Ed Spanjaard
Encyclopedia
Eduard Philip Spanjaard (Haarlem
, 22 December 1948) is a Dutch conductor
and pianist
.
at Amsterdam
and afterwards at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
in London. During his studies he was, next to conductor of amateur ensembles like the Leids Studenten Kamer Orkest (LeSKO), assistant of Bernard Haitink
, Sir Georg Solti
and Herbert von Karajan
.
. In 1978 he conducted the London Philharmonic Orchestra
in Mozart's Così fan tutte during the Glyndebourne Festival. In 1980 and 1981 he was assistant-conductor of Herbert von Karajan at the Salzburger Festspiele. For the Bayreuther Festspiele in 1983 he was assistant of Sir Georg Solti in Wagner's Ring des Nibelungen, which laid the foundation for his work in the opera.
For several years he was principal guest conductor of the Nederlands Balletorkest and the Limburgs Symfonie Orkest
(LSO) (1982–1988), and has directed almost all Dutch orchestras. Since 1982 Spanjaard has been principal conductor of the Nieuw Ensemble
, which was awarded the Prins Bernardfonds muziekprijs
in 1998.
As guest conductor he performed all over the world. The last years Spanjaard worked as conductor in the contemporary and classical repertoire. In the Netherlands he directed Verdi's Rigoletto
with the De Nederlandse Opera
, Gounod's Faust
and Verdi's Don Carlos
with the Nationale Reisopera and with the Opera Zuid Puccini's La Bohème
and Madame Butterfly as well as Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel. Also with the Residentie Orkest
and abroad (Canada) he made several opera productions. In 2000 at the Rotterdam Ahoy he conducted the Nederlands Balletorkest in Verdi's La traviata and Britten's Peter Grimes with the Nationale Reisopera. He premiered the chamber-operas Wolf Cub Village and Night Banquet from the Chinese composer Guo Wenjing
with the New Ensemble. Beginning 2004 he was invited by the opera of Lyon to conduct the opera Pelléas et Mélissande
from Claude Debussy
.
During a state visit of Queen Beatrix in 1995 he conducted Mahler's Lieder aus Des Knaben Wunderhorn and symphony No. 1
in cooperation with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
. He regularly performs with the Ensemble InterContemporain
in Paris and with the Klangforum Wien
. In 2000 he conducted the Ensemble Modern
in Frankfurt am Main, with great success which was praised by the press. In February 2002 Spanjaard took care of the musical accompaniment for the wedding of Prince Willem-Alexander
and Máxima
. She was particularly moved by Adiós Nonino
from Ástor Piazzolla
with Carel Kraayenhof on bandoneón
. The success of the performance led to another CD-recording with the same performers including the Concertgebouw Kamerorkest and the Nederlands Kamerkoor.
Since August 2001 Ed Spanjaard is appointed chief conductor of the Limburgs Symfonie Orkest. Together with the LSO he performed Schubert's Winterreise
in September 2003 during the Musica Sacra festival in Maastricht
. This performance received praise of the national press and was considered the highlight of the festival. Also a CD-recording of the LSO and the Nederlands Kamerkoor with compositions by Gabriel Fauré
was greatly valued.
In 2009 Ed Spanjaard conducted Das Rheingold
, of Wagner's Ring des Nibelungen with the Nationale Reisopera and Orkest van het Oosten
in Enschedé
where in 2010 he will be conducting Die Walküre
.
Haarlem
Haarlem is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland, the northern half of Holland, which at one time was the most powerful of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic...
, 22 December 1948) is a Dutch conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
and pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
.
Early life
Ed Spanjaard his father was psychiatrist and amateur pianist, and his mother played the flute. Spanjaard studied at the Conservatorium van de Vereniging MuzieklyceumConservatorium van Amsterdam
The Conservatorium van Amsterdam is a Dutch academy of music located in Amsterdam. This school is the music division of the Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de Kunsten, the city's vocational university of arts...
at Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
and afterwards at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama is an independent music and dramatic arts school which was founded in 1880 in London, England. Students can pursue courses in Music, Opera, Drama and Technical Theatre Arts.-History:...
in London. During his studies he was, next to conductor of amateur ensembles like the Leids Studenten Kamer Orkest (LeSKO), assistant of Bernard Haitink
Bernard Haitink
Bernard Johan Herman Haitink, CH, KBE is a Dutch conductor and violinist.- Early life :Haitink was born in Amsterdam, the son of Willem Haitink and Anna Haitink. He studied music at the conservatoire in Amsterdam...
