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Symphonic Stories

Fay Claassen | Residentie Orkest the Hague

Symphonic Stories

Price: € 19.95
Format: CD
Label: Challenge Records
UPC: 0608917355727
Catnr: CR 73557
Release date: 05 May 2023
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Label
Challenge Records
UPC
0608917355727
Catalogue number
CR 73557
Release date
05 May 2023

"Claassen and co have succeeded in arranging pop, jazz and symphonic music into a symbiotic whole that is always in balance, always swings, always takes you along."

Jazz & Mo', 01-1-2024
Album
Artist(s)
Composer(s)
Press
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DE

About the album

In 2019, the Artistic Director of the Residentie Orkest The Hague, Sven Arne Tepl, invited me to appear as guest soloist in the concert series Symphonic Junction. The Residentie Orkest regularly collaborates with musicians from different musical directions, creating really delightful connections and really special projects.

We explored our common ground and shared musical language in this Symphonic Junction. Despite, or perhaps even because of the fact that I regularly work with big bands and larger ensembles and orchestras, this musical journey proved to be a unique experience. In part, it was due to the special instrumentation and the crossover with classical music. I was also allowed to take my own beloved band along. I’ve been on the road with them since 2018, giving concerts, writing songs and philosophizing about life.

Alongside some beautiful songs by Ennio Morricone, Paul Simon, Burt Bacharach and The Beatles, I was also able to get some of our own music arranged by some of the finest arrangers. It was fortunate indeed to be surrounded by these great artists, including Jörg Achim Keller, Magnus Lindgren, Bob Zimmerman, Ansgar Striepens and, last but not least, Roeland Jacobs!

We were to give a live concert at PAARD in The Hague, but when it was finally decided to live-stream the concert because of the tighter restrictions after the lockdown in winter 2021, the placement of the orchestra and the band was quite unusual. We were sort of opposite each other, with the conductor, Joost Geevers, in the middle and myself beside him. This meant we were sort of playing to each other! The concert was broadcast in the autumn of 2022 on TV West.
2019 hat mich der künstlerische Leiter des Residentie Orkest Den Haag, Sven Arne Tepl, eingeladen, als Gastsolistin in der Konzertreihe Symphonic Junction aufzutreten. Das Residentie Orkest arbeitet regelmäßig mit Musikern aus verschiedenen Musikrichtungen zusammen, wodurch wirklich reizvolle Verbindungen und ganz besondere Projekte entstehen.
In dieser Symphonic Junction haben wir unsere Gemeinsamkeiten und unsere gemeinsame musikalische Sprache erkundet. Trotz oder gerade wegen der Tatsache, dass ich regelmäßig mit Big Bands und größeren Ensembles und Orchestern arbeite, war diese musikalische Reise eine einzigartige Erfahrung. Das lag zum Teil an der besonderen Instrumentierung und dem Crossover mit der klassischen Musik. Außerdem durfte ich meine eigene geliebte Band mitnehmen. Mit ihnen bin ich seit 2018 unterwegs, gebe Konzerte, schreibe Songs und philosophiere über das Leben.
Neben wunderschönen Songs von Ennio Morricone, Paul Simon, Burt Bacharach und den Beatles konnte ich auch einige unserer eigenen Stücke von einigen der besten Arrangeure arrangieren lassen. Es war ein großes Glück, von diesen großartigen Künstlern umgeben zu sein, darunter Jörg Achim Keller, Magnus Lindgren, Bob Zimmerman, Ansgar Striepens und, last but not least, Roeland Jacobs!
Wir sollten ein Live-Konzert im PAARD in Den Haag geben, aber als schließlich beschlossen wurde, das Konzert aufgrund der strengeren Auflagen nach der Abriegelung im Winter 2021 live zu übertragen, war die Platzierung des Orchesters und der Band recht ungewöhnlich. Wir standen uns sozusagen gegenüber, mit dem Dirigenten Joost Geevers in der Mitte und mir neben ihm. Das bedeutete, dass wir gewissermaßen für einander spielten! Das Konzert wurde im Herbst 2022 auf TV West ausgestrahlt.

