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The
press about Jan Willem de Vriend
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Barcelona
Gran Teatre del Liceu (November 2006)
The orchestra, carefully balanced and well conducted by the efficient
Jan Willem de Vriend, played Händel's concerti grossi in-between
the vocal numbers.
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| L’Orchestre
de Chambre de Neuchâtel (30/04/2006):
The ovation for the last piece on the programme—Mozart’s
renowned Symphony no. 39 in E flat major—was entirely justified.
In the introduction De Vriend goes with Mozart all the way, who
writes incredible dissonants there, decreasing the tempo to an unusual,
but perfectly fitting, degree. |
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Christmas
Oratorio (CD-recording 2006)
The homogeneity of the sound is of an extraordinary quality.
Het
Parool |
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One of the best recordings
ever to have been made of this work.
De
Telegraaf |
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The choir and the orchestra
are wonderfully in balance; the splendour and vigour of the music
is sustained throughout, as is the rhythmical precision.
Hifi.nl |
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This exquisite recording
of these six cantatas is cause for delight.
Haarlems
Dagblad |
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Agrippina
(October 2004)
Jan Willem de Vriend (…) knows how to achieve maximum theatrical
credibility. Away with his baton and out with his violin, he pulled
the orchestra out of the pit and up onto the stage, forcing the singers
and instrumentalist to interact. The result was an explosion of vitality,
heightened by Eva Buchmann’s stage directions: a plethora of
baroque gestures for when the characters lied (often) and a few modern,
realistic gestures to convey genuine feelings (sporadically). Judging
by the sound of it, the musicians had a whale of a time!
Klassieke
Zaken |
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L'Orfeo
Musically this Orfeo includes the best early music performers
in the Netherlands. Jan Willem de Vriend once again leads the Combattimento
Consort in a varied, precise and breathing interpretation of Monteverdi's
opera, leaving ample room for the soloists.
Mischa
Spel, NRC Handelsblad, 10 January 2001 |
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The performance of Monteverdi's
opera L'Orfeo, directed by Erik Vos and repeated by De
Nationale Reisopera, can be regarded as one of the finest operatic
productions in the Netherlands in recent years.
Right from the first bars Jan Willem de Vriend leads the Combattimento
Consort Amsterdam with electrifying drive. […] after the introduction
the orchestra functioned as an engine, engaging in acceleration,
attack or dramatic protraction.
De Vriend proved a true opera conductor by firmly unifying choir,
soloists and orchestra in seamless togetherness and with admirable
subtlety.
Ivo Postma, Noordhollands Dagblad, 10
January 2001 |
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From the pit the Combattimento
Consort and conductor Jan Willem de Vriend demonstrated that passion
and drive are more important than the use of period instruments.
Thiemo Wind, De Telegraaf, 11 January
2001 |
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Vocal Festival
Bonney and Scholl’s programme was focused on Pergolesi’s
indestructible Stabat Mater, […] The timbres of Scholl
and Bonney merged into an almost perfect symbiosis.
The Combattimento Consort under Jan Willem de Vriend provided accompaniment
at the highest level. Each vocal tear mingled perfectly with the sound
of the orchestra, eliciting sympathetic murmurings from it. The Consort
proved their unique qualities as a Baroque orchestra in the overture
to Handel’s Alcina and his Concerto grosso
op.6, no.7. The latter work in particular was given an almost swinging
reading, due to wonderful effects and stabbing accents.
Trouw,
28 February 2000 |
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Accompanied with great commitment
by the Combattimento Consort led by Jan Willem de Vriend, Bonney
and Scholl sang solos and a duet from Handel’s operas Rinaldo
and Rodelinda, followed after the interval by a performance
of Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater.
The Combattimento Consort – radiance and drive in Handel,
lustre and drama in Pergolesi – left no wish unfulfilled.
NRC Handelsblad 23 February 2000 |
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Virtuoso
Masterworks
Amsterdam consort plays superbly and with ease
Yesterday night’s audience intensely enjoyed the inspired
and enthusiastic way in which the musicians gave crystal-clear,
seamlessly interwoven and ‘authentic’ performances on
modern instruments.
The audience also enjoyed the entertainment they were offered, which
was probably no less ‘authentic’. To a large extent
this was due to the almost jocular performance of violinist Gordan
Nikolich. In short: a superb and unconstrained concert …
Friesch Dagblad, 22 January 2000 |
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Acis
and Galatea
From the start De Vriend moulded the intertwined and overlapping
lines into a true discourse in which each voice retreated at the
right moment to make way for other voices. He maintained a high
energy level without losing subtlety, and not for one moment did
he lose his grip on the dramatic alternation of turbulent and sensitive
passages.
De Volkskrant, 8 March 1999 |
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