AWC Going Dutch Dec 2018

Credit: NPR & Marco Borggreve
The Dutch Daily
by Eileen Harloff
New Conductor
Historically speaking, it is highly fitting
that the new 26th Music Director of the
New York Philharmonic Orchestra is Dutch
Conductor Jaap van Zweden. His premier
concert took place in October and received
a standing ovation. Born in Amsterdam in
1960, he began his music career at the age
of five when he started playing the violin.
When he was 16, he won the National Violin
Competition and was granted a 2-year
scholarship to study at the Juliard School
of Music, which is adjacent to the home
of the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln
Center. Once back in the Netherlands, at the
age of 18, he became the youngest leader of
the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra.
It was there that he met Guest Conductor
Leonard Bernstein, who encouraged him to
become a conductor, which he subsequently
did. In the following years he has headed
orchestras in many countries around the
world, either on a permanent or a guest basis,
and is considered a “world top” in his
chosen career.
Delft Symphony
NBTC Marketing, whose task is to sell the
Netherlands to the rest of the world, has
chosen “Rembrandt and the Golden Age” as
its theme for 2019, with the aim of attracting
tourists interested in culture. Among the cities
planning special exhibitions and events
are Amsterdam, Middleburg, Dordrecht,
Leiden, The Hague, Haarlem, Hoorn and
Enschede. The city of Delft has chosen to
emphasize its musical side by commissioning
a symphony that would characterize its
unique past, present and future. Its Royal
Wind Orchestra chose the well-known
Belgian composer Kevin Houben, who
some years ago wrote a City Symphony for
the Belgian city of Peer, which had its world
premiere in 2017 by the National Symphony
Orchestra of Belgium. The premiere of the
Delft City Symphony is scheduled for May
2019.
Whistler-Blowers Haven
It’s unique, it’s one of its kind, it’s a place
where people can go for advice and help
who see misdeeds in their workplace or
government department but don’t know
how to report it. And, if they dare to do so,
how to survive the consequences. It’s called
the Huis voor Klokkenluiders (Whistleblowers
House), located in Utrecht, and is
headed by Paul Loven, former member of
the Board of Management of ABN-Amro
bank and pension organization PGGM. The
Huis is an independent organization where
advice, protection, independent investigations,
and even expert psychological help
are available for whistle-blowers. Lobbying
for this organization dates back to 2001, and
to five Dutch Cabinet changes. It can now
show that the long fight has been successfully
concluded.
Almere-Lelystad Wins the Prize
Recently the NS (Netherlands Railroad
Company) asked customers to cast a vote
for what they considered to be the country’s
prettiest railroad journey from a list of
possibilities. Some 4,394 votes were cast.
37% chose the railroad line Almere Central
– Lelystad Central, 25% voted for the line
Sittard-Maastricht, and 17% were in favor
Credit: FlexNieuws
Credit: Florint.org Credit: LelystadGeeftLucht.nl
of Haarlem – Zandvoort aan Zee. The NS
has made an audio tour of the winning line,
available through its app, which tells about
highpoints along the route relating to culture,
nature and history.
Flower Auction Results
Over the past year, some 12 billion flowers
and plants were sold at the Auction Center
Royal Holland in Westland, to the tune of
€ 4.7 billion. The category of Cut Flowers
was, as always, the largest group that was
produced, and accounted for € 2.7 billion.
Room Plants fetched €1.6 billion and
Garden Plants garnered around € 400 million.
On the other hand, sales by way of the traditional
auction clock declined as increasingly
more business was done via direct sales.
Last year 43% of the total turnover was
carried out via the auction clock, with the
remainder 56% through direct buying from
grower to client. This is a trend that has been
growing over past years, and has serious implications
for the Auction Center’s future.
Love at Birds Sight
An ill male parrot was brought into a police
station in The Hague and from there
was transferred to The Hague Animal
Ambulance where he was put in an incubator
to recover. Once he was warmed up and
had a drink of water, he seemed quite chipper.
The following day at approximately the
same spot, a female of the species was spied
and rescued. The two were put together in a
cage where it soon became apparent that the
male was urging the female to eat, and from
time to time he would give her a cuddle.
When she would not react to his advances,
he would make encouraging sounds.
Gradually they became good friends and received
the names of Romeo and Julia. Now
the Animal Ambulance finds that they are in
good health and can be adopted—but only if
they can go together.
In Short
• Groningen is the first city in the
Netherlands to forbid smoking on the
streets, except in designated areas. This
applies not only to cigarettes, but to all
kinds of smoking. The ban was initiated
by requests from various city establishments,
i.e. hospitals, stores, etc. Should
someone smoke in a forbidden area, the
police may be called in to enforce the
ban.
• In anticipation of New Year’s celebrations,
the City of The Hague will
be passing out eye glasses to protect
children in all primary and secondary
school classes, as well as in neighborhood
centers and other places where
young people tend to gather. This follows
a decision taken by the City
Council to urge all schools to give extra
attention to the safe use of fireworks.
• An Albert Heijn grocery store in the
town of Sint-Michielsgestel has initiated
a weekly quiet hour for people
who are susceptible to various stimuli,
such as noise and confusion. Customers
who are autistic, overanxious or suffering
from burn-out or brain damage,
can shop on Tuesday mornings from
8 to 9 a.m. They receive a map of the
store and can shop without experiencing
disturbances such as the ringing of
a cash register or the noise of refilling
bins. Posters at the entrance of the shop
inform customers of this “stimulus-free
hour”.
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DECEMBER 2018 33