Booklet Notes:
Henri Joseph De Croes
In the late 18th century, the Thurn and Taxis family of Regensburg was not only well-placed aristocracy, but also held the monopoly on the post and carriage trade in Europe. Karl Anselm, the fourth sovereign of Thurn and Taxis, was a music lover, and he made his court orchestra into one of the most known in Europe. Thanks to the influence of his famous father, Henri Jacques De Croes, from Antwerp, Henri Joseph De Croes (Brussels 1758 - Regensburg 1842) began to play violin in this orchestra when he was just seventeen years old.
The Regensburg court orchestra played a central role in the development of the clarinet in the second half of the 18th century. The orchestra could count many different talented clarinettists in its midst, as well as other musicians who also played clarinet as their second instrument. The court library's rich collection contains no less than 36 clarinet concerti from the second half of the 18th century, including works by Johann Stamitz, Johann Zach, Theodor Freiherr von Schacht, Vaclav Knežek and Henri Joseph De Croes, among others.
The parthias are stylised pieces for a rather odd ensemble of two clarinets, two violas and contrabass. This instrumentation seems to have been standard at the Regensburg court; there are also parthias by Schacht and Knežek for the same sort of ensemble. A parthia (or 'partita' or 'partia') was originally the name for a solo piece, but German composers later used the term as a synonym for a suite. The parthias by De Croes date from 1780 to 1788 and from 1794. They are light pieces, alternating between andante and menuet with a sometimes surprisingly important part for the contrabass. They are written in an original, refined style and never become banal. Henri Joseph De Croes composed his Clarinet Concerto in Bb Major in 1790, one year before Mozart wrote his own Clarinet Concerto. This work sounds light, frivolous, and relatively undramatic, as well, but the strong melodies and fine orchestration show the hand of a talented composer.
Due to family problems (the death of his two children), political causes (the end of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the end of the monopoly on the post, and the end of the representative function of the court orchestra) and financial problems, the Henri-Joseph De Croes' oeuvre remained small: just one clarinet concerto, a few symphonies, one ballet, an opera (called The Warlock) and a variety of divertimentos and parthias.
Vlad Weverbergh
Vlad Weverbergh studied clarinet with Walter Boeykens at the Royal Flemish Conservatory, graduating summa cum laude in 2000. He remained at the Royal Flemish Conservatory as a guest lecturer until 2002. Vlad was a solo clarinettist at De Filharmonie and is now part of I Solisti del Vento, the wind ensemble that unites the finest Belgian wind instrument players. He performed as soloist with several European orchestras; touring in Romania, Sweden, the Netherlands, France, Austria, Great Britain and South Africa. Vlad plays in the klezmer group Trio Dor and has his own Big Band: Vlad's Big Bite. His discography includes the finest works of chamber music.
Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester Pforzheim
The hallmark of the South-west German Chamber Orchestra Pforzheim is its fresh and gripping musical approach and stylistic diversity from early to contemporary music. The ensemble consists of fourteen musicians of seven different nationalities and is one of the few full-time chamber orchestras in Europe which allows for exceptional richness and flexibility of sound.
The Orchestra was founded in 1950 by Friedrich Tilegant. Soon the ensemble won international recognition and could be heard at the festivals in Salzburg, Lucerne and Leipzig as well as on world-wide tours. Maurice André, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Yehudi Menuhin are only a few of the celebrity names who have worked with the Orchestra. After the Tilegant-era, which ended far too early after the premature death of its founder in 1968, the Orchestra was moulded by Paul Angerer and Vladislav Czarnecki. Since 2002, the young German conductor Sebastian Tewinkel, winner of several international competitions, has been the new Music Director. On its road to success the South-west German Chamber Orchestra has made numerous broadcasts and released more than 180 records and CDs, many of which were awarded international prizes. Currently the Orchestra plays together with renowned soloists such as Gidon Kremer, Cyprien Katsaris, Frank Peter Zimmermann and Mischa Maisky and has been invited to perform in almost all European countries (Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Schwetzingen Festival, Ljubljana International Summer Festival, Prague Spring, Flanders Festival, Rome Euro Mediterrean Festival, Vienna OsterKlang) as well as in the USA and Japan.
