Nederlands Blazers Ensemble
Encyclopedia
The Nederlands Blazers Ensemble (Netherlands Wind Ensemble, NBE) comprises musicians from all the major Dutch symphony orchestras. Playing together for the sheer joy of it, the NBE’s twenty or so members (winds, horns, percussion and double bass) meet up around fifty times per year to perform special programmes both in the Netherlands and abroad. The ensemble is famous for its high level of performance and its unique and adventurous programming. Categorisations such as ‘classical’ or ‘contemporary’ are too narrow for their programmes, but one element they all share is a sense of the theatrical.
The NBE is regularly featured in special concert series at Amsterdam
’s main venues: the Concertgebouw
, Paradiso and the new Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ
. The NBE also tours abroad, twice per season on average. Artistic leader of the ensemble is oboist Bart Schneemann.
(1912-1966), principal bassoonist of the Concertgebouw Orchestra who had formed a student wind quintet
at the Amsterdam Conservatory (Martine Bakker (flute), Edo de Waart
(oboe), George Pieterson
(clarinet), Joep Terwey (bassoon) and Jaap Verhaar (horn)), De Klerk wanted to expand the group in order to perform wind serenades like those by Mozart, Dvorak
and Gounod, and ambitiously aimed to make the ensemble into the "I Musici
" for winds. The core of the NBE was a wind octet (pairs of oboes, clarinets, bassoons, and horns), but the ensemble usually expanded to larger dimensions. When De Klerk died in October 1966, Edo de Waart, who had left in 1962 to focus on conducting, took over his role (Han de Vries
and Werner Herbers played oboe since the expansion). In this period, the ensemble made many recordings and multiple composers wrote music for the group. Because of their expanding international careers, both De Waart and De Vries left in 1975. The NBE adjusted to play without a conductor, while Joep Terwey and Werner Herbers acted as managers. From 1985 to 1988 Nikolaus Harnoncourt
joined as conductor. In 1988, the NBE reorganized with many younger players and Bart Schneemann (a student of Han de Vries) taking over the artistic management, which led to an artistic revival of the ensemble.
, Roger Doyle, Alexander Raskatov
, Guido Morini
, Luca Francesconi, Cornelis de Bondt
, Theo Loevendie
, Guus Janssen
, John Psathas
, Maarten Altena, Martijn Padding
, Ayub Ogada
, Iva Bittova
, the Pokrovsky Ensemble, the Hilliard Ensemble
, Jordi Savall
, Marco Beasley, Aynur Dogan
and Manos Akhalinotopoulos have all been featured in this way, and so have many others.
In addition, the NBE regularly stages programmes like Mail from Mozart, which alternates the seven parts of Mozart’s ‘Gran Partita’ with readings from his letters to his father; Schumann
’s Diary, which tells the story of Schumann’s deteriorating mental health through passages from his diary and new interpretations of his piano works by Dutch composer Otto Ketting; or The Creation, which takes as its point of departure an 18th century version of Joseph Haydn’s Die Schöpfung but frames it with an updated Creation myth by Flemish author Bart Moeyaert.
Around the Mozart year 2006, the NBE staged Le Nozze di Figaro, Die Zauberflöte and Cosi fan Tutte as a trio of original chamber operas performed on period instruments and featuring the voices of soprano Johannette Zomer
and baritone Frans Fiselier.
Taking the NBE’s sense of adventure to new heights year after year is the traditional New Year’s Concert, started in 1972 and since 1995 broadcasted live on television from the Concertgebouw
in Amsterdam.
The NBE is regularly featured in special concert series at Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
’s main venues: the Concertgebouw
Concertgebouw
The Concertgebouw is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" literally translates into English as "concert building"...
, Paradiso and the new Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ
Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ
Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ is a concert hall for contemporary classical music on the IJ in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The building opened in 2005 and is located above the IJtunnel, a ten-minute walk from Amsterdam Centraal station.The building was designed by Danish architects 3XN...
. The NBE also tours abroad, twice per season on average. Artistic leader of the ensemble is oboist Bart Schneemann.
History
The ensemble was founded in 1959 by Thom de KlerkThom de Klerk
Thom de Klerk . Dutch bassoonist, double reed maker, music teacher, conductor and music director. Thom de Klerk was the first solo bassoonist of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra from 1935 until 1966. He was successful with the directors Willem Mengelberg, Eduard van Beinum and Bernard Haitink...
