Compact Disc 2
Simeon ten Holt b.1923 Canto Ostinato Compact Disc 1
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Part I Section 1 Section 5 Section 10 Section 14 Section 20 Section 25 Section 35 Section 41 Section 56 Section 60 Section 69 Theme I, Section 74 Section 78 Section 83
75’00
3’54 4’14 5’20 8’42 8’10 7’01 5’19 7’47 3’59 1’10 4’10 5’11 3’22 6’31
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Part II Section 88 A Section 88 B Section 88 E Section 88 F Section 88 C Section 89 Section 91 A Section 91 C Section 91 E Section 92 Theme II, Section 95 Section 97 Section 105 Section 106
70’06
7’32 8’43 5’47 8’44 6’26 2’38 2’42 4’17 8’00 1’31 4’58 3’50 1’43 3’07
Piano Ensemble Irene Russo, Fred Oldenburg, Sandra van Veen, Jeroen van Veen Performed on Fazioli Grand Pianos, 2 x 278m and 2 x 228m
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Simeon ten Holt Simeon ten Holt was born in Bergen (N.H.) in The Netherlands in 1923. In 1935 he began studying piano and music theory with Jacob van Domselaer (1890–1960) – the musical representative of the movement ‘De Stijl’. He continued his studies in Paris at the École Normale with Honegger and Milhaud. During the 1960s, Ten Holt immersed himself in serialism. He tried to grasp what he called ‘the semantics of musical language’, and looked for ways to expand the possibilities of his musical expression. In the following decade, he concentrated on tone, timbre and sonology, and completed his masterwork Canto Ostinato – in which he returned to a more conventional style of composing. Premiered in 1979 in the ‘Ruine Kerk’ in Bergen (province of Noord-Holland), the work was performed on three pianos and electronic organ. Ten Holt later suggested that the best performance option would be four equal-sized grand pianos; however, the score still bears the subtitle ‘for keyboards’. ‘There’s Simeon ten Holt and then there’s all the rest,’ the composer once said jokingly of his own position in Dutch musical life. Yet even today this statement retains an element of truth: Ten Holt’s name need only be mentioned within groups of contemporary music lovers to provoke a fiery debate. His approach in the late 1970s triggered particular controversy, by returning to sounds that every ear could understand. Ten Holt had the courage to abandon the complex, twelve-note scores of the post-war era, which he traded in for simple triads, shifting rhythmic patterns and repeat signs. Ultimately, he created a Dutch version of minimalist music that was completely independent of American composers like Steve Reich and Philip Glass. What is so unconventional about Simeon ten Holt’s music? How does his musical process differ so much from that of other contemporary composers? In Ten Holt’s music the score is complex and comparable to a multi-track composition, containing numerous layers. In traditional classical music, the final decisions about what and how to play are typically made by the composer; here, the performers are the decision-makers and are therefore an integral part of the composition’s creation and recreation. Performers within an ensemble have equal input and equal influence on the decisions; in other words, there is no leading ‘first piano’. Many of Ten Holt’s compositions in this style are written down in large books, containing approximately 100 to 200 sections, either repeated segments or ‘bridges’ that only appear once. The musicians navigate through these sections by giving each other visual signs, and they may even go
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backwards instead of forwards. There is no fixed duration for a piece, but a performance may easily last a couple of hours. This extreme flexibility was something completely new to modern music, particularly since ten Holt’s compositions are based on the natural laws of harmony: tension and relaxation. The music has been constructed within the principles of tonality, but since durations are stretched, it brings a new perspective to the musical experience. All of this, combined with the democratic process of creation, has been a major influence on contemporary music.
Simeon ten Holt on his music My compositions take shape without any predetermined plan and are, as it were, the reflection of a quest for an unknown goal. A great deal of time, patience and discipline are the prerequisites for making a (genetic) code productive, which eventually determines form, structure, length, instrumentation etc. Such a process is laborious, as the perception of this generating code is constantly being troubled by human shortcomings and one’s own will, and it is dependent on moments of clarity and vitality. And then the sea washes and polishes, time crystallizes. The only advantage of ageing may be that a development can be viewed in retrospect. And that, in spite of the zigzag movements and apparently opposing directions, one is able to discern logic in this development which hitherto had a function that was hidden and blocked from view. A road then seems to appear, oriented towards a goal shrouded in mystery and advancing only in curves. In this image the curves refer to turning points – not simply changes in the perception of the landscape, but changes to an attitude to life and a revision of the conditions to pursue the road any further. The curves are like the articulation in a pattern of movement, ending
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and beginning from one phase to another, and appear to coincide with biological periodicity – with intervals from seven to ten years. As far as I can see, my relationship – both metaphorically and practically – to the tonal centre and the problem of tonality has been a determining factor in the development and achievements of my creative career. This relationship gradually shifted from an initial intuitive understanding to a more conscious issue later on. The role of the tonal centre began as an undisputed factor, before losing its authority, submerging into chromaticism and the equality of all tones, and finally emerging in a shape that is chastened by death and catharsis. A large-scale history reproduces itself on a small scale. I was very surprised to find myself in a steppe-like landscape one day, which was characterised by an immense horizon, by vastness, space and time, and, last but not least, by tonal centres and tonality. In spite of various speculations, I have not been able to find an adequate explanation for this development yet and, just like before, I have no idea of the next port to which my compass is set. Simeon ten Holt, Bergen, June 1995 www.simeontenholt.com
Emergence in minimalism Although Simeon ten Holt’s music is often labelled as minimalist, it is questionable whether this characterisation captures the true nature of his talent. While minimalist inspiration is undoubtedly present in all of his piano compositions, the distinctive feature is not so much the rhythmic and tonal structure, typical for this style, but the evolutionary space that his music creates for performers. Simeon’s compositions are not just single works, but rather a collection of an infinite number of compositions, all hidden in a single written code. Like a multitude of images hidden in a holographic-photographic image, the script outlines a solution space in which actual shape and form will develop in time towards its full extent and depth. Every performance is therefore unique, yet recognisable as a part of the larger collection, like life itself, it emerges and takes shape in a complex interaction between the genotypes, as a code in the score and the context of performers and audience. This evolutionary and interactive characteristic distinguishes Ten Holt’s music from mainstream minimal music; whereas minimalism is essentially a modernist, constructive style, Simeon’s compositions are better characterised as post-modernist and organic in nature.