Artist(s)

Fay Claassen (vocals)

Fay Claassen (vocals) Fay recorded her own albums together with many international musicians such as Mike Stern, Kenny Werner, Toots Thielemands, and she was invited as soloist for many CD recordings by the WDR Big Band, Bob Brookmeyers New Art Orchestra, the Millennium Jazz Orchestra and the Danish Radio Big Band. She cooperated with well known conducters and arrangers such as Jim Mc Neely, Vince Mendoza and Michael Abene. Fay was rewarded with The Golden Record for her double album Two Portraits of Chet Baker. Jazz Times USA wrote about this cd: ’An Astonishing Album’, Down Beat: ‘A mega-production with extremely solo contributions’. In the Winners Poll of All About Jazz USA the album was proclaimed as ‘Best Vocal Album of the...
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Fay Claassen (vocals) Fay recorded her own albums together with many international musicians such as Mike Stern, Kenny Werner, Toots Thielemands, and she was invited as soloist for many CD recordings by the WDR Big Band, Bob Brookmeyers New Art Orchestra, the Millennium Jazz Orchestra and the Danish Radio Big Band.
She cooperated with well known conducters and arrangers such as Jim Mc Neely, Vince Mendoza and Michael Abene. Fay was rewarded with The Golden Record for her double album Two Portraits of Chet Baker. Jazz Times USA wrote about this cd: ’An Astonishing Album’, Down Beat: ‘A mega-production with extremely solo contributions’.
In the Winners Poll of All About Jazz USA the album was proclaimed as ‘Best Vocal Album of the Year’. Moreover, for other albums Fay received a Grammy longlistnomination and an Edison Award. In 2011 her succesfully cd SING! with the WDR Big Band and the WDR Rundfunk Orchester conducted and arranged by Michael Abene was presented. As guest soloist Fay was often invited by the Metropole Orkest and Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw. Her effortless skill of improvisation not only brought her on stages in Europe, but also in Japan, China and the U.S.A.
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Residentie Orkest The Hague

Residentie Orkest The Hague proves that even in the 21st century, symphonic music can still be meaningful to large and diverse audiences. Its reputation as one of the finest orchestras in Europe makes it an appropriate figurehead for The Hague as a cosmopolitan city of justice, peace, and culture. The orchestra performs concert series in the Zuiderstrandtheater in Scheveningen and in addition performs at venues such as Concertgebouw Amsterdam, TivoliVredenburg Utrecht and De Doelen in Rotterdam. Special crossover and innovative productions are also provided at The Hague’s prominent pop venue Paard van Troje throughout the season. The Residentie Orkest performs regularly at various other major concert halls abroad. Tours have brought the orchestra to New York, Boston, Chicago, London and...
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Residentie Orkest The Hague proves that even in the 21st century, symphonic music can still be meaningful to large and diverse audiences. Its reputation as one of the finest orchestras in Europe makes it an appropriate figurehead for The Hague as a cosmopolitan city of justice, peace, and culture. The orchestra performs concert series in the Zuiderstrandtheater in Scheveningen and in addition performs at venues such as Concertgebouw Amsterdam, TivoliVredenburg Utrecht and De Doelen in Rotterdam. Special crossover and innovative productions are also provided at The Hague’s prominent pop venue Paard van Troje throughout the season. The Residentie Orkest performs regularly at various other major concert halls abroad. Tours have brought the orchestra to New York, Boston, Chicago, London and Vienna amongst others and the orchestra also performed in countries like Japan, China, Germany, France and South America. There are also many prolific collaborations with a wide range of partners, including the Dutch National Theatre, Gemeentemuseum and the Dutch National Opera. Recent seasons have seen a much acclaimed production of Messiaen’s rarely performed opera Saint François d’Asisse and Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites.

A rich history Since its first concert in 1904, the Residentie Orkest has developed into one of the prominent symphony orchestras of The Netherlands. Founded by Dr Henri Viotta, who was also its first principal conductor, it quickly attracted composers like Richard Strauss, Igor Stravinsky, Max Reger, Maurice Ravel, Paul Hindemith and Vincent d’Indy. Guest conductors included Arturo Toscanini, Bruno Walter, Leonard Bernstein and Hans Knappertsbusch.

After World War II, Willem van Otterloo was appointed chief conductor. He led the orchestra from 1949 to 1973 and built a strong reputation by combining high-quality performances with adventurous programming. Van Otterloo was succeeded by Jean Martinon, Ferdinand Leitner, Hans Vonk, Evgenii Svetlanov, Jaap van Zweden and Neeme Järvi.

Chief conductor Starting season 2018/2019 Nicholas Collon is chief conductor and artistic advisor of the Residentie Orkest. Richard Egarr will join the orchestra as principal guest conductor in 2019. Until the summer of 2019 Jan Willem de Vriend will act as principal conductor.


