Musings by Camiel Boomsma

Frédéric Chopin, Franz Schubert

Camiel Boomsma

Musings

Price: € 9.95
Format: SACD
Label: Challenge Classics
UPC: 0608917275629
Catnr: CC 72756
Release date: 29 September 2017
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Label
Challenge Classics

UPC
0608917275629

Catalogue number
CC 72756

Release date
29 September 2017

"It is winter and this is music to enjoy with a good glass of wine and a crackling wood fire. The musings come naturally."

Kerk & Leven, 09-2-2018

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

Press

About the album

Camiel Boomsma: “Musings’ signifies dreams, reveries, being immersed in thought. It’s the process that the composer experiences while writing the work and also what I experience when studying and performing this music. As I play, I try in turn to pass on this process, this quest for insight, to my audience.
Despite the major differences in musical background, these two composers are remarkably close in spirit. The most important aspect here is their ability to create beautiful, balanced melodies on the piano. They make the instrument sing more than anyone else. This was perhaps an obvious way forward for Schubert. As the composer of more than 600 songs, the art of the song was intrinsic to his very being. Chopin was on a par with this in his own way, since much of his music is fundamentally vocal in conception. While Schubert based his work on German Lieder, Chopin was inspired by Italian opera from the early 19th century."

Op dit album speelt pianist Camiel Boomsma het romantische werk waar hij zo van houdt, muziek van Frédéric Chopin en Franz Schubert. "Musings verwijst naar dromen, mijmeringen, in gedachten verzonken zijn.", vertelt Camiel. "Het is het proces dat de componist ervaart als hij aan het werk is, en ook wat ik ervaar als ik deze muziek instudeer en uitvoer. Als ik speel probeer ik op mijn beurt dit proces, deze zoektocht naar inzicht, over te brengen op het publiek." Dat dat 'aardig' gelukt is, blijkt wel uit de overvloed aan prachtige recensies. Zoals Guido van Oorschot in de Volkskrant vermeldt: "Zingen, mijmeren en dromen zijn sleutelbegrippen in het universum van de Nederlandse pianist Camiel Boomsma." En "...aan Boomsma's vingers kleeft fluweel..."

In de geest één

Chopin en Schubert twee componisten die min of meer in dezelfde tijd leefden, maar op verschillende momenten op de muzikale 'tijdlijn' verkeerden. Ondanks zijn bewondering voor de progressieve jonge Beethoven, werd Schubert (1797-1828) nog grotendeels beïnvloed door de muziek van de 18e eeuw, terwijl Chopin (1810-1849) volledig opging in de Romantische beweging, die hij ten volle wilde benutten op basis van zijn buitengewone pianotalent.

Camiel Boomsma heeft er doelbewust voor gekozen om de twee naast elkaar te plaatsen, en met reden. "Ondanks de grote verschillen in hun muzikale achtergrond, staan deze twee componisten elkaar na in de geest. Het belangrijkste aspect hierbij is hun vermogen om prachtige, uitgebalanceerde melodieën op de piano te creëren. Zij laten het instrument meer zingen dan ieder ander. Dit was waarschijnlijk vanzelfsprekend voor Schubert, als componist van meer dan 600 liederen, de liedkunst was zijn bestaansrecht, zijn innerlijk wezen. Weliswaar op zijn eigen manier, stond Chopin, hiermee op een lijn, veel van zijn muziek is in aanleg, fundamenteel vocaal. Terwijl Schuber zijn werk baseerde op het Duitse Lied, werd Chopin geïnspireerd door de Italiaanse opera uit de vroege 19e eeuw."

Naderend einde

Let in het bijzonder eens op de 21e Sonate, D. 960 (track 5-8). Dit is een van de laatste grote composities van Schubert voor de piano, geschreven in de laatste maanden van zijn leven, in de zomer van 1828. Er klinkt een sombere melodie over een aanhoudend, bijna dreunend ritme - misschien wel het muzikaal vertelde verhaal van Schuberts naderend einde.

