Fleur Strijbos, soprano & Babette Craens, piano
Eline Welle, mezzo-soprano & Laurens de Man, piano
Visit the overall festival with as much as 40% discount!
€309 instead of €515
Visit the closing weekend with as much as 30% discount!
(Fri. 23 to Sun. 25 May) € 119 instead of € 170
Saturday 24 May €76 instead of €95
Note: members ofFriends of Song get a discount on a day ticket for Saturday 24 May using the code they receive by mail. Read more >
normal rate € 25,-
rate < 30 years € 0,-
The second Saturday of International Song Festival Zeist is dedicated to the singers*es and pianists*es of the future. After a successful audition, Fleur Strijbos and Babette Craens, and Eline Welle and Laurens de Man were admitted to the Friends of the Song artist list. With Fleur Strijbos and Babette Craens, an inspired duo from Flanders was chosen. With the equally inspired Eline Welle and Laurens de Man - who was awarded the Dutch Music Prize last March - these musicians can rightly be called 'a promise for the future'.
Schumann's song cycle Sechs Gedichte und Requiem opus 90 is about the transience of life, cherishing memories and the loss of love. It inspired soprano Fleur Strijbos and pianist Babette Craens to create a beautiful selection of songs featuring works by Aaron Copland, August De Boeck, Claude Debussy, Hans Pfitzner, Hugo Wolf, Richard Strauss, Samuel Barber and, of course, Robert Schumann, among others. All are timeless works that illuminate these deeply human experiences, or the anguish of them, in a moving way. At the same time, they also ask us: what does the future look like when the other is no longer there and we still have to go on? Consequently, this programme could hardly end more beautifully than with the hopeful words of Strauss' Tomorrow: 'Und morgen wird die Sonne wieder scheinen...'.
Mezzosopraan Eline Welle en pianist Laurens de Man stelden een programma samen met werken van componisten die tradities zowel omarmden als vernieuwden. Wagners vernieuwingen op het gebied van opera en chromatiek bijvoorbeeld wekten zowel bewondering als weerstand, maar desondanks was hij bijzonder invloedrijk. Schönberg was een maniakaal Wagneriaan, maar ook een van de sleutelfiguren in de ontwikkelingen van de 20e-eeuwse muziek en stond daarmee op een kruispunt tussen het verleden en de toekomst. Dat wordt goed duidelijk in werken die stammen uit de periode waarin Schönberg de traditionele tonaliteit verliet, maar zijn twaalftoonstechniek nog niet had uitgevonden. Debussy moest juist niets van Wagner hebben, maar liet zich door poëzie die de zinnelijkheid van het oude Griekenland oproept, inspireren tot zeer persoonlijke en intense klanken. Soms ook blijft de toekomst ongeschreven, zoals in het geval van de te vroeg gestorven Lili Boulanger. Haar werken laten ons dromen van de composities die zij nooit maakte terwijl haar zus Nadia als pedagoog juist een groot stempel drukte op een hele generatie musici en componisten. De meest directe vorm van toekomstmuziek is uiteraard de improvisatie. Deze spontane muziek-in-het-moment ontbreekt dan ook niet.
