The Rotterdam School

Pianist Matthijs van Wijhe captivated us last year with lucid and deeply committed performances of works by Klaas de Vries and Christina Viola Oorebeek. He spoke with equal conviction about the Rotterdam School, prompting us to invite him for a full-length recital devoted to four Rotterdam-based composers, all of whom will be present to introduce their work.

Klaas de Vries and Peter-Jan Wagemans are widely regarded as the leading figures of the Rotterdam School. At Codarts Conservatory, they have shaped generations of composers. The programme brings together sharply contrasting works, including pieces in which De Vries portrays close musical collaborators. In his large-scale piano cycle Het Landschap (The Landscape), Wagemans turns inward, creating a deeply personal self-portrait: an intense and compelling work that left a lasting impression at its premiere tour in 1989.

Christina Viola Oorebeek is a late bloomer. Raised in the United States, she sang in bands and was active in experimental dance before moving to Amsterdam. There, piano lessons with Willem Brons sparked her fascination with contemporary music. At the age of fifty, she began studying composition with her contemporary Klaas de Vries. Since then, she has emerged as one of the most intriguing composers in the Netherlands, with appearances at major international festivals. Her piano works are marked by a vivid imagination that pushes beyond the conventional boundaries of the instrument.

Jelle Roozenburg moves effortlessly across genres. Active both as a jazz and classical pianist, he composes music of striking energy and vitality.