Kees Vlaardingerbroek is an independent artistic advisor and writer on musical subjects. He has curated and produced countless classical concerts and radio productions over the last 25 years. Until April 2023, he was the artistic director of the internationally renowned NTR ZaterdagMatinee, Dutch Public Radio’s Saturday afternoon concert series in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. He has worked with many of the world’s leading conductors, soloists, orchestras, choirs, ensembles, agents, and musicologists. He is a regular contributor to international scientific journals Studi vivaldiani, Music & Letters, Recercare, and other magazines.
A Fatal Moment for the Dutch Cultural Sector

A Fatal Moment for the Dutch Cultural Sector

The cultural sector needs to be rid of Woke, but nobody in the Netherlands dares to say that.

October 3, 2024
<strong>Vivaldi & Others</strong>: Luciano Berio—The Historically Conscious Avant-Gardist

<strong>Vivaldi & Others</strong>: Luciano Berio—The Historically Conscious Avant-Gardist

Berio believed that sounds are inextricably linked to a certain historical-traditional, even archetypal, meaning.

<strong>Vivaldi & Others</strong>: Luigi Dallapiccola and the Struggle with Tyranny 

<strong>Vivaldi & Others</strong>: Luigi Dallapiccola and the Struggle with Tyranny 

Dallapiccola composed Il prigioniero, set against the backdrop of the Dutch Revolt, to protest Mussolini’s regime.

<strong>Vivaldi & Others</strong>: Pietro Mascagni—Crowned Before He Became King

<strong>Vivaldi & Others</strong>: Pietro Mascagni—Crowned Before He Became King

In less than 80 minutes, Cavalleria rusticana alone establishes Mascagni as a composer worth our attention.

<strong>Vivaldi & Others</strong>: Giacomo Puccini and the Dark Sides of the Human Soul

<strong>Vivaldi & Others</strong>: Giacomo Puccini and the Dark Sides of the Human Soul

Puccini was a complex man with a distinctly dark side. This is also reflected in almost all his operas.

<strong>Vivaldi & Others</strong>: Giuseppe Verdi—The Voice of the Oppressed

<strong>Vivaldi & Others</strong>: Giuseppe Verdi—The Voice of the Oppressed

Verdi sat like ‘an Assyrian god,’ constantly commenting on the smallest details.

<strong>Vivaldi & Others</strong>: Vincenzo Bellini—the composer admired by both Verdi and Wagner

<strong>Vivaldi & Others</strong>: Vincenzo Bellini—the composer admired by both Verdi and Wagner

Bellini is poor, it is true, in his instrumentation and harmony! ... But rich in feeling and in an entirely

<strong>Vivaldi & Others</strong>: Gioachino Rossini—The Manic-Depressive Swan of Pesaro

<strong>Vivaldi & Others</strong>: Gioachino Rossini—The Manic-Depressive Swan of Pesaro

The ‘serious’ Rossini still does not get the appreciation he deserves in the opera world.

<strong>Vivaldi & Others</strong>: <br>Interlude—The Case of ‘Albinoni’s Adagio’

<strong>Vivaldi & Others</strong>: <br>Interlude—The Case of ‘Albinoni’s Adagio’

The Adagio gives a totally distorted picture of Albinoni and his music.

February 28, 2024
<strong>Vivaldi & Others</strong>: Giovanni Battista Viotti—Brahms’ Secret Love  

<strong>Vivaldi & Others</strong>: Giovanni Battista Viotti—Brahms’ Secret Love  

Viotti manages to strike a brilliant balance between infectious virtuosity and musical depth.

February 18, 2024
<strong>Vivaldi & Others</strong>: Giovanni Battista Pergolesi—the Italian Mozart

<strong>Vivaldi & Others</strong>: Giovanni Battista Pergolesi—the Italian Mozart

A consequence of Pergolesi’s posthumous fame: publishers sold works by other composers under Pergolesi’s commercially attractive name.

January 28, 2024