Sebastian Tewinkel
Born in Unna (Germany) in 1971, Sebastian Tewinkel started his violin and general music studies at the Hannover University of Music and Drama. He then continued at the Stuttgart University of Music and Performing Arts with Thomas Ungar, graduating with a mark of distinction and supplementing with master courses given by Gianluigi Gelmetti and Sir Colin Davis. After his studies Sebastian Tewinkel was awarded a scholarship by the Herbert von Karajan Foundation in Berlin and admitted to the patronage programme Dirigentenforum of the Deutscher Musikrat. Shortly after, he succeeded in winning two important competitons: in 2000 he received the fi rst (and only) prize at the International Conducting Competition of the foundation Fundação Oriente at Lisbon, and in 2001 he won the Conductors Award in Bad Homburg. Already early in his career, Sebastian Tewinkel. With the start of the 2002-03 season, he was appointed Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Southwest German Chamber Orchestra Pforzheim. He broadened the range of stylistic versatility and developed new programmes for this ensemble of long-standing tradition. Besides working with the Pforzheim Chamber Orchestra, Sebastian Tewinkel continues conducting large orchestras.
He was invited by the Munich Philharmonic, the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra Munich, the Hamamatsu Philharmonic in Japan, the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra, the St Petersburg Academic Symphony Orchestra and the Festival Strings Lucerne for concerts, CD and broadcasting productions alike.
Jaan Bossier clarinet
Jaan Bossier has played the clarinet with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra since 1997. Since 2003, he has been a bass clarinettist at the Lucerne Festival Orchestra.
He performed chamber music concerts with the Soloists of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, amongst others, at the Lucerne Festival (Switzerland), the Grafenegg-Festival (Austria), with the Kölner Philharmonie, at the Beethoven Fest in Bonn, in Ferrara (Italy), in Amsterdam and in Toyota City (Japan). He has taught clarinet at the Musikhochschule Bremen since 2009 and at the Orchesterzentrum Dortmund since 2010. He taught master classes in Europe and South America. In 2000, he debuted as conductor of the Belgian contemporary music ensemble Champ d'Action. Since then he has conducted at, amongst others, Wien Modern in deSingel in Antwerp and in the Concertgebouw in Bruges. Since 2010he conducts Ensemble 306 in Eindhoven. He took a master class in conducting with Jorma Panula, and took private lessons with Pierre Boulez and Zsolt Nagy.
Diederik Suys viola
After studying viola at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, the Queen Elisabeth College of Music and the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris, Diederik Suys became laureate of international competitions such as Maurice Vieux, Tenuto, Lionel Tertis and Dexia Classics. Diederik is currently viola soloist in the Orchestre National de l'Opéra de Paris.
In addition to being a passionate musician, he is artistic advisor to UT3- Records and the Wichelen Festival.
Sander Geerts viola
Sander Geerts earned a First Prize in the Axion Classics competition in 1999. In 2003, he conducted Mozart's Symphonie Concertante with the symphonic orchestra of the Antwerp Conservatory. In August 2006, he won a Special Prize at the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition on the Isle of Man (GB) as the best performer of the compulsory work, composed for this competition by D. Matthews. In March 2008, he performed C.M. von Weber's Andante and Rondo Ungarese with the symphonic orchestra of the Antwerp Conservatory. As of September 2008 he was appointed fi rst soloist with De Filharmonie.
Jan Buysschaert double bass
Jan Buysschaert studied double bass with Etienne Siebens at the Lemmens Institute, in addition to harmony, counterpoint and chamber music. In 1988, he became laureate of the 'Tenuto' contest. Jan is currently leading bass-player in the Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra and the Prometheus Ensemble. He has taught double bass at the Lemmens Institute since 2003.