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Kaarverkoop gestart!

Nog maar minder dan twee maanden te gaan, en de eerste editie van het International Harp Competition & Festival, The Netherlands gaat van start! De kaartverkoop voor het festival is alvast begonnen. Naast vele mooie concerten staan er ook interessante lezingen en masterclasses op het programma. Ook de concoursrondes zijn voor publiek toegankelijk. Klik hier om het gehele festivalprogramma te bekijken, en hier om alvast kaarten te bestellen.

January 13th, 2010: Meet the board

-by Liesbeth Vreeburg, public relations

To get to know each other a little better, and because you, the competitors, answered these questions as well, we thought it’s not more than fair if we do the same. So, here we are, in the midst of organizing, making calls, meeting each other, and making music in between: completely honest answers to some serious questions.

Remy van Kesteren, artistic director

Where were you born and raised? Born in de Bilt, raised in Zeist

What is the most important thing that has happened to you? My performance of the Dances of Debussy when I was sixteen. A fantastic piece. To perform it in the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam with the Dutch Chamberorchestra was an unbelievable experience.

Who is the person you'd most like to meet? The Armenian violinist Sergey Khachatryan. The way he plays the 1st violin concerto by D. Shostakovich moves me like nothing else. I wish I will once have the chance to meet him, or even better: play with him!

Favourite book? Favourite cd? Laughter Through Tears from the London band Oi Va Voi. They make popmusic with jewish influences. I like how they make use of special instruments.

If you could change anything, what would it be? The way people look at the harp. It is a full instrument, just like the piano or the violin, and capable of much more than only angelic sounds.

What can you not live without? Good music.

Merel Vercammen, business director

Where were you born and raised? I was born in Nijmegen, the oldest city of the Netherlands. 

What is the most important thing that has happened to you? That would be when I was casted for the Dutch version of America’s Next Top Model while I was running to catch my train… (I didn’t accept their offer.) ;) 

Who have you learned most from and what did they teach you? As to music, I learned most from my teacher Eeva Koskinen, and from listening to other great violinists such as Janine Jansen.  

Best advice ever given to you? Playing music means nothing if you do not really feel it. 

Favourite book? Favourite cd? My favourite CD would be ‘Hello Mr. Paganini’ by violinist Ning Feng as to classical music, and ‘Asa’ by Nigerian soulstress Asa otherwise.

What is your biggest frustration? Living together with a harpist… ;)

Anton Sie, secretary

Where were you born and raised? I was born in Nijmegen in the east of the Netherlands, and raised in Leidschendam, near The Hague, where I live at the moment.

Favourite book? Favourite cd? The gospel according to Jesus Christ by José Saramago. Favourite CD: Mozart's piano sonatas by Andreas Staier and Wagner's Tristan & Isolde by Staatskapelle Berlin and Barenboim

Favourite movie? Favourite television programme? Movie: "Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom" aka "Spring, summer, fall, winter....and spring" by Kim Ki-Duk. Television programme: Friends

If you could change anything, what would it be? To open the minds of everybody. People should not judge things and persons they don't know a lot of.

What is your biggest frustration? Undeserved media hypes. And dog poop in the streets.

What can you not live without? My bike.

In five years, I ... still defeat Remy in Wii table tennis. 

Liesbeth Vreeburg, public relations

Where were you born and raised?  I was born in Leiden, an old city in The Netherlands.

Best advice ever given to you? Whatever happens, don’t give up! 

Who is the person you'd most like to meet? The devil, to ask if he’s aware of what people think he’s done. Or Bach, but that’s even less possible.

Favourite book? Favourite cd? The Sandman stories, by Neil Gaiman, and Luz Y Norte, by Andrew Lawrence King’s harp consort. But that changes very often.

If you could change anything, what would it be? I would change the way people treat the planet and it’s creatures.

What can you not live without? Music! But underneath that is creation and beauty, which is more important.

Bram Vercammen, logistics

Where were you born and raised? I was born and raised in Nijmegen. 

What is the most important thing that has happened to you? Going to university, this really was an eye-opener to me. 

Best advice ever given to you? Work hard, play hard.

Favourite movie? Favourite television programme? I guess my favorite movie is Ocean’s Eleven. My favorite television program is Californication on Comedy Central. 

What is your biggest frustration? Doing work others are supposed to do. 

What can you not live without? I guess the more obvious things like water and bread. Though I would be unhappy without excitement in my life. 

In five years, I ... will be Master of Science and looking for a job. 

November 25th 2009: The composition workshop.

