with J.P. to see Peter Perrett & Band at Paradiso, Small Hall. Sold out! I've told you about J. before, he was the deejay who gave me a 'crash course' in sincere music at the Eindhoven Bakery when I was 15 (1988). Before I tell you about Peter Perrett and why his music is worth... 

Ed Spanjaard is the ideal new leader of the Orchestra of the East

After it was announced in January this year that Jan Willem de Vriend was leaving at the end of the 2016/2017 season, the Orchestra of the East announced that it was in no hurry to find a successor. One would start working with "renowned guest conductors". Just over six months later, a few months before the departure of interim director Bart van Meijl, a successor was still presented. That this successor, Ed Spanjaard, is given the title of 'permanent conductor' seems mainly a semantic issue.

Education, education, education. But with an ideological basis.

Nee, verheffend was het cultuurdebat op 8 juni in de provincie Overijssel niet. De Cultuurnota 2017-2020 werd unaniem aangenomen, op twee stemmen van de SGP na. Geen vuurwerk over bijvoorbeeld de gedwongen samenwerking tussen het Orkest van het Oosten en Het Gelders Orkest. Geen forse investeringen om de landelijke en provinciale bezuinigingen te repareren. Alle woordvoerders kwamen met voorspelbare monologen, er werd vergeleken met andere regio's en vooral afgunstig naar de Randstad gekeken, ma...

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Culture Council fill-in exercise offers hardly any surprises

Champagne bij BAK in Utrecht, diepe teleurstelling bij Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam: de Raad voor Cultuur heeft gesproken. Vandaag, donderdag 19 mei 2016, kwam het eerste advies na de draconische kunstbezuinigingen door het eerste kabinet Rutte uit, en er rollen koppen. Amsterdam verliest de prestigieuze presentatie-instelling De Appel, in Den Haag moet collega-instelling Stroom zijn huiswerk overdoen. Het Orkest van het Oosten en het Gelders Orkest moeten binnen 2 jaar met fusieplannen kom...

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With George Pieterson, music life loses another coryphée

Last Sunday, 24 April, clarinetist George Pieterson died at his home in Amsterdam, aged 74. 'George was an iconic player with a big musical heart,' says his former student Frank van den Brink. 'He invariably went full steam ahead and whichever recording you listen to, his playing is always remarkable. You didn't necessarily have to put up with his... 

De Vriend leaves Orchestra of the East, former chief Van Zweden new boss New York Philharmonic

It is not often that Norman Lebrecht, author of the globally widely read blog Slipped Disc, covers conductors of the Orchestra of the East two days in a row. First on the departure of principal conductor Jan Willem de Vriend, then on the appointment of former principal conductor Jaap van Zweden to the world-famous New York Philharmonic. Naturally, Lebrecht brought both... 

The disaster surrounding the eastern orchestras only intensifies. A reconstruction

A damning report by organisational consultancy Berenschot, the voluntary or involuntary departure of director Harm Mannak, repeated bickering in the State Assembly and panting reports of high salaries for directors and artistic directors, all the way to the national newspapers. It marks the chaos at HET Symfonieorkest and the lack of any form of direction, not only at the orchestra itself,... 

HET Symphony Orchestra director steps down - just before scathing report on business plan

Failing directors stay put, the Supervisory Board disqualifies itself. No other conclusion is possible after reading the counter-expertise commissioned by the province of Overijssel and carried out by Berenschot. The provincial millions intended to make the orchestra subsidy-independent have not only evaporated, but show a negative balance in every aspect. Every estimate was too optimistic,... 

HET Symphony Orchestra won't get its 2016 budget done

THE Symphony Orchestra does not have a balanced budget for 2016. Without additional money from the province, it can no longer perform its core task, nor can it fulfil all the commitments it made earlier. That is the gist of the letter CDA deputy commissioner Hester Maij sent to Provincial Council, ahead of its meeting on 7 October. The subject of the letter: "progress business plan/redemption subsidy HET Symfonieorkest".... 

Arnhem pours millions into bricks and immediately pulls its hands off them

The Arnhem Philharmonic Orchestra is getting a new main hall. Questions about exploitation were carelessly brushed aside in the Arnhem city council last night. And so construction-minded Holland is happy. Moreover, Arnhem will save half a million a year on its culture budget by immediately making the yet-to-be-built new hall independent. Another headache file closed. Until huge budget deficits arise at the independent halls.... 

Joseph Calleja shines in Concertgebouw

For the second time, tenor Joseph Calleja performed at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam on Monday night 22 June, accompanied by the Gelders Orchestra conducted by Frederic Chaslin. A native of Malta, Calleja (b. 1978) is a world-renowned top singer. His timbre evokes memories of the finest voices of yesteryear: the controlled vibrato of Jussi Björling and the crystal-clear, powerful pitch of... 

No new merger orchestras, no merger Reisopera and Opera Zuid

Bussemaker invests 18 million in the arts and a symphony orchestra for pop and jazz added. It seems too good to be true. And so it is. Because in return for that one extra orchestra, two other orchestras will be cut. At least, that's how the minister's letter can easily be read. That's how I read it too, at least. Currently... 

Provincial millions for HET Symphony Orchestra evaporated without results

What happened to the five million Overijssel gave the orchestra in 2011 to 'get more money from the market'? This was also what councillor Van Abbema wondered, and the answers the province gave her mostly raise more questions. What is abundantly clear is that the province wants to keep the orchestra no matter what and of no merger 

Arnhem decides: who takes decisive lead in the battle of the orchestras?

