Frans Brüggen, a pioneer of the early music revival, died in August at age 79. Frans Brüggen (1934-2014) Born in Amsterdam, The Nether­ Indeed a superb role model! encounter. Every time I would call him lands, he studied musicology at the Uni­ to arrange it, he would say: “I no longer ver­sity of Amster­dam and recorder at By Cléa Galhano, St. Paul, MN play the recorder,” with a cynical tone. Amsterdam’s Muzieklyceum with Kees I would explain to him that the award Otten, a student of Karl Dolmetsch. Thank you, Frans, for being a role represented how he inspired a genera- Brüggen became the first Muzieklyceum model! tion of recorder players and changed graduate to earn a diploma in recorder. Everybody in life has and needs a the way we thought about the instru- At age 21 in 1955, he was named role model who inspires them. My role ment. professor at the Royal Con­serva­tory in The model, as well as that of many recorder After several calls, he agreed to Hague. His written output included players around the world, was Frans receive it. On a beautiful spring day recorder exercises, treatises on playing, and Brüggen. I was inspired by his expres- in May 2001, Marion Verbruggen, editions of Baroque music. He commis­ sivity, his musicianship, and, above all, the harpsichordist Jacques Ogg and sioned a number of recorder works, among his intelligence. The way he thought I went to his home. We had coffee in them Luciano Berio’s 1965 work Gesti. about music and revolutionized the the kitchen while his five- and seven- In the late 1960s, his recording label recorder and the Early Music world year-old daughters listened to the Telefunken capitalized on his near-cult was extraordinary. St. John Passion upstairs! popularity, including a poster of Brüggen Although he was no longer At the beginning it was a bit with his LPs. His solo performing was full teaching when I studied in The Hague, formal, but after three hours of talking of rubato, many shades of tone color, daz­ I had many encounters with Frans, all and walking outside, the atmosphere zling technique and dramatic affect— of them very meaningful to me. I even was amazing. We talked about the films at first startling, then widely accepted. had a dream about him once, in which of Bergman, music and architecture. He justified these by pointing to 17th- he put me in front of his orchestra to When I left, I gave him a hug and said and 18th-century performance treatises. listen to Beethoven symphonies. He to him: ”You see, Frans, you didn’t need With disciples Kees Boeke and Walter then asked me to just listen to the to be cynical after all. It was even fun.” van Hauwe, in 1972 (during the Dutch silence!!! It was a magical moment! He replied: “Indeed, you were right!” counterculture movement), he formed the When I served on the American A couple of months later he sent avant-garde recorder trio Sour Cream. Recorder Society Board of Directors, I a nice letter to ARS, thanking this Tours by this group, his residencies at had the honor of personally delivering beautiful organization for the award. Harvard University and at the Univer­ the Distinguished Achievement Award (Photo below by Jacques Ogg in sity of California, Berkeley, and his many to Frans at his home in Amsterdam. 2001 shows Brüggen, center, with family lectures, workshops and private lessons cre­ It was quite a task to arrange the members; Galhano in blue, on his right; ated a following in the U.S. He was the Verbruggen in grey at his far left) subject of at least a dozen articles in AR. In 1981, he and Sieuwert Verster co- founded the period-instrument Orchestra of the 18th Century, the group for which he wielded the baton for the rest of his life. Brüggen’s health deteriorated in his later years, to the point that his last concert was conducted from a wheelchair. Brüggen is credited with inspiring generations of recorder players. In 2000, AR readers chose him as “Recorder Player of the [20th] Century; in 2001 he received the ARS Distinguished Achievement Award (see the May 2001 AR). He is survived by his wife, the art historian Machtelt Israëls, and their daughters, Zephyr and Eos.