-by: Remy van Kesteren, artistic director

Last weekend, the first event to warm up for the International Harp Competition & Festival was held in the Utrechts Conservatorium: a full day of lectures and workshops on how (and why?!) to write for harp, initiating the Composition Contest of the International Harp Competition & Festival, 2010. Saskia Rekké and Petra van der Heide kicked-off with a lecture about the do's and don'ts when writing for harp. With a clear and instructive presentation, they opened the eyes of many composers for all the instruments abilities. Henk Alkema, the composer who wrote the compulsory piece for the International Harp Competition, continued with some comic relief in his lecture, rebelliously titled: Would you really write a piece for harp? WHY??

Probably only more questions arose with the participants who were waiting for some insight from a composer who is experienced in writing for harp. But these were answered by the following workshops given by Saskia Rekké and Petra van der Heide: they invited the composers to try the instruments, and explore the great amount of oppertunities. It was a very interesting day, and a great prospect to the event in March. The composers will have to complete their works before January 8; the three pieces that will be performed during the 1st International Harp Competition &  Festival, on Wednesday the 24^th of March, will be announced on this website January 15, 2010.

October 8th, 2009: The festival programme

-by Remy van Kesteren, Artistic director

As March 2010 is getting closer, more and more ideas are put into reality. The preliminary programme is released and for everyone to discover: five days of festival including three days of competition, five concerts featuring celebrated musicians, lectures, workshops, dinners and over 24 hours of individual master classes.

In two months, the registration for the competition will be closed. We would like to remind those who want to participate that the complete application must be post marked no later than the 1st of December, 2009. Start your application by submitting your application form on the website.

Those who are interested in visiting the festival, can soon start pre-ordering tickets for all the venues.

The commissioned composition [ working title: Forgotten Lore], written by Henk Alkema, is finished and will be send to all accepted candidates of the Competition.

Please ask one of us if you want to know more. We look forward to hearing from you!

September 10th, 2009: Une Châtelaine en sa tour...

A lady in her fifth-floor apartment...

- By Anton Sie, Secretary

Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) has written two of the most popular pieces in the harp repertoire, of which “Une Châtelaine en sa tour...” is an obligatory piece in the competition.  Fauré makes use of the harp in his symphonic and choral works, but “Une Châtelaine” and the “Impromptu” are his only harp solo works.

Throughout his life, Fauré had had contact with harpists. He had a good relationship with Alphonse Hasselmans. He even fell in love with his daughter Marguerite who became his mistress – having secret lovers was quite common in the higher social circles of Paris – and who premiered many of his piano works. Despite this - or maybe because of this - he didn’t write more pieces for harp solo.

Another harpist whom he had contact with was Micheline Kahn, mother of Jean-Michel Damase. He wrote witty letters in verse to her. Fauré dedicated “Une Châtelaine” to Kahn, who premiered the piece on the 30^th of November 1918 in the Société Nationale de Musique in Paris. Micheline Kahn was an inspiration for many composers to write the most beautiful pieces for the harp.

Une Châtelaine” is based on a poem by Paul Verlaine (1844-1896). It was not the first time Fauré used this poem for a composition; in 1892, he composed a song on the poem: “Une Sainte en son auréole”, the opening song of the song cycle “La Bonne Chanson” opus 61(1892). For the harp composition, he uses the second line of this poem. Musically, he derives the opening motive of the piece from the notes that are sung at “Une Châtelaine (en)” in the song opus 61/1 (Orledge p 170). (1)

1. Comparison of melodies between “Une Sainte en son aureole” and “Une châtelaine en sa tour… “

Jean-Michel Nectoux and Carlos Caballero think that the title could be a literal reference to the house of Micheline Kahn : Kahn lived on a fifth-floor apartment (Caballero p 249), “whose ascent a man in his seventies would well have remembered and probably gave rise to much facetious grumbling” (Published in Nectoux pp 392-393). Caballero links Kahn to the “châtelaine” and the apartment to the “tour”.

Besides the two pieces written for harp, he also writes in August 1916 to Kahn that pieces nos 5, 7 and 8 from “Huit pieces brèves pour piano” opus 84 are likely for him to be transcribed. No. 8, “The Eighth Nocturne” would suit the harp the best according to Fauré. These have not been published, but in 1913 Kahn published three transcriptions of Fauré’s pieces: Berceuse, Le Jardin de Dolly and Sicilienne (Fauré pp 295-296). But it worked also the other way around: the sixth “Impromptu” opus 86bis is a transcription of the famous ”Impromptu” opus 86 for harp solo (Rostaud p 142).