(1912-1966), principal bassoonist of the Concertgebouw Orchestra who had formed a student wind quintet
Wind quintet
A wind quintet, also sometimes known as a woodwind quintet, is a group of five wind players . The term also applies to a composition for such a group....
at the Amsterdam Conservatory (Martine Bakker (flute), Edo de Waart
Edo de Waart
Edo de Waart is a Dutch conductor, and the Music Director of both the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra....
(oboe), George Pieterson
George Pieterson
George Pieterson is a Dutch clarinetist. Pieterson was the principal clarinetist of the Royal Amsterdam Concertgebouworkest, until he retired some years ago. He plays on a Wurlitzer Reform-Boehm clarinet. He has performed with Hephzibah Menuhin and Edo de Waart....
(clarinet), Joep Terwey (bassoon) and Jaap Verhaar (horn)), De Klerk wanted to expand the group in order to perform wind serenades like those by Mozart, Dvorak
Dvorák
- Dvořák or Dvorak :* Ann Dvorak , American film actress* Antonín Dvořák , Czech composer of Romantic music* August Dvorak , American psychologist, co-creator of the Dvorak Simplified Keyboard...
and Gounod, and ambitiously aimed to make the ensemble into the "I Musici
I Musici
I Musici is an Italian chamber orchestra from Rome formed in 1952. They are well known for their interpretations of Baroque and other works, particularly Antonio Vivaldi and Tomaso Albinoni....
" for winds. The core of the NBE was a wind octet (pairs of oboes, clarinets, bassoons, and horns), but the ensemble usually expanded to larger dimensions. When De Klerk died in October 1966, Edo de Waart, who had left in 1962 to focus on conducting, took over his role (Han de Vries
Han de Vries
Han Samuel de Vries , is a Dutch oboist and is considered the doyen of the Dutch school of oboe playing.De Vries studied oboe with Jaap Stotijn at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague and with his son Haakon Stotijn at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam. He won many prizes in his youth,...
and Werner Herbers played oboe since the expansion). In this period, the ensemble made many recordings and multiple composers wrote music for the group. Because of their expanding international careers, both De Waart and De Vries left in 1975. The NBE adjusted to play without a conductor, while Joep Terwey and Werner Herbers acted as managers. From 1985 to 1988 Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Nikolaus Harnoncourt is an Austrian conductor, particularly known for his historically informed performances of music from the Classical era and earlier. Starting out as a classical cellist, he founded his own period instrument ensemble in the 1950s, and became a pioneer of the Early Music movement...
joined as conductor. In 1988, the NBE reorganized with many younger players and Bart Schneemann (a student of Han de Vries) taking over the artistic management, which led to an artistic revival of the ensemble.
Programs
In the past years, the NBE has created and performed a substantial number of original programmes focusing on a particular composer or soloist. Kevin VolansKevin Volans
Kevin Volans is a composer associated with the post-minimalist movement in contemporary composition. He was born in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa on July 6, 1949, and even though he has spent most of his life outside his native country, is the best known South African composer active today.In...
, Roger Doyle, Alexander Raskatov
Alexander Raskatov
Alexander Mikhailovich Raskatov is a Russian composer.-Life:Alexander Raskatov, a son of a leading journalist of the magazine Krokodil, studied composition under Albert Leman at the Moscow Conservatory. In 1990 he was composer in residence at Stetson University and 1998 in Lockenhaus...
, Guido Morini
Guido Morini
Guido Morini is an Italian pianist, organist, harpsichordist, musicologist and composer.In the ensemble Accordone he performs early baroque works with singer Marco Beasley.Morini was born in Milan....
, Luca Francesconi, Cornelis de Bondt
Cornelis de Bondt
Cornelis de Bondt is a Dutch composer. Born in The Hague, de Bondt attended the Royal Conservatory there and currently teaches composition and music theory at the same institution.-References:...
, Theo Loevendie
Theo Loevendie
Theo Loevendie is a Dutch composer and clarinet player.Loevendie studied composition and clarinet at the Conservatoire of Amsterdam. Initially he concentrated on jazz music. As off 1968 he also wrote concert music, among which operas, concertos and chamber music...
