Basic
First Name:
Jan Bastiaan
Last Name:
Neven
City:
Amsterdam
Country:
The Netherlands
First Year:
1997
Last Year:
1999
Biography
Birthday:
12/23/1972
About:
Jan Bastiaan Neven had his first cello lessons with Jan Hollinger at the age of ten. He continued his studies at the Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf with Johannes Goritzki and -with a scholarship from the Prins Bernhard Foundation- with Colin Carr, Gary Hoffman and Laurence Lesser at the New England Conservatory in Boston. He participated in master classes with Frans Helmerson, Anner Bijlsma, Alexander Baillie and Philippe Müller. Since a young age Jan Bastiaan Neven appeared as a soloist with orchestras in Europe and the USA and he performed and taught at many festivals around the world. As an active chamber musician he collaborated with Ivry Gitlis, Gordan Nikolic, Pieter Wispelwey, Paolo Giacometti, Hans Eijsackers, Udo Reinemann, Christianne Stotijn, the Brodsky, Prazák and Orpheus Quartets and many others. When he was a member of the Huntington Piano Trio he performed in Carnegie Hall and many other venues throughout the USA. When he was solo cellist of the Orquestra Clássica do Sul in Portugal, he appeared regularly as a soloist with the orchestra and recorded the cello concerto by the Portuguese composer Joly Braga Santos for Naxos/Marco Polo. As a guest principal cellist he played with orchestras as The Aurora Orchestra, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and The Netherlands Philharmonic orchestra. Jan Bastiaan Neven is assistant solo cellist of the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra and a member of the Erard Ensemble and the Amsterdam Chamber soloists. The Erard ensemble plays romantic chamber music on period instruments; an Erard piano from 1851 and string instruments with gut strings. In their concert series in the Amstelkerk in Amsterdam Jan Bastiaan is performing a cycle of the Bach cello suites. Together with pianist Daria van den Bercken he currently performing a cycle of the works for piano and cello by Beethoven in Splendor Amsterdam and other venues in the Netherlands. Jan Bastiaan collaborated and toured in several dance productions with dancer/choreographer Heather Ware (winner of “de Zwaan” 2010). Recently Onyx released “With love from Russia”, a CD with Russian repertoire for Baritone, cello and piano with baritone Henk Neven and Hans Eijsackers. This program was also played at the Royal Concertgebouw, De Doelen in Rotterdam, the International Lied Festival in Zelst and the Cello Biënnale Amsterdam. Press: “Jan Bastiaan Neven is the superb soloist, giving a highly persuasive performance that is technically secure and invested with subtle colours.” David Denton in Strad Magazine “…the Dutch-born Jan Bastiaan Neven, principal cello of the Algarve Orchestra, expounds it with great sensitivity. He brings out the innate nobility of Braga Santos´s fluid melodic line, displays a remarkable range of tone colour for the often very challenging writing, and moves in and out of dialogue with various sections of the orchestra with great skill.” Calum MacDonald in BBC Music Magazine. “Jan Bastiaan Neven plays with complete confidence and admirable sensitivity.” Lehman in American Recording Guide. “Jan Bastiaan Neven maakt indruk door zijn prachtige frasering en eloquentie op cello” operanederland.nl “Sensitive cello playing Throughout” Freya Parr in BBC music magazine “fine solo work from Jan Bastiaan Neven” Martin Anderson in International Record Review. “... Se souvenant de la musique Baroque, la "Suite Italienne" de Stravinski permettait d'entendre en soliste (moment attendu) le violoncelle de Jan-Bastiaan Neven, dont la sonorité, la précision des lignes, l'élégance du jeu transparaissait déjà, depuis le début du festival, dans les ensembles...” La Nouvelle Republique
Current Primary Activity(ies):
Assistant principal cellist of the Netherlands Chamber orchestra, Team leader at VluchtelingenWerk (an ngo that supports refugees), member of the Erard Ensemble.
Other Teachers:
Jan Hollinger, Johannes Goritzki, Colin Carr