Canto Ostinato by the Dutch composer Simeon ten Holt (1923 – 2012) became an absolute classic hit after its premiere on April 25, 1979 in the Ruïnkerk in Bergen. The music has a hypnotic effect. In traditional classical music, development, climax and build-up play a leading role. At Ten Holt it’s all about the moment, the experience, the variation and the interaction.

The Canto Ostinato consists of sections with and without repeat marks. The performers decide for themselves when they go to the next section and also choose playing style, dynamics, and variants. That makes every version unique. Simeon ten Holt, who lived a secluded life in Bergen, said himself about this music: “It is the nostalgia of being a stranger. Nostalgia for a utopia perhaps. To the land of the loved ones. To the world where people are not predators of each other.”

This year marks the hundredth anniversary of Simeon ten Holt’s birth. That is an extra great opportunity to perform the Canto here. The piece is played on two grand pianos by the young and virtuoso pianists Tobias Borsboom and Yukiko Hasegawa.

Tobias, pianist with ‘a gem of a touch’ (Trouw), has been playing in the concert halls of the Netherlands since 2015 as the winner of the Dutch Classical Talent Award. He is a versatile and creative musician who also enjoys collaborating with other theater and art forms. In 2018, he and piano duo partner Yukiko Hasegawa were selected as Shizuoka no Meishu-tachi (Me.