In the Eclipse series, pianist Mattias Spee discovers the hidden treasures of the piano repertoire. With special guest Ed Spanjaard. The second album in the series contains fairytale music by the Dutch composer Hans Henkemans, once famous and since forgotten.

Hans Henkemans was one of the most celebrated Dutch pianists and composers of his time. In the 1950s and 1960s he celebrated great success on the international concert stages and his pieces were regularly performed in the Concertgebouw. In 1969 he was forced to stop performing due to illness and fate has decreed that he has since sunk into obscurity.

Henkemans is still remembered by those who knew him personally, but the new generation of musicians no longer knows who he was. Omroep West made an item about this last year:

Spee came across Henkemans’ music through conductor Ed Spanjaard, who had inherited a stack of unpublished manuscripts from Henkemans. While browsing through these handwritten notes, he came across a few absolute gems. He thought, “How is it possible that we don’t all know this beautiful music?” Now a selection of this music can be heard on the album Eclipse part 2: Hans Henkemans, as well as the Concerto for piano and strings, never released on CD before, in collaboration with Philharmonie Zuidnederland.

The album will be available on www.trptk.com from May 12, 2023 and will be presented on May 20, 2023 in the Amstelkerk. The concert will be recorded and broadcast by Het Avondconcert on NPO Radio 4.

Program:

Hans Henkemans: Sonatine (14 minuten)
Claude Debussy: Het meisje met de vlasblonden haren (3 minuuten)
Louis Couperin: Suite in A mineur (10 minuten)
Hans Henkemans: Moments Souriants (4 minuten)
Hans Henkemans: Heksendans (4 minuten)

Pauze

Hans Henkemans: Andante con moto (6 minuten)
Louis Andriessen: Prospettive e retrospettive (5 minuten)
Mattias Spee: Ataraxis (De Albatros) (6 minuten)
Mattias Spee: Atelophobia (4 minuten)
Mattias Spee: Event Horizon (4 minuten)
Hans Henkemans: Sonate (14 minuten)