Han de Vries
Encyclopedia
Han Samuel de Vries is a Dutch
oboist and is considered the doyen of the Dutch school of oboe playing.
De Vries studied oboe with Jaap Stotijn at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague
and with his son Haakon Stotijn at the Sweelinck Conservatory
in Amsterdam
. He won many prizes in his youth, including the Prix d'Excellence in 1962. He was a founding member of the Netherlands Wind Ensemble in 1960.
In 1963, at the age of 22, he became principal oboist at the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
. He remained with the Concertgebouw Orchestra for seven years, after which he focused on chamber music and a solo career. He was a member of the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra and in 1973 he joined the Danzi (Wind) Quintet
. Instigated by Frans Brüggen
, De Vries has played baroque oboe besides the modern oboe since 1970, at which time this was still unusual.
In 1964, he was appointed professor at the Sweelinck Conservatory, where he subsequently taught for almost three decades. Among his students have been Christopher Bouwman, Peter Bree, Frank van Koten, Wolfgang Lange, and Bart Schneemann. Later he limited himself to giving masterclasses.
As a soloist, De Vries has toured Europe, Japan, Australia, and North and South America, with a repertory of baroque, classical, romantic and contemporary music. He has made many recordings, one of which (of the oboe sonatas of Schumann
, Bartók, Ben Haim, Poulenc
and Shinohara
with pianist Rudolf Jansen
) won an Edison Award in 1973.
Among the composers who have dedicated music to him are Louis Andriessen
(Anachronie II, musique d’ameublement ("furniture music"), to the memory of Erik Satie. 1969), Peter Schat
(Theme op. 21, 1970), Bruno Maderna
(Oboe Concerto No 3, 1973), Morton Feldman
(Oboe and Orchestra, 1976), and Willem Breuker
(Oboe Concertos I and II, 1992, 2000). Most of these pieces employ unorthodox techniques for oboe like multiphonics, fluttertonguing
, and glissandi, as if to emphasize De Vries' wide range from baroque to postmodern music.
De Vries has a deep interest in the history of oboes and oboe music. He has a large collection of historical oboes. He also has edited Baroque oboe repertoire, published previously unpublished old oboe music, and pursued lost oboe music like Beethoven's oboe concerto.
In 1997, he was named an Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau
.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
oboist and is considered the doyen of the Dutch school of oboe playing.
De Vries studied oboe with Jaap Stotijn at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague
Royal Conservatory of The Hague
The Royal Conservatory of The Hague is a conservatorium of music, providing higher education in music and dance, it is located in The Hague, Netherlands.-The Conservatory:...
and with his son Haakon Stotijn at the Sweelinck Conservatory
Conservatorium 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...
in 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...
. He won many prizes in his youth, including the Prix d'Excellence in 1962. He was a founding member of the Netherlands Wind Ensemble in 1960.
In 1963, at the age of 22, he became principal oboist at the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra is a symphony orchestra of the Netherlands, based at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. In 1988, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands conferred the "Royal" title upon the orchestra...
. He remained with the Concertgebouw Orchestra for seven years, after which he focused on chamber music and a solo career. He was a member of the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra and in 1973 he joined the Danzi (Wind) Quintet
Danzi Quintet
The Danzi Quintet was a Dutch wind quintet, one of the most highly regarded quintets active in the 1960s and 1970sThe quintet took its name from the 18th/19th-century composer Franz Danzi , and was founded in 1956 or 1957 by the flutist Frans Vester...
. Instigated by Frans Brüggen
Frans Brüggen
Frans Brüggen is a well-known Dutch conductor, recorder player and baroque flautist.-Biography:Brüggen studied recorder and flute at the Amsterdam Muzieklyceum. He also studied musicology at the University of Amsterdam. In 1955, at the age of 21, he was appointed professor at the Royal...
, De Vries has played baroque oboe besides the modern oboe since 1970, at which time this was still unusual.
