Compiled by our Classical Music desk.
On 17 April last, pianist Polo de Haas passed away. He is best known for Canto Ostinato, which he made famous in collaboration with Kees Wieringa, but there was more to him than that.
De Haas makes multiple appearances in our archives, and not always in the way you’d expect! We find him as one half of the Gong Duo, a jazz duo with drummer Pierre Courbois as the other half. The musicians perform a concert with eleven of their own compositions.
We also hear De Haas at a concert devoted to Yugoslavian music, and at a concert devoted to Frank Martin, where he has to share the stage with others. after all Finally, we – inevitably – hear an excerpt from Canto Ostinato. With Kees Wieringa, of course. But not the CD version that went gold in the Netherlands. Insteads we hear a recording from 1994, two years before they recorded their most famous version. And since Simeon ten Holt’s score leaves room for improvisation, no two performances are ever the same. If you know the album version well, you might enjoy trying to spot the differences.
Playlist:
1. Gong I
2. Blues for PC
3. Song
4. Dutch Nightingale
5. Morpheus
6. Whole scale
7. Berceuse
8. Abba
9. Gliss
10. Gong II
11. Encore: Emoe
12. Vasilije Mokranjac – Weerklanken
13. Frank Martin – Foxtrot for two pianos
14. Simeon ten Holt – Canto ostinato (conclusion)
