The new album from pianist Camiel Boomsma features world premiere recordings of late romantic gems.
Camiel Boomsma: Discovering the music by Dutch composer Gerhard (and his son Karel) Hamm was really a game of fate. After a recital, Carl Hamm, who is a direct descendant, gave me a stack of scores. While playing through the pieces at home I was struck by their delicacy and narrative power.
Gerhard Hamm belongs in a way to the musical family of Robert Schumann. He writes little poetic reflections on grand Romantic gestures. In these small musical poems a whole world lies hidden. Sometimes powerful and proud, sometimes vulnerable and reflective. Romantic expression beautiful in itself.
In his "Gefunden: 6 Clavierstcke in Liedform opus 18' Gerhard Hamm's musical gift as a composer is beautifully displayed. Hamm's craftsmanship is excellent but he never neglects poetic expression.
Camiel Boomsma's musicianship is described by press and public as highly sensitive and profound. In his playing the emphasis lies on telling the musical story. Boomsma has performed at many major national and international venues including the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Teatro la Fenice in Venice, De Doelen concert hall in Rotterdam, De Philharmonie in Haarlem, Shanghai City Theater, Nanjing Arts Center and Chengdu Concert Hall to name a few. Camiel Boomsma distinguishes himself as a pianist with a sound of his own. He aims for traditional as well as original repertoire. When preparing for a recital he likes to look beyond the literature's horizon and, and does not avoid unusual programming. An excellent example is Boomsma's love for transcriptions, most notably those of the music of Richard Wagner.
Noteworthy concerts in 2017 and 2018 are recitals at the Klavierfestival and Wagner Festspiele in Bayreuth and The Concert series at Schloss Elmau in Krn. Furthermore there will be numerous solo recitals in the Netherlands and abroad, and duo recitals dedicated to Debussy and Wagner for 2 pianos with world renowned pianist Severin von Eckardstein.
Boomsma has received great critical acclaim for his Wagner journey. Through solo transcriptions Wagner's music becomes transparent and speaks to us in a refreshing and revealing way. His recordings for EtceteraRecords, Wagner transcriptions and Porazzi, published in 2015 and 2016, received raving reviews in BBC Music magazine (5 stars), Diapason (4 stars), Trouw, NRC, De Volkskrant, Luister Magazine, Classica and many more, and have been broadcasted extensively by France Musique, Radio 4, Hr2Kultur and ORF.
