DVD 2
Theo Loevendie
Pierre Bismuth
Strawberry Frog
 

 

 


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Theo Loevendie (1930, The Netherlands) lives and works in Amsterdam

Having little affinity with serialism, Theo Loevendie at first sought and found his way in jazz. As a composer/improviser (on soprano and alto saxophone) and leader of the Theo Loevendie Consort he became one of The Netherlands most prominent jazz musicians, his success spreading to other countries as well. A belated entrance into the realm of art-music came in 1968 with the composition Scaramuccia for clarinet and orchestra. Since then he has become a composer whose work has achieved wide recognition and is performed all over the world. He has won many awards.
Loevendie tries to avoid all dogmas of a political, social or musicological nature as these would deflect the composer from the path marked out by his intuition. He has never propagated any ideology that would influence his composing, let alone dictate the rules. This attitude also determines Loevendies point of view regarding tradition and innovation. He says: "Traditions, in my view the many musical traditions that have graced humanity, are valuable because each artist stands, so to speak, on the shoulders of his predecessors to reach greater heights. Innovation is an inevitable and usually unintentional by-product of creative personalities who add something new to the existent. Innovation as an ideology, just like conservatism, is a sign of stagnation." Loevendie has been a professor at The Royal Conservatory in the Hague since 1988 and at the Amsterdam Conservatory since 1995.

Musicians
Percussion: Johan Faber
Harpsichord:Thora Johansen
Sound engineering: Reynir Thor Finnbogason & Kristin Waage

 

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