cellos at the

Biennale

bijlsma

The Biennale was opened by, among others, Lidy Blijdorp in the empty entrance hall of the Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ. Later in the week, she also performed during the Elegy for Anner Bijlsma. A notable fact is that Lidy has on loan the Celeste Farotti cello (Milan, ca. 1905) from the Musical Instrument Fund, which was previously owned by Bijlsma. He personally recommended Lidy as the first player of the Farotti. 
> 🎵 Elegy for Anner Bijlsma

The young cellist Alexander Warenberg performed frequently at the festival. He plays a cello built by Jean Baptiste Vuillaume in Paris around 1845, with a remarkable history that you can read about in the instrument description.
> 🎵 The Cello Takes Over with Alexander Warenberg

Quirine Viersen—in addition to her role as a jury member for the National Cello Competition—can be heard on several occasions playing her magnificent Guarneri (Cremona, 1715) from the fund’s collection. Before Quirine played this cello, Heinrich Schiff had it on loan from André Navarra. This special teacher-student lineage is thus continued.
> 🎵 Chopin, of Course! with Quirine Viersen

The Amsterdam Cello Octet performed arrangements from the famous Beatles album: *Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club*. The Cello Octet features, among others, Alistair Sung playing his “Anonymous” cello from around 1860; Geneviève Verhage with her Silvestre cello from 1865; René van Munster with his anonymous cello; and Sanne van der Horst with her cello built by Fendt in London, circa 1825.
> 🎵 Information about Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Cello Band

Jan-Bastiaan Neven performed with his Pellizon cello (Gorizia, ca. 1839), alongside other musicians, in a special program that combined old and new Arabic music.
> 🎵 Amsterdam Andalusian Orchestra, featuring Jan-Bastiaan Neven, among others

Together with their colleagues from the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Liesbeth Bosboom and Joris van den Berg can be heard performing new arrangements (for 12 cellos) of gems from their orchestral repertoire. Liesbeth plays a Grütter bow from 2005, and Joris plays a Grancino cello (Milan, 1703).
> 🎵 Cellists of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

Kalle de Bie performed, along with Lidy and Alexander, as part of a cello quintet from the Kronberg Academy. Kalle plays a cello built by Gaetano Chiocchi in Padua around 1870.
> 🎵 "Remember Me" with the Kronberg Academy Cello Quintet

Contest

Two cellists from the fund participated in the National Cello Competition. They are Melle de Vries, who plays a Jacquot cello (Nancy, 1914) on loan, and Reinier Wink, who plays an anonymous 18th-century cello from Milan.

Benjamin Kruithof won First Prize, the Audience Prize, and the Prize for the Best Performance of the Commissioned Composition. Cellist Melle de Vries received Second Prize, and Reinier Wink received the Encouragement Prize. Congratulations!
> 🎵 National Cello Competition Finals

You can find links to all livestreams on the Cello Biennale website.