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Ten Holt’s music creates an emotional connection, taking listeners on journeys through musical spaces – journeys that are unique each time, adventurous but not dangerous, uncharted but not random. Ton van Asseldonk Simeon ten Holt Foundation
Simeon ten Holt in my life In my childhood I listened to the radio every evening. One night, I heard a piece for several pianos that was so beautiful; despite being in a tonal, repetitive style, it was anything but boring. As I found out years later, this was the premiere of Ten Holt’s Horizon, something I discovered in 1993 after having graduated from the Conservatory. At that time I was playing a lot of contemporary music and found that my hands were attracted to the keys, experiencing a natural ‘hunger’ to play this tonal music. It was then that I found the composer I had been looking for: Simeon ten Holt. In the music, I found a mixture of Bach and Chopin-like piano technique, and the result of playing the repeated sections was that for the first time in my life I experienced the rich and colourful palette of possibilities in sound that the piano allows. When I played the music on two pianos with my wife Sandra, it was even more intense! But after playing Canto Ostinato on four pianos, I realised that the ultimate sound could only be achieved by playing on four grand pianos – since this allowed the possibility of playing without using the pedal, creating a clear and minimal sonority. The millions of variations that are possible with four people on four instruments are a challenge, and communication between musicians on stage becomes increasingly important. Still, each concert is different in sound and shape, and this is interesting for audiences to watch. Jeroen van Veen Simeon ten Holt Foundation
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Piano Ensemble Fred Oldenburg and Jeroen van Veen founded the Piano Ensemble in 2000. Playing music on multiple pianos is one of their missions, and they perform works for anything between one and six pianos. They have given premieres in Canada, the USA, Russia and The Netherlands, performing works by Dutch composers like Simeon ten Holt and Chiel Meijering, and British composers like Gabriel Jackson and Tim Seddon. Many of the Piano Ensemble’s premieres take place in Culemborg, where the Lek Art Foundation organises a concert and an Art Festival every year. Current members of the Piano Ensemble are: Elizabeth and Marcel Bergmann (Canada), Irene Russo, (Italy) Fred Oldenburg (The Netherlands), and Sandra and Jeroen van Veen (The Netherlands). www.piano-ensemble.org
Irene Russo Praised by the legendary Martha Argerich as ‘one of the best young musicians I ever heard in my life’, the Italian pianist Irene Russo (1974) has been acclaimed internationally as one of the most interesting talents of her generation. Her international career began in 1993 in Sydney. Since then, Ms Russo has played extensively throughout Europe, the USA, Latin America, Canada and Israel, performing in many important concert venues. She has appeared as a soloist with orchestras including the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, Orchestra Sinfonica del Teatro San Carlo, Münchener Kammerorchester, Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt, Orchestra da Camera di Mantova, and has collaborated with many leading conductors. In 2000, Ms Russo won the Clara Schumann International Piano Competition in Düsseldorf, impressing a very prestigious jury that included Joachim Kaiser (‘Irene Russo reminds me of the young Kempff’), Nelson Freire, Maria Tipo and Martha Argerich. At the 2002 ARD International Piano Competition in Munich she received the Special Prize for the Best Interpretation of Contemporary Music, and in 2003 she was awarded the Special Mention of Honour at the Martha Argerich International Piano Competition in Buenos Aires. Irene Russo’s performances have been broadcast on Italian Television RAI, Belgian Radio Klara, CBC Canada, Radio Vaticana, Bayerische Rundfunk, ARD, NDR, SWR and Radio-4 Holland; she
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has also appeared in a music documentary on ZDF. In 2002 she was appointed professor at the ‘Umberto Giordano’ National Music Conservatory in Italy. She has recorded for Oehms Classics and BOA Video. www.irenerusso.com
