A good conversation
Friday 22 May / 17:00 - 18:00
Hans Haffmans in conversation with Simon Keenlyside
Music was a matter of course when Simon Keenlyside was growing up, as his father and grandfather were violinists in the Aeolian Quartet: ‘From childhood I heard them rehearsing, their conversations and giggles ... Every day I listened to Mozart, Beethoven and Haydn.’ Yet his keen interest in nature won out when he had to choose a field of study. It became zoology. And still, besides singing, he likes nothing better than spending time on his own farm in Wales: ‘Because then I have the chance to see things no one else gets to see. Except maybe David Attenborough.’
Hans Haffmans, who has spoken with Robert Holl and Claron McFadden at past festivals, now talks to world-renowned baritone Simon Keenlyside about his impressive career as well as love of nature. In an interview with The Guardian, he said: ‘Songs about nature are not necessarily by the best poets, but they speak to me. And everything that can happen in a life - the good and the bad - is somewhere in a box of sheet music for liederen.’
Great Hall
Evangelical Brotherhood
Zusterplein 12, 3703 CB Zeist
Hans Haffmans / presenter
Hans Haffmans studied theology in the Netherlands and the United States, lived in Jordan for two years for his Arabic language studies and studied classical guitar at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. Since then he has worked for NPO Klassiek. For the Wereldomroep, he presented the weekly programme Live at The Concertgebouw for over ten years, which was broadcast in the United States via about two hundred FM stations.
In 2010, his programme Viertakt Vroeg won him the Zilveren Reissmicrofoon, the annual radio prize of Dutch media journalists. Currently, he mainly presents radio and television programmes for the NTR. He also provides concert introductions, public interviews and courses for The Royal Concertgebouw.
Simon Keenlyside / baritone
Sir Simon Keenlyside enjoys great fame as an opera singer and soloist in oratorios, for which he has worked with leading conductors and orchestras. He is also loved as an interpreter of the lied repertoire, winning the hearts of audiences worldwide. His extensive discography proves his broad, musical ability and includes recordings with Graham Johnson, Malcolm Martineau, Sir Simon Rattle and Riccardo Chailly, among others. For his achievements to the music world, he received several prestigious awards. For instance, he was appointed Kammersänger at the Wiener Staatsoper and knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2018.