Webstrings: Remy van Kesteren on life & harp
Shostakovich and Bach in Haffman’s Mooiste
“The melancholic Shostakovich actually works almost better on the harp than on the piano”
Hans Haffmans plays Shostakovich and Bach in his radio show Haffmans’ Mooiste. After 13 minutes: listen here.
Documentary in Paris
As I am writing this blog I am on my way back from Paris, together with the Certo film crew. We went for a visit of two days to this beautiful city, to shoot a short documentary starring… me. ☺ Main subject of this documentary will be my work in arranging new works for harp. And the reason to go to Paris to talk about this is one of the first blogs I wrote on this site.
The documentary more or less evolved around the question whether art should be open source. Did Picasso’s 27 extremely creative paintings inspired on Manet’s Dejeuner sur l’Herbe serve or waste the value of the original work? What to think of duplicators who make exact replicas of such masterworks, what purpose do they serve? How does this translate to music and finally, how does this relate to me – as for example an interpreter of Bach and Shostakovich – when I transcribe and perform works that were not originally written for my instrument.
The documentary will be broadcasted in June and hopefully offer a lot of material to discuss on. Personally I’d never favour to go as far as Picasso did chopping heads off Manet characters in some of his interpretations when I preform Bach. Or is neglecting the composers’ demand to play a work on a specific instrument just that?
In any case I am very excited about the material we shot. It was very special to be granted access in the musée d’Orsay before it opened for the public. Although I’ve visited the museum many times now, it was fascinating to walk past some of the greatest masterpieces of the 19th century in complete silence and without anyone being around.
I’m tired now and am going to sleep before I wake up tomorrow to present my first attempts to transcribe Das Wohltemperiertes Klavier.
Nieuwe recensie!
Na lovende recensies in Trouw en Volkskrant volgt nu ook Klassieke Zaken.
Telegraaf: Alles in eigen hand
Interview with Remy in the Telegraaf, 23-03-2012 by Thiemo Wind
VPRO gids: stoere snaren
Lees hier het artikel.
CD presentation & Dutch Harp Festival 2012!
Exciting weeks!
Tomorrow I will present my debut CD/DVD with works by B. Smetana, H. Holliger, J.S. Bach, D. Shostakovich and H. Renié. Order your copy here here for €20,- only.
And then, next week, the Dutch Harp Festival will start! After two years of planning and lots of hard work. Check out the programme, there is really something there for everyone. I hope to see you then!
Solo tour in 2012/13 concert season
Having won the VKHD award, Remy will make a solo tour in the 2012/13 concert season and give recitals in all mayor concert venues of the Netherlands! Dates and program to be announced.
Een goed gesprek met Paul Haenen
Een goed gesprek tussen Remy en Paul Haenen in HP/de Tijd naar aanleiding van de NJO Muziekzomer.
Muziekzomer
Brazil
It’s already two weeks ago that I came back from my trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rehearsals with my trio42 for our debut CD recording end of june have kept me away from writing a proper travelogue. But now I am happy to find myself behind the computer writing about it, because this experience certainly deserves to be shared.
I went to Rio on the 16th of May, after I was invited to perform at the 6th Rio Harp Festival. This international harp festival is an incomparable event. One month, 86 concerts, harpists from all over the world, with an audience of over 20.000 people. An entire month of harp, can you believe it?
It was my first time in Brazil and actually my first time in South-America. Coincidence doesn’t exist. On the plane to São Paolo I sat next to composer/musician Martin Fondse. And it got even more bizarre, because he told me that he had intended to use the flight to write the piece I commissioned…! No surprise he didn’t get to finish it, although he assured me afterwards on facebook that the 16 bars he wrote are in fact more than enough for an entire CD in jazz music: “A little more sanding and scraping, bringing it back to normal proportions and you got yourself a brand new piece Remy!”
In Rio I immediately felt very welcome by the team of the Rio Harp Festival, led by the director Sergio da Costa e Silva. In general, I have never met more friendly people than in this country. All of them were incredibly kind and helpful, always offering their support and assistance. The first couple of days were characterized by the two upcoming performances I was going to give. It was clouded, which allowed me to focus on the concerts and prepare myself to the fullest on what was to come.
I can not compare the concerts I gave in Rio with any other perfomance. There was an incredible vibe among the public, who came in large numbers. In fact there were so many people that we had to schedule in an extra concert to fit everyone. The next day the organization arranged a hall twice as big for the third concert, but then the audience had doubled too and we had to reprise the program again…! The Brazilian people genuinely love music. I believe they don’t care what it is: samba, rock, pop, jazz, harp, as long as it is convincing, right from the heart and with passion. And when these criteria are met, they are open to appreciate all that is given to them. Some people came to all four of my concerts; what a hunger for and devotion to music! The crowd was one of the warmest and most enthusiastic audiences I have ever seen and the concerts were among my best experiences on stage.
After the concerts I had scheduled in some extra days to be able to fully appreciate Rio and spend time with my new Brazilian friends. The sun came and temperatures rose. Naturally, I went to all the sights: from Cristo Redento, to the beautiful beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana, to a soccer match of Fluminensce. I went through the favelas and experienced great nights at the famous Lapa-area.
All in all it was a wonderful trip. Certainly the best country I have visited in my life and I sincerely hope to return to Rio and the festival next year!