Guus Janssen (born 13 May 1951) is a Dutch composer of

contemporary music Contemporary music is whatever music is produced at the current time. Specifically, it could refer to: Genres or audiences * Adult contemporary music * British contemporary R&B * Christian adult contemporary * Christian contemporary hit radio * Con ...

and a

recording artist A musician is someone who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate a person who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters, ...

. A

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

and

harpsichordist A harpsichordist is a person who plays the harpsichord. Harpsichordists may play as soloists, as accompanists, as chamber musicians, or as members of an orchestra, or some combination of these roles. Solo harpsichordists may play unaccompanied son ...

, he is also active as a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

performer. He studied piano and composition at the Sweelinck Academy of Music in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

with Ton de Leeuw and piano with Jaap Spaanderman.Janssen 2004
. He also studied piano with Ton Hartsuiker. He has performed with

John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conducting, conductor, saxophonist, arrangement, arranger and record producer, producer who "deliberately resists category". His Avant-garde music, avant-garde and experimental music, ex ...

, George Lewis,

Han Bennink Han Bennink (born 17 April 1942) is a Dutch drummer and percussionist. On occasion his recordings have featured him playing soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, trombone, violin, banjo and piano. Though perhaps best known as one of the pivotal figu ...

(and Bennink's group Clusone Trio as a guest), Theo Loevendie, and Gidon Kremer. He teaches at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague. He won the Matthijs Vermeulen Award in 1984. He composed two

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

s in collaboration with Friso Haverkamp and has released several CDs.

Discography

* ''Klankast'' (Geestgronden, rec. 1987–1991) * ''Lighter'' (Geestgronden, rec. 1992–1995) with Ernst Glerum, Wim Janssen * ''Chamber & Solo'' (Geestgronden/Donemus rec. 1982–1996, ed. 1997) * ''Zwik'' (Geestgronden, 1996–1997) * ''Hollywood o.K. Pieces'' (Geestgronden, 2001) * Guus Janssen, David Kweksilber (Geestgronden, 2006) * ''Out of Frame'' (Geestgronden, 2008) * ''Meeting Points'' (Bimhuis, 2015, with Oene van Geel,

Lee Konitz Leon "Lee" Konitz (October 13, 1927 – April 15, 2020) was an American jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist and composer. He performed successfully in a wide range of jazz styles, including bebop, cool jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Konitz's ass ...

, Michael Moore (jazz musician), Ernst Reijseger, Ernst Glerum, Wim Janssen,

a.o.) * ''VOSTOK Remote Islands'' ( Relative Pitch Records, 2023) Guus Janssen, Fie Schouten, Vincent Courtois

Festival performances

* Open Music '92 (Открытая Музыка-92) in Saint-Petersburg, Russia

References

*Filanovskij, Boris. 2003a. "Gjus Jansen/Guus Janssen". In ''Pro gollandskuju muzyku'' n Dutch music edited by Irina Leskovskaja, 318–29. St Petersburg: Institut Pro Arte. *Filanovskij, Boris. 2003b. "Gjus Jansen: 'Menja zanimaet nesinhronnost' žizni'" uus Janssen: 'I Am Interested in an Asynchrony of Life' In ''Pro gollandskuju muzyku'' n Dutch music edited by Irina Leskovskaja, 330–34. St Petersburg: Institut Pro Arte. *Janssen, Guus. 2004.
Take Ten: Guus Janssen: 'Muziek is een prachtige manier om zonder woorden te gebruiken toch een eigen mentaliteit of levenshouding te laten spreken'
. ''Draai om je oren: Jazz en meer'' website. (Accessed 16 February 2010) *Oskamp, Jacqueline. 2003. ''Radicaal gewoon: Bestaat er zoiets als Nederlandse muziek?''. Amsterdam: Mets & Schilt. , *Schönberger, Elmar. 1986. "String Quartet or 'String Quartet'". ''Key Notes'', no. 23:13. *Waa, Frits van der. 1994. "Guus Janssen and the Skating-on-Thin-Ice Feeling". ''Key Notes'', no. 28, no. 3 (September):8–13. *Waa, Frits van der. 2001. "Janssen, Guus". ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', second edition, edited by

Stanley Sadie Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was a British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was published as the first edition ...

and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers.

External links

Official site
1951 births Living people People from Heiloo Dutch composers Dutch pianists Dutch jazz pianists Dutch harpsichordists 21st-century Dutch pianists {{Netherlands-composer-stub