Arts & Culture The Netherlands

Arts & Culture -- list of articles in the section Arts & Culture The Netherlands

  • Leonard Bernstein in the Netherlands in 1947
    American composer-conductor Leonard Bernstein made his first appearance in the Netherlands in June 1947 at the end of a European tour. Bernstein was supposed to conduct the Residence Orchestra in The …
  • Dutch child wonder of the 1950’s: Christiaan Bor
    A vintage Radio Netherlands’ interview with a proud father in Amsterdam of five musical and artistic boys. The youngest, Christiaan, showed so much promise on the violin that by the time he was …
  • Between easel and museum: The 350th anniversary of Rembrandt’s birth
    The world celebrated the 350th anniversary of the birth of Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) in 1956. In this vintage radio report, Amsterdam fine art dealer Evert Douwes (1928-2019) and the director of …
  • Van Gogh house in Nuenen
      Early in his career as an artist, Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) lived in the vicarage of the village of Nuenen, where his father was the vicar of the local church. From 1883 to 1885, Vincent …
  • On and off stage: Bernard Haitink
    This is few surviving recordings from the series “On and Off Stage”, a programme devoted to well-known personalities of the Dutch musical scene. Guus Geist meets Bernard Haitink, already …
  • Talking to: Pierre Janssen
    “Talking To” was a weekly interview programme produced in the 70’s and 80’s by arts and culture host Nevil Gray. In this edition of the programme, his guest was the gifted art …
  • Radio Netherlands’ drama competition: “Post-mortem”
    Radio drama is an old and illustrious art. In 1970, Radio Netherlands organised a radio drama competition to attract listeners in America. This play, “Post-mortem” was one of the winners. A boy …
  • Saturday Stage: Part 1 of 3, Paul van Vliet
    As part of a short series of Saturday Stage progammes, Jonathan Marks introduces a two-part programme on Paul van Vliet. In the 1970’s and 1980’s, van Vliet – a leading Dutch …
  • African literature: A survey on the literature of a continent
    These two recordings contain fourteen short presentations compiled and presented by South African activist, poet and literary scholar Dr. Vernie February. Born in South Africa in 1938, February lived …
  • Pete Myers interviews Jeroen Krabbé (1984)
    This programme is part of the series Pete Myers' interviewsAs guest host of Talking to, Pete Myers meets one of Holland’s leading Dutch actors, Jeroen Krabbé. At the time of the interview, …
  • VIP Lounge: Fons Rademakers
    This programme is part of the series VIP LoungeVIP Lounge was a series of portraits produced in the late 1980’s of well-known Dutch people who gained international fame for their professional …
  • VIP Lounge: Karel Appel
    This programme is part of the series VIP LoungeVIP Lounge was a series of portraits produced in the late 1980’s of well-known Dutch people who gained international fame for their professional …
  • VIP Lounge: Harry Mulisch
    This programme is part of the series VIP LoungeVIP Lounge was a series of portraits produced in the late 1980’s of well-known Dutch people who gained international fame for their professional …
  • Images: Fassbinder, Fragonard and Vera Beths
    In this edition of our weekly arts magazine hosted by Nevil Gray, an interview with a Dutch radio producer who defied public opinion by broadcasting parts of a highly controversial play, boycotted …
  • VIP Lounge: Jeroen Krabbé
    This programme is part of the series VIP LoungeVIP Lounge was a series of portraits produced in the late 1980’s of well-known Dutch people who gained international fame for their professional …
  • Rotterdam International Film Festival
    Aural Tapestry – The cruel machine
    In 1988, the Rotterdam International Film Festival presented a programme entitled “The Cruel Machine”. David Swatling presents six filmmakers whose work was on show. The films are …
  • 100th anniversary of the Concertgebouw
      The Royal Concertgebouw is one of the world’s greatest concert halls, renowned for its nearly perfect acoustics, and the host to performances by some of the most memorable musicians of …
  • Images highlights 1988/1989 – Part 1 of 2
    – Louis Andriessen’s composition: “The Tower”, piece for the carillion of the Dom of Utrecht – Neo-impressionist exhibition at the van Gogh Museum  – The …
  • Pierre Audi: Wagner’s Ring
    In this unedited interview, Robert Green talks at length with Pierre Audi, artistic director of the Netherlands Opera, about the staging of the Wagner’s Ring cycle, why he wanted to stage it, …