During his life Fauré became increasingly deaf. You can see that the range in the Impromptu is much bigger than in “Une Châtelaine”, where he mainly stays in the middle register of the harp.

Please note that there are two mistakes in the printed score, according to Pierre Jamet and confirmed by Micheline Kahn to Marie-Claire Jamet (Swanson p 17):

1. The C-flat in the bass on the third beat of bar 27 should be a C-natural. (2)
2. An 8va should be added in left hand in the second last bar, thus the chord on the first beat of the last bar is exactly an octave lower than in the second last bar. (3)

Used literature

Caballero, Carlos - Fauré and French musical aesthetics pp 249-250 New York: Cambridge University Press 2001

Duchen, Jessica - Gabriel Fauré London: Phaidon Press 2000

Fauré, Gabriel - Correspondance, annoted by Jean-Michel Nectoux pp 295-296

Nectoux, Jean-Michel - Gabriel Fauré: A Musical Life Tr. Roger Nichols. New York: Cambridge University Press 1991 (Translation of ”Gabriel Fauré: Les voix du clair-obscur”)

Orledge, Robert - Gabriel Fauré London: Ernst Eulenberg 1979

Rostaud, Claude - L’Œuvre de Gabriel Fauré J.B. Janin Éditeur 1945

Swanson, Carl - Corrections for Fauré’s  “Une Châtelaine en sa tour ...“ in “The American Harp Journal “ Vol. 20, no. 1 Summer 2005

- By Merel Vercammen, business director

By this way I would like to take the opportunity to tell you something about the locations where the IHC&F will take place. Because Utrecht is an old city, many buildings have an interesting history, which I am more than happy to relate!

The main location for the event will be the building for Arts and Sciences (in Dutch: Kunsten en Wetenschappen) of the Utrecht Conservatory, which is located in the attractive city center of Utrecht. This building houses the J.M. Fentener van Vlissingenzaal, the oldest concert hall of the Netherlands!

Until 1813, the Mariachurch stood at the place where the building now stands; its remains are still visible. In 1847 the new building was placed, in which even Johannes Brahms and Robert and Clara Schumann have performed.

Unfortunately, in 1988 the inside of the building, along with many precious instruments, was destroyed by fire; but was restored the same year. Nowadays, it is used by the Utrecht Conservatory, making an important contribution to the cultural life in Utrecht and the rest of the Netherlands.

The building next to the edifice for Arts and Sciences is also part of the Utrecht Conservatory, and here will the master classes of the festival take place. This building dates from 1896 and has long been used as a hospital for men only. The chapel inside the building, now used for concerts, dates from this period. The architect of this building was mr. J. van Kesteren, but as far as we know he was not related to our artistic director!

Apart from the concerts in the Conservatory, one concert of the festival will take place in the medieval building Vredenburg Leeuwenbergh, situated on the outer city canal of Utrecht. With its capacity of 250 persons this is a perfect location for chamber music. The building was not always used as a concert hall; it was built as a pest house, and later it has been a chemical laboratory and a barracks for the French Army,

If you have some time left during your visit to the festival, you should go visit the city center of Utrecht. There is much to do, both at day and at night. During good weather you can for example climb the famous Dom tower or get lunch on a terrace overlooking the ‘Oudegracht’ (old canal).

One of the main means of transport in the Netherlands is the bicycle, as you probably will notice immediately, so if you want to do some sports, we recommend you to rent a bike and explore the city. At night there are many entertainment venues, such as pop & rock club Tivoli (situated at the ‘Oudegracht’) and many jazz clubs such as the SJU. There will be plenty to discover!

Herewith I hope you are excited to visit our festival, and therefore I hope to welcome you all in March 2010!

Merel Vercammen
Business director

May 5th, 2009: The start
Dear all,

Within one year, the first edition of the International Harp Competition & Festival of the Netherlands will launch. It promises to become a very exciting week, in many ways very different from established events found in the world. The idea has grown from a rather innocent brainchild in summer 2008 into an extensive and challenging project.

Fortunately, we do not only have a very motivated and keen team of students putting loads of effort in the realization of this event, we are also very well supported by the Utrecht Conservatory and the Dutch Harp Society. Without them, and many organizations and companies that now join in the collaboration, such a great idea is, even for students, impracticable.

With this blog the organization committee would like to keep you up to date with the latest news concerning the Competition & Festival. We’ll be happy to welcome you all in Utrecht in March 2010: as a competitor in the Competition, or as a visitor to the Festival.

All the best,
Remy van Kesteren
Artistic director