, Sir Georg Solti
Georg Solti
Sir Georg Solti, KBE, was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor. He was a major classical recording artist, holding the record for having received the most Grammy Awards, having personally won 31 as a conductor, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition to his...
and Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years...
.
Career
In London he worked as repetiteur of the Royal Opera Covent GardenRoyal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
. In 1978 he conducted the London Philharmonic Orchestra
London Philharmonic Orchestra
The London Philharmonic Orchestra , based in London, is one of the major orchestras of the United Kingdom, and is based in the Royal Festival Hall. In addition, the LPO is the main resident orchestra of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera...
in Mozart's Così fan tutte during the Glyndebourne Festival. In 1980 and 1981 he was assistant-conductor of Herbert von Karajan at the Salzburger Festspiele. For the Bayreuther Festspiele in 1983 he was assistant of Sir Georg Solti in Wagner's Ring des Nibelungen, which laid the foundation for his work in the opera.
For several years he was principal guest conductor of the Nederlands Balletorkest and the Limburgs Symfonie Orkest
Limburgs Symfonie Orkest
The Limburg Symphony Orchestra is a Dutch orchestra based in Maastricht in the province of Limburg, The Netherlands. It is one of the Netherlands’ oldest professional symphony orchestras. The Limburg Symphony Orchestra gives more than one hundred performances a season and occupies a significant...
(LSO) (1982–1988), and has directed almost all Dutch orchestras. Since 1982 Spanjaard has been principal conductor of the Nieuw Ensemble
Nieuw Ensemble
The Nieuw Ensemble was founded in 1980 in Amsterdam. It has a unique instrumental structure, using plucked instruments such as mandolin, guitar and harp in combination with wind, string and percussion. Ed Spanjaard has been the principal conductor since 1982...
, which was awarded the Prins Bernardfonds muziekprijs
Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds
The Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds was founded by Prince Bernhard of The Netherlands in London in 1940 during World War II in order to buy war material for the British and Dutch Governments. It continued after the war as Stichting Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds aiming to rebuild cultural life in the...
in 1998.
As guest conductor he performed all over the world. The last years Spanjaard worked as conductor in the contemporary and classical repertoire. In the Netherlands he directed Verdi's Rigoletto
Rigoletto
Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...
with the De Nederlandse Opera
De Nederlandse Opera
De Nederlandse Opera , in Amsterdam, is a Dutch opera company based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its present home base is the Het Muziektheater, a modern building designed by Cees Dam which opened in 1986....
, Gounod's Faust
Faust (opera)
Faust is a drame lyrique in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré from Carré's play Faust et Marguerite, in turn loosely based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust, Part 1...
and Verdi's Don Carlos
Don Carlos
Don Carlos is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French language libretto by Camille du Locle and Joseph Méry, based on the dramatic play Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien by Friedrich Schiller...
with the Nationale Reisopera and with the Opera Zuid Puccini's La Bohème
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
and Madame Butterfly as well as Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel. Also with the Residentie Orkest
Residentie Orchestra
Het Residentie Orkest is a Dutch orchestra based in The Hague. Its primary venue is the Dr. Anton Philipszaal....
and abroad (Canada) he made several opera productions. In 2000 at the Rotterdam Ahoy he conducted the Nederlands Balletorkest in Verdi's La traviata and Britten's Peter Grimes with the Nationale Reisopera. He premiered the chamber-operas Wolf Cub Village and Night Banquet from the Chinese composer Guo Wenjing
Guo Wenjing
Guo Wenjing is a Chinese composer and educator.-Biography:He began attending the Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing in 1978, the year of that institution's reopening, and later served as the head of the composition department there; he remains on the faculty.He has composed for both Western...
with the New Ensemble. Beginning 2004 he was invited by the opera of Lyon to conduct the opera Pelléas et Mélissande
Pelléas et Mélisande (opera)
Pelléas et Mélisande is an opera in five acts with music by Claude Debussy. The French libretto was adapted from Maurice Maeterlinck's Symbolist play Pelléas et Mélisande...
from Claude Debussy
Claude Debussy
Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
.