  • VIP Lounge: Joris Ivens
    This programme is part of the series VIP LoungeVIP Lounge was a series of portraits produced in the late 1980’s of well-known Dutch people who gained international fame for their professional …
  • Dutch author Jan de Hartog
    Dutch writer Jan de Hartog (1914-2002) was just in his mid-20’s when he suddenly became famous throughout Holland because of the unprecedented success of his best-selling novel “Hollands …
  • Celebrating Rotterdam
    The great port city of Rotterdam is a close rival to Amsterdam, not only in football but also as a hub of culture, with world-renowned annual poetry and film festivals, as well as some of …
  • Steve Austen & Ritsaert ten Cate
    25 years of the Mickery Theatre
    David Swatling meets Ritsaert ten Cate (1938-2008), theatre director, and actors to talk about 25 years of the avant-garde Mickery Theatre in Amsterdam.  Producer: David Swatling Broadcast: May …
  • RNW arts producer Nevil Gray
    Images highlights 1988/1989: Part 2 of 2
    These are excerpts from the cultural magazine programme “Images”, produced by Nevil Gray. John Eliot Gardiner, conductor of the English baroque soloists on how to play Mozart Françoise …
  • Happy Station: Carnival edition
    This week’s edition of Happy Station has a definite carnival theme. And Jonathan Groubert interviews Dutch singer Mariska Versa of the group Shocking Blue.  Producer: Pete Myers Broadcast: …
  • Pete Myers interviews Willem Duys (1993)
    This programme is part of the series Pete Myers' interviewsDuke Ellington called him “my European son”. He was one of the leading presenters of music entertainment in the Netherlands: the …
  • Piet Mondrian
    While some people are simply reminded of handkerchief designs at the sight of a canvas by the Dutch artist Piet Mondrian (1872-1944), there is no doubt that he was one of the leading painters of the …
  • The colonial muse: The East Indies as an inspiration for the Dutch novel
    The most famous Dutch novel of the 19th century is “Max Havelaar” by Multatuli (pen name of Eduard Douwes Dekker (1820-1887). It not only became a classic of European literature but also …
  • Johannes Vermeer
    In the fall of 1995 and early 1996, the Mauritshuis in The Hague and the National Gallery in Washington D.C. jointly hosted a milestone exhibition that brought together the largest number of …
  • Maggie Ayre meets J. Bernlef
    In this unedited interview, Maggie Ayre talks to Dutch writer, poet, novelist and translator J. Bernlef (1937-2012) about his latest book translated into English. He explains how he writes, why he …
  • Hartmut Haenchen: Wagner’s Ring
    In this unedited interview, Robert Green meets East German conductor (and at the time) music director of the Netherlands Opera, Hartmut Haenchen. The topic of discussion is the production of …
  • The Holland Festival’s 50th anniversary
    The Holland Festival is the oldest and largest performing arts festival in the Netherlands. Founded after the war in 1947, it first took place amid the optimism and hope after the darkness of the war …
  • Vox by Nicholson Baker
    Modern Times/Modern Culture
    David Swatling combines three interviews: with Nicholson Baker, author of the novel “Vox” (1993) on telephone sex, with Arthur Dong, documentary filmmaker, whose “Licensed to …
  • Anil Ramdas
    Dheera Sujan meets Anil Ramdas, broadcaster, journalist and the most high profile Surinamese Indian in the Netherlands. In the 1870’s, Indian labourers from Bihar were taken to Surinam to work …
  • Herman Melville
    Aural Tapestry: June 1st
    David Swatling takes June 1st as a starting point for a series of letters (10 in total) written over the ages. The authors range from Frans Hals (fictional), Herman Meville, Vincent van Gogh, Oscar …
  • Rijksmuseum
    The masters’ menagerie
    In the fourth programme marking the 200th anniversary of the Amsterdam Rijksmuseum, David Swatling examines the masters’ menagerie. In the 17th century, Dutch painters depicted animals in all …
  • Copy of a self-portrait by Frans Hals, painted in the 1650's
    The lost diaries of Frans Hals
    In the weekly cultural program “Aural Tapestry”, David Swatling speaks with author Michael Kernan about his vivid recreation of the life of Frans Hals, who was perhaps the greatest of …
  • The Letters of Vincent
    We possess over 600 letters by Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890). Most of them are addressed to his brother Theo, an art dealer, and they contain a priceless record of Vincent’s thoughts about art …
  • Erich Maria Remarque
