A lied festival is worthy of its name only because of the people who wear it. They give it colour and identity. First and foremost, these are bass-baritone Henk Neven and pianist Hans Eijsackers. Since May 2022, they have been the artistic directors of the festival. With them we have two versatile top musicians who are familiar with all facets of the lied art: performing, teaching and programming.
Henk and Hans set their sights on innovation and a liedfestival as an experience and made a change in the way they programme. Instead of a musicological perspective - thinking in terms of composers and eras - they opted for strongly thematic programming that connects to current events and highlights the relevance of lied in our time. From an artistic overall concept, they seek out different kinds of venues and involve makers from various art disciplines to bring technically innovative productions to fruition. They invite musicians to play with the conventions of performance practice to present the lied in innovative ways.
They follow in the footsteps of our artistic director of the first hour: Robert Holl. Without exaggeration, he is one of the greatest singers and pedagogues of our time. For over 50 years, he has touched audiences with his fantastic voice and expression. Through his years of study of the lied repertoire and poetry, he developed a unique vision of the lied art in which he sees it as an opportunity to promote humanity and freundschaftlichkeit between people. Robert Holl already transmitted his vision of art and music-making with verve to generations of singers and pianists. In the Netherlands and abroad, Henk Neven and Hans Eijsackers carry on his message.