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A Little Night Music

Thu 16 May 2024 - 19:30 - BBC Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff

Celestial, sparking lights glitter in this evening of ground-breaking music.

Programme
Gabriel Fauré, Pelleas and Melisande – suite
Stephen McNeff The Celestial Stranger (World Premiere)
Arnold Schoenberg Verklärte Nacht (orchestral version)

Performers

• BBC National Orchestra of Wales  Jac van Steen, conductor
• Gavan Ring. Tenor

BBC NOW 2023-24 Season BBC Hoddinott Hall

Thu 11 Apr 2024 & Fri 12 Apr 2024 - 19:30

Enigma Variations
BBC Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff
Striking a balance between the lighthearted and the noble, Elgar's Enigma Variations is an ingenious collection of musical sketches of his friends and an astute self-portrait.

Programme
Grace Williams Sea Sketches
William Mathias Concerto for Harp
Edward Elgar'Enigma' Variations

Performers
+  BBC National Orchestra of Wales
+ Jac van Steen, conductor
+ Catrin Finch, harp

SOLD OUT

Turangalîla with Jac van Steen

Described by the composer himself as ‘superhuman, overflowing, blinding, and unlimited’, _Turangalîla_ is a ten-movement work that encapsulates all manner of musical styles. From the driving rhythms of the vast percussion section to the ghostly sounds of the ondes Martenot, and from striking brass fanfares to virtuosic piano cadenzas, _Turangalîla_ is a tour de force that truly engages the senses. Under the baton of acclaimed conductor Jac van Steen, musicians from the world’s number one institution for performing arts showcase their extraordinary talent in this thrilling concert.

Royal Festival Hall London

Wednesday 1st May 2024 @ 8:30pm

Tivoli          Vredenburg          Utrecht        Grote zaal

Honarary Principal Guest Conductor

The contribution that Jac van Steen has mede tot he resurgence of the Ulster Orchestra cannot ne understated. In honour of Jac’s absolute commitment we have offered him a new title of Honarary Principal Guest Conductor from next season. This will be his last concert as Principal Guest Conductor after 6 seasons; we ar forever grateful for the great concerts he has conducted, and for many to come in future years.

Tonight, Jac brings with him the outstanding Dutch pianist Hannes Minnaar, another of the many briljant young artist that he has championed down the years. Hannes will perform the Schumann Piano Concerto, written fort he composer’s soon-to-be wife Clara, who was also a noted composer and close friend (as they both ware) of Brahms.

You always know that a programma of Jac’s will be intelligently and creatively conceived, like a perfectly proportioned meal. His combination of Wagner, Schumann and Dvorák is simple, clear and perfect, an evening for us al lto savour. The Dvorák symphony is less well known then the three that follow; however it deserves its place along those extraordinary works. The famous third movement couls stand alone as one of his outstanding dances. Thanks again Jac for all you have done, and will continue to do, with the Ulster Orchestra.

Our next subscription concert on Friday 13 March features Anu Tali, a conductor who has the grapevine humming in orchestras across the world; we have the opportunity to hear her early in her career and I thoroughly recomment his concert to you all.

Richard Wigley
Managing Director
Ulster Orchestra

Chronicle of the Ulster Orchestra, February 2020

Chetham's Symphony Orchestra: Bruckner

Chetham's Symphony Orchestra has 'an outstanding international reputation as one of the finest young orchestras in the world'. Sit amongst the musicians of Chetham’s Symphony Orchestra and be guided through the process of preparing Bruckner’s monumental 6th Symphony by our Director of Music, Tom Redmond and guest conductor Jac van Steen – a world renowned interpreter of Bruckner. With excerpts, insights from players and even a motet or two, this will be the perfect introduction to the symphony before we perform it ......

at The Bridgewater Hall on Friday 3 July 2020.

Wed 11/3/2020 19:30                    Municipal House – Smetana Hall

Programme:
Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 6 in A minor “Tragic”

In 2014, FOK set off on a long pilgrimage with Jac van Steen, FOK’s principal guest conductor. A monumental, Mahlerian journey. They have stopped at the Fourth, Second, Third, Ninth and now from a distance we can see the Sixth shining at us. It is called Tragic, although Mahler wrote it at a very happy period of his life; he married Alma and their second daughter Anna Justina was born. The Sixth with monumental instrumentation that includes cowbells and a mysterious hammer comes just in time, as Mahler commented: “My Sixth will be asking riddles that can be solved only by a generation that have received my first five symphonies, and digested them…”

Expected end of the concert: 21:00
Concert has no interval.

Cardiff International Academy of Conducting
with Jac Van Steen
08 - 11 Jun, 2020

Course focusing on selections from the Mozart/Da Ponte Operas and Mozart, Symphony no. 38 'Prague'. Places for 10 active participants and unlimited observers. Participants work in rehearsal and concert with a high level UK professional chamber orchestra and singers from the prestigious Wales International Academy of Voice.

Participants receive professional quality video and audio of all sessions.

Closing date: 10 Apr 2020
Visit website

Chetham's Symphony Orchestra: Bruckner Symphony No. 6

Sit amongst the musicians of Chetham’s Symphony Orchestra and be guided through the process of preparing Bruckner’s monumental 6th Symphony by our Director of Music, Tom Redmond and guest conductor Jac van Steen – a world renowned interpreter of Bruckner. With excerpts, insights from players and even a motet or two, this will be the perfect introduction to the symphony before we perform it at The Bridgewater Hall on Friday 3 July.

A Cambridge University Musical Society concert

Saturday, 15 February 2020 - 8.00pm GMT

Open to:  Public (open to all)

Rachmaninov’s masterwork is combined with Dvorák’s spellbinding Notturno for Strings and Smetana’s hymn to his Czech homeland, Má Vlast. Má Vlast (My Fatherland) viscerally depicts the grandeur of ancient kings and warriors, every twist and turn of the mighty river Vltava, the depths of Bohemia’s forests and its magnificent castles.

Under the masterful direction of Dutch maestro Jac van Steen, prize-winning pianist Churen Li (Wolfson) and Cambridge University Orchestra are sure to provide a breathtaking evening.

