Concertzender Newsletter

Editorial

Brexit: Look for the differences, revel in the similarities

We could have devoted a prize question to it: will the UK leave the EU or not? And if so, when? It remains a question. Just like Jean Jouvenel des Ursins (1360-1431) wrote a little while ago: If Fate wants England and France to be one country, why the English Channel?

In November, the London tombola gives reason to some extra tender loving care for our neighbours, so alike and so different. And so connected, because which of us has not visited England for a short or longer trip?

You’ll hear about a British Bach, our composer of the month, for whom the visiting Mozart stole a note or two. And also Beethoven, whose complete works we will be playing in 2020 , pays a visit. Of course we couldn’t ignore Purcell, Dowland and John Ireland (!), with their music for all sorts of sad events. But also a superb concert by John Engels, even older than the Brexit debate, and still going strong. You can hear it in Concertzender Live Jazz.

The clincher for this month is Radio itself, which will be 100 in November. The Palace of Nostalgia will be devoting a special broadcast to it. Enjoy and see you next month, with or without the UK. Carry on!

Thursday 14th and 28th November 2019

Theme: Contemporary Music

London Pieces in The Last Century

Finzi Although at the time of writing it seems that the UK will linger a bit more on the EU’s doorstep, the ever forward looking programme The Last Century dedicates two very appropriate pieces of music on this subject.

On Thursday 14th November you can hear the London Pieces by John Ireland, and the ballet Homage to the Queen by Malcolm Arnold. In the programme on 28th November there’s another work by Arnold: his English Dances. Also in that programme the Partita for Orchestra by William Walton and the Requiem da Camera by Gerald Finzi.

Listen:
Thursday 14th and 28th November from 21:00 to 22:00.

Sunday 24th November 2019

Theme: Early Music

Farewell. The sad departure of Great Britain from the EU

In ‘Farewell’ L’Esprit Baroque mourns the British struggle to leave the EU. Meanwhile, this leaves plenty of room for all sorts of Farewell baroque music, with music by among others John Dowland, Henry Purcell and Robert Jones. The divorce hits us hard, as you can hear. And we loved it musically speaking.

At the end of the 16th century melancholy music was very popular. John Dowland (1563-1626) was an important exponent ,with songs such as Go, crystal tears; Stay, Time, awhile thy flying; If that’s a sinner’s sighs and Weep you no more, sad fountains. We’re also playing music with close connections to Shakespeare plays. The anonymous Walshingham uses text from Hamlet’s 4th act. From Purcell you’ll hear the Funeral Sentences, written for the funeral of Queen Mary.

Listen:
L’Esprit Baroque, Sunday 24th November from 15:00 to 16:00.

On weekdays from Monday 4th November

Theme: Classical Music

Bach, a British outsider

The name is Bach. Johann Christian Bach. Joh. Chr. Bach, as he is also known these days, loved to travel and by his own admission “composed to live”. He was one of the youngest sons of Johann Sebastian, who gave him his first music lessons. After his father died that role was taken over by Carl Philipp Emanuel. But 5 years after his father’s death Johan Christian left firstly for Italy and thereafter moved to London, where he remained until his death in 1782.

Bach became a star in London and was much more famous than his father. Only after his death did he descend into oblivion, until he was 'rediscovered' in the 20th century.

During Bachs’ London years, musical life was at a peak, with Bach jr. playing his full part in that. During that period the pianoforte was replacing the harpsichord and Bach wrote a number of sonatas for it. They sometimes sound almost Mozartian. Wolfgang Amadeus thought that himself when he visited Johann Christian in 1764 and was very taken with his sonatas, some of whose elements he incorporated into his three piano concertos KV 107.

Theme: Jazz

Genre: Swing

Nostalgia; 100 years of Radio

What’s in a name? An engineer from The Hague, Hanso Schotanus à Steringa Idzerda, familiarly known as Hanso Idzerda, or Idz for those wanting to take an even more drastic shortcut, broadcast the first Dutch radio programme on 6 november 1919.

Uniquely to the Netherlands: there were already a number of various independent broadcasters, who shared broadcasts and had their own programmatic leanings. Socialists, Catholics, Protestants, Broad and Free Thinkers: they all had their own amusement programmes and often their own orchestra.

Until long after the War families would gather together for legendary programmes such as De Bonte Dinsdagavondtrein, De Familie Doorsnee or Negen heit de klok. In the 60’s advertising began. Wim Kan mocked with crazy STER-spots, while from a ship in the North Sea the commercial Radio Veronica introduced a new public: youth.

Theme: Contemporary Music

Special competition: Canto Ostinato

Polo de Haas and Kees Wieringa will be performing Canto Ostinato by Simeon ten Holt in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam on Saturday 23 November at 20:15. There are 10 tickets to be won by listeners to the Concertzender!

This time the question can be answered without specialist knowledge or the use of a search engine. All you have to do is send us your first name, last name, e-mail address and the number of tickets you would like to win (maximum of 2 please!), before 18 november. For more information about the concert visit Polo de Haas. The winners will receive an e-mail with instructions about how to collect their tickets.

The CD by Polo de Haas and Kees Wieringa got excellent reviews and is an essential addition to any Canto collection. It can be purchased on CD or vinyl at the concert on 23 November for the special price of €10,-. Euros that is, lads and lasses, not pounds.

Saturday 9 November 2019

Theme: Jazz

Genre: Bebop

Engels live!

The John Engels Quintet played in Cloud Nine in Tivoli Vredenburg on 22 September. John Engels (84) played together with Benjamin Herman alto saxophone, Ruud Breuls trumpet, Rob van Bavel piano and Ruud Ouwehand bass.

Engels began his career at an early age. He was only 18 in 1953 when he played with Mary Lou Williams in the Vliegende Hollander, a well-known jazz club in Scheveningen at the time. From the end of the 1950s he played with the Diamond Five and he is still playing now almost 70 years later. And how! You can listen to a live recording – which includes numbers from the Diamond Five – in Concertzender Live Jazz on Saturday 9 November.

Listen:
Concertzender Live Jazz, Saturday 9 November 14:00 – 15:00 CET.

Saturday 30 November 2019

Theme: Jazz

Genre: Big Band

A trip down memory lane

Palace of Nostalgia on 30 November looks at signature tunes. In the swing era almost all the popular dance orchestras had their own signature tune. Sometimes they became so by chance. Count Basie had to play for a few minutes for a radio station to fill in time at the end of a broadcast. In an improvisation he played a mix of two different numbers and because it was almost one in the morning gave the result the title One O’Clock Jump.

Calling Cards
Soloists also often had their own tunes. Duke Ellington wrote Cotton Tail especially for tenor saxophonist Ben Webster, who then added a series of wonderful solos to the number during the recording. For decades, Sugar Blues was the signature tune of trumpetist and band leader Clyde McCoy, who created the humourous ‘wah-wah’ sounds with a muted trumpet. This tune also earned him the nickname of ‘the king of corn’. You can hear lots of similar musical calling cards in this episode of the Palace of Nostalgia.

Listen:
Palace of Nostalgia, Saturday 30 November 20:00 – 21:00 CET.