Ciconia – The Hague String Orchestra
Dick van Gasteren, conductor
Bram van Sambeek, bassoon
Concerts
Programme
TERESA CARREÑO (1853-1917) – Andante uit strijkersserenade (Venezuela)
ENNIO MORRICONE (1928-2020) – Gabriel’s Oboe from The Mission (Bolivia)
HEITOR VILLA-LOBOS (1887 – 1959) – Ciranda das Sete Notas voor fagot en strijkers (Brazilië)
HEITOR VILLA-LOBOS (1887 – 1959) – Bachianas Brasileiras no. 9 (Brazilië)
ASTOR PIAZZOLLA (1921-1992) – Tango Ballet (Argentinië)
ALBERTO GINASTERA (1916-1983) – Concerto for Strings, opus 33 (Argentinië)
ARTURO MÁRQUEZ (geb. 1950) – Danzón no.2 (Mexico)
Ciconia – The Hague String Orchestra takes you on an exhilarating musical journey into the soul of South America. From Tales to Tango is a concert filled with melancholy, rhythm and fire.
Master bassoonist Bram van Sambeek shines in Morricone’s moving Gabriel’s Oboe. The piece is best known from the film The Mission, which depicts how Jesuits introduced Spanish and Portuguese music to South America. This music was embraced by Indigenous communities and enriched with African rhythms and local traditions, giving rise to dance forms such as the danzón, milonga and tango. With the fiery and lyrical music of Piazzolla, Ginastera and Márquez, Ciconia presents a richly varied concert filled with stories, history and passion. Music that is not only meant to be heard, but deeply felt.
Documentary El Sistema
Prior to the concert on Saturday, October 10 at the Nieuwe Kerk in The Hague, an impressive documentary about the Venezuelan music education model ‘El Sistema’ will be shown at 5:00 PM during the pre-program. In this, conductor Dick van Gasteren shares his experiences as guest conductor of the world-renowned Orquesta Simón Bolívar and as a teacher at the Conservatorio Itinerante de Venezuela.
The pre-program also takes place at the Nieuwe Kerk and can be added as a supplement ticket for €5 when ordering your tickets.
Bram van Sambeek, bassoon
With his groundbreaking projects and exceptional dedication, Bram van Sambeek is regarded as one of today’s most influential ambassadors for the bassoon. In 2009, he received the prestigious Dutch Music Prize, awarded following his solo performance of Gubaidulina’s Bassoon Concerto with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra.
As a soloist, Van Sambeek has also performed with ensembles including the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Galicia Symphony Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Württembergisches Kammerorchester and Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra.
As an orchestral musician, he spent ten years as principal bassoonist of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and has appeared as a guest musician with leading ensembles such as the London Symphony Orchestra, Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra of Europe.
Van Sambeek is also a frequent chamber musician, performing with artists including Alexei Ogrintchouk, Radovan Vlatković, Liza Ferschtman, Pekka Kuusisto, Nicolas Altstaedt and his long-standing chamber music partner Rick Stotijn. He is a regular guest at festivals in the Netherlands and abroad. His musical interests extend well beyond classical music: he has performed with rock musicians such as Sven Figee at the Konzerthaus Berlin, jazz musicians including Joris Roelofs at the North Sea Jazz Festival, and Arab musicians such as Kinan Azmeh at the Morgenland Festival.
His wide-ranging musical interests are also reflected in his recordings, which range from a solo Bach album to an album of favourite rock songs with his band ORBI. In 2018, he received a BBC Music Magazine Award for his recording of new bassoon concertos written for him by Sebastian Fagerlund and Kalevi Aho.
Since 2009, Van Sambeek has held teaching positions at the conservatoires of Rotterdam, Amsterdam, The Hague and Cologne, where he has taught since 2017. In 2021, he returned to The Hague as a professor at the Royal Conservatoire. He also gives masterclasses at institutions including Indiana University Bloomington, the Royal College of Music in London and the Hochschule für Musik in Basel.