Featuring

• Cambridge University Orchestra
• Conductor Jac van Steen
• Churen Li, piano - Cambridge University Musical Society Concerto Competition 2019 Winner

Oxford Town HallOxford, South-East, OX1 1BX, United Kingdom on Friday 11 October 2019 at 19:30

This event is part of the 2019 Oxford Lieder Festival. Thrilling orchestral songs with two top singers; BBC National Orchestra of Wales with the leading Dutch conductor Jac van Steen; songs of myths, legends and Nordic landscapes: a spectacular opening-night concert in the splendour of Oxford’s Town Hall.

Music by Schubert includes part of the incidental music of Rosamunde, as well as songs from mythology including ‘Prometheus’ and ‘Erlkönig’, in orchestrations by Berlioz, Brahms and Reger. BBC NOW also performs the first of Grieg’s Peer Gynt suites, with the hair-raising ‘In the Hall of the Mountain King’, alongside songs from Peer Gynt including the haunting ‘Solveig’s Song’. The programme also features Sibelius’s masterful tone-poem for soprano and orchestra, Luonnotar, setting texts from the Kalevala.

Work with the best

• Sir Mark Elder (The Hallé)
• Jac van Steen (Ulster Orchestra)
• Ruth Rogers (London Mozart Players)•David Hill (BBC Singers)
• Garry Walker (Rheinische Philharmonie Koblenz)
• Henning Kraggerud (Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra)
• Markus Stenz (Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra)
• Sir George Benjamin, Tansy Davies, Mark-Anthony Turnage,
• Thea Musgrave, Kaija Saariaho

Hear My country for the first time with the main guest conductor of the Prague Symphony Orchestra, Jac van Steen. It is always interesting how foreign conductors approach My Country; it's different, it's inspiring!

Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO)

28 september om 15:17 ·

Pre-concert talk by Maestro Jac van Steen and Naohisa Furusawa. Come and join them tomorrow at 2.00pm

Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra brings back classical Italian masterpieces

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 19 — The Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) is set to spellbind audience with masterpieces inspired by all things Italian at Dewan Filharmonik Petronas (DFP) next week. The MPO will present Capriccio Italien written by Russian composer Tchaikovsky during the winter months of 1880 in Italy.

The repertoire will also include Inferno from Dante Symphony composed by Liszt based on his interest in literary themes. This symphonic poem has vivid evocations of howling winds and shrieks of tortured souls of a tragic love affair. Harold in Italy, a Frenchman’s recollection of his wanderings in Italy, will close the concerts. Written by Berlioz between 1833 and 1834, it highlights the solo viola as an actual person retaining the same character throughout the work. The composer gave it as a setting of the poetic impressions of his trip to the Abruzzi Mountains.

The showcases will feature the debut of Lawrence Power, one of today’s foremost violists, who is also in demand worldwide as a recitalist, orchestra soloist and chamber partner. A regular guest artist with orchestras from Chicago, Boston, Stockholm, Bergen and the UK, Power’s artistry gains him constant plaudits around the world. He is a fervent champion of contemporary music and has developed a large repertoire of new works.

His numerous recordings have been nominated for and won awards including at the Grammys.

Conductor Jac van Steen will return to the DFP podium to steer magic on the MPO after his last appearance in 2018 for the MPO’s 20th anniversary Gala Concerts collaborating with local pianist Tengku Irfan. Explore the cultural life of Italy through music on September 28 and 29 at 8.30pm and 3pm respectively.

By Milad Hassandarvich

De Nederlandse maestro Jac van Steen dirigeert Smetana.
(© Tilman Abegg)

Opera in de zomer: Garsington Opera

Van het groene gras in Glyndebourne tot de Alpenpieken van Verbier, van het hete Aix-en-Provence tot het koele Bregenzer water: het seizoen van de operafestivals staat weer voor de deur. In een tiendelige serie blikken we vooruit. Deel 2: Garsington Opera.

Vogelvlucht

De Nederlandse maestro Jac van Steen dirigeert Smetana. (© Tilman Abegg)

Garsington Opera heeft wel wat weg van Glyndebourne. Net als dat veel beroemdere collega-festival op het Britse eiland vindt Garsington plaats op een landgoed, de Wormsley Estate, en is het de bedoeling dat bezoekers niet alleen opera genieten, maar ook de tijd nemen voor de groene geneugten rondom de bühne.

Dit jaar vindt Garsington Opera plaats van 29 mei tot en met 26 juli. Er zijn vier operaproducties – The Bartered Bride, Don Giovanni, Fantasio en The Turn of the Screw – en barokorkest The English Concert komt op bezoek voor een paar uitvoeringen van Monteverdi’s vespers uit 1610.

De in Nederland niet onbekende sopraan Jennifer France zingt de hoofdrol in Offenbachs komedie Fantasio, een werk dat op dit moment te zien is bij Opera Zuid. Brittens opera The Turn of the Screw is bezet met bekende namen als Ed Lyon en Sophie Bevan. Jonathan McGovern zingt de rol van Mozarts rokkenjager Don Giovanni.

Onze keuze

Het festival opent met een nieuwe productie van The Bartered Bride. Paul Curran maakt de enscenering van Smetana’s opera over een vrouw die veel obstakels moet overwinnen om de man te huwen van wie ze echt houdt. Dans staat centraal in de productie; Darren Royston is verantwoordelijk voor de choreografie. Natalya Romaniw zingt de hoofdrol van Mařenka.

Op de bok bij deze productie staat de Nederlandse dirigent Jac van Steen. Van Steen kwam reeds twee keer eerder ook in actie in Garsington, toen leidde hij  Intermezzo (Strauss, 2015) en  Pelléas et Mélisande.(Debussy, 2017)

Jordi Kooiman / operamagazine.nl / 23 mei 2019

Impression Philharmonia & the Cast Bartered Bride

Cast The Bartered Bride, Garsington Opera         May-July 2019

Left to right: Jack Ridley , assistant cond. ;Darren Royston - Dance-coach; Rosy - assistant director; Heather Ship - Ludmilla; Peter Savage - Krusina
Fran Hills - repetiteur ; Paul Curran ; Stuart Jackson - Vasek;

Joshua Bloom - Kecal; Jeffrey LLoyd -Roberts - Principal ; Anne Marie Owens - Hata; Brendan Gunnel - Jenik; Lada Valesova - Language coach ;
Jac van Steen ; Natalya Romaniv - Marenka ; Lara Muller - Esmeralda .

