Han Samuel de Vries (born 31 August 1941,

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

), is a Dutch oboist and is considered the doyen of the Dutch school of oboe playing. He studied oboe with

Jaap Stotijn Jacob Hendrik "Jaap" Stotijn (The Hague, 22 September 1891 – The Hague, 5 April 1970) was a Dutch oboist. He was also active as a pianist and Conducting, conductor. Jaap Stotijn has been credited as the founder of the Dutch school of oboe playi ...

at the

Royal Conservatory of The Hague The Royal Conservatoire ( nl, Koninklijk Conservatorium, KC) is a conservatoire in The Hague, providing higher education in music and dance. The conservatoire was founded by King William I in 1826, making it the oldest conservatoire in the Netherl ...

and with his son Haakon Stotijn at the

Sweelinck Conservatory The Conservatorium van Amsterdam (CvA) is a Dutch conservatoire of music located in Amsterdam. This school is the music division of the Amsterdam University of the Arts, the city's vocational university of arts. The Conservatorium van Amsterdam ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. He won many prizes in his youth, including the ''Prix d'Excellence'' in 1962. He was a founding member of the

Netherlands Wind Ensemble The Netherlands Wind Ensemble ( nl, Nederlands Blazers Ensemble, NBE) comprises musicians from all the major Dutch symphony orchestras. The NBE is regularly featured in special concert series at Amsterdam’s main venues: the Concertgebouw, Para ...

in 1960. In 1963, at the age of 22, he became principal oboist at the

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra ( nl, Koninklĳk Concertgebouworkest, ) is a Dutch symphony orchestra, based at the Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw (concert hall). Considered one of the world's leading orchestras, Queen Beatrix conferred the "R ...

. He remained with the Concertgebouw Orchestra for seven years, after which he focused on chamber music and a solo career. He was a member of the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra and in 1973 he joined the Danzi (Wind) Quintet. Instigated by

Frans Brüggen Franciscus ("Frans") Jozef Brüggen (30 October 1934 – 13 August 2014) was a Dutch Conducting, conductor, recorder player and baroque flautist. Biography Born in Amsterdam, Brüggen was the last of the nine children of August Brüggen, a textile ...

, De Vries has played baroque oboe besides the modern oboe since 1970, at which time this was still unusual. In 1964, he was appointed professor at the Sweelinck Conservatory, where he subsequently taught for almost three decades. Among his students have been Christopher Bouwman, Peter Bree, Frank van Koten, Wolfgang Lange, and Bart Schneemann. Later he limited himself to giving masterclasses. As a soloist, De Vries has toured Europe, Japan, Australia, and North and South America, with a repertory of baroque, classical, romantic and contemporary music. He has made many recordings, one of which (of the oboe sonatas of

Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

, Bartók, Ben Haim,

Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among the best-kno ...

and Shinohara with pianist

Rudolf Jansen Rudolf Jansen (born January 19, 1940, in Arnhem) is a Dutch pianist, who studied piano, organ and harpsichord simultaneously at the Conservatoire of Amsterdam. His teachers were Nelly Wagenaar, his father Simon C. Jansen, Felix de Nobel and Gu ...

) won an

Edison Award The Edison Award is an annual Dutch music prize awarded for outstanding achievements in the music industry. It is comparable to the American Grammy Award. The Edison award itself is a bronze replica of a statuette of Thomas Edison, designed by ...

in 1973. Among the composers who have dedicated music to him are

Louis Andriessen Louis Joseph Andriessen (; 6 June 1939 – 1 July 2021) was a Dutch composer, pianist and academic teacher. Considered the most influential Dutch composer of his generation, he was a central proponent of The Hague school of composition. Although ...

(''Anachronie II, musique d’ameublement'' ("furniture music"), to the memory of Erik Satie. 1969),

Peter Schat Peter Ane Schat (5 June 1935, in Utrecht – 3 February 2003, in Amsterdam) was a Dutch composer. Schat studied composition with Kees van Baaren at the Utrecht Conservatoire and the Royal Conservatory of The Hague from 1952 until 1958, and then ...

(''Theme'' op. 21, 1970),

Bruno Maderna Bruno Maderna (21 April 1920 – 13 November 1973) was an Italian conductor and composer. Life Maderna was born Bruno Grossato in Venice but later decided to take the name of his mother, Caterina Carolina Maderna.Interview with Maderna‘s thr ...

(Oboe Concerto No. 3, 1973),

Morton Feldman Morton Feldman (January 12, 1926 – September 3, 1987) was an American composer. A major figure in 20th-century classical music, Feldman was a pioneer of indeterminate music, a development associated with the experimental New York School ...

(''Oboe and Orchestra'', 1976), and

Willem Breuker Willem Breuker (4 November 1944 – 23 July 2010) was a Dutch bandleader, composer, arranger, saxophonist, and clarinetist. Career During the mid 1960s, he played with percussionist Han Bennink and pianist Misha Mengelberg, co-founding the Insta ...

(Oboe Concertos Nos. 1 and 2, 1992, 2000). Most of these pieces employ unorthodox techniques for oboe like

multiphonics A multiphonic is an extended technique on a monophonic musical instrument (one that generally produces only one note at a time) in which several notes are produced at once. This includes wind, reed, and brass instruments, as well as the human voice ...

fluttertonguing Flutter-tonguing is a wind instrument tonguing technique in which performers flutter their tongue to make a characteristic "FrrrrrFrrrrr" sound. The effect varies according to the instrument and at what volume it is played, ranging from cooing soun ...