Camiel Boomsma:' Gedanken' bedeutet Träume, Träume, Träumereien, Eintauchen in Gedanken. Es ist der Prozess, den der Komponist beim Schreiben des Werkes erlebt und auch das, was ich beim Studieren und Aufführen dieser Musik erlebe. Während ich spiele, versuche ich wiederum, diesen Prozess, dieses Streben nach Einsicht an mein Publikum weiterzugeben.‘
Trotz der großen Unterschiede im musikalischen Hintergrund sind diese Komponisten - Franz Schubert und Frédéric Chopin - erstaunlich geistesverbunden. Der wichtigste Aspekt dabei ist ihre Fähigkeit, schöne, ausgewogene Melodien auf dem Klavier zu erzeugen. Sie bringen das Instrument mehr zum Singen als alle anderen. Für Schubert war das vielleicht ein naheliegender Weg. Als Komponist von mehr als 600 Liedern war die Kunst des Liedes für ihn selbst wesentlich.
Chopin war dem aber auf seine eigene Weise ebenbürtig, da ein großer Teil seiner Musik in der Konzeption grundsätzlich stimmlich geprägt war. Während Schuberts Werk auf deutschen Liedern basierte, wurde Chopin von der italienischen Oper des frühen 19. Jahrhunderts inspiriert.

Artist(s)

Camiel Boomsma (piano)

Camiel Boomsma’s musicianship is described by press and public as highly sensitive and profound. In his playing the emphasis lies on telling the musical story. Boomsma has performed at many major national and international venues including the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Teatro la Fenice in Venice, De Doelen concert hall in Rotterdam, De Philharmonie in Haarlem, Shanghai City Theater, Nanjing Arts Center and Chengdu Concert Hall to name a few. Camiel Boomsma distinguishes himself as a pianist with a sound of his own. He aims for traditional as well as original repertoire. When preparing for a recital he likes to look beyond the literature’s horizon and, and does not avoid unusual programming. An excellent example is Boomsma’s love for transcriptions, most...

Camiel Boomsma’s musicianship is described by press and public as highly sensitive and profound. In his playing the emphasis lies on telling the musical story. Boomsma has performed at many major national and international venues including the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Teatro la Fenice in Venice, De Doelen concert hall in Rotterdam, De Philharmonie in Haarlem, Shanghai City Theater, Nanjing Arts Center and Chengdu Concert Hall to name a few. Camiel Boomsma distinguishes himself as a pianist with a sound of his own. He aims for traditional as well as original repertoire. When preparing for a recital he likes to look beyond the literature’s horizon and, and does not avoid unusual programming. An excellent example is Boomsma’s love for transcriptions, most notably those of the music of Richard Wagner.
Noteworthy concerts in 2017 and 2018 are recitals at the Klavierfestival and Wagner Festspiele in Bayreuth and The Concert series at Schloss Elmau in Krün. Furthermore there will be numerous solo recitals in the Netherlands and abroad, and duo recitals dedicated to Debussy and Wagner for 2 pianos with world renowned pianist Severin von Eckardstein.
Boomsma has received great critical acclaim for his Wagner journey. Through solo transcriptions Wagner’s music becomes transparent and speaks to us in a refreshing and revealing way. His recordings for EtceteraRecords, Wagner transcriptions and Porazzi, published in 2015 and 2016, received raving reviews in BBC Music magazine (5 stars), Diapason (4 stars), Trouw, NRC, De Volkskrant, Luister Magazine, Classica and many more, and have been broadcasted extensively by France Musique, Radio 4, Hr2Kultur and ORF.

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Composer(s)

Franz Schubert

Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer. Schubert already died before his 32nd birthday, but was extremely prolific during his lifetime. His output consists of over six hundred secular vocal works (mainly Lieder), seven complete symphonies, sacred music, operas, incidental music and a large body of chamber and piano music. Appreciation of his music while he was alive was limited to a relatively small circle of admirers in Vienna, but interest in his work increased significantly in the decades following his death. Felix Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann, Franz Liszt, Johannes Brahms and other 19th-century composers discovered and championed his works. Today, Schubert is ranked among the greatest composers of the late Classical and early Romantic eras and is one of the most frequently performed composers of the early nineteenth century.
It was in the genre of the Lied that Schubert made his most indelible mark. Prior to Schubert's influence, Lieder tended toward a strophic, syllabic treatment of text, evoking the folksong qualities engendered by the stirrings of Romantic nationalism. Schubert expanded the potentialities of the genre like no other composer before.