        Afternoon Tea with Jac van Steen

Level 3 Foyer, Symphony Hall

Wednesday 20 March, 4.15pm

Join fellow members post-concert for a delicious Afternoon Tea where Jac van Steen is guest. After tea, Jac will partake in a short interview about his week with the CBSO and what other projects he is working on.

         BBC NOW: Jac van Steen conducts Mozart

                19:30 Fri 10 May 2019 Brangwyn Hall, Swansea

Beethoven and Bartók match each other in visceral energy in the first half. Beethoven’s overture is driven by the internal conflict and grand struggle of its Shakespearean hero, while Bartók, undimmed by illness and exile, displays his passion for his homeland and the Old World. Mozart brings the power of his operatic writing to his penultimate symphony, a masterclass in tension and release.

NORWEGIAN NATIONAL OPERA

JAC VAN STEEN conducting PUCCINI / SUOR ANGELICA

Première 9 FEB 2019

Sophie Bevan, Hanna Hipp & Joshua Bloom Highlight Garsington Opera’s 30th Anniversary Season

Garsington Opera has announced its 30th anniversary season, which is set to include four new productions – including a UK stage premiere of Offenbach’s little-known “Fantasio.” The season will run from May 29, 2019 through July 26, 2019.

The season kicks off with Smetana’s “The Bartered Bride,” set in the English countryside. Natalya Romaniw stars as Mařenka, alongside Brenden Gunnell as Jenik. The production also features Joshua Bloom as Kecal, Stuart Jackson as Vašek, Peter Savidge as Krušina, Heather Shipp as Ludmila, Brian Bannatyne-Scott as Mícha, Anne-Marie Owens as Háta, Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts as Circus Master, and Lara Marie Müller as Esmeralda.

Jac van Steen will conduct the Philharmonia Orchestra.

Performances:     May  29, 31       June  6, 8, 11, 15, 20, 23, 30           Start time 6.05pm 

Wednesday 20 March 2019

City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Jac van Steen, and Steven Osborne

Symphony Hall, Birmingham, UK

Line-up: City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Jac van Steen, Steven Osborne

Smetana - The Bartered Bride: Overture and Three Dances, 20′

Shostakovich - Piano Concerto No. 2, 20′

Schumann - Symphony No. 3 (Rhenish), 33′

Schumann’s Rhenish Symphony opens in a blaze of glory, and ends at a beer festival. There’s no more melodious way to take a cruise down the Rhine – and you don’t even have to leave your seat in Symphony Hall! First, though, enjoy some circus tricks from rural Bohemia, plus the incomparable Steven Osborne in Shostakovich’s serene and sparkling Second Piano Concerto

Jac van Steen is an exceptional conductor. He is particularly attracted by the world of opera, to which he devotes himself fully. And so, it happened that one morning, about eight years ago, he came up with the idea of inviting Marie Fajtová to work with him. An Advent performance of Haydn’s The Creation seemed an ideal opportunity. Who else can be the archangel and Eva at the same time? Engaging Aleš Briscein and Roman Janál also came naturally. Not only because of their intimate knowledge of this pearl of oratorio, but also because for Jac they are ‘old friends’ from musical wanderings in Prague. The children’s voices of the Pueri gaudentes and Radost choirs will remind us how meaningful it is to support UNICEF with these concerts.

In ccoperation with UNICEF

The concert is being held under the auspices of the Embassy of the Netherlands in the Czech Republic.

December 2018 - Recording Session at St. John the Evangelist with Britten Sinfinia for SOMM Recordings

Exhilarating and intensive several days of recording in London at the visually and acoustically wonderful St John the Evangelist, Upper Norwood. What an incredible music-making experience with Maestro Jac van Steen and the Britten Sinfonia. Deepest gratitude to the amazing team from SOMM Recordings, Siva Oke, Ben Connellan and composer Ken Hesketh.

Excited for this album which will feature Vaughan Williams Violin Concerto, Ravel Tzigane, Ravel Sonata in G, and premieres of Inscription-Transformation by Kenneth Hesketh and Au gré des ondes by Dutilleux (arr. Hesketh).

Photos by Simon Weir - www.simonweir.com

Click to enlarge image

Jac van Steen and Britten Sinfonia working with composer Kenneth Hesketh and violinist Janet Sung recording Hesketh (Inscription-Transformation) Ravel (Tzigane), Vaughan Williams ( Concerto Accademico) and Dutilleux ( arr.Hesketh – Au gré des ondes)

Composer Kenneth Hesketh wrote: "Jac, thank you SO very much for not only keeping everything on track (and on time!) but for coaxing such wonderful playing from the assembled forces, particularly for the works I had produced one way or the other! Both pieces are quite dear to me, memorialising two people who had been very important in my life. Your sensitive and always sympathetic reading of these scores was a deep pleasure. Thank you again."

Vrijdag 30 november 2018 12:30 uur - Tivoli Vredenburg, Vredenburgkade 11, Utrecht - Gratis toegang

Jac van Steen, dirigent

Elisa Karen Tavenier, solist

Antonín Dvořák

Nocturne in B op. 40

Henk Badings

Concert voor altviool en strijkorkest

Béla Bartók

Muziek voor snaren, slagwerk en celesta

Fun moment on the Oslo Opera stage with Ivan Inverardi (Michele), Isabella Bywater (director) and Elisabet Striđ (Giorgetta)

Rehearsals at the Royal Norwegian Opera about to start – staging scene from Il Tabarro. Jac with his Giorgetta and Michele

Production: Il Tabarro & Gianni Schicchi – stage director: Isabella Bywater

Premiere Oslo 6 October 2018

GALA CONCERT: MPO 20TH ANNIVERSARY

FRI 17 AUG 2018 8:30pm

SAT 18 AUG 2018 8:30pm*

Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra

Jac van Steen, conductor

Tengku Irfan, piano

SMETANA

Bartered Bride Overture

TCHAIKOVSKY

Piano Concerto No. 1

RIMSKY-KORSAKOV

Scheherazade

An exhilarating, whirlwind-paced overture. The most iconic of piano concertos. An Arabian queen’s mesmerizing tale, replete with sensuous melodies and dazzling orchestral colour. It’s a programme befitting the grandest of events, as MPO celebrates the 20th anniversary of its historic 1998 inaugural concert. Gifted Malaysian pianist and budding conductor Tengku Irfan, born the very same year as MPO, graces the occasion alongside the eminent Jac van Steen.

