The Dutch-Russian cellist Maya Fridman is a fervent advocate of new music. She commissioned Jan-Peter de Graaff to write a new solo concerto for her. It was a dream come true for her, after discovering De Graaff’s ‘Ripple’ (2017) during the Gaudeamus Music Week. The piano arrangement of Ripple by Rick van Veldhuizen/Carlos Marín Rayo, as well as part of The Forest in April, will be heard during the release concert. Beorn Nijenhuis interviews composer Jan-Peter de Graaff.

In March 2021, The Forest in April premiered with the Noord Nederlands Orkest in TivoliVredenburg, where Fridman was artist-in-residence during the 2020-21 season.

“After a minute-long solo cadenza, in which Fridman is allowed to indulge her qualities as a playing animal, a fierce battle ensues. Angular orchestral motifs are alternated with seething dissonances from the cello. Even here, the composer mixes the timbres so skilfully that beauty lurks even in the discordant sounds. A gloomy, almost mahleresque fading panorama forms the conclusion.”
Frits van der Waa (De Volkskrant).

The album contains two cello concertos by Jan-Peter de Graaff: “Concerto no.5, The Forest in April” (2021), a new work written for Maya Fridman, combined with his previous solo piece for cello “Concerto no. 4, Ripple” (2017). 4, Ripples” (2017).