    In this edition of our arts programme Aural Tapestry, we mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of one of the world’s most widely published writers, Erich Maria Remarque. He is especially …
  • Judith Lyster, self portrait
    She could have been a Dutch master
    Mindy Ran goes in search of women painters from the 17th century who were equally good as their male counterparts. She speaks with the curator of the Frans Hals Museum and others, including Els …
  • Stories of our century: “The laughing cry”
    This programme is part of the series Stories of Our CenturyIn 1999, Radio Netherlands marked the end of the millennium with a series of 12 programmes telling the story of the 20th century through …
  • The popularity of Bach’s Matthew Passion and the various styles of performing the work
    One of Holland’s oldest musical traditions is the annual performance at Easter of the Passion of St. Matthew by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). Tickets for the performances of the Passion—an …
  • Dutch conductor Bernard Haitink speaks to Radio Netherlands to mark his 70th birthday
    As with so many born talents, Bernard Haitink got his first big career break when he had to fill in unexpectedly for the maestro–before he was even 30. Since then, one of Holland’s …
  • Giovanni Boccaccio and “The Decameron”
    In 1348, the infamous Black Death ravaged the city of Florence. One who witnessed and survived the plague was Italian writer Giovanni Boccaccio, who used the experience to create a classic of Italian …
  • The old Winne Place: Dutch architecture in the New World
    Just south of Albany, New York, a beautiful example of early American Dutch architecture is being lovingly restored, using techniques dating back to when the farmhouse was originally built in the …
  • The gypsy in my soul: Sinti and Roma in the Netherlands
      The people who many of us refer to as “gypsies”, but who call themselves Sinti and Roma, are a small ethnic minority in the Netherlands, numbering between 5,000 and 7,000 at the …
  • Karel Appel
    Karel Appel at 80
    To mark the 80th birthday of Karel Appel, one of Holland’s best-known and most controversial contemporary artists, Mindy Ran paints a vivid, impressionistic portrait in this special edition of …
  • Rembrandt Self-Portrait_with_Velvet_Beret, 1634 (Gemäldegalerie Berlin)
    Rembrandt’s mirror: the earlier self-portraits, Part 1 of 2
    In 1999, the famous Mauritshuis Museum in The Hague hosted one of its most spectacular exhibitions: Rembrandt’s Self-Portraits. Few artists in history have painted themselves so often. Why? If …
  • My voice belongs to Dada
    The focus of this programme is “sound poetry”, which means the voice produces sounds rather than words. The Dadaists started it all in the 1920’s. Jaap Blonk is a contemporary Dutch …
  • Architecture in a small land: Dutch architects building a world-class reputation
    Anne Marie Michel looks at 100 years of architecture in the Netherlands from Berlage as the father of the new architecture, the Amsterdam School (functional as well as fanciful), the Style Movement …
  • Reading the periphery: The pioneering world of Dutch 17th century publishing
    Within 100 years of Johann Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press, The Netherlands was the publishing centre of Europe. With presses in Amsterdam, The Hague and Utrecht, the most famous name in …
  • The_Nightwatch_by_Rembrandt, 1642
    The Rijksmuseum: Home of “The Nightwatch”
    The ornate present-day building of the Rijksmuseum, or Dutch National Gallery, is a major tourist attraction in the middle of Amsterdam’s museum quarter, erected at the expanding 19th century …
  • The science and art of Dr. Sylvius
    In the mid-17th century, Dr. Franciscus Sylvius was a professor of medicine at Holland’s first and most famous university. The Faculty at Leiden paid double the normal salary to entice the famous …
  • Dutch tulips
    Tulipomania.dotcom, Part 2 of 2 – The Bust
    In this two-part series, David Swatling compares the tulip mania of the 17th century with the latest new economy hype. Producer: David Swatling Broadcast: June 18, 2000…
  • Modern clowns
    David Swatling attends the modern Clowns Festival 2000 in Amsterdam. He meets the organiser and director of the Dutch Clown Foundation. as well as a number of international performers who talk about …
  • Window to the past: Holland in 1950
    In 1950, the topic of European unity was being talked about in Holland as much as it is today but for very different reasons. It was just five years after the end of World War II, and the Marshall …
  • Maggie Ayre meets Jules Deelder