RM188   RM150   RM122   RM94

*By invitation only

  BUY NOW

Jette Parker Young Artists Summer Performance 2018: Sunday 15 July 2018, 3pm

Royal Opera House Covent Garden, London

Dutch conductor Jac van Steen makes his Royal Opera debut in the 2017/18 Season coaching the conductors and singers of the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme in their assigned works and roles as well as conducting part of the 2018 Summer Performance.

     to read more about this concert click here

Sir Simon Rattle’s return is a highlight of CBSO’s season

Some familiar faces are coming to Symphony Hall. Christopher Morley reveals the must-see classical concerts being staged in Birmingham

.......... Some favourite conductors are returning to guest on the CBSO podium:......... the much-loved Jac van Steen (with Steven Osborne in the Shostakovich Second Piano Concerto)             

17 may 2018

Chetham's Symphony Orchestra

Jac van Steen conductor | Margaret McDonald mezzo soprano

Friday 6 July 7.30pm

Two giants of the orchestral repertoire are conducted by the acclaimed conductor, Jac van Steen. Elgar’s heartfelt cantata The Music Makers celebrates the central role of the arts in human society – a fitting theme for a concert performed by the next generation of performers.

Through masterly orchestration and vocal lines performed by the combined choruses and mezzo soprano Margaret McDonald, it offers a profound reflection on music and the arts.

The second half lifts us from the earth to the spheres, as Holst’s The Planets takes us on a journey through the solar system.

From the unmistakeable rhythms which open Mars, the Bringer of War, to the ethereal, invisible voices of Neptune and Colin Matthews’ latter day addition, Pluto, Holst’s powerful imagining of the sounds of the universe remains one of the most popular works in the symphonic repertoire.

Den Norske Opera Announces Its 2018-19 Season

Puccini’s “Il Tabarro” and “Gianni Schicchi” will be seen with Jac Van Steen conducting.

Ivan Iverardi, Elisabet Strid, Marius Roth Christensen, Ingeborg Kosmo, Mikkel Skorpen, and Jens-Erik Aasbo star in the production.

Performance Dates: Oct. 6-29, 2018

U p c o m i n g  P e r f o r m a n c e s

BBC SSO Musgrave Portrait Concert

Friday, June 15, 2018   7:30 PM 9:00 PM

City Halls, Glasgow, UK (map)

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra mark Musgrave's 90th birthday with a special event showcasing her work. At the centre of the concert is 'Two’s Company', a piece commissioned by the BBC in 2005, which brings together the seemingly incompatible sound worlds of percussion and the oboe for a dialogue that’s by turns frivolous, frustrated and eventually harmonious. The two soloists for whom it was written, Evelyn Glennie and Nicholas Daniel, perform it here. Join them and conductor Jac van Steen to celebrate an artist who, in the words of The Guardian, “communicates on the most immediate level, because it's often so sheerly pleasurable to listen to.” The concert also includes a rare chance to hear a performance of Aaron Copland’s Second Symphony, which dates from the early 1930s, and 'Celebration', an exuberant work by Musgrave's lifelong friend Richard Rodney Bennett (1936-2012).

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

Nicholas Daniel, oboe

Evelyn Glennie, percussion

Jac van Steen, conductor

Musgrave: Song of the Enchanter

Copland: Short Symphony (Symphony No 2)

Musgrave: Two's Company

Rodney Bennet: Celebration

Musgrave: Memento Vitae - Concerto in Homage to Beethoven

Musgrave: Phoenix Rising

Tuesday 20 November 2018

Thuiswedstrijd voor Esbeekse topdirigent Jac van Steen

met Passieconcert in Petruskerk

HILVARENBEEK - Hij reist de hele wereld rond om beroemde koren en orkesten te dirigeren, maar op 29 maart speelt Jac van Steen een zeldzame thuiswedstrijd. De internationale topdirigent leidt deze Witte Donderdag het Passieconcert in de Hilvarenbeekse St. Petruskerk. Een gratis te bezoeken concert.

Tijdens het concert worden meesterwerken van Bach en Martin ten gehore gebracht door De Beekse Cantorij en het Orchestre de Polyptique. Van Bach staan een drietal indrukwekkende orgelwerken op het programma, die gespeeld zullen worden door de befaamde organist Ad van Sleuwen.

Koor en orkest voeren de Choräle zum Kreuzweg van Johann Sebastian Bach en de Polytpique van Frank Martin uit, waarbij Annemieke Corstens de vioolsoliste is. Dit alles onder leiding van dirigent Van Steen, die woonachtig is op Landgoed de Utrecht in Esbeek. |

Het concert in de St. Petruskerk aan de Vrijthof begint om 20.30 uur. De toegang is gratis. Na afloop wordt aan de toehoorders een vrijwillige donatie gevraagd.

Erik van Hest 28-03-18

BBC National Orchestra of Wales - Debussy, Mozart, Messiaen

Radio 3 in Concert

Pianist Steven Osborne joins the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in Mozart's Piano Concerto No.27. Plus Jac van Steen conducts Debussy's La Mer.

Live from St David's Hall, Cardiff. Nicola Heywood Thomas presents.

Debussy: Nocturnes

Mozart: Piano Concerto No.27 in E flat major K595

c. 8.35pm Interval: The Debussy Meme

Debussy in Paris: A survey of the influence of Debussy on popular culture, from the music box to Tomita's recreation of his music using the analogue synthesiser, via Art of Noise. With contributions from Anne Dudley from Art of Noise, film music composer Craig Armstrong, and composer and musician Hannah Peel.

c. 8.55pm

Messiaen: Les offrandes oubliées

Debussy: La Mer

Steven Osborne (piano)

BBC National Orchestra of Wales

Jac van Steen (conductor)

Debussy's music of water, wind and light surrounds colourful works by composers at different ends of their lives. Mozart's 27th piano concerto was to be his last, yet despite its subdued qualities, the finale is based on a song welcoming the summer. Messiaen's meditation for orchestra dates back to his early years after leaving conservatoire. It's a stunningly beautiful work that foreshadows a lifelong devotion to the mystical connection between music and faith.