In 1964, he was appointed professor at the Sweelinck Conservatory, where he subsequently taught for almost three decades. Among his students have been Christopher Bouwman, Peter Bree, Frank van Koten, Wolfgang Lange, and Bart Schneemann. Later he limited himself to giving masterclasses.
As a soloist, De Vries has toured Europe, Japan, Australia, and North and South America, with a repertory of baroque, classical, romantic and contemporary music. He has made many recordings, one of which (of the oboe sonatas of Schumann
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
, Bartók, Ben Haim, Poulenc
Francis Poulenc
Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc was a French composer and a member of the French group Les six. He composed solo piano music, chamber music, oratorio, choral music, opera, ballet music, and orchestral music...
and Shinohara
Makoto Shinohara
is a Japanese composer.- Biography :Shinohara studied at the Tokyo University of the Arts from 1952 to 1954, studying composition with Tomojiro Ikenouchi, piano with Kazuko Yasukawa, and conducting with Akeo Watanabe and Kurt Woess. From 1954 to 1960, he studied in Paris with Tony Aubin, Olivier...
with pianist Rudolf Jansen
Rudolf Jansen
Rudolf Jansen is a Dutch pianist, who studied piano, organ and harpsichord simultaneously at the Conservatoire of Amsterdam. His teachers were Nelly Wagenaar, his father Simon C. Jansen, Felix de Nobel and Gustav Leonhardt...
) won an Edison Award in 1973.
Among the composers who have dedicated music to him are Louis Andriessen
Louis Andriessen
Louis Andriessen is a Dutch composer and pianist based in Amsterdam. He teaches composition at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague...
(Anachronie II, musique d’ameublement ("furniture music"), to the memory of Erik Satie. 1969), Peter Schat
Peter Schat
Peter Schat was a Dutch composer.Schat studied composition with Kees van Baaren at the conservatories in Utrecht and The Hague from 1952 until 1958, and then went on to study in London with Mátyás Seiber in 1959 and with Pierre Boulez in Basle in 1960–61...
(Theme op. 21, 1970), Bruno Maderna
Bruno Maderna
Bruno Maderna was an Italian conductor and composer. For the last ten years of his life he lived in Germany and eventually became a citizen of that country.-Biography:...
(Oboe Concerto No 3, 1973), Morton Feldman
Morton Feldman
Morton Feldman was an American composer, born in New York City.A major figure in 20th century music, Feldman was a pioneer of indeterminate music, a development associated with the experimental New York School of composers also including John Cage, Christian Wolff, and Earle Brown...
(Oboe and Orchestra, 1976), and Willem Breuker
Willem Breuker
Willem Breuker was a Dutch jazz bandleader, composer, arranger, saxophonist, and bass clarinetist....
(Oboe Concertos I and II, 1992, 2000). Most of these pieces employ unorthodox techniques for oboe like multiphonics, fluttertonguing
Fluttertonguing
Flutter-tonguing is a wind instrument tonguing technique in which performers flutter their tongue to make a characteristic "FrrrrFrrrrr" sound. The effect is similar to the growls used by jazz musicians.- Notation :...
, and glissandi, as if to emphasize De Vries' wide range from baroque to postmodern music.
De Vries has a deep interest in the history of oboes and oboe music. He has a large collection of historical oboes. He also has edited Baroque oboe repertoire, published previously unpublished old oboe music, and pursued lost oboe music like Beethoven's oboe concerto.
In 1997, he was named an Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau
Order of Orange-Nassau
The Order of Orange-Nassau is a military and civil order of the Netherlands which was created on 4 April 1892 by the Queen regent Emma of the Netherlands, acting on behalf of her under-age daughter Queen Wilhelmina. The Order is a chivalry order open to "everyone who have earned special merits for...
.
Recordings
- Albinoni: Four Oboe Concertos Op. 9, Nos. 2,5,8 & 11, EMIEMIThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
Angel LP, 1981. - The Art of Han de Vries, Oboe Classics CC2004, 2002
- Han de Vries – The Radio Recordings, Oboe Classics CC2024, 2011