    As part of her series on city rivalries, Maggie Ayre talks to Dutch poet and performer, Jules Deelder. With his Rotterdam heart, he hates Amsterdam, its mentality and its soccer club, Ajax. …
  • Dutch poetry in translation
    In this edition of our weekly arts programme, David Swatling speaks about the challenges of translating a poem from one language into another. Dutch is not a world language, and poetry in the …
  • Peter Greenaway
    David Swatling profiles English artist and film-maker Peter Greenaway whose latest film “Prospero’s Books” has just been voted best Dutch film. At the same time, Greenaway put …
  • Chris Chambers meets Marijke Jongbloed
    This programme is part of the series Chris Chambers meetsIn this unedited interview, Chris Chambers speaks with leading Dutch filmmaker Marijke Jongbloed (1956-2016), best known for her …
  • Two tales of the city: Water and land in Amsterdam, Part 1 of 2 – The dikereeve’s Tale
    In this new millennium, Amsterdam like so many cities around the world has been facing the challenge of building for an expanding population, a changing economy and new technologies. In these two …
  • Chris Chambers meets Herman Gordijn
    This programme is part of the series Chris Chambers meetsIn this unedited interview, Chris Chambers talks to Herman Gordijn (1932-2017), one of Holland’s leading painters. He talks about his …
  • Chris Chambers meets Michael Dudok de Wit
    This programme is part of the series Chris Chambers meetsIn 2001, Michael Dudok de Wit won an Oscar for best short animated film: “Father and Daughter”. Chris meets him in his studio in …
  • Chris Chambers meets Mies Bouhuys
    This programme is part of the series Chris Chambers meetsChris Chambers talks to Dutch author Mies Bouhuys (1927-2008), who was a successful writer of children’s stories. She was profoundly …
  • Chris Chambers meets Willem Nijholt
    This programme is part of the series Chris Chambers meetsIn this two-part edition of “Talking it Over”, Chris Chambers speaks with Willem Nijholt, a well-known Dutch actor, musical star …
  • Chris Chambers meets Herman Krebbers
    This programme is part of the series Chris Chambers meetsIn this unedited interview for Talking it Over, Chris Chambers talks to one of Holland’s greatest violinists and, for the past 20 years, …
  • Amsterdam and the violin
    Amsterdam has a tradition of violin making which goes back to the 17th century. It produced some fine violin builders whose instruments are still sought after today. This tradition of craftsmanship …
  • Collective memory: Life song – The Jordaan, Part 4 of 4
    In the fourth and last programme in the Collective Memory series, Michele Ernsting goes to the Jordaan, the famous Amsterdam district, to find out more about the residents’ passion for opera, …
  • Palace of dreams: The Tuschinski movie theatre in Amsterdam
    It was one of the most lavish movie theatres to be built in its time, a pioneering monument to the new medium of cinema, a palace for the dreams of movie-goers, from bored housewives to weary …
  • Baking holy bread
    An intimate profile of Antoine de Bakker. His name in Dutch means “the baker”, and he earned his living making the machines necessary to produce Holy Communion hosts. These very thin …
  • Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621)
    Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck: The orpheus of Amsterdam, Part 2 – A celebrated master
    Part Two: A Celebrated Master Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck was influenced by musical sources from all over Europe and combined forms and techniques to create new and exciting work. His reputation …
  • Chris Chambers meets Wina Born
    This programme is part of the series Chris Chambers meetsIn this unedited interview, Chris Chambers speaks with Wina Born (1920-2001), a famous Dutch cookery writer who started her career in 1949. …
  • Searching for Ariana
    Ariana Nozeman (1628-1661) was the first actress on the Dutch stage. Although she came from a family of thespians, this was a daring career choice for a woman in Calvinist Holland, given the …
  • Chris Chambers meets Rudi van Dantzig
    This programme is part of the series Chris Chambers meetsOne of Holland’s leading choreographers talks about what dancing means to him and working with Rudolf Nureyev. Rudi van Dantzig …
  • Rivers of the World: The Vecht in Holland
    This programme is part of the series Rivers of the WorldRivers are the cradle of the world’s earliest civilisations. Mythology and religion were born on their banks. They provide us with life-giving …