Cardiff International Academy of Conducting

with Jac Van Steen

07 - 09 Jun, 2018

Masterclass and Final Concert with Jac Van Steen and the Cardiff Sinfonietta

- Repertoire

- Haydn, Symphony no. 102

​- Prokofiev, Symphony no. 1 'Classical'

- Strauss, Symphonic Interlude from Intermezzo

There are eight places available for active participants chosen from applications by Jac Van Steen. The participating conductors receive a minimum of 100 minutes podium time with the orchestra in rehearsal and get to perform a selection from the course repertoire in the final concert. Following the course participants receive a certificate of participation signed by the course professor and professional quality video and audio of all sessions with the orchestra.

Observers are also welcome.

Please visit www.cardiffiaconducting.com for more information on how to apply.

Closing date: 06 Apr 2018

Jac van Steen and the off-stage trumpet players at Cambridge University (Verdi Requiem)

Verdi Requiem in King's

27 January 2018

Cambridge University Orchestra

Choir of Gonville and Caius, Jesus, Selwyn and St Catharine’s Colleges

Cambridge University Chamber Choir

Jac van Steen - conductor

Elizabeth Atherton - soprano

Claudia Huckle - contralto

David Butt Philip - tenor

Andrew Greenan - bass

Symfonieorkest van het Koninklijk Conservatorium en Codarts - Strippenkaartconcert

Donderdag 14 december 2017

Jac van Steen, dirigent

Irene Comesaña Aguilar, piano

Béla Bartók - Pianoconcert nr. 3 in E BB 127

Johannes Brahms - Symfonie nr. 1 in c op. 68

Béla Bartók liet zich diepgaand door de volksmuziek van Hongarije en Roemenië inspireren. Maar ook hij bleef niet zijn hele leven in zijn vaderland. De opkomst van het nazisme deed hem in 1940 besluiten naar de Verenigde Staten te verhuizen.

Zijn derde pianoconcert schreef hij als verjaarscadeau voor zijn vrouw Ditta. Het zou, op de laatste zeventien maten na, zijn laatste voltooide werk worden. Bartók schreef dit werk op zijn ziekbed, vechtend tegen de klok en wetend dat hij zijn ideeën voor nieuwe werken niet meer zou kunnen realiseren.

Wellicht dat de samenwerking met de Hongaarse violist Reményi ertoe heeft bijgedragen dat in Brahms' latere werken regelmatig Hongaarse invloeden zijn te terug te vinden. In zijn eerste symfonie is daarvan echter geen sprake. De destijds beroemde dirigent Hans von Bülow betitelde het werk als 'de tiende' van Beethoven.

In 1956 vlucht de dan nog onbekende componist György Ligeti naar het Westen om zich uiteindelijk in Hamburg, de geboortestad van Brahms, te vestigen. Ligeti studeerde o.a. bij Sándor Veress, een leerling van Béla Bartók. Het in 1967 gecomponeerde Lontano (Vanuit de verte) voor groot orkest verbeeldt in de woorden van de componist, het openen en sluiten van een venster op de lang verdrongen droomwerelden uit de kindertijd.

Irene Comesaña Aguilar (1996) begon haar muzikale opleiding in Vigo (Spanje). Vanaf 2011 studeerde ze gedurende 3 jaar in Portugal bij de Cubaanse pianist Víctor Rodríguez Delgado. Op dit moment is zij bachelor student aan het CODARTS conservatorium in Rotterdam, in de klas van Bart van de Roer.

Irene heeft als soliste opgetreden in Casa da Música (Porto), Palacio de la Magdalena (Santander), de Doelen (Rotterdam) en ook als gast bij het Radio 4 programma “Opium”. Verder volgde zij masterclasses bij Olga Semushina, Dimitri Bashkirov, Serghei Covalenco, Konstantin Scherbakov, Imogen Cooper., Kristian Bezuidenhout and Håkon Austbø.

Dit is het 3de concert in de serie Strippenkaartconcerten.

Datum: do 14 december 2017 16:30

Locatie: Arnold Schönbergzaal, KC te Den Haag

Entree: Gratis

Jac van Steen at the conceptual rehearsals for Verdi’s I Masnadieri at the Volksoper in Vienna.

Public Dress rehearsal October 12, Premiere on 14 October 2017

„Vater, zerstört hab’ ich des Bruders Bild für alle Zeit in deiner Seele!“

Zur Neuproduktion von Giuseppe Verdis „Die Räuber“ in der Inszenierung von Alexander Schulin

Genau 116 Jahre sollte es nach der Uraufführung von Giuseppe Verdis Oper „I masnadieri“ dauern, ehe das Werk erstmals in Österreich – und zwar an der Volksoper – aufgeführt wurde. Die Produktion von 1963 wurde bis 1970 29-mal gespielt. Im Oktober 2017 feiert die zweite Inszenierung von Verdis „Die Räuber“ Premiere an unserem Haus.

„Explosion der Jugend“

Die Kraft von Schillers Jugendwerk überzeugte Giuseppe Verdi. Bei einem Kuraufenthalt im Sommer 1846 im Veneto fasste er den Entschluss, seine Vertonung von Byrons „The Corsair“ vorerst aufzuschieben und sich zwei Stoffe von Shakespeare und Schiller vorzunehmen: „Macbeth“ und „Die Räuber“.

Die Idee dazu entstand wohl in Gesprächen mit Verdis Freund Andrea Maffei, der sein Kurgenosse war und Shakespeare und Schiller ins Italienische übersetzt hatte. Maffei war es auch, der Schillers Drama als Opernlibretto einrichtete.

Uraufführung in London: „bietifol“!

Ort der Uraufführung wurde das Haymarket Theatre in London, dessen Intendant Lumley an Verdi einen Kompositionsauftrag vergeben hatte – eine seltene Auszeichnung, war doch Carl Maria von Weber 1826 mit seinem „Oberon“ der letzte ausländische Komponist gewesen, der für London eine Oper schreiben durfte. Gleichwohl war Verdi auch hier eine Berühmtheit, man kannte in London das Repertoire der Kontinentaleuropäer.

Also musste sich Verdi den Vergleich mit Saverio Mercadantes Oper „I briganti“ von 1836, ebenfalls nach Schiller, gefallen lassen. Zur Abgrenzung von Mercadante verwendete Verdi den Titel „I masnadieri“, was wörtlich „Halunken“ oder „Banditen“ bedeutet. Bei der Uraufführung am 22. Juli 1847 stand Verdi selbst am Dirigentenpult, und zwar mit einem Taktstock in der Hand – damals eine ungewöhnliche Neuerung.

