Concert Hans Henkemans

In the fifties he made a name for himself at home and abroad with his brilliant interpretations of Mozart and Debussy. He was also one of the most frequently performed Dutch composers during that period. However, his outspoken ideas about music clashed radically with the ideas of the experimental music movement in the sixties. According to Henkemans, this movement no longer made music, but 'sonically'. In the polemic that arose after that, Henkemans took up the cause of the Concertgebouw Orchestra, which was under fire. However, Henkemans had to leave the Concertgebouw Orchestra in 1974. Henkemans increasingly withdrew from the music world. By the end of his life, he was almost a forgotten name. It is thanks to Ed Spanjaard, among others, that there is renewed interest in Henkemans' work.