www.AmericanRecorder.org Winter 2014 17 An Example of How to Live dam that Frans often visited. He was sitting at the bar, and Paul went to By Adriana Breukink, Enschede, greet “Uncle Frans” (the Loeki The Netherlands Stardust Quartet guys all called him that, because he was the uncle of In 1980 all the students in the Daniël Brüggen, a quartet member). recorder making class of the late I hid behind Paul because I was Fred Morgan made a copy of the so nervous. Then Frans started jok- Stanesby Sr. alto recorder from ing with me. He recognized me Frans Brüggen’s private collection. from an article about the Dream At the end of the project, the whole recorders in the Mollenhauer maga- group went to Frans’s house in zine. I was so surprised he knew Amsterdam to compare their first about my project, that I could not try with the masterpiece from speak a word. I think he was still Stanesby Sr. interested what was going on in Remembering Uncle Frans Frans welcomed us into his the recorder world, even after he huge 17th-century home. In a beau- stopped playing recorder in the ’80s. By Daniël Brüggen, Bussum, The [email protected] tiful room with dark red silk wallpa- Before I started making record- Netherlands, per, we were able to try out and ers in the class at the conservatory in study the original. We were totally The Hague, I studied recorder per- When I interviewed Frans a few years ago, impressed by the instrument, but formance and went to all of Frans’s it was a sort of special occasion for both of even more by the atmosphere of this master classes. Frans was my greatest us. I had only learned about his attitude event. Frans was sitting in the room teacher and example of how to live towards music and the recorder through next to our room; we could see him and play. He was a master at teach- his students—my teachers—rather than studying the score of a Rameau ing, and he could improve a person’s through personal contact. At that point, opera. He had just started conduct- playing with a few words—always I knew he was extremely reluctant to talk ing his famous Orchestra of the spoken very, very slowly. It was as if about his former life as a recorder idol. 18th Century. He was so kind to us, he were a shaman, first absorbing People in the audience always and endured all of our playing and the energy of what you had to reminded me of that status, occasionally testing very patiently. At the end, understand—and then, very slowly, driving me and my fellow [Amsterdam he wished us all success—although the sentences came. He never said Loeki Stardust Quartet] colleagues crazy. to be honest, Frans was not inter- anything twice. But we all knew this was perfectly justified ested in our copies of his recorder. He treated each student very because of his exceptional talents—for Morgan was in The Nether­ differently. I remember a student being able to control all technical aspects lands then to teach a recorder mak- who played the slow movement of of the recorder and of combining it with ing class at the conservatory at The a Handel sonata with many embel- musical vision and original ideas. Hague. First we learned to make a lishments, and with a lot of ego. My teachers, Kees Boeke and Walter Ganassi, in the new and famous After he finished the piece, Frans van Hauwe, told me that the level of play- “modern Ganassi style” Morgan had waited some very long seconds and ing should be so excellent that all possible developed. I love this wide bore, and he said; “terrible….” The student critique would evaporate. I suppose this the sound of its tone with the strong had to play the first two bars, with was actually a trace of being raised in the fundamentals. All the later models I all the notes separated and not artic- ideas of Frans. developed (like the Dream recorders ulated, and he had to breathe The interview took place in a friendly and the Eagle recorder) have this between all of the notes. So for and open manner, underlining how wide bore. Frans Brüggen loved this one minute we heard only, “huuuu. important it is to keep blowing at all times. Ganassi model, and Fred made huuuuu, huuuuu….” As the student While instruments got better and better, many prototypes for him to test. finished, Frans said in a deep voice; finally resulting in playing museum origi- Twenty years and many hand- “much better!” When the student nals, I think that [playing the recorder] made recorders later, I went with left 30 minutes later, he played this became less relevant. As a brilliant musi- Paul Leenhouts to a cafe in Amster­ movement beautifully! cian, he found the way to the very heart of