In Italien wurde das Orchester noch vom Konzertmeisterpult aus geleitet, während die Sänger ihre Einsätze vom Souffleur bekamen. Bei der Premiere anwesend war Königin Victoria, die ihrem Tagebuch anvertraute, dass sie Verdis Musik weit schwächer und platter“ fand als die Mercadantes.Verdis Faktotum Emanuele Muzio vermeldete – ganz im Gegensatz zu den eher verhaltenen Kommentaren der Königin – einen großen Erfolg und bemühte auch sein mangelhaftes Englisch: „Der Maestro wurde gefeiert, auf die Bühne gerufen, allein und mit den Darstellern, es wurden ihm Blumen zugeworfen, und man hörte nichts als: es lebe Verdi! bietifol“!

„Und nun zum Schafott!“

Bei der Umarbeitung des Dramas in eine Opernhandlung setzte Maffei den Schwerpunkt auf die Familientragödie und reduzierte vor allem die Intrigen der Räuber (so ist etwa die wichtige Figur des Spiegelberg, der gegen Karl als Hauptmann meutern will, gestrichen).

Der zentrale Konflikt der Oper ist somit die Beziehung des übermächtigen, dabei ungerechten Vaters zu seinen Söhnen: Karl, der ältere, ist durch eine Intrige seines Bruders Franz beim Vater Maximilian in Ungnade gefallen und hat sich einer Räuberbande angeschlossen. Franz vereitelt auch Karls Versuch, sich mit dem Vater zu versöhnen.

Karl zieht von nun an als Räuberhauptmann durch die Wälder. Franz hingegen greift skrupellos nach der Macht: Er lässt den Vater glauben, Karl sei tot, und rechnet damit, dass dieser die Nachricht nicht überleben würde. Maximilian stirbt nicht, Franz sperrt ihn, den die anderen für tot halten, in einen Turm. Karls Verlobte Amalia, die wie eine Tochter im Haus Maximilians aufgewachsen ist, fällt den Rivalitäten und Konflikten der Männer zum Opfer. Als Franz’ Machenschaften endlich aufgedeckt werden, ist ein glückliches Ende unmöglich geworden.

Im Gegensatz zu Schillers Drama, in dem Franz sich mit einer Hutschnur erdrosselt, kann die „Kanaille“ in Verdis Oper vor den Räubern fliehen und kommt (wie später Jago) mit dem Leben davon. Auch das Detail, dass sich Karl am Ende einem Tagelöhner ausliefert, damit dieser das Kopfgeld für seine elf Kinder bekommt, ist bei Verdi und Maffei weggelassen. Verdis Oper endet lapidar mit Amalias entsetzlichem Tod von Karls Hand und mit Karls Ausruf: „Und nun zum Schafott!“

Familientragödie voller Einsamkeit

Die Tatsache, dass die Oper von vielen aufeinander folgenden Soloszenen geprägt ist, wurde oftmals als Schwäche des Librettos ausgelegt; dabei verdeutlicht dieser Aufbau des Stücks die unendliche Einsamkeit der Protagonisten, die nicht zueinander finden können. Schlimmer noch: die Vereinzelung der Figuren geht so weit, dass sie ihre engsten Verwandten und Vertrauten nicht erkennen. Amalia erkennt Karl nicht, als sie ihm im Wald begegnet, der Vater erkennt seinen Lieblingssohn nicht. Zu einer Konfrontation der rivalisierenden Brüder kommt es erst gar nicht.

Der Regisseur Alexander Schulin hat mit der Bühnenbildnerin Bettina Meyer und der Kostümbildnerin Bettina Walter ein Konzept entworfen, in dem der Familienkonflikt mit bestechender Klarheit zugespitzt wird. So bildet Maximilians Haus das Zentrum des Geschehens, auf das sich die „Kinder“ (einschließlich Amalia) beziehen und wo über Zugehörigkeit und Fremdheit entschieden wird.

Die musikalische Leitung der Neuproduktion übernimmt Jac van Steen, der in der vergangenen Saison höchst erfolgreich die konzertanten Aufführungen von Korngolds „Das Wunder der Heliane“ dirigiert hat. In der Rolle des Grafen Moor wird erneut Kurt Rydl an unserem Haus zu erleben sein; alternativ ist Andreas Mitschke besetzt. Als Franz wird der Bariton Boaz Daniel, Ensemblemitglied der Staatsoper, zu hören sein. Er hat bereits im Jahr 2000 als Don Giovanni an der Volksoper debütiert. Mit ihm alterniert Alik Abdukayumov als Bösewicht. Die Rolle des Karl übernimmt Vincent Schirrmacher, abwechselnd mit Mehrzad Montazeri, Anja-Nina Bahrmann verkörpert die Amalia, alternierend mit der ukrainischen Sopranistin und Hausdebütantin Sofia Soloviy.

Öffentliche Generalprobe am 12. Oktober 2017, 10:00 Uhr

Premiere am Samstag, 14. Oktober 2017

Weitere Vorstellungen am 18., 22., 27., 30. Oktober, 1., 8., 15., 23., 29. November, 7., 11. Dezember 2017

Werkeinführung mit Helene Sommer jeweils eine halbe Stunde vor Beginn der Vorstellung (Premiere ausgenommen) im Galerie-FoyerWeitere

Informationen und Karten

Cambridge University Musical Society announces orchestra overhaul

     The changes will create a new flagship symphony orchestra

Cambridge University Music Society is to restructure its affiliated orchestras for the coming year, involving the expansion of its flagship orchestra. Meanwhile, its secondary orchestra is to be replaced with another symphony orchestra.

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CUO, described as the University’s “premier” orchestra, will provide students with exciting opportunities to work with world-leading professional conductors and their chosen repertoires. Plans for this year’s programme include renowned figures such as Sir Mark Elder, a former musical director of the English National Opera, who will conduct a selection of Schreker, Debussy and Brahms in King’s College Chapel this Michaelmas, and the internationally-acclaimed Jac van Steen, who will conduct Verdi’s Requiem. Sir Roger Norrington, known for his interest in historically informed musical performance, will remain in his role as Principal Guest Conductor.

by Elizabeth Huang - Friday September 29 2017         read more.......>

Symphony Orchestra of the Royal Conservatoire and Codarts

December 15th 2017

Jac van Steen, conductor

György Ligeti - Lontano

Johannes Brahms - Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68

The Hungarian composer Béla Bartók was greatly inspired by the folk music of his own country and Romania, but the rise of Nazism caused him to move to the United States in 1940. His wrote his third piano concerto as a birthday present for his wife, Ditta. It was his last completed work, save the last seventeen bars. Bartók wrote the piece on his deathbed, fighting against the clock and in the knowledge that he would not be able to realise any more of his ideas for new works.

