Han Samuel de Vries (born 31 August 1941,

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

), is a Dutch oboist and is considered the doyen of the Dutch school of oboe playing. He studied oboe with Jaap Stotijn at the

Royal Conservatory of The Hague The Royal Conservatoire (, KC) is a conservatoire in The Hague, providing higher education in music and dance. The conservatoire was founded by King William I in 1826, making it the oldest conservatoire in the Netherlands. Since September 2021, t ...

and with his son Haakon Stotijn at the Sweelinck Conservatory 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 ...

. He won many prizes in his youth, including the ''Prix d'Excellence'' in 1962. He was a founding member of the Netherlands Wind Ensemble in 1960. In 1963, at the age of 22, he became principal oboist at the

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (, ) is a Dutch symphony orchestra, established in 1888 at the Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw (concert hall). It is considered one of the world's leading orchestras. It was known as the Concertgebouw Orchestra u ...

. He remained with the Concertgebouw Orchestra for seven years, after which he focused on chamber music and a solo career. He was a member of the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra and in 1973 he joined the Danzi (Wind) Quintet. Instigated by

Frans Brüggen Franciscus ("Frans") Jozef Brüggen (30 October 1934 – 13 August 2014) was a Dutch Conducting, conductor, recorder player and baroque flautist. Biography Born in Amsterdam, Brüggen was the youngest of the nine children of August Brüggen, a t ...

, De Vries has played baroque oboe besides the modern oboe since 1970, at which time this was still unusual. In 1964, he was appointed professor at the Sweelinck Conservatory, where he subsequently taught for almost three decades. Among his students have been Christopher Bouwman, Peter Bree, Frank van Koten, Wolfgang Lange, and Bart Schneemann. Later he limited himself to giving masterclasses. As a soloist, De Vries has toured Europe, Japan, Australia, and North and South America, with a repertory of baroque, classical, romantic and contemporary music. He has made many recordings, one of which (of the oboe sonatas of

Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

, Bartók, Ben Haim, Poulenc and Shinohara with pianist Rudolf Jansen) won an

Edison Award The Edison Award is an annual Dutch music prize awarded for outstanding achievements in the music industry. It is comparable to the American Grammy Award. The Edison award itself is a bronze replica of a statuette of Thomas Edison, designed by ...

in 1973. Among the composers who have dedicated music to him are

Louis Andriessen Louis Joseph Andriessen (; 6 June 1939 – 1 July 2021) was a Dutch composer, pianist and academic teacher. Considered the most influential Dutch composer of his generation, he was a central proponent of The Hague school of composition. Although ...

(''Anachronie II, musique d’ameublement'' ("furniture music"), to the memory of Erik Satie. 1969),

Peter Schat Peter Ane Schat (5 June 1935 – 3 February 2003) was a Dutch composer. Biography Schat was born on 5 June 1935 in Utrecht. He studied composition with Kees van Baaren (1952–1958) at the Utrecht Conservatoire and Royal Conservatory of The Ha ...

(''Theme'' op. 21, 1970),

Bruno Maderna Bruno Maderna (born Bruno Grossato, 21 April 1920 – 13 November 1973) was an Italian composer, conductor and academic teacher. Life Maderna was born Bruno Grossato in Venice but later decided to take the name of his mother, Caterina Carolina M ...

(Oboe Concerto No. 3, 1973),

Morton Feldman Morton Feldman (January 12, 1926 – September 3, 1987) was an American composer. A major figure in 20th-century classical music, Feldman was a pioneer of indeterminacy in music, a development associated with the experimental New York School o ...

(''Oboe and Orchestra'', 1976), and

Willem Breuker Willem Breuker (4 November 1944 – 23 July 2010) was a Dutch bandleader, composer, arranger, saxophonist, and clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindri ...

(Oboe Concertos Nos. 1 and 2, 1992, 2000). Most of these pieces employ unorthodox techniques for oboe like

multiphonics A multiphonic is an extended technique on a monophonic musical instrument (one that generally produces only one note at a time) in which several notes are produced at once. This includes wind, reed, and brass instruments, as well as the human vo ...

, fluttertonguing, and

glissandi In music, a glissando (; plural: ''glissandi'', abbreviated ''gliss.'') is a wikt:glide, glide from one pitch (music), pitch to another (). It is an Italianized Musical terminology, musical term derived from the French ''glisser'', "to glide". In ...