  • Vincent van Gogh-Painting of French Novels, 1887 (Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam)
    Vincent’s bookshelf
    Though he was first and foremost a painter, Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) had a deep love of literature, chronicled in great detail in the wealth of letters to his brother Theo. Some 800 references to …
  • The magnificent mollusc
    An excursion to Yerseke in the southwestern coastal province Zeeland in search of the perfect Dutch oyster, served up with a few old time recipes. Producer: Chris Chambers Broadcast: December 5, 2003…
  • Searching for Sibylla: The life of Maria Sibylla Merian
    For her time, Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717) was a modern, daring, scandalous, divorced woman who lived in a cloister and at the age of 52 went off to Dutch Suriname to fulfill her calling as a …
  • Holland’s second queen: Annie M. G. Schmidt
    There isn’t a Dutch person alive who doesn’t know the characters Jip and Janneke – toddlers who have all sorts of adventures that can be read out in perfect bedtime story chunks. Going …
  • Vermeer- Girl with the Pearl Earring, 1665-7 (The Hague)e
    Six ways to Vermeer
    A montage documentary about one of the greatest of the Dutch Masters, Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) of Delft, using six of his paintings to look at aspects of his life and fame.  …
  • Misunderstanding Islam
    The Netherlands now has more than one million Muslims in an overall population of 17 million. Issues like the banning of the veil for women in schools, debates on female circumcision and the recent …
  • The essence of Escher
    More than 30 years after his death, the work of Dutch graphic artist Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972) remains popular around the world. His woodcuts and lithographs possess a unique quality that …
  • The Music Boat Man: Reinier Sijpkens
    Reinier Sijpkens travels around the world, making magic and music for children and collecting their laughter. At home in the Netherlands, he haunts the canals of Amsterdam playing barrel organ, …
  • The diary of Otto van Eck
    Otto van Eck was just seventeen when he died of tuberculosis in 1798. His name and life had been totally forgotten until the recent discovery of his unique diary. It was started when he was ten years …
  • Rembrandt: Portraits of the artist
    Was he really a misunderstood genius? In the 400 years since he was born, the famous Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) has been the subject of ever-changing myths and projections in films, …
  • Copyists, collectors and curators: Rembrandt’s modern-day heirs
    Hundreds of years after he lived, the painter Rembrandt continues to affect the lives of people in our own century. In every generation, there are people who study his work, trade in it and try to …
  • Little fish in a multicultural pond: De Baarsjes
    A profile of Amsterdam’s most multicultural district, De Baarsjes, where locals are active with many projects to bring the community’s diverse residents closer together. Producer: David Swatling, a …
  • Art historian Gary Schwartz
    © sueddeutsche/Koos Breukel and nationalgallery Gary Schwartz is a Brooklyn-born expert on Rembrandt and Dutch 17th century art. He studied art history in the United States, came to the Netherlands …
  • Theo Jansen: Playing God with sculpture
    Theo Jansen is a sculptor, kinetic scientist and designer of a new species called “strandbeest“, beach animal. Born in the dunes near Delft, Jansen’s animals seem to be alive as …
  • Omnec Onec
    Omnec Onec: Messenger from Venus
    David Swatling meets this petite woman with platinum blond hair and an other-worldly demeanour. She grew up as an Earthling, named Shirley, later wrote her autobiography “From Venus I …
  • Radio Books: Contemporary Dutch and Flemish short stories – Kristina Goikoetxea Langarka
    Kristina Goikoetxea Langarka: “Twelve hours is a long time” After spending 30 years at an African mission post, Daniel returns to his home town somewhere in southern Europe. He has his …
  • Radio Books: Contemporary Dutch and Flemish short stories – Nilgun Yerli
    “Feelings without Frontiers” Nilgun Yerli is a Dutch writer and cabaret artist, born in Turkey in 1969 and who has been living in the Netherlands since the age of 10. She is the author of …
  • FelixMeritis Building in Amsterdam
    The Felix Meritis building in Amsterdam
      Felix Meritis is one of the Netherlands most remarkable and important historical buildings. Lying on one of the grandest canals in Amsterdam, it has been the centre of the Dutch Enlightenment, …