We congratulate Lucas & Arthur Jussen and Hannes Minnaar for winning the Dutch Edison Classical in the category Solo instrument and Chamber Music. They are great ambassadors for Dutch composers and such a reward is a well-deserved acknowledgement for their strong efforts.
From the Jury Report:
All the ingredients are right on this carefully compiled double CD covering 90 years of Dutch music. Notable is the personal approach Lucas and Arthur Jussen take in the moving description of their bond with teacher Ton Hartsuiker, to whom the CD is also dedicated.
The album contains a number of works that the brothers have carried with them for a lifetime and performed in various stages since childhood. It was Hartsuiker – who, besides being a pianist and teacher, was also a radio producer and director of the Utrecht and Amsterdam conservatories – by whom they were encouraged to indulge in art, marvel at colour and make Dutch music their own.
As a listener, you immediately experience what musical riches our cold chilly country has produced and continues to produce. The opening work by Willem Pijper Sonata for 2 pianos (1935) shows that the two pianists fully grasp and feel this music. It is inquisitive and above all indicative of everything to come with gems by Theo Loevendie, Leo Smit and Hans Henkemans, among others. To top it all off, the second CD features a blistering live recording of ‘In Unison’ Concerto for 2 pianos by Joey Roukens with the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by chief conductor Karina Canellakis.
Great credit to Lucas and Arthur Jussen for championing Dutch music. This rich double CD has many facets and discoveries that are, above all, fantastically performed. An absolute masterstroke!
Bach’s Goldberg Variations and their brief instructions have already yielded an endless number and variety of performances – sometimes topped with ego sauce. Not this one by Hannes Minnaar! With his CD, he has delivered a new, almost casually primal version. His playing with integrity is modest and unadorned, but always captivating.
Both in the energetic and hushed movements, subtle dynamics can be heard, always with beautiful legato, singing tone and forward drive.
Minnaar lets the music speak for itself and doesn’t force anything, but still embellishes here and there in interesting ways. Everything sounds intelligent, light and flowing and perfectly logical. Nowhere do you feel that Minnaar is imposing his will, as if he has switched off his ego as an interpreter and is only trying to bring Bach’s sound and spirit world to life in the best possible way.
Thinking of the ‘church tour’ Minnaar made, the recording in the Waalse Kerk is a thoughtful choice, miraculously not compromising the transparency of the piano sound. And as a luxurious treat, the inventive Gedanken zu Bach – Ach wie flüchtig, ach wie nichtig by Daan Manneke, which he composed especially for the concert series, can also be heard. It completes the phenomenal CD.
Music journalists at home and abroad have often described how Robert Holl (75), in operas and song recitals, does not sing his material but embodies it. He has a world career as an opera and concert singer, reflected in a huge phonographic oeuvre. Many singers call him a key figure in their own development – whether through regular lessons or thanks to one of the many master classes Holl gave and still gives. He turned 75 earlier this year and still impresses with the intensity of his recitals. Partly for this reason, the jury considers it an honour to award Robert Holl the Oeuvre Prize 2022.
Robert Holl is a composers too. His songs are published at Donemus.
Composers in the crosshairs of our attention