Brahms’ later works also contained Hungarian influences, perhaps due to his collaboration with the Hungarian violinist Reményi. But there was no sign of them in his first symphony, which the renowned conductor Hans von Bülow dubbed ‘Beethoven’s Tenth’ at the time.

In 1956, the unknown composer György Ligeti fled to the West, finally settling in Hamburg, Brahms’ birthplace. Ligeti studied with Sándor Veress, a student of Béla Bartók. In the words of the composer, Lontano (From a distance), composed in 1967 for a large orchestra, symbolises the opening and closing of a window on long submerged dream worlds of childhood.

Location: Tivoli Vredenburg, Vredenburgkade 11, Utrecht

Date: Friday, December 15th 12:30

Entrance fee: Free Entry

National Master Orchestral Conducting | Koninklijk Conservatorium & Conservatorium van Amsterdam

RCM SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

7:30pm | 29 & 30 June 2017 | Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall

Jac van Steen conductor

Jamal Aliyev cello

RCM Symphony Orchestra

Dvořák Cello Concerto in B minor op 104

Ligeti Lontano

Bartók Concerto for Orchestra Sz 116 BB 123

The RCM Symphony Orchestra and Jac van Steen perform Bartók's thrilling Concerto for Orchestra, where a player from each orchestral section exhibits the virtuosity of their instrument, in our final orchestral concerts this summer.The programme also includes Ligeti’s atmospheric Lontano (featured in Stanley Kubrick’s film The Shining) and Dvořák's lyrical and rhythmically inventive Cello Concerto, performed by RCM Concerto Competition winner Jamal Aliyev.

    Jac van Steen & Frank Zielhorst 

     at Garsington Opera, Debussy Pelléas et Mélisande

     (new Production) with the Philharmonia Orchestra

       Performances: 16,18,22,25,27 June, 1,7 July 2017 - start time 5.55pm

     check interviews and reviews on this site !

Jac van Steen conducts Mahler 3^nd Symphony 

with the Prague Symphony Orchestra at Mahler's birthplace, Jihlava CZ

18 May 2017 -  19:00 hr

Gustav Mahler – Symfonie č. 3 d moll „Ein Sommermittagsttrau­m“ s altovým sólem,

ženským a dětským sborem; Petra Vondrová – alt

Pěvecké sdružení Campanula – ženský sbor

Dětský pěvecký sbor Zvoneček

Symfonický orchestr hl. m. Prahy FOK

Jac van Steen – dirigent

MAHLER – SYMPHONY NO. 3

Smetana Hall, Municipal House

• 26.4.2017 19:30   subscription: Series C
• 27.4.2017 19:30   subscription: CHRISTMAS CONCERT COLLECTION – Orchestral Concerts, Series D,

Series F.O.K.

Rehearsing Mahler 3 in Prague

GUSTAV MAHLER Symphony No. 3 in D minor

Christianne STOTIJN | mezzo-soprano

PUERI GAUDENTES

Zdena SOUČKOVÁ | choirmaster

DĚTSKÝ PĚVECKÝ SBOR RADOST PRAHA

RADOST PRAHA CHILDREN’S CHOIR

Jan PIRNER | choirmaster

PRAŽSKÝ FILHARMONICKÝ SBOR / PRAGUE PHILHARMONIC CHOIR

Lukáš VASILEK | choirmaster

SYMFONICKÝ ORCHESTR HL. M. PRAHY FOK / PRAGUE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Jac van STEEN | conductor

The concert is being held under the auspices of H. E. Mr. Eduard W. V. M. Hoeks, Ambassador of the Netherlands in the Czech Republic.

Smetana Hall in Praag, waar Gustav Mahler eveneens dirigeerde

Sacred Choral Music for Good Friday

Wagner Good Friday Music from Parsifal

Poulenc Stabat mater

Fauré Requiem

Jac van Steen Conductor

Sarah Tynan Soprano

William Dazeley Baritone

Belfast Philharmonic Choir

Stephen Doughty Chorusmaster

As a triumphant fanfare accompanies the dawn sunrise, the weary Parsifal rests and observes with wonder the beauty of the sunlit, flower-filled meadow around him. ‘This is how Good Friday ought to be’, thought Wagner.

In the 1930s, a period of soul-searching sent Francis Poulenc back to his religious roots. The result, amongst other sacred works, was his transcendent Stabat mater,‘a prayer of intercession’.

A favourite with lovers of fine choral music, Fauré’s serene Requiem is the devout composer’s personal vision: ‘…it is thus that I see death: as a happy deliverance, an aspiration towards happiness above, rather than as a painful experience.’ Its beautiful tranquillity allows all those who hear it to share in the musical and spiritual comfort of that vision of timeless peace. There’s more to it than the blissful ‘Pie Jesu’; this is music that speaks straight to the heart.

Ulster Hall - 34 Bedford Street - Belfast, Northern Ireland BT2 7FF United Kingdom

RNCM Symphony Orchestra

Friday 31 March 7.30pm

RNCM Concert Hall

Arnold Schoenberg Five Pieces for Orchestra Op 16

Gustav Mahler Symphony No 9

Jac van Steen, Manoj Kamps conductors

Mahler’s Ninth Symphony has divided opinion for decades – is it a hymn to the end of all things or an ultimately affirmative lovesong to life and to mortality? It is, of course, down to the listener to interpret the piece and find their own meaning. The Ninth took shape against a background of painful memories, frustrated love and a life about to be cut short – Mahler’s daughter had died, he was in an unhappy marriage, his own health was failing and it was the end of his reign as Artistic Director of the Vienna Court Opera.

Consequently, the piece is full of contrast – life/death, lyricism/pathos, stillness/storm – yet while it is dark, grotesque and disturbing, there is a painful beauty running through this symphony. The despair and anguish co-exist with other Mahlerian qualities – a passionate love of life and nature; an idealistic instinct to confront despair with heroic endeavour; and a magnificent pride in creative powers which, despite his illness, remained undiminished. In fact, Mahler said at the time: ‘I am thirstier for life than ever…’

Tonight’s programme is completed by a composition by Mahler’s good friend, Arnold Schoenberg. The two men respected and admired each other enormously. This early work was written in 1909, during a time of intense personal and artistic crisis for the composer. This is reflected in the tensions and at some times extreme violence of the score mirroring the Expressionist movement of the time, in particular its preoccupation with the subconscious and burgeoning madness.

