CKV magazine Jun. 2014 | Page 11

NJO  VERRASSINGSCONCERT   With  Ellen  Valkenburg,  Bas  Treub  and  Andrea  Vasi     The   lights   diminish   and   the   first   notes   float   through  the  room.  The  lady  on  the  stage,  Andrea   Vasi,  started  at  the  age  of  six  with  piano  lessons   and   four   years   later   she   joined   the   school   for   young   talent   at   the   Conservatorium   of   The   Hague.   At   the   age   of   sixteen   she   makes   her   debut  with  the  orchestra.  At  the  moment  she  is   finishing   her   Master   at   the   conservatorium   of   The   Hague.   In   2004   as   well   as   in   2006   she   won   prices   of   the   National   Princess   Christina   Concours   and   as   a   result   she   had   international   concerts   and   she   was   special   guest   at   festivals   like   the   Gergiev   Festival,   the   Prinsengracht   festival  and  the  NJO  Music  summer.     She   starts   with   ‘Impromptu   in   c   op.   90   nr.   1’   of   Franz   Schubert.   It   are   series   of   eight   pieces   for   piano,   composed   in   1827.   After   this   impressive   ten-­‐minute-­‐piece,   soprano   Ellen   Valkenburg   enters  the  stage.  In  2008,  she  ended  her  study  of   Music   teacher   at   the   conservatorium   of   Tilburg.   She   continued   with   Vocal   Studies   at   the   conservatorium   of   The   Hague.   In   2012   she   received  the  Stipendium,  a  price  by  author  Anna   Enquist  for  her  deceased    daughter  and  the  price   is  intended  for  young  singers  with  a  special  stage   presentation.   Recently,   Ellen   has   finished   her   Bachelor   study   and   she   is   continuing   with   her   Master  Study  at  Maria  Acda  and  Sasja  Hunnego.   She  combines  her  study  with  her  work  as  a  music   teacher.     They   start   with   ‘Ganymed’   and   ‘Gretchen   am   Spinnrade’   also   composed   by   Franz   Schubert.   ‘Ganymed’  is  a  poem  made  by  Johann  Wolfgang   Goethe  about  the  beauty  of  the  spring  and  it  was   set   to   music   by   Schubert   and   Hugo   Wolf.   It   is   a   very   nice   composition   because   of   the   diversity   and   it   evokes   an   emotion   of   happiness   in   you.   ‘Gretchen   am   Spinnrade’   is   about   Gretchen   singing   at   her   spinning   wheel.   With   the   speeding   up  and  the  slowing  down,  the  composer  tried  to   transform   the   movement   of   the   spinning   wheel   into  music.     Immediately   after   the   end   of   the   piece,   a   new   person   comes   up.   It   is   a   young   man   named   Bas   Treub.   He   studied   Violin   at   the   Conservatorium   of  The  Hague.  At  the  moment  is  doing  his  Master   at   the   Conservatorium   of   Brussels.   He   was   first   violinist  in  the  Magogo  orchestra  and  since  2009   he  plays  in  the  European  Union  Youth  Orchestra.   For   the   year   of   2013,   he   is   the   concertmaster   and   he   is   presenter   in   the   Classic   Express,   the   first  driving  music  hall  in  the  world.     With  the  three  of  them,  they  play  the  fascinating   piece   ‘The   Plaint’   from   the   opera   The   Fairy   Queen  by  Henri  Purcell.  The  change  between  the   violin   and   the   piano   and   the   pure   voice   of   the   soprano   creates   a   diverse   piece   and   it   is   very   nice  to  listen  to.     The   fourth   piece   starts   and   Ellen   Valkenburg   vanishes   from   stage.   They   play   sonate   op.   80   in   f   by   Sergej   Prokofiev.   It   was   written   during   the   war   in   1941.   This   piece     is   divided   up   into   four   parts,   starting  with  ‘andante  assai’.  It  is  about  a   man   going   to   Antarctica.   With   his   composition,   Prokofiev   tries   to   evoke   an   icy   and   chilly   atmosphere.  The  second  part,  ‘allegro  brusco’  is   about   the   archaeological   findings   of   the   man.   It   is   an   interesting   and   fascinating   duel   between   the   piano   and   the   violin   and   it   draws   your   view   from   one   point   of   the   stage   to   another   point   in   just   a   few   seconds.     The   third   part   ‘andante’   is   said  to  be  for  the  dead  people.  It  is  a  calm  part,   trying   to   make   you   think.   The   fourth   part   ‘allegrissimo-­‐   poco   meno-­‐   andante   assai’   is   a   combination  of  different  pieces  and  it  was  really   the  climax.     Over   all,   a   very   diverse   concert   and   it   really   lived   up  to  the  name!....................................................