Losing You
Fleur Strijbos, soprano
Babette Craens, piano
Hugo Wolf (1860-1903)
Anakreons Grab (from: Goethe Lieder; Goethe)
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
from: Sechs Gedichte von N. Lenau und Requiem op. 90
Meine Rose (Lenau)
Kommen und Scheiden (Lenau)
Einsamkeit (Lenau)
August De Boeck (1865-1937)
Frissons de fleurs (Huysmans)
Sonnet (Cuisinier)
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
The Rêve (from: Proses Lyriques ; Debussy)
Aaron Copland (1900-1990)
Old Poem (anonymous)
Samuel Barber (1910-1981)
Sure on this shining night (from: Four songs op. 13; Agee)
Hans Pfitzner (1869-1949)
Hast du von den Fischerkindern op. 7/1 (von Königswinter)
Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Die Nacht op. 10/4 (von Gilm)
Tomorrow! on. 27/4 (Mackay)
break
Echoes and dreams
Eline Welle, mezzo-soprano
Laurens de Man, piano
Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
from: Wesendonck Lieder WWV 91
Stehe still (Wesendonck)
Im Treibhaus (Wesendonck)
Schmerzen (Wesendonck)
Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951)
from: Das Buch der hängenden Gärten op. 15 (George)
Unterm Schutz von dichten Blättergründen
Hain in diesen Paradiesen
Saget mir auf welchem Pfade
Das schöne Beet betracht ich mir im Harren
Als wir hinter dem beblümten Tore
Improvisation
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Trois chansons de Bilitis (Louÿs)
La flûte de Pan
La chevelure
Le tombeau des Naïades
Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979)
Doute (Mauclair)
J'ai frappé... (Bourguignon)
Lili Boulanger (1893-1918)
Reflets (Maeterlinck)
Le retour (Delaquys)
Fleur Strijbos / soprano
Fleur Strijbos studied at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp with Anne Cambier and completed her master's degree with highest distinction. She continued her training with the renowned soprano Barbara Bonney at the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg, for which she received grants from the Mitialto Foundation, Robus Foundation and vzw SWUK Flanders. Since 2023, she has been artist in residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, where she is coached and gives concerts.
Meanwhile, Strijbos has developed into a versatile musicienne with a great love for the art of song. For several years now, she has formed a song duo with pianist Babette Craens, with whom she was selected for the Udo Reinemann Masterclass in 2022/23. In 2024, they were admitted to the Friends of Song as a song duo.
Babette Craens / piano
Babette Craens grew up in a musical family and was trained as a classical pianist and cellist from an early age. Already at 17, she performed Beethoven's first concerto with orchestra as part of her high school graduation recital. She then studied at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp and completed both her bachelor's and master's degrees cum laude. As part of her master's programme, she collaborated with Muziektheater Transparant. She was also a repetiteur and coach in several staged productions with singers and was part of several chamber music ensembles. Craens is a laureate of several competitions, including the Steinway Competition and has been heard at several prestigious festivals. In 2024, she and Fleur Strijbos were admitted to the Friends of Song as a song duo.
Eline Welle / mezzo-soprano
Eline Welle began her musical education at the age of 6 and sang in the National Children's Choir with Vocal Talent Netherlands from the age of 11. She studied classical piano and voice at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and attended the International Song Masterclass by Christianne Stotijn during her master studies in Brussels. With the Helios Trio, she performed at the Harmos Festival in Portugal and in the Recital Hall of the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, among others. A recent Mahler recital elicited exuberant appreciation from the Mahler Foundation. Welle is part of the Netherlands Chamber Choir and Cappella Amsterdam and is also active as an opera singer. She also nurtures a passion for teaching. In January 2024, she and pianist Laurens de Man were admitted to the Friends of Song as a song duo.
Laurens de Man / piano
Laurens de Man studied piano, organ and minor harpsichord with Jacques van Oortmerssen, David Kuyken and Johan Hofmann respectively at the Amsterdam Conservatory. He continued his studies with Leo van Doeselaar at the Universität der Künste Berlin, which he completed with highest distinction. As a pianist and organist, he won several competitions and in 2024 he was the first organist to be awarded the Dutch Music Prize; the highest distinction awarded by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science to a musician working in classical music. For the Chimaera Trio, among others, De Man plays and arranges chamber music from four centuries of music history. In addition, he teaches subsidiary subject classical piano for jazz pianists at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and, since autumn 2023, principal subject organ at HKU Utrechts Conservatorium. In January 2024, he and mezzo-soprano Eline Welle were admitted to the Friends of Song as a song duo.
Large church hall / Zusterplein 12 / 3703 CB Zeist
Note: Members of Friends of the Song will receive with the code they receive by e-mail from the association 40% discount on a day ticket for Saturday 24 May (€45 instead of normally €76). This day ticket gives access to the afternoon recital, the Presentation recital Masterclass AND the evening recital with tenor Laurence Kilsby and pianist Susan Manoff. Enter the code at checkout. More about using a discount code can be found on the page frequently asked questions.
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