Jaap Nico Hamburger Inside Info about his Piano Concerto

In August 2020, composer Jaap Nico Hamburger released the commercial recording of his Piano Concerto on Leaf Music performed by Assaff Weisman and l’Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal, Vincent de Kort, conductor. Mr. Hamburger spoke with us about his inspiration behind this work.

What made you interested in writing a piano concerto? 

My musical training was primarily focused on becoming a concert pianist. Consequently, and for many years, I had the privilege of studying the works of the masters in the very extensive piano literature. In the early 2000’s, I was approached by Jacob Boogaart, a Dutch concert pianist, who spent many years compiling an anthology of Dutch keyboard music. He came to visit me in Vancouver (where I lived at the time) and told me he had recorded compositions from the 1600s all the way up to the 1990s. But he had no works that had been composed in the 21st century. He then asked me if I would contribute to his recording. The thought of adding to the existing - and deeply revered - piano literature was rather scary and, as I realized, something I had until then deliberately avoided. I took up the challenge and composed both a solo sonata in two movements (Jacob Boogaart recorded the second movement; http://www.jacobbogaart.com/portfolio/the-art-of-dutch-keyboard-music/) and the piano concerto.

What challenges do you face when writing a piece for piano and orchestra? 

The work turned out to be rather large, with three movements and a score that requires the forces of a sizable symphony orchestra. The challenges were plenty, including but not limited to: making it interesting enough for pianists to spend the time and effort to study and perform the work, to make good use of the orchestra in terms of instrumentation, but also to be able to tell my audience a story that requires them to stay engaged for more than twenty minutes.

How did you and the pianist Assaff Weisman connect about this project?

I was already aware of Assaff’s work as pianist with the fantastic Israel Chamber Project. When the opportunity came up to record the work and I asked my agent Barbara Scales to suggest a soloist, the universe came together when her very first and enthusiastic reaction was ‘call Assaff!’. I remember that I reached him by phone as he was on tour. Much to my surprise, he got back to me within 24 hours with a very detailed and technical question about one particular bar in the second movement….while on tour, he had read and played through the entire work within a day! I also remember that within no time, he invited me to a Skype meeting in which he played through the entire work from memory. The man is a genius! The combination of Assaff’s art, the phenomenal quality of L’Orchestre Metropolitain de Montreal, and the pure joy of working with conductor Vincent de Kort made this recording for me an unforgettable experience. Of course, the quality of the team, including Misha Aster as producer and Jeremy VanSlyke of Leaf Music as chief recording technician contributed immensely to the quality of this recording.

Records International reviews Jaap Nico Hamburger Piano Concerto

This is a powerful, intense work, largely tonal and thoroughly approachable yet unusual in a number of respects. Hamburger graduated almost simultaneously from medical school and music conservatory, and voluntarily gave up a burgeoning career as concert pianist for decades of distinguished work as a cardiologist. He rebuilt his musical career after moving to Canada from the Netherlands in 2000 as part of his medical career, and has written a considerable amount of music since. He is clearly very conscious of his Jewish heritage, and his first two symphonies, a recording of which we may apparently look forward later this year, treat themes of Holocaust survival and war. This concerto presents something of a conundrum, in that it too plainly has vivid programmatic intent, but presumably by design this seems not to be documented - certainly not in the largely content-free booklet that comes with this disc. In the first movement, the composer’s main influences seem to be Feinberg and Mahler. The piece begins quietly and mournfully, but tension rises with a Mahlerian brass entry. Suddenly a terrifyingly mechanistic passage explodes out of nowhere and disappears just as quickly, with a return to the opening material and the piano's first, sombre solo entry. The second movement begins as an energetic, sarcastic scherzo, very indebted to Shostakovich and Prokofiev, and here the soloist is to the fore from the start. About a third of the way through, sirens attempt to drown out the music which gamely continues, followed by an explosive climax. What follows is a sustained lament, punctuated by shattered shards of sound from the piano and a cello. The side drum ushers in a cadenza, which could have wandered in from one of Feinberg's early sonatas. The orchestra joins in, and quickly the scherzando character of the movement is restored. The ending is snatched off in mid phrase. The last movement, Molto Adagio, is tragic and pained, spare of texture, haunted by a ghostly child's song in violin harmonics, even the piano torn between gentle reflection and sudden spasms of violence; here again one thinks of Shostakovich, or perhaps even more, of Weinberg. The concerto fades out in haunting, fragile, unresolved resignation. The disc contains only this one 22 minute work, and is priced accordingly. Assaff Weisman (piano), Orchestra Métropolitain de Montréal; Vincent de Kort.

Classical Music Sentinel reviews Jaap Nico Hamburger Piano Concerto

JAAP NICO HAMBURGER - Piano Concerto - Assaff Weisman (Piano) - Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal - Vincent de Kort (Conductor) - 615499526230 - Released: August 2020 - Leaf Music LM238

I believe a short introduction to the composer is in order here. Born in Amsterdam, Jaap Nico Hamburger has lived in Canada since August 2000. He studied piano with Youri Egorov amongst others, and graduated from the Royal Sweelinck Conservatorium of Music, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, with a soloist degree in piano. He is the current Composer in Residence with Mécénat Musica in Montréal, Canadian Music Centre Associate Composer, and a former Director of City Opera Vancouver.

His writing, in this work anyway, is very atmospheric and infiltrates your mind in a rather surreptitious fashion. There's a touch of schizophrenia to the music as it moves forward through the use of dissimilar personalities. For example, the slow build-up that opens the first movement is full of Gustav Mahler overtones (notice the horns), but suddenly at the halfway point of this rather short movement, the piano steps in but is overwhelmed by violent and cacophonous outbursts from the orchestra, only to regress to its former atmospheric state. Now the hyperactive second movement on the other hand, sounds like a genetic mutation between Sergei Prokofiev and Galina Ustvolskaya, with a hint of Edgar Varèse (notice the sirens). In contrast to the two Adagio movements that bookend it, this middle movement is highly active and boisterous, and applies technical and expressive pressure on the pianist, all of which is handled with aplomb by Assaff Weisman. The final and longest movement at just over nine minutes, with its anfractuous melodic line from start to finish, is where the music leaves an impression that lingers long after audition.

At first glance this review may seem negative, but only in the sense that this work's individual parts don't always jive with each other. But after repeated auditions, it seems the overall picture wouldn't be complete without these puzzle pieces, and the whole is more than the sum of its parts. It's a rather short disc at just over 22 minutes but you will notice that the price reflects this. Those of you looking to hear something new that isn't completely out in left field should appreciate the music of Jaap Nico Hamburger.