“Classic Dutch” is a panorama of classical music, composed or performed in the Netherlands through the centuries. Much of the music in this series was selected from among the huge wealth of recordings made by Radio Netherlands’ Music Department. In each programme, presenter Hélène Michaud speaks with a guest conductor, composer or music performer.
The studio guest in this programme is American flautist Jed Wentz, conductor of the Musica ad Rhenum ensemble. As he explains, the music scene in the Netherlands around 1750 was highly cosmopolitan. One of the greatest Dutch musicians of his day, Willem de Fesch (1687-1761) spent most of his career in England, where he had a leading position in the orchestra of Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759), while at the same time the Netherlands enjoyed a large influx of talent from abroad, such as Pietro Locatelli (1695-1764), one of Europe’s pre-eminent violinists.
Producer: Hélène Michaud
Broadcast: November 1, 2002