The love for the most beautiful piano music runs deep for Hannes Minnaar. The Dutch classical pianist has quickly risen to national and international prominence. In 2019, Minnaar made his debut in the prestigious concert series Meesterpianisten at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. His repertoire spans from Bach to Beethoven, and from Rachmaninov to Ravel. In 2012, Minnaar won an Edison Award with his debut album, and four years later, he received the Dutch Music Prize. Last year, he released a highly acclaimed CD of Bach’s Goldberg Variations.

Minnaar is also increasingly venturing into contemporary repertoire. Especially for him, composer Rob Zuidam wrote a set of five Nocturnes, introspective piano works where the night is depicted in an intensely evocative way. These pieces are full of imagination and subtle drama. The pianist and composer first met when Minnaar performed Zuidam’s Tanglewood Concerto in 2016 during the NTR Zaterdagmatinee in Amsterdam. The collaboration didn’t take long to follow. In addition to Zuidam’s piano cycle, Minnaar also performs a fitting piece by his favorite, Maurice Ravel: Gaspard de la Nuit, one of the most challenging piano scores ever composed, where Ravel masterfully plays with vivid tonal images and virtuosic, stormy vistas.

Program:
Rob Zuidam - Nocturnes
Maurice Ravel - Gaspard de la Nuit

Commissioned by November Music and Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