Director Michael Boyd and conductor Jac van Steen share their insights into their plans and preparations for the 2017 production of Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande at Garsington Opera. There are just over two weeks to go until booking opens for the 2017 season. We hope you can join us for a very exciting summer: the first season featuring four operas, as well as the start of our partnership with the Philharmonia Orchestra.

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra:

Raphael Wallfisch Performs Elgar’s Cello Concerto

Wagner Lohengrin: Prelude to Act I

Elgar Cello Concerto

Beethoven Symphony No.7

Conductor Jac van Steen

Cello Raphael Wallfisch

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

In this concert, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra delves into pure orchestral emotion, beginning with Wagner’s Prelude to Act 1 from his Romantic opera Lohengrin. This piece is framed by shimmering violins that evoke a delicate loveliness to match the fairy-tale element to the opera.

Cellist Raphael Wallfisch takes centre stage for a performance of Elgar’s rich and noble masterpiece, his Cello Concerto. Considered to be the last great flowering of Elgar’s genius, the Concerto sweeps with melodic, autumnal beauty and remains one of the best examples of English music to date. Closing the concert will be Beethoven’s stirring Symphony No.7; a wonderful blend of orchestral gravitas and swelling tunes which is used to great effect in the film The King’s Speech.

PRE-CONCERT TALKS

We are delighted to welcome back BBC Radio Northampton’s John Griff as the host of our hugely popular free pre-concert talks. It will take place at 6.30pm in the auditorium prior to the evening’s performance.

Royal & Derngate - Guildhall Road - Northampton - NN1 1DP

Van Steen brings out the very best in orchestra

Ulster Orchestra, Ulster Hall, Belfast

The principal guest conductor of the Ulster Orchestra, Jac van Steen, made a welcome return to the Ulster Hall on Friday with music by English composers.

Film buffs will have been aware of William Walton's iconic Suite from Henry V, written for Laurence Olivier's film of 1944 and popular ever since.

Under the baton of the vastly-experienced Van Steen, there was a haunting beauty in Egdon Heath, composed by Holst, better known for The Planets, and less so for his setting of the Christmas carol In The Deep Midwinter.

The Vaughan Williams' Concerto in A Minor for oboe and strings was played brilliantly by the young Spanish soloist Ramon Ortega Quero, who brought out the depth and wide-ranging beauty of the music, especially in the Minuet and Musette, and added an encore.

In his entertaining pre-concert talk, Van Steen said that players of British orchestras are so familiar with Elgar's Enigma Variations that they could play it standing on their heads, without rehearsing.

He also said that the real challenge for conductor, players and the audience is to take and experience this masterpiece beyond what we are familiar with. Van Steen managed to do this, right to the stupendous finale with the mighty Mulholland Organ in the Ulster Hall in full flow.

The long applause from the capacity audience was enthusiastic, and rightly so.

Belfast Telegraph - Alf McCreary - March 6 2017

TUNE IN TO JAC VAN STEEN ON BBC RADIO 3

Holst’s Egdon Heath Op. 47, from the concert conducted by Jac van Steen with the Ulster Orchestra on 3rd March 2017, will be repeated on BBC Radio 3 on Monday 13th March 2017, at around 2.50pm, as will Walton’s Suite form Henry V at 3.05pm.

On Tuesday 14th March, Sibelius’ Pelléas et Mélisanda Op. 46, from another of Mr van Steen’s concerts with the Ulster Orchestra, recorded on 6th May 2016, will be broadcast at 2.55pm, again on BBC Radio 3.

On Wednesday 15th March, a work from Mr van Steen’s 24th October 2014 concert with the Ulster Orchestra will be broadcast at 2pm and 2.25pm- Haydn’s Symphony No. 44 in E minor, Hob.I:44 ‘Trauer’, and then from his 13th May 2016 recording, Mozart’s Ah Lo Previdi Ah t’invola, K.272.

Finally on Friday 17th of March, another piece from Mr van Steen’s 13th May 2016 concert with the Ulster Orchestra will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3- Haydn’s Symphony No 104 in D major (H.1/104) at 2.55pm, then again from his 3rd March 2017 recording, Vaughn Williams’ Oboe Concerto at 3.25pm, and Elgar’s Enigma Variations at around 3.45pm.

Garsington Opera announces extended 2017 season

Garsington Opera’s 2017 season will see the company present four productions and a large community opera for the first time in its history. The season will begin on 1 June with a new production of Handel’s Semele, which will be conducted by Jonathan Cohen and directed by Annilese Miskimmon in collaboration with designer Nicky Shaw. Starring Heidi Stober in the title role, the cast will also include Robert Murray, Christine Rice and Christopher Ainslie. As part of the Garsington Opera for All programme, the production will be screened free of charge in Skegness, Ramsgate, Burnham-on-Sea and Grimsby.

The Philharmonic Orchestra will launch its five year partnership with Garsington with Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande. Jonathan McGovern and Andrea Carroll will sing the title roles, with Paul Gay as Golaud, Susan Bickley as Geneviève and Brian Bannatyne-Scott as Arkel. Jac van Steen will conduct, and Michael Boyd will direct. .......more

January 2017

Elke werkdag van 12-2 op NPO Radio 1. Hét cultuurprogramma van de VPRO over literatuur, beeldende kunst, theater, muziek en film. In het eerste uur een lang studiogesprek met een gast uit de wereld van de cultuur of de actualiteit.

Er zijn weinig Nederlandse orkesten waar dirigent Jac van Steen niet voor heeft gestaan.

Zo dirigeerde hij onder andere het Residentie Orkest, het Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest en het Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest. Maar ook internationaal maakte hij al snel indruk.

Zo was hij in Duitsland algemeen muzikaal directeur van het Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar en chef-dirigent en muzikaal directeur van de Opera en het Philharmonisch Orkest van Dortmund. In Engeland kreeg hij bekendheid na het BBC-programma European Conductors Seminar en dirigeert sindsdien ook hier de grote orkesten. Ester Naomi Perquin spreekt met Jac van Steen.