Recorder and harpsichord. The Czech debut of flautist Erik Bosgraaf in the church of St. Simon and Judas

Charismatic Dutch flutist Erik Bosgraaf will perform in Prague for the first time. As part of the FOK Old Music cycle, on Tuesday, April 30, it will be presented in the church of St. Šimon and Judy accompanied by the Italian harpsichordist Francesco Corti. The program is a tribute to Princess Anne of Hanover, daughter of King George II of England, who mastered the flute and harpsichord and was a very gifted pupil of Georg Friedrich Händel.

“It is a very special opportunity for me to play music in Prague that sounded almost three hundred years ago in the Netherlands. I think that, especially nowadays, we need to focus on everything that our cultures have in common, and not define ourselves in relation to each other. Even though musical fashions have changed, the human race is still the same at its core: we want to be moved by music, whether to happiness or tears.” said Erik Bosgraaf.

Erik Bosgraaf is considered one of the world’s leading recorder players, among the most adventurous. He improvises in an exciting way, plays jazz, uses electronics and likes to collaborate with people in other fields of artistic activity, such as cinematography. His repertoire ranges from the Baroque to the present. In his opinion, there is no fundamental difference between the historical and contemporary repertoire. He says that old music is always new. His three-CD set with recordings of compositions by the Dutch author Jacob van Eyck was called groundbreaking by critics and met with unprecedented sales success.

Francesco Corti is an Italian harpsichordist and conductor. Since 2018, he has been the principal guest conductor of the Il Pomo d’Oro orchestra, which specializes in early music. With this ensemble he also recorded the first three movements of Bach’s harpsichord concertos and Handel’s cantata Apollo e Dafne as a soloist. His last solo recording was awarded the prestigious Diapason d’Or de l’Année 2022.

Before the concert, a meeting with the artists takes place in the church from 6:15 p.m., moderated by FOK dramaturg Martin Rudovský.

The concert is held under the auspices of HE Daan Feddo Huisinga, ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Czech Republic.

A word from FOK dramaturg Martin Rudovský

“Even today, the Netherlands is a land of promise for historical music, and the famous flautist Erik Bosgraaf is one of the central figures there; already with his height and overall charismatic appearance. With their loyal companion, the top Italian harpsichordist Francesco Corti, they will bring a truly royal program for their Czech debut, namely one that is a tribute to Anne of Hanover, the British royal princess, the so gifted pupil of Georg Friedrich Händel. In 1734 she married William IV. Orange, the later ruler of the entire Netherlands, which brings the whole story to a beautiful close. We can only look forward to how Erik will tell it to us with his flute.”

Program

ERIK BOSGRAAF

April 30, 2024 from 19:30, Church of St. Simon and Judas

GEORG FRIEDRICH HANDEL
Sonata in C major HWV 365
Sonata in B minor HWV 367a
Suite in D minor HWV 428

JEAN-MARIE LECLAIR ST.
Sonata in G major op. 9 No. 7

UNICO WILHELM VAN WASSENAER
Sonata No. 2 in G minor
Sonata No. 3 in G minor

Erik BOSGRAAF | recorder
Francesco CORTI | harpsichord