Artist(s)

Cécile Huijnen studied with Davina van Wely and Jaap van Zweden, and won many prizes from a young age. For example, in 1987, she won first prize of the Oskar Back Violin Competition together with the Bading Award. In 1990 she graduated cum laude, also receiving the Nicolai Award and the Fock Medal, while being appointed first concert master of the Netherlands Ballet Orchestra.

Since 2000, Cécile Huijnen is related to the same function for The Arnhem Philharmonic Orchestra. Furthermore, she is also a highly sought-after international guest concert master for orchestras such as the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, The Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, The Residence Orchestra, The Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, The Sydney Symphony Orchestra, L’Orquestra de Camara de Cadaques led by Sir Neville Marriner, and Symfonica Toscanini led by Lorin Maazel. Also, she leads her own chamber music programs with Het Gelders Orkest, with repertoire from the Baroque up to the 20th Century.

As a soloist, Cécile Huijnen profiled herself with late-romantic violin concertos such as Strawinsky, Barber, Gershwin, Shostakovich, and Korngold, but also enjoys stepping out to the more classical and romantic repertoire, such as Mozart’s Concertante, the Grand Duo Concertant by Bottesini with double bass player Rick Stotijn, and Brahms’ Double Concerto with cellist Gary Hoffman.

By working closely together with many different disciplines such as dance, theater, and chamber music ensembles, in combination with her profession as concert master, Cécile Huijnen takes great inspiration from the widest possible musical repertoire. She is always in search of new challenges and adores to keep on extending her musical boundaries.

Since her many collaborations with choreographers such as Jirí Kylían and Paul Lightfoot, Cécile regularly embarks on national and international tours with the Netherlands Dance Theater as a soloist. Also tours with many widely recognized and highly valued Baroque and modern-oriented ensembles took her all across the globe.

Since 2013, Cécile Huijnen forms a recital duo with accordionist Marieke Hopman, with whom she arranges and edits mostly romantic repertoire into unique versions for their very extraordinary combination of instruments.

Lastly, Cécile Huijnen works as a coach for the Netherlands Youth Orchestra, as a member of the jury for the Princess Christina Competition, as an individual audition trainer, and as a guest panel member of the recurring radio show Discotabel on Radio 4.

Marieke Hopman is one of the foremost accordionists in The Netherlands. In 2004, she received her Bachelor’s Degree for accordion at the Rotterdam Conservatory, and in the same year received a Bachelor’s Degree for piano at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. In May 2009, she graduated summa cum laude for a Master’s Degree in accordion with Geir Draugsvoll at The Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen.

As an accordionist, Marieke Hopman acquired ample experience with solo and chamber repertoire in The Netherlands and abroad. During the outdoor concert on the Museumplein, she played with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. At the yearly concert in the Royal Palace of The Netherlands, she also performed Mauricio Kagel’s famous Tango Alemán with the composer himself, for Her Majesty the Queen.

At the Gergiev Festival, Marieke Hopman has played in Amsterdam, Antwerp, London and Vienna with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Valery Gergiev. As a soloist, she also performed with the Nieuw Ensemble, the Asko- Schönberg Ensemble, and with Orkest De Ereprijs. Furthermore, she has also played in various musical theater productions. For the last five years, she has been artistic director of the music theater company !YNX.

Many original compositions were written for Marieke Hopman. She works frequently with prominent contemporary composers such as Martijn Padding, David Dramm, Chiel Meijering, Anke Brouwer, Janco Verduin, and Seung- Ah Oh. In 2010, she started her own foundation Tasty Fingers to promote the instrument in its broadest way possible, and to support the accordion as a professional instrument. In 2012 she presented her first solo cd including pieces from J.S. Bach, G. Frescobaldi and W. Rihm.

Marieke Hopman is also part of accordion quartet Big House, where a strong collaboration with contemporary composers and their music forms the ultimate starting point. Furthermore, since 2013, she works together in a recitalduo with violinist Cécile Huijnen, concert master of The Arnhem Philharmonic Orchestra.

From 2010 to 2015, Marieke Hopman was principle tutor accordion at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. From 2015, she is principle tutor accordion at the Conservatory of Amsterdam and artistic leader of the Bach Festival Dordrecht. Marieke plays on an accordion by Pigini Nòva.

Composer(s)

Press

This disc provided me with sufficient enjoyment.
Fanfare, 28-5-2020

Huijnen & Hopman is a successful musical team.
Fanfare, 03-4-2020

Virtuoso and grand, but also subtle and modest.
Luister, 17-1-2020

We live in such an individualistic world, in which everyone likes to use his smart phone or do something on their own. We think that music is the connecting factor in this. To bring people together and to have a conversation with each other. We are really looking for a connection with the public.
Luister, 08-11-2019