During a state visit of Queen Beatrix in 1995 he conducted Mahler's Lieder aus Des Knaben Wunderhorn and symphony No. 1
Symphony No. 1 (Mahler)
The Symphony No. 1 in D major by Gustav Mahler was mainly composed between late 1887 and March 1888, though it incorporates music Mahler had composed for previous works. It was composed while Mahler was second conductor at the Leipzig Opera, Germany...
in cooperation with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra is the leading symphony orchestra in Israel. It was originally known as the Palestine Orchestra, and in Hebrew as התזמורת הסימפונית הארץ ישראלית The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (abbreviation IPO; Hebrew: התזמורת הפילהרמונית הישראלית, ha-Tizmoret ha-Filharmonit...
. He regularly performs with the Ensemble InterContemporain
Ensemble InterContemporain
The Ensemble InterContemporain is a French chamber orchestra, based in Paris at the Cité de la musique and IRCAM, which specialises in contemporary classical music....
in Paris and with the Klangforum Wien
Klangforum Wien
The Klangforum Wien is an Austrian chamber orchestra, based in Vienna at the Konzerthaus, which specialises in contemporary classical music.Founded by composer and conductor Beat Furrer in 1985, it is run on collective principles, having no official principal conductor. Sylvain Cambreling is...
. In 2000 he conducted the Ensemble Modern
Ensemble Modern
Ensemble Modern is a chamber ensemble dedicated to the music of modern composers. Formed in 1980, the group is based in Frankfurt, Germany and made up variously of about twenty members from numerous countries....
in Frankfurt am Main, with great success which was praised by the press. In February 2002 Spanjaard took care of the musical accompaniment for the wedding of Prince Willem-Alexander
Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange
Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange is the eldest child of Queen Beatrix and Prince Claus. Since 1980 he is the heir apparent to the throne of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. He is also the head of the House of Amsberg since the death of his father in 2002. He was in military service and he studied...
and Máxima
Princess Máxima of the Netherlands
Princess Máxima of the Netherlands is the wife of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, heir apparent to the throne of the Netherlands.-Early life and education:...
. She was particularly moved by Adiós Nonino
Adiós Nonino
Adiós Nonino is a composition by tango composer Ástor Piazzolla, written in October 1959 while in New York in memory of his father, Vicente "Nonino" Piazzolla, a few days after his father's death....
from Ástor Piazzolla
Ástor Piazzolla
Ástor Pantaleón Piazzolla was an Argentine tango composer and bandoneón player. His oeuvre revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed nuevo tango, incorporating elements from jazz and classical music...
with Carel Kraayenhof on bandoneón
Bandoneón
The bandoneón is a type of concertina particularly popular in Argentina and Uruguay. It plays an essential role in the orquesta típica, the tango orchestra...
. The success of the performance led to another CD-recording with the same performers including the Concertgebouw Kamerorkest and the Nederlands Kamerkoor.
Since August 2001 Ed Spanjaard is appointed chief conductor of the Limburgs Symfonie Orkest. Together with the LSO he performed Schubert's Winterreise
Winterreise
Winterreise is a song cycle for voice and piano by Franz Schubert , a setting of 24 poems by Wilhelm Müller. It is the second of Schubert's two great song cycles on Müller's poems, the earlier being Die schöne Müllerin...
in September 2003 during the Musica Sacra festival in Maastricht
Maastricht
Maastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border...
. This performance received praise of the national press and was considered the highlight of the festival. Also a CD-recording of the LSO and the Nederlands Kamerkoor with compositions by Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Urbain Fauré was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th century composers...
was greatly valued.
In 2009 Ed Spanjaard conducted Das Rheingold
Das Rheingold
is the first of the four operas that constitute Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen . It was originally written as an introduction to the tripartite Ring, but the cycle is now generally regarded as consisting of four individual operas.Das Rheingold received its premiere at the National Theatre...
, of Wagner's Ring des Nibelungen with the Nationale Reisopera and Orkest van het Oosten
Orkest van het Oosten
The Orkest van het Oosten is a Dutch symphony orchestra. The home of the orchestra is the Muziekcentrum in Enschede. The OvhO performs about 75 concerts a year in Enschede, Hengelo, Zwolle and Deventer, as well as throughout the province of Overijssel and the Randstad...
in Enschedé
Enschede
Enschede , also known as Eanske in the local dialect of Twents, is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region...
where in 2010 he will be conducting Die Walküre
Die Walküre
Die Walküre , WWV 86B, is the second of the four operas that form the cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen , by Richard Wagner...
.