Ralph van Raat
Encyclopedia
Ralph van Raat is a Dutch
classical pianist
.
at the University of Amsterdam, with Ton Hartsuiker
and Willem Brons. He completed his piano
studies cum laude in 2002, and was admitted to The Provision for Outstanding Musicians, a special course offered in addition to the standard curriculum. He also graduated cum laude in musicology. van Raat then studied with Claude Helffer
in Paris
, Ursula Oppens
at Northwestern University
, Liisa Pohjola in Finland
, and Pierre-Laurent Aimard
at the Musikhochschule in Cologne
.
Van Raat has won prizes in a number of piano competitions, in both the Netherlands
and other countries. He was awarded a Borletti-Buitoni Fellowship in 2005, and received the Prijs Klassiek ('Classics Prize') of Dutch radio and television broadcaster NTR in 2010.
Van Raat has performed as a recitalist and soloist in Europe
and around the world, and has a special interest in contemporary classical music. He has performed with many orchestras, including the London Sinfonietta
, the BBC Symphony Orchestra
, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra
, the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and Radio Chamber Philharmonic, the Radio Symphony Orchestra of Frankfurt, the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra and the Dortmunder Philharmoniker
. He has worked closely with conductors such as Valery Gergiev
, JoAnn Falletta
, David Robertson, Stefan Asbury, Michel Tabachnik
, Jac van Steen
and Otto Tausk. Van Raat was Artist-in-Residence of The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra in 2010. He has also performed at a number of music festivals, including the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival
in the UK, the Berliner Festspiele
, and the Tanglewood Summer Festival in the United States
.
Ralph van Raat has recorded a number of CDs as an exclusive artist for the Naxos
label. All of his recordings have been of contemporary or 20th century composers, such as John Adams
, Hans Otte
, Arvo Pärt
, Gavin Bryars
and Frederic Rzewski
. Before recording with Naxos
, Van Raat also recorded discs with the Etcetera, Attacca, and Erasmus labels. Van Raat is a Steinway
artist.
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...
classical 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:...
.
Biography and career
Ralph van Raat studied music at the Conservatory of Amsterdam and MusicologyMusicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
at the University of Amsterdam, with Ton Hartsuiker
Ton Hartsuiker
Ton Hartsuiker is a Dutch classical pianist, best known as a performer of 20th century classical music, composer, music school administrator and radio broadcaster. He was the director of both the Music Academy of Utrecht and the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, and was also on the faculty of the...
and Willem Brons. He completed his piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
studies cum laude in 2002, and was admitted to The Provision for Outstanding Musicians, a special course offered in addition to the standard curriculum. He also graduated cum laude in musicology. van Raat then studied with Claude Helffer
Claude Helffer
Claude Helffer was a French pianist noted particularly for his advocacy of 20th-century music.-Biography:...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Ursula Oppens
Ursula Oppens
Ursula Oppens is an American classical pianist.-Biography:After earning her master's degree from the Juilliard School of Music, Oppens won the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in 1968. This win led to her New York City debut at Carnegie Hall in 1969...
at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
, Liisa Pohjola in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, and Pierre-Laurent Aimard
Pierre-Laurent Aimard
Pierre-Laurent Aimard is a French pianist. He was born in Lyon, where he entered the conservatory. Later he studied with Yvonne Loriod and with Maria Curcio....
at the Musikhochschule in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
.
Van Raat has won prizes in a number of piano competitions, in both the Netherlands
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...
and other countries. He was awarded a Borletti-Buitoni Fellowship in 2005, and received the Prijs Klassiek ('Classics Prize') of Dutch radio and television broadcaster NTR in 2010.
Van Raat has performed as a recitalist and soloist in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and around the world, and has a special interest in contemporary classical music. He has performed with many orchestras, including the London Sinfonietta
London Sinfonietta
The London Sinfonietta is an English chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London. The ensemble specialises in contemporary music and works across a wide range of genres, performing modern classics alongside world premieres, and includes music by electronica artists as well as folk and...
, the BBC Symphony Orchestra
BBC Symphony Orchestra
The BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain.-History:...
, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra
Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra
The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra is a Dutch symphony orchestra based in Rotterdam. Its primary venue is the concert hall De Doelen. The RPhO is considered one of the Netherlands' two principal orchestras of international standing, second to the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam...
, the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and Radio Chamber Philharmonic, the Radio Symphony Orchestra of Frankfurt, the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra and the Dortmunder Philharmoniker
Dortmunder Philharmoniker
The Dortmunder Philharmoniker are a German symphony orchestra based in Dortmund. The orchestra of the Theater Dortmund performs both opera in the Opernhaus Dortmund and concert in the Konzerthaus Dortmund...
. He has worked closely with conductors such as Valery Gergiev
Valery Gergiev
Valery Abisalovich Gergiev is a Russian conductor and opera company director. He is general director and artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, and artistic director of the White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg.- Early life :Gergiev,...
, JoAnn Falletta
JoAnn Falletta
JoAnn Falletta is an American classical musician and orchestral conductor.Falletta was educated at the Mannes College of Music and The Juilliard School in New York City...
, David Robertson, Stefan Asbury, Michel Tabachnik
Michel Tabachnik
Michel Tabachnik is a Swiss conductor and composer.-Early years:Michel Tabachnik was born in Geneva, where he studied piano, composition and conducting. As a young conductor he was a protégé of Igor Markevitch, Herbert von Karajan and Pierre Boulez, acting as the latter's assistant for four years,...
, Jac van Steen
Jac van Steen
Jac van Steen is a Dutch conductor. He studied music theory, as well as orchestral and choral conducting, at the Brabants Conservatory of Music....
and Otto Tausk. Van Raat was Artist-in-Residence of The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra in 2010. He has also performed at a number of music festivals, including the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival
Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival
The Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival is held in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. It has a repertoire of cutting-edge jazz, orchestral, choral and electroacoustic performances, along with film, dance and music theatre...
in the UK, the Berliner Festspiele
Berliner Festspiele
The Berliner Festspiele arts center brings together a variety of arts and culture events under one roof each year in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in West Berlin in 1951. Throughout the year, festivals, program series, and individual events enrich the cultural scene of the city...
, and the Tanglewood Summer Festival in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Ralph van Raat has recorded a number of CDs as an exclusive artist for the Naxos
Naxos Records
Naxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. Through a number of imprints, Naxos also releases genres including Chinese music, jazz, world music, and early rock & roll. The company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong.Naxos is the largest...
label. All of his recordings have been of contemporary or 20th century composers, such as John Adams
John Adams
John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
, Hans Otte
Hans Otte
Hans Otte born Hans Günther Franz Otte in Plauen, Germany was a German composer, pianist, radio promoter, and author of many pieces of musical theatre, sound installations, poems, drawings, and art videos. From 1959 to 1984 he served as music director for Radio Bremen...
, Arvo Pärt
Arvo Pärt
Arvo Pärt is an Estonian classical composer and one of the most prominent living composers of sacred music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs his self-made compositional technique, tintinnabuli. His music also finds its inspiration and influence from...
, Gavin Bryars
Gavin Bryars
Richard Gavin Bryars is an English composer and double bassist. He has been active in, or has produced works in, a variety of styles of music, including jazz, free improvisation, minimalism, historicism, experimental music, avant-garde and neoclassicism.-Early life and career:Born in Goole, East...
and Frederic Rzewski
Frederic Rzewski
Frederic Anthony Rzewski is an American composer and virtuoso pianist.- Biography :Rzewski began playing piano at age 5. He attended Phillips Academy, Harvard and Princeton, where his teachers included Randall Thompson, Roger Sessions, Walter Piston and Milton Babbitt...
. Before recording with Naxos
Naxos Records
Naxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. Through a number of imprints, Naxos also releases genres including Chinese music, jazz, world music, and early rock & roll. The company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong.Naxos is the largest...
, Van Raat also recorded discs with the Etcetera, Attacca, and Erasmus labels. Van Raat is a Steinway
Steinway
Steinway may refer to:* Steinway & Sons, an American and German piano manufacturer* Steinway Hall, a building housing concert halls, showrooms and sales departments for Steinway & Sons pianos* Steinway D-274, the concert grand piano by Steinway & Sons...
artist.