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Joost Geevers (conductor)

Karel Boehlee (piano)

Karel Boehlee is perhaps Holland's best-kept secret. I remember hearing him play in the early eighties, when I just returned from the United States. He was the first pianist of this kind of modern class I had ever heard in Holland. And on what level! Over the years Karel has improved and improved. The lines became more thoughtful, the harmony more precise; the rhythm was always very strong, but became larger, more in the pocket. Yet underneath all these ingredients there was always something more powerful: the sound! Karel's sound is unique; his touch just seems to reach you right in the centre of where music enters the soul. With impeccable taste Karel will always come up with something fresh,...
more
Karel Boehlee is perhaps Holland's best-kept secret. I remember hearing him play in the early eighties, when I just returned from the United States. He was the first pianist of this kind of modern class I had ever heard in Holland. And on what level! Over the years Karel has improved and improved. The lines became more thoughtful, the harmony more precise; the rhythm was always very strong, but became larger, more in the pocket. Yet underneath all these ingredients there was always something more powerful: the sound! Karel's sound is unique; his touch just seems to reach you right in the centre of where music enters the soul. With impeccable taste Karel will always come up with something fresh, something his own and makes it sound so good.
So why is he a well kept secret? Well, Karel is a real player; he simply loves to go out and play. He will play with his old pals in little cafés, he will play with young and upcoming musicians, he will play with the best pop singers. Karel is a musician at heart. And the business doesn't know how to deal with this. The business wants exclusivity, wants to put a label on someone, wants an image. And somehow Karel is not playing that game. He is not chasing record deals; he is not showing his face at the right spots at the right time, he doesn't search for journalists to do interviews with him. He is busy doing what a musician should do: play music! It takes people with a broader outlook to recognise Karel's sublimity. He has recorded seven CD's for a Japanese label; they keep coming back. Karel is the favourite pianist of the legendary Toots Thielemans. Karel is loved by wonderful Dutch pop singer Trijntje Oosterhuis, who will seek him out whenever there is a chance. Real people know that behind this humble appearance a great pianist is residing.
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Peter Tiehuis (guitar)

Peter Tiehuis (1956) combined a classical study at the Conservatory of Twente in Enschede, a jazz study at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague with an extensive stage experience in rock and blues bands which enabled him to play almost any kind of music. He is a member the Metropole Orchestra since 1996.
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Peter Tiehuis (1956) combined a classical study at the Conservatory of Twente in Enschede, a jazz study at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague with an extensive stage experience in rock and blues bands which enabled him to play almost any kind of music. He is a member the Metropole Orchestra since 1996.

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Theo de Jong (double bass)

Composer(s)

Press

Claassen and co have succeeded in arranging pop, jazz and symphonic music into a symbiotic whole that is always in balance, always swings, always takes you along.
Jazz & Mo', 01-1-2024

...the whole thing adds up to a production that you can play from beginning to end and listen to repeatedly, without any weak spots. The well-balanced collaboration between orchestra, singer and band is particularly successful. The instrumental solos are much more than short riffs between the vocals, and each musician is given the time to express themselves. The arrangements are so interwoven into the whole that it is difficult to say in a blind test whether this is a band, an orchestra or a star singer.
Jazznu.com, 05-9-2023

Claassen's multicolored voice rises above the solid wind parts with playful ease and in calmer waters the orchestra gives the singer all the space to tell her musical story.
Nederlands Dagblad, 11-8-2023

The bigger the orchestra, the better Claassen sings, it seems. Her great timing and scat skills flourish here in compositions of her own or those of her husband, saxophonist Paul Heller.
De Volkskrant, 01-6-2023

In the last song, her exuberant scat solo blends beautifully with the rich sound of the symphony orchestra.
Jazzbulletin, 01-6-2023

Fay sings the pieces sovereignly, with the help of pianist Karel Boehlee, guitarist Peter Tiehuis, bassist Theo de Jong and drummer Jasper van Hulten.
Jazzism, 01-6-2023

Fay is so good at scatting. What a voice, what ease, what agility, what a musicality! Super solos by the rhythm section. Special chorus of the entire 'band' with a good timing!
Klassieke Zaken, 01-6-2023

... At the beginning Fay Claassen simply does her thing to loud horns and a tight drum pulse; stringent, tough and variable, until the hammer guitar of Peter Tiehuis chases away the last remnants of lethargy...
Jazzthing, 24-5-2023

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