Tonight, the Arnhem city council will take an important decision on the renovation of Musis Sacrum, the monumental concert hall located at a prominent point in the city. But the real news is not in what will be decided tonight, but in the far-reaching consequences. Musis Sacrum dates back to 1847 and is part of the cultural heritage. The venue complex is in dire need of refurbishment and with... 

Half-hearted advice puts touring opera companies at odds with each other

There is too little money for two travelling opera companies. Quality is at risk, something must be done. But the Culture Council does not offer a solution.
Het woensdag verschenen advies van de Raad voor Cultuur bevat weinig echte verrassingen. Er moet wat geld bij, meer nadruk op de steden, differentiatie in jeugdtheater, dat is het wel zo’n beetje. Concrete gezelschappen worden niet genoemd, conform de wens van minister Bussemaker dat de raad de instellingen zoveel mogelijk met rust moet ...

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Crisis at The Symphony Orchestra only gets worse thanks to fact-free politics

HET Symfonieorkest's financial problems have not gone unnoticed. Regional newspaper Tubantia reported last Monday that PvdA MP Jacques Monasch had minister Jet Bussemaker (also PvdA) summoned to the Lower House. In that report, Monasch passes with seven-mile boots advice, applications and decisions that have already been made or are yet to come, and immediately reports that a symphony orchestra will continue beyond 2017... 

Supervisory failure at HET Symphony Orchestra: drama that could have been avoided

The money at HET Symphony Orchestra has run out. Despite all the extra millions from the province and after years of writing off tons of general reserves, the end is in sight. And so the orchestra is scrapping concerts, will be seen less in theatres in Deventer and Zwolle, stops CD recordings and shuns any risky performances. To keep the... 

Municipal politics remain powerless over cultural policy content, this time in Enschede

Municipal cultural politics are often about 'bricks and mortar'. People put up a cultural building and then pray/hope that fantastic things will happen there, which the city council, in turn, has no money for/power over. Take Enschede. In a council meeting in which it was decided to reinvest in cultural bricks by means of a €475,000 loan, there was actually some unrest. No, not about those bricks, but about... 

Photo: Monique van de Wijdeven

The 10 theatre performances you actually wanted to see in 2014, even if you had to leave Amsterdam for half of them

It's raining annual lists and we're merrily joining in. As subjective as anyone, after all, no one sees everything, and opinions on taste can always differ. Of course, also in this list many performances in or from the Randstad, but half of them were not yet shown there. And all genres mixed together. As long as it is theatre. With the only limitation: no repeats, apologies Ring and Lohengrin (DNO), St John Passion (NRO). And no dance, because for that our partner dance audience

Joop Daalmeijer Marathon (3): "The arts sector should have reached out to consumers"

Wijbrand Schaap: ‘Er is veel te doen geweest over de verandering in de houding van Raad onder uw leiding. Na de confrontatiekoers onder uw voorganger Els Swaab, leek u aangesteld door Halbe Zijlstra om als een soort applausmachine op te treden.’ Marathon-interviewNaar aanleiding van de ophef rond Melle Daamens opiniestuk over het kunstbeleid zijn we uitgenodigd voor een ‘gesprek over… 

Five things we learned from opera amuse Sweeney Todd

Wat: een voorproefje van de 'musical thriller' Sweeney Todd

Location: the biggest rehearsal space of the Dutch Travel Opera

Present: almost the entire cast, one hundred and fifty guests

Menu: bread, pastry, a dessert as pretty as it is tasty

Drinks: water, red/white wine ánd Bloody Mary's, complete with celery as a stirrer, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, pepper (and salt, nowhere to go), lemon (should have been lime), prepare it yourself

 
(1) Hoe maak je een Bloody Mary
Voo...

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Figaro and The Fonz on a scooter in an entertaining choreography for set pieces

It is the turnout of the evening: riding around on a scooter, barber Figaro gets involved in a crazy adventure in which Count Almaviva wants to snatch the beautiful Rosina from the hands of her guardian Doctor Bartolo. Three Bertas, meanwhile, literally tear Basilio's clothes off in an ingenious dance in front of three sets in which the action moves at lightning speed from inside to outside and... 
Wacht even. Drie Berta’s?
Jawel, regisseur Laurence Dale durft het aan om Rossini te  ‘corrig...

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Figaro! Figaro! Figaro! Reisopera on tour with Rossini's masterpiece on order

'Give me a shopping list and I will set it to music,' the Italian composer Gioacchino Rossini is said to have said. Perhaps apocryphal, but fitting for the man who composed faster than musicians could rehearse his scores. Where Wagner needed a lifetime for 14 operas, Rossini wrote triple that. In barely fifteen years.
Samen met Bellini en Donizitti is Rossini de meester van de bel canto opera, en deze drie componisten schreven in min of meer dezel...

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Ed Spanjaard unleashes primal forces in Götterdämmerung Reisopera

The closing applause after the premiere of Götterdämmerung stormy, is an understatement. It seemed as if the completely sold-out auditorium wanted to surpass the primal forces extracted from the Gelders Orkest by Ed Spanjaard. History was made here: on stage, by the soloists and choir, in the orchestra pit and behind the scenes, for six hours and 20 minutes.

Götterdämmerung marks end and new beginning Reisopera

Het is de eerste massascène in Wagners Ring: Siegfried voert Brünnhilde naar de Gibichungenburcht en Hagen roept al zijn mannen bijeen. Vanaf het zijtoneel klinkt letterlijk oorverdovend hoorngeschal, maar dirigent Ed Spanjaard laat doorspelen. En terecht: in het orkest slaat een vonk over. Het hele toneel is in een oogwenk gevuld en het koor zwelt in kracht aan, luider en luider, alsmaar luider, tot de extatische apotheose:

Gross Glück und Heil lacht nun dem Rhein
Terwijl het koor van links na...

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