, and

glissandi In music, a glissando (; plural: ''glissandi'', abbreviated ''gliss.'') is a glide from one pitch to another (). It is an Italianized musical term derived from the French ''glisser'', "to glide". In some contexts, it is distinguished from the co ...

, as if to emphasize De Vries' wide range from baroque to postmodern music. De Vries has a deep interest in the history of oboes and oboe music. He assembled a large collection of historical oboes which is now at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. He also has edited Baroque oboe repertoire, published previously unpublished old oboe music, and pursued lost oboe music like

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

's oboe concerto.Peter van er Lint
Een middelmatig concert van goud

Trouw ''Trouw'' (; ) is a Dutch daily newspaper appearing in compact size. It was founded in 1943 as an orthodox Protestant underground newspaper during World War II. Since 2009, it has been owned by DPG Media (known as De Persgroep until 2019). ''Tr ...

, 27 February 2003 (in Dutch) In 1997, he was named an Officer in the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...

. Two CD boxes contain his recorded legacy: ''Han de Vries – The Radio Recordings'' (Oboe Classics CC 2024, 9CDs + 2 DVDs) was released in 2011 to mark his 70th birthday, and ''Han de Vries – The almost last recordings'' (Attacca Records 2016.148, 18 CDs + 1 DVD) was released in 2016 to mark his 75th birthday.

Recordings

*'' Bellini, Hummel, Kalliwoda: Romantische Oboenkonzerte'',

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

Electrola C 063-24591 LP. 1973. *''Han de Vries – The Romantic Oboe'', with the Amsterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Anton Kersjes, Playing Bellini, Hummel and Kalliwoda, Recorded 1973 Bovema EMI/ * WRC-EMI NZ -_EMD 5505 /1975 *''

Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widespread a ...

, Krebs,

Händel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

Telemann Georg Philipp Telemann (; – 25 June 1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. Almost completely self-taught in music, he became a composer against his family's wishes. After studying in Magdeburg, Zellerfeld, and Hildesh ...

Babell Babell is a hamlet in Flintshire, Wales. It is part of the community (Wales), community of Ysgeifiog. The hamlet takes its name from the Babell Presbyterian Church of Wales, Methodist chapel, built in 1836, but the surrounding area, a township ( ...

: Werken voor Hobo en Orgel'', Han de Vries, Albert de Klerk

His Masters Voice, 1A 037-25231 LP, 1976. *''

, Bartók, Ben-Haim,

, Shinohara'': Han de Vries – Hobo, Oboe.

, piano

His Masters Voice C 053-24585 LP, 1976. *''

Albinoni Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni (8 June 1671 – 17 January 1751) was an Italian composer of the Baroque era. His output includes operas, concertos, sonatas for one to six instruments, sinfonias, and solo cantatas. While famous in his day as an opera comp ...

: Four Oboe Concertos Op. 9, Nos. 2,5,8 & 11'',

Angel LP, 1981. *'' Cimarosa,

Pergolesi Pergolesi is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, (1710–1736), Italian composer, violinist, and organist * Michael Angelo Pergolesi, 18th-century Italian decorative artist {{Surname Italian-langu ...

, Corelli, Scarlatti, Zipoli,

Tartini Giuseppe Tartini (8 April 1692 – 26 February 1770) was an Italian composer and violinist of the Baroque era born in the Republic of Venice. Tartini was a prolific composer, composing over a hundred of pieces for the violin with the majority of ...

: Werken voor hobo en strijkorkest''. EMI 065-26683 LP, 1981. *''

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

: Arias from Cantatas for Soprano, Oboe and B.C.'',

Elly Ameling Elisabeth Sara "Elly" Ameling (born 8 February 1933) is a retired Dutch soprano, who was particularly known for lieder recitals and for performing works by Johann Sebastian Bach. Performing with distinguished pianists and ensembles around the glo ...

1270581 LP, 1983. *''

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

: Ode Aan Amadeus, Deel 2''.

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...

830 373-1 LP, 1986. *''

: Oboenkonzerte & -Sonaten'', Alma Musica Amsterdam,

CDM 7 63068-2 CD (Reflexe), 1989. *''Apassionato''. Mercury 8421 302 CD, 1990. (Mercury 8421 301 LP, 1989) *''De Vries & Zoon''. Mercury 5129 252 CD, 1992. *''

: Nocturnen. Ittrospezione III. Concept II). Anachronie I. Contra Tempus. Anachronie II'', (Han de Vries, bassoon), Composers' Voice CV54 CD, 1996. *''The Art of Han de Vries'', Oboe Classics CC2004, 2002 *''Han de Vries – The Radio Recordings'', Oboe Classics CC2024, 2011

References

*Leur, Truus de. "Vries, Han (Libbe amuel de"
''Grove Music Online''
, edited by Deane Root (Accessed 23 November 2010), (Subscription access)

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vries, Han de 1941 births Living people Dutch oboists Male oboists Academic staff of the Conservatorium van Amsterdam Musicians from The Hague Players of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Royal Conservatory of The Hague alumni Conservatorium van Amsterdam alumni