18 Winter 2014 American Recorder the sound on any instrument, using his ideas proved to pay off, being just as We are the heirs of quite a lot of shadings and nuances, magically trans- special and effective as in our favorite contemporary music dedicated to him, forming and modeling it in order to recorder repertoire. unforgettable concerts and many trea- tell a tale that was simple or virtuosic— His last performance [on May 14, sured recordings of this passionate but always kind of mysterious. 2014, with the Orchestra of the 18th musician. After radically stopping his Century in The Hague], even sitting Brüggen’s DVD Ricercata, in which recorder career, his authoritative con- in a wheelchair, he drew the most he interviewed his uncle and others, was ducting breathed life into the orchestral intense sounds from a mega-orchestra the topic of a column by Tim Broege in the repertoire of Rameau, Beethoven and playing Rameau—and with a moving in the Summer 2013 AR. Parts of it are Mozart. With the same determination, encore, bringing several orchestra posted on YouTube or Vimeo. musicians to tears. Five Remembrances of Frans Brüggen, my idol speak a language that moved the hearts of its audience. He searched for the right performance style, was deeply knowl- By Bart Spanhove, Flanders Recorder Quartet edgeable about historic performance practice, and conducted (translation: Ellen Delahanty) with an exceptional sense of musical expression. One lasting impression of a concert given in May 2014 will remain forever I. In 1978 I heard Frans Brüggen live for the first time in etched in my memory: www.blogflutes.wordpress.com/2014/ Belgium. He radiated charisma, poise and inventiveness, and 08/14/video-orkest-van-de-18de-eeuw-olv-frans-bruggen. won the audience over with impressive ornamentation and a unique, enchanting style. His stage presence was remarkable: IV. Brüggen was a pioneer who was involved with heart and seated, with his legs crossed and his upper body leaning for- soul in the revival of early music. Together with colleagues ward, he performed masterfully on the recorder. He completely Gustav Leonhardt and Anner Bylsma in the 1960s, he still disregarded the advice given in contemporary recorder manu- had much to discover. His earliest recordings resulted in als. In his hands, the simplest tune became a fascinating listen- sounds resembling an imitation of goats bleating, and in inter- ing experience. After this concert, I spent countless hours, pretations on modern instruments with yet no inkling of his- deep into the night, listening with headphones to his albums, torical style. But Brüggen evolved enormously. Ten years later and enjoying his exceptional, exciting recordings. Back then he would create dream LPs, which would convince and inspire he was known for stating: “the recorder has the most heavenly listeners around the world. I daresay that without Frans sound imaginable.” Brüggen there would be no recorder-playing as we know it today. Thanks to his work, many were compelled to revise their II. Anyone who bought a Frans Brüggen album in the 1970s opinions of recorder playing. He fought to allow the recorder got a poster of him as well. Brüggen was portrayed like a pop- to be seen as a fully-fledged instrument, and made it clear to idol, with wild hair, messy jeans, a turtleneck sweater and a cig- us that one could build a full concert life as a recorder player. arette. This was unusual: a classically-trained musician was expected to dress well, neatly and conservatively. It was also V. One of Frans Brüggen’s slogans while teaching was: most unusual that a recorder player should get so much public- “Blokfluit spelen is een mentaliteit” (“Recorder-playing is a state ity. For me that was something characteristic of Brüggen— of mind”). He found that a deep love of the instrument was an he wanted to shock. With his ensemble, Sour Cream, he put absolute necessity. The next anecdote speaks volumes: he was together programs featuring the most atypical selections, from giving a lecture-demonstration in an auditorium full of old to extremely modern, from improvisations to electronic recorder freaks; one of the audience asked why, with all of his music—you heard, felt and saw the strangest things. In this talent, he had remained a recorder player. An icy silence fell, spirit, he offered up this little prayer in one of the accompany- then Brüggen asked the lady in question, “You also play the ing booklets of his albums: My God, who is present in the recorder, don’t you? Have you then never gotten tears in your cellars of museums, who can open the eyes of individuals, and eyes when you heard the recorder?” Indeed, Brüggen’s music knows hidden attics, grant me many more, or all, old recorders. brings one to tears. Also memorable was his fascinating remark made in the III. Brüggen had long since stopped playing the recorder, Concertgebouw of Amsterdam in 1970: he rebelled by saying and was making waves directing the Orchestra of the 18th that every note of Mozart played by the [modern instrument] Century. Top musicians from all over the world came together Concertgebouw Orchestra was a lie from A to Z. to make music under his direction. In spite of his sometimes At his funeral, one of the speakers remarked that every clumsy movements, he was a top conductor: with fine detail note Frans Brüggen played was fantastic from A to Z! and finesse, he managed continually to get his orchestra to We will greatly miss our recorder-guru, Frans Brüggen.

