report 2009 - Grieg Society

Reports of the Dutch Grieg Foundation-the Grieg Stichting Nederland
On Saturday 3 November 2007 our foundation, which was founded in 2002,
organized an interesting GriegCentennial Day under the motto „Grieg and
friendship‟ which took place in Groningen. This day became also the
opening of the Dutch national music week called „rather live!‟ in which a
lot of the most important classical podia in Holland participated in
wanting to make the classical music more popular and exciting.
The program opened with a successful recital by the Grieg Pianoduo which
played fourhanded works by Julius Röntgen, Percy Grainger, and from
Edvard Grieg the Dutch première of his well-known piano concerto in a
version for four hands on one piano. Percy Grainger played this concerto
with the then called Groninger Muziek Vereeniging in 1910 live in
Groningen in his „Grieg version‟.
The Storioni Trio gave a fascinating public master class with two
different young piano trio‟s formed by students of the Music Academies in
Zwolle and Groningen. The public was amazed to experience such a quick
artistic transfiguration of the trio‟s in no time by the instant artistic
and technical indications of the three members which form one of the best
Dutch piano trio‟s at the moment. Of course Grieg‟s Piano trio/
„Satz‟ was within the standard repertoire as well as works from other
composers.
A delicious „snack in between‟ was the reading of dr. Jurjen Vis, the
biographer of Julius Röntgen! It concerned this time the long-term
friendship of Röntgen with Grieg in which all kinds of nice anecdotes
concerning this relation passed the revue. Jurjen Vis is a captivating
narrator.
Afterwards the members of the Storioni Trio gave in a splendid manner
„acte-de-présence‟ in three piano trio‟s, the one by Grieg, Brahms‟ c
minor trio, and Röntgen‟s rather unknown c minor piano trio, which they
recently recorded. Excellent teamwork although to my opinion there could
have been some more pip in their interpretations of this passionate
music. All these activities were illustrated with selling of Griegiana
and a small exhibition on Grieg‟s life.
And if one could not get enough yet there was the famous Norwegian
pianist Håkon Austbø still in the evening to play Grieg‟s piano concerto
in the original version with the North Netherlands Symphony Orchestra.
Grieg‟s work had been placed between music of Wagner and Ives. A
classical music after party afterwards for everyone decided this
memorable Grieg day!
In November 2008 we co-operated with the University of Groningen in the
organization of a short master class for two young female singers and a
splendid concert given by the eminent Norwegian singer NjåI Sparbo and
pianist Einar Røttingen in works by the Norwegian composer Geir Tveitt
and the Norwegian poet Olav H. Hauge. 2008 was also a Tveitt and Hauge
remembrance year! This was an interesting artistic contribution to a two
days lasting international symposium on “Cultural Transfer and Minor
Language Areas” organized by the University‟s department for Scandinavian
Cultures and languages. In this project Norwegian language students and
singing students worked close together.

At the end of November 2008 The Dutch Grieg Foundation gave its musical
support to the two year Amy van Marken prize giving for the best
Scandinavian translation into Dutch by the Lenora Christina Foundation.
This year it was the translation of the Swedish Bellmann songs by Bertie
van der Meij which was awarded by an international jury.
The Grieg Stichting Nederland consists of two board members and as you
may guess our foundation can‟t be that active all the time as it should
be in this way. Next to the master classes and concerts that we organize
in the light of Grieg‟s works and personality in the broadest sense, we
would like to put more emphasis on research and with this on
publications.
We are aiming to reorganize our board and to do this properly it would be
good to use and undersign a new official Code Cultural Governance for
cultural foundations and organizations in the Netherlands. Unfortunately
the Dutch Röntgen Foundation has been abolished in 2007 because of their
success, as they say. Maybe we could have a conjunction with what is left
of this Röntgen club, but anyhow we have to undertake research in
possible co-operations with other structural better financed and bigger
cultural organizations in the Netherlands, not only to guarantee a firm
continuation line with its required financial needs, but also to give a
broader national impact to our foundation.
Happy to be in Berlin, not in the least to congratulate the Grieg board
and the organization in Berlin in the person of Herr Professor Dinslage
with this International Grieg Conference now taking place in Berlin in
2009, I want to thank you for inviting me and letting me take part in all
this interesting research, exchanging of knowledge, and experiences in
the light of Edvard Grieg!
©Siebert Nix 2009
Grieg Stichting Nederland
griegstichtingnederland@home.nl