Jeroen van Veen The Dutch pianist and composer Jeroen van Veen (b.1969) has been described as the ‘leading exponent of minimalism in Holland today’ (Alan Swanson, Fanfare). Van Veen began playing the piano at the age of seven, and studied at the Utrecht Conservatory with Alwin Bär and Håkon Austbö. In 1993 he passed the Performing Artists’ Exam. Van Veen has played with orchestras conducted by Howard Williams (Adams), Peter Eötvös (Zimmermann) in Amsterdam, Utrecht, Vienna and Budapest and in the United States with Neal Stulberg (Mozart and Bartók) and Robert Craft (Stravinsky). He has played recitals in Austria, Belgium, Canada, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Russia and the USA. Van Veen has attended master classes with Claude Helffer, Hans-Peter and Volker Stenzl and Roberto Szidon. He has been invited to several festivals, including the Reder Piano Festival (1988), Festival der Kunsten in Bad Gleichenberg (1992), Wien Modern (1993), Holland Dance Festival (1998) Lek Art Festival (1996–2007). Van Veen has recorded for major Dutch radio and television companies, including AVRO, NOS, IKON, NCRV, TROS/Internet, WTBC-TV & Radio (Florida, USA) and Moscow Television. In 1992, Jeroen Van Veen recorded his first CD with his brother Maarten as the internationally acclaimed Piano duo Van Veen, making their debut in the United States in 1995. They were prizewinners in the prestigious 4th International Murray Dranoff Two Piano Competition in Miami, Florida. After this achievement they toured the United States and Canada many times, and became the subject of the documentary Two Pianos, One Passion (nominated for an Emmy Award in 1996). In 1995 Jeroen van Veen founded the duo Sandra & Jeroen van Veen, a piano duo with Sandra Mol. They mainly perform music for multiple pianos by Erik Satie, Douwe Eisenga and Simeon ten Holt. Van Veen’s own compositions may be described as ‘minimal music’ with different faces, involving crossovers with jazz, blues, soundscape, avant-garde, techno, trance and pop music. Currently, Mr. Van Veen is director of Van Veen Productions, Chairman of the Simeon ten Holt
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Foundation, Culemborg Cultural Foundation, Pianomania Foundation and artistic director of several music festivals in Culemborg, Utrecht and Veldhoven. He is active in the International Utrecht Student Piano Competition and the Murray Dranoff Two Piano Competition. Over the last 15 years Van Veen has recorded more than 60 CDs for several labels (Mirasound, Koch, Naxos, Brilliant Classics) and his own label PIANO. The two most recent releases are an 11-disc box of Simeon ten Holt’s works for multiple pianos and a 9-disc Minimal Piano Collection, including his own 24 minimal preludes. Classics Today awarded a score of 10/10 for artistic quality and sound quality to his recording of Erik Satie’s works for piano four hands. www.jeroenvanveen.com
received the ‘Prix d’Excellence’. Mr Oldenburg performs as a soloist, chamber musician and accompanist. He has given concerts and made radio and television broadcasts in a number of different countries, and his celebrated CD releases include a recording of Franz Liszt’s 12 Etudes d’exécution transcendante.
Sandra van Veen Sandra van Veen studied with the Norwegian pianist Håkon Austbö at the Conservatory in Utrecht, where she graduated in 1992. She made her debut performance with her husband Jeroen in a performance of Canto Ostinato during Lek Art (Culemborg). The recording of this concert has been sold in more than 40 countries worldwide, and many concerts and CDs followed. Sandra is dedicated to the works of Ten Holt, but also performs other kinds of music, ranging from Carmina Burana, The Planets and Rhapsody in Blue to Tubular Bells for four pianos. She has given premieres of several pieces by Dutch composers, including works by J. Andriessen (in Russia) and Ten Holt (in Canada). Sandra takes part in many projects both in Holland and abroad; concerts and recitals have taken her everywhere from Miami to Novosibirsk. She has recorded a number of CDs, and several of her concerts have been broadcast on radio, television and on the Internet. Sandra is a passionate and well-known piano teacher, and the co-founder of the Lek Art Foundation and the Simeon ten Holt Foundation, of which she is also the secretary. www.pianoduo.org
Fred Oldenburg Fred Oldenburg (b.1955) began playing the piano at the age of 5. He studied at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague with Theo Bruins, and continued his studies at the Juilliard School of Music in New York with Beveridge Webster and in Brussels with Eduardo del Pueyo. In 1980 he
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Thanks to Clavis, Sem van Gelder, Hervormde Gemeente Culemborg, Kunstenaarscentrum Bergen, Bram van Schaik, Simeon ten Holt Foundation, Evert Snel, Stichting Lek Art, Thuiskopiefonds. Recording: 23–27 May 2005, Barbara Church, Culemborg Producer: Van Veen Productions · Executive producer: Jeroen van Veen Engineers: Fred Oldenburg & Jeroen van Veen Recorded on ADAT, 8 tracks on 24 bit, 48 KHz Scores: Donemus, Amsterdam · Software: Pro Tools & Samplitude Pianos supplied by Evert Snel, Werkhoven · Piano technician: Frank van Ham Portrait of Simeon ten Holt by Henry F. ten Holt, 1939 2005 & 2012 Brilliant Classics
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