www.AmericanRecorder.org Winter 2014 19 My Experiences With the Master recorder, and the Telemann Sonata By Aldo Abreu, Boston, MA in D minor (from Essercizii Musici), As a boy growing up in Caracas, Vene­ in which clarity of zuela, Frans Brüggen’s recordings were articulation in the my greatest inspiration. Not only did triplets of the last they determine my instrument, they led movement was me to a passion and a career. Luckily, I unforgettable. I also found a local teacher, Ruth Gosewinkel, became aware of his who had been a student of Hannover perfect intonation recorder player Ferdinand Conrad. and masterful use of Then, a year later, I met Scott- alternative finger- Martin Kosofsky, an Ameri­can who had ings for color and studied with Brüggen. This came about phrasing. I wanted through a remarkable chance meeting in to study with him, Oslo of my father, the harpsichordist but by 1980 he had Abraham Abreu, and Scott, both of stopped teaching whom were on tour at the time. The two to focus on the became fast friends and my father made the most of the situ- newly created Orchestra of the 18th Century (O18C). ation, visiting Scott in Boston and inviting him to play duo After two years in London, I transferred to the Royal concerts in Caracas and Bogotá. As a guest in our home, Conservatory in The Hague, where I studied with Ricardo Scott happily gave me lessons throughout his stay. Kanji, another former student of Brüggen. Ricardo had been What followed were visits to Boston during my winter a winner of the Bruges competition together with Marion and summer vacations, more concerts in Venezuela and Verbruggen; he also plays Baroque flute and has been a beyond, and a family friendship that lasts to this day. member of O18C since its beginning. During my seven It was Scott’s teaching and mentoring that brought me years in The Hague, I was lucky to hear Brüggen in many to the next level. In 1977, while still a high school student, concerts, including recitals with Gustav Leonhardt and I was accepted into the Royal College of Music in London. Anner Bylsma, conducting O18C, and with Quadro I entered the RCM’s Junior Department with a scholarship Hotteterre. from the Venezuelan Culture Ministry. There, I was a stu- In 1984 (photo), the conservatory hosted a dent of Ross Winters, who had studied with Walter van Contemporary Recorder Festival that included master Hauwe, one of Brüggen’s best-known students, and so dur- classes with Brüggen, Walter van Hauwe and Michael ing my studies in London, I had the opportunity to meet Barker. I participated in a two-hour master class on Luciano and hear Brüggen in person. Berio’s Gesti with van Hauwe, which was extremely interest- My first opportunity to play for him was at a master ing—two hours of comments on a three-minute piece! I was class he gave for the Early Music Center. The piece I per- also extremely lucky to participate in Brüggen’s master class formed was the Vivaldi/Chedeville Sonata in G minor. on Sweet by Louis Andries­sen. Here, his approach was dif- Brüggen’s comments were not about technique but about ferent from the classes in England, where he was teaching phrasing and intent, with much detail on the piece’s rhetori- the student and the audience equally. In The Hague, he cal phrasing. worked with an unparalleled level of minute detail, settling That same year at Easter, Bruggen taught at the Swan­ for nothing but the highest standards. The piece has sea Bach Festival. I had two master classes with him, in extremely complex rhythms. When I was close to accurate, which I played the Cima Sonata in D minor and Alessandro Bruggen would still correct me, saying, “Yes, but this note Scarlatti’s Sonata in A minor. It was there that I heard him needs to be even a little longer.” perform for the first time. The expressivity, sound quality, Perfection was a common theme throughout: and