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Olof and Krebbers
together on stage
at the Concertgebouw

After years of absence, they recently took the stage together again at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam: Theo Olof and Herman Krebbers, the two most famous Dutch violinists of the last century. This time, not to play the violin, but to help celebrate the 20th-anniversary celebration of Het Muziekinstrumentenfonds. In the nearly full main hall, the Fancy Fiddlers—led by violin teacher Coosje Wijzenbeek and featuring soloists Colin Carr, Paolo Giacometti, and Frederieke Saeijs—performed a festive concert, which was hosted by Hans van den Boom. The patron of the Music Instrument Fund, Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands, was also in attendance.

News
4 December 2008 by Marcel Schopman

On the evening of the event, a fundraising campaign was held that brought the Musical Instrument Fund 187 new donors, who together contributed more than €22,000. With this, the fund has nearly reached its goal of recruiting 1,000 donors this year. The current total stands at 956. With the proceeds from this concert, the Musical Instrument Fund can once again shorten its waiting list.

After the concert, Director Marcel Schopman announced that, in its anniversary year, the Musical Instrument Fund had succeeded for the third time in a short period in acquiring a top-quality instrument. Following the Petrus Guarnerius “Reine Elisabeth” (Venice, 1725)—now on loan to violinist Frederieke Saeijs—and the Rogeri violin (Brescia, 1690) —now in the possession of Sarah Kapustin, the Rubens Quartet’s new concertmaster—the Musical Instrument Fund has now added a double bass by Antonio and Raffaele Gagliano to its collection. After a search lasting nearly three years, this instrument—one of the finest surviving double basses by the Gagliano brothers (Naples, 1846)—was acquired. The instrument’s new player will be Rick Stotijn, who serves, among other roles, as concertmaster of the Amsterdam Sinfonietta and the Gelders Orchestra.