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Frédéric Chopin

Frédéric Chopin is one of the greatest composers of the Romantic piano tradition. He was a master in making the small form great. His ballades, mazurkas, polonaises, preludes, etudes and nocturnes all belong to the most popular standard works for piano ever written. As a child prodigy, Chopin grew up in a middle class family, who lived among the literati of Warsaw. When in 1830 the November Uprising broke out in Poland, the twenty year old Chopin stayed in Vienna. He became an exile and never returned to his mother country. He eventually settled in Paris. He avoided public concerts, but he did like performing in small settings, such as salons and at home for his friends. This way, Chopin built a reputation as an exceptional pianist, teacher and composer.
Chopin brought a unique synthesis between the Viennese bravado and the French/English lyric style. Even though his pieces often are technically very demanding, the focus was always on creating a lyric expression and poetic atmosphere. He invented the instrumental ballade, and brought salongenres to a higher level with his many innovations and refinements.

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Press

It is winter and this is music to enjoy with a good glass of wine and a crackling wood fire. The musings come naturally.
Kerk & Leven, 09-2-2018

Listening to the interpretations of Camiel Boomsma, a 27-year-old Dutch musician, one has the impression of being faced with accomplished piano art and remarkable maturity. Here is his first record for the Challenge Records label, which is a great opportunity to get acquainted with this promising soloist.
ResMusica, 01-2-2018

Listening to the interpretations of Camiel Boomsma, a 27-year-old Dutch musician, one has the impression of being confronted with an accomplished piano artist with a remarkable maturity in terms of playing. This is his first recording for the Challenge Records label. What a great opportunity to get to know this promising soloist! " "It is through the sweetness of the gesture and an unusual palette of dark colors that Boomsma plunges the listener into a very contemplative and cunning universe.The melancholic climate does not stop at all with the interpretation of the third movement of the sonata, the Scherzo: Allegro vivace con delicatezza, whose characteristics here are reminiscent of a nostalgic lamentation. " "The excellent sound of Piotr Furmanczyk is the icing on the cake.In short, a beautiful album, whose presence in our collection should enrich the knowledge of the offered works.
ResMusica, 01-2-2018

The new cd by Camiel Boomsma opens with the warm and dreamy sounds of Chopins Nocturne, opus 9 nr. 1. The young Dutch pianist plays improvising and the melodies flow naturally from his fingers.
Luister, 01-12-2017

Just for the revelation in the seventeen transcendental dimensions, but also for numerous other musical reasons this subtly incorporated SACD should not be missed by music lovers.
Muze - Pianowereld, 01-12-2017

Very reflective and poetic performances which dig deep into the soul both of Chopin and Schubert.
Pizzicato, 20-11-2017

This CD is one of the musical surprises of the year.
Klassieke Zaken, 17-11-2017

Sensitive and profound is the playing of Boomsma focusing on telling the musical story.
Mania, 03-11-2017

Boomsma has got velvet attached to his fingers 4**** stars Compare Boomsma's view of Schubert's 21st piano sonata with that of the Polish piano God Krystian Zimerman (also just released) you know that it cannot be ignored. Zimerman plays brilliantly and sterile, with Boomsma the notes flow philosophically. Zimerman sometimes goes like bang, bang, bang, Boomsma has got velvet attached to his fingers. Where the Pole speaks of willpower and ambition, the Dutchman speaks of acquiescence and death.
De Volkskrant, 20-10-2017

Musings by Camiel Boomsma is this week the NPO Radio 4 CD of the Week.
NPO Radio4, 09-10-2017