, Guus Janssen
Guus Janssen
Guus Janssen is a Dutch composer of contemporary music and a recording artist. A pianist and harpsichordist, he is also active as a jazz performer....
, John Psathas
John Psathas
John Psathas is a New Zealand composer, son of Greek immigrant parents.He has works in the repertoire of such high profile musicians as Evelyn Glennie, Michael Houstoun, Michael Brecker and the New Juilliard Ensemble, and is one of New Zealand's most frequently performed composers...
, Maarten Altena, Martijn Padding
Martijn Padding
Martijn Padding is a Dutch composer. Taught by Louis Andriessen , Geert van Keulen and Fania Chapiro . He also studied sonology at the University of Utrecht. He is a teacher at the Royal Conservatory in Den Haag.-References:*-External links:**...
, Ayub Ogada
Ayub Ogada
Ayub Ogada is a musician from Kenya. Ogada was born in Mombasa and is one of the Luo people of Western Kenya.He received his first exposure to Western culture early on. When he was six, his parents , toured the college circuit in the U.S...
, Iva Bittova
Iva Bittová
Iva Bittová is a Czech avant-garde violinist, singer and composer. She began her career as an actress in the mid 1970s, appearing in several Czech feature films, but switched to playing violin and singing in the early 1980s. She started recording in 1986 and by 1990 her unique vocal and...
, the Pokrovsky Ensemble, the Hilliard Ensemble
Hilliard Ensemble
The Hilliard Ensemble is a British male vocal quartet originally devoted to the performance of early music. Founded in 1974, the group is named after the Elizabethan miniaturist painter Nicholas Hilliard....
, Jordi Savall
Jordi Savall
Jordi Savall i Bernadet is a Catalan viol player, conductor and composer. He has been one of the major figures in the field of Western early music since the 1970s, largely responsible for bringing the viol back to life on the stage...
, Marco Beasley, Aynur Dogan
Aynur Dogan
Aynur Doğan is a contemporary Kurdish singer and musician from Turkey. She was born in Çemişgezek, a small mountain town in Tunceli Province in southeastern Turkey. Her family fled to İstanbul in 1992 during the conflict between the Turkish military and the Kurdistan Workers Party...
and Manos Akhalinotopoulos have all been featured in this way, and so have many others.
In addition, the NBE regularly stages programmes like Mail from Mozart, which alternates the seven parts of Mozart’s ‘Gran Partita’ with readings from his letters to his father; Schumann
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
’s Diary, which tells the story of Schumann’s deteriorating mental health through passages from his diary and new interpretations of his piano works by Dutch composer Otto Ketting; or The Creation, which takes as its point of departure an 18th century version of Joseph Haydn’s Die Schöpfung but frames it with an updated Creation myth by Flemish author Bart Moeyaert.
Around the Mozart year 2006, the NBE staged Le Nozze di Figaro, Die Zauberflöte and Cosi fan Tutte as a trio of original chamber operas performed on period instruments and featuring the voices of soprano Johannette Zomer
Johannette Zomer
- Biography :Johannette Zomer studied voice at the Sweelinck Conservatory Amsterdam in Amsterdam with Charles van Tassel and received her Performance Diploma in 1997....
and baritone Frans Fiselier.
Taking the NBE’s sense of adventure to new heights year after year is the traditional New Year’s Concert, started in 1972 and since 1995 broadcasted live on television from the Concertgebouw
Concertgebouw
The Concertgebouw is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" literally translates into English as "concert building"...
in Amsterdam.
CD's
The NBE has recorded CDs for two major international labels: Philips and Britain’s Chandos. In November 1999, the NBE started its own record label, NBELIVE, which releases two or three live recordings of special NBE projects per year “for those who were there…and those who wished they had been.” In 2007 the NBELIVE CD Gran Partita, the live recording of Mozart's famous serenade for winds, received an Edison Award, the oldest and most important music industry prize in The Netherlands.External links
- Nederlands Blazers Ensemble official website
- Joep Terwey, The History of the Netherlands Wind Ensemble, SCRAPES International, Vol. 1, 1998, pp. 40-44.
- Robert Adelson [ Allmusic.com "biography"] of the ensemble.