Four leading Dutch composers of the last century are featured in Sonoor on August 3rd: Willem Pijper , Hans Henkemans, Rudolf Escher, and Matthijs Vermeulen.
Willem Pijper opens the broadcast with his Sonata for Two Pianos, in which he applies his characteristic “germ cell technique”: music grows logically and naturally from a small motif. The piece was recently recorded by Lucas and Arthur Jussen on their album “Dutch Masters.” De Volkskrant called it: “a piece with balls, played with a nice, robust style.”
Next, Quattre Mains by Hans Henkemans, Pijper’s student, pianist, and psychiatrist, will be performed. His work fell into obscurity after the war but gained renewed attention thanks to the documentary “Weggewist” (Erased).
From Rudolf Escher, you’ll hear the Trio for Oboe, Clarinet, and Bassoon—refined in sound and strong in character. According to musicologist Leo Samama, his music is unique and incomparable to any other style.
The broadcast concludes with Matthijs Vermeulen’s Second Symphony, titled Prélude à la nouvelle journée: a moving work that, after years of silence, received its well-deserved premiere at the Holland Festival in 1956.
Composed by: Anton van Kempen
Listen to this special episode of Sonoor on Sunday, August 3rd (4:00-5:00 PM)
