Henk Neven, bass-baritone
Hans Eijsackers, piano
Dana Koppes, soprano
Elles Venhuizen, soprano
Jasperina Verheij, mezzo-soprano
Elsina Jansen, directing and dramaturgy advice
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Singing is Anna's great happiness. She has the voice, the talent and the ambition, but no future as a singer. Because in the late nineteenth century, a career as a musician is unthinkable for a girl from the well-to-do. Anna, after all, is a Witsen, a wealthy, Amsterdam patrician family. Hoping to break free from the stifling environment she was born into, she continues to practise her voice and strive for independence. Indeed, it is also the time when the women's movement makes its voice increasingly loud. It is the time when the Tachtigers - to which her brother, artist Willem Witsen, belonged - oppose prevailing thoughts on art. And the time when prominent musicians like Julius Röntgen initiated the construction of the Concertgebouw. A 'temple' where everyone could enjoy music. Röntgen also cast himself as Anna's mentor. From these developments, Anna draws hope and courage. Yet the fact that little is known about her life is significant. We do not know more than a few anecdotes and words written by men in response to her life, such as Herman Gorter and Frederik van Eeden. Because in the end, she does not escape the power of her family.
This theatrically designed recital is based on the literary novel What silence wants by Arthur Japin, in which he reconstructs the life story of Anna Witsen. Songs alternate with excerpts from the book and personal, poetic and philosophical reflections that connect Anna Witsen's life and fate with the present. Henk Neven and Hans Eijsackers make Anna's situation and state of mind penetratingly tangible through poems by Willem Kloos and Herman Gorter and songs and works by composers of her time or even from her circle of friends and acquaintances, such as Edvard Grieg, Julius Röntgen, Amanda Maier, Lili Boulanger and Franz Liszt.
Lili Boulanger (1893-1918)
Reflets (Maeterlinck)
Le retour (Delaquys)
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Versunken (Felix Schumann)
Es schauen die Blumen alle (Heine)
Hugo Wolf (1860-1903)
Nicht länger kann ich singen (from: Italienisches Liederbuch; Heyse)
Schweigt einmal still (from: Italienisches Liederbuch; Heyse)
Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Heimliche Aufforderung (Mackay)
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Widmung (Rückert)
Liza Lehmann (1862-1918)
If I were but the wind (from: Cameos Five Greek Songs)
Love, if you knew the light (Browning)
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)
Zur Rosenzeit (Goethe)
Clara Schumann (1819-1896)
Ich stand in dunkeln Träumen (Heine)
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)
Du bist der junge Lenz (Paulsen)
Amanda Röntgen-Maier (1853-1894)
Den sjuka Flickans sang (Wirsen)
Julius Röntgen (1855-1932)
Abend am Fluss (Tschan-jo-su)
Die Einsame (Wang-Seng-Yu)
Amanda Röntgen-Maier (1853-1894)
Sången (Wirsén)
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Schöne Wiege meiner Leiden (Heine)
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
O lieb so lang du lieben kannst (Freiligrath)
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)
Dereinst, Gedanke mein (Geibel)
Liza Lehmann (1862-1918)
When I am dead, my dearest (Christina Rosetti)
Henk Neven / bass-baritone
Henk Neven is one of the most inspired song interpreters of his generation. He received the Borletti-Buitoni Fellowship, participated in the prestigious BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists Scheme and was awarded the Dutch Music Prize, the highest award given to a musician working in classical music by the Ministry of OCW.
Neven works with renowned orchestras and ensembles, has performed several major opera roles and performs song recitals with leading pianists such as James Baillieu, Malcolm Martineau and his regular pianist Hans Eijsackers. Neven and Eijsackers have since released four CDs that received rave reviews. Besides his busy schedule of performances and master classes at home and abroad, Neven also regularly sits on the jury of international vocal competitions and is principal study teacher at Codarts Conservatoire Rotterdam. Since 2022, he and pianist Hans Eijsackers have formed the artistic director of the festival.
Hans Eijsackers / piano
Hans Eijsackers studied at the conservatories of Amsterdam and The Hague, and at the European Mozart Academy in Kraków. His teachers were Gérard van Blerk, Jan Wijn and György Sebök. He won prizes at the European Piano Competition and received the Silver Vriendenkrans of the Concertgebouw. He is currently a professor at the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf, where in recent years he developed the curriculum for the new master's specialisation Lied.
Eijsackers performs frequently as a soloist, chamber musician and song pianist, and forms an inspired song duo with Henk Neven. As a jury member and master class teacher, he is a regular guest at home and abroad and regularly visits Lithuania as 'ambassador for the art song'. In addition, Eijsackers is artistic director of the International Student Song Duo Competition in Groningen, which took place for the seventh time in November 2024. Since 2022, he has been the artistic director of the festival together with Henk Neven.
Large church hall / Zusterplein 12 / 3703 CB Zeist
Henk Neven is the song interpreter who masters the metier down to the smallest detail. Aided by his velvety, highly agile baritone, he can concentrate optimally on the text, opening up fascinating vistas.
Hans Eijsackers - who gets to 'let loose' as a soloist - delivers his mastery of colouring and timing. His rubati and accelerandi are fabulously embedded in a deeply fragrant richness of sound.
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