flawless virtuosity were astounding. He played the • “Super fast passages must be perfectissimo.” Telemann Concerto in C major with the Academy of Ancient • “You must hit all the notes perfectly.” Music, and a recorder recital with harpsichordist and organ- • “You must always have an impeccable style.” ist Peter Williams. The latter program also included the • “Alternative fingerings must be absolutely perfect, or Bach partita for solo flute, played in C minor on alto don’t do them at all.” 20 Winter 2014 American Recorder • “You have to check yourself con- stantly [to see] if you are still playing neat and proper.” The class gave me an idea of how much he demanded of himself when preparing a piece. When you heard him play, you could hear that he did those things that he taught. Many years later, O18C came to Boston, and played perhaps the fastest and most exciting rendition of Beet­ hoven’s fifth symphony I have ever heard. When I greeted him after the concert, I told him what a master and inspiration he was for me, like a father. He thought about that for a moment and replied, “more like a grandfather.” A few years ago, I sent him a copy of my CD of Telemann Fantasies and he replied with this letter: Dear Aldo, Thank you, and Bravo! Frans I miss him very much.

The Recorded Legacy a few years later opened my eyes to mend spending a few hours watching of Frans Brüggen his “wiggly” stage presence, which the many videos of him on YouTube. provided a sort of choreography that Even the older black and white TV By Tom Bickley, CD Reviews Editor matched his phrasing. footage makes wonderful viewing and I think that listening to Brüggen’s listening. His economy of finger Frans Brüggen’s engaging and persua- recordings helped me form both a motion is a worthy focus of attention. sive playing, striking interpretations, sonic and cultural image of the As well-known as he was in early and subtle yet theatrical approach to recorder as a real musical instrument. music, Brüggen’s work with Sour performing caught countless ears and The energy and vitality of those Cream (his trio with Kees Boeke spirits in North America. I was an sounds influence me to this day, as and Walter van Hauwe) and as a undergraduate music theory major in a performer, composer and listener. soloist embraced avant-garde perfor- 1974, playing recorder (disguised as a There are many fine recorder mance. Two of my favorite clips are French horn player, since study of players and recorder recordings avail- his playing of Luciano Berio’s Gesti recorder was not an option at my able to our ears now. I find it difficult (“Gestures”) composed for him: http:// school); I was introduced to another to imagine that we’d have the breadth youtu.be/VYO35N3t1nQ; and his per- recorder player, who wanted me to and depth of musical endeavors using formance with Walter van Hauwe in hear some recordings by a Dutch the recorder had it not been for the Bach’s Cantata 106 (“Actus tragicus”) player he thought I would enjoy. riveting sonic presence of Frans conducted by Gustav Leonhardt: What I heard was from the Brüggen as a recorder virtuoso. http://youtu.be/Mc1Ve0TOF4c . 1972 Das Alte Werk three-LP set, Likely, many AR readers have For a treasury of Brüggen’s Frans Brüggen spielt 17 Blockflöten. The enjoyed (to the point of wearing out) releases on the now-defunct Tele­ sounds baffled and amazed me, and older LPs of Brüggen. Many have funken Das Alte Werk series, there is a captured my imagination: such ease of been reissued on compact disc; as mp3 reasonably priced Warner Classics execution, such variety of articulation files, many can be acquired via iTunes 12-CD set (TELDEC 2564 65836- and phrasing! Seeing him perform live and other services. To get a sense of 1). Feast your ears and give thanks for his playing and presence, I recom- his ongoing influence.

www.AmericanRecorder.org Winter 2014 21