, as if to emphasize De Vries' wide range from baroque to postmodern music. De Vries has a deep interest in the history of oboes and oboe music. He assembled a large collection of historical oboes which is now at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. He also has edited Baroque oboe repertoire, published previously unpublished old oboe music, and pursued lost oboe music like

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

's oboe concerto.Peter van er Lint
Een middelmatig concert van goud

Trouw ''Trouw'' (; ) is a Dutch daily newspaper appearing in compact size. It was founded in 1943 as an orthodox Protestant underground newspaper during World War II. Since 2009, it has been owned by DPG Media (known as De Persgroep until 2019). '' ...

, 27 February 2003 (in Dutch) In 1997, he was named an Officer in the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau () is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has performed acts of special merits for ...

. Two CD boxes contain his recorded legacy: ''Han de Vries – The Radio Recordings'' (Oboe Classics CC 2024, 9CDs + 2 DVDs) was released in 2011 to mark his 70th birthday, and ''Han de Vries – The almost last recordings'' (Attacca Records 2016.148, 18 CDs + 1 DVD) was released in 2016 to mark his 75th birthday.

Recordings

*'' Bellini, Hummel, Kalliwoda: Romantische Oboenkonzerte'',

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

Electrola C 063-24591 LP. 1973. *''Han de Vries – The Romantic Oboe'', with the Amsterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Anton Kersjes, Playing Bellini, Hummel and Kalliwoda, Recorded 1973 Bovema EMI/ * WRC-EMI NZ -_EMD 5505 /1975 *''

Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist, impresario of Baroque music and Roman Catholic priest. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lif ...

, Krebs,

Händel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, Han ...

Telemann Georg Philipp Telemann (; – 25 June 1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. He is one of the most prolific composers in history, at least in terms of surviving works. Telemann was considered by his contemporaries to be ...

Babell Babell is a hamlet in Flintshire, Wales. It is part of the community of Ysgeifiog. The hamlet takes its name from the Babell Methodist chapel, built in 1836, but the surrounding area, a township of Ysgeifiog parish, was formerly known as Gelli ...

: Werken voor Hobo en Orgel'', Han de Vries, Albert de Klerk

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice is an entertainment trademark featuring a dog named Nipper, curiously peering into the horn of a wind-up gramophone. Painted by Francis Barraud in 1898, the image has since become a global symbol used across consumer elect ...

, 1A 037-25231 LP, 1976. *''

, Bartók, Ben-Haim, Poulenc, Shinohara'': Han de Vries – Hobo, Oboe. Rudolf Jansen, piano

C 053-24585 LP, 1976. *'' Albinoni: Four Oboe Concertos Op. 9, Nos. 2,5,8 & 11'',

Angel LP, 1981. *'' Cimarosa,

Pergolesi Pergolesi is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, (1710–1736), Italian composer, violinist, and organist * Michael Angelo Pergolesi, 18th-century Italian decorative artist {{Surname Italian-langu ...

, Corelli, Scarlatti, Zipoli,

Tartini Giuseppe Tartini (8 April 1692 – 26 February 1770) was an Italian composer and violinist of the Baroque era born in Pirano in the Republic of Venice (now Piran, Slovenia). Tartini was a prolific composer, composing over a hundred pieces for the ...

: Werken voor hobo en strijkorkest''. EMI 065-26683 LP, 1981. *''

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...

: Arias from Cantatas for Soprano, Oboe and B.C.'',

Elly Ameling Elisabeth Sara "Elly" Ameling (born 8 February 1933) is a Dutch soprano, who is particularly known for lieder recitals and for performing works by Johann Sebastian Bach. Performing with distinguished pianists and ensembles around the globe, she w ...

1270581 LP, 1983. *''

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

: Ode Aan Amadeus, Deel 2''.

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...

830 373-1 LP, 1986. *''

: Oboenkonzerte & -Sonaten'', Alma Musica Amsterdam,

CDM 7 63068-2 CD (Reflexe), 1989. *''Apassionato''. Mercury 8421 302 CD, 1990. (Mercury 8421 301 LP, 1989) *''De Vries & Zoon''. Mercury 5129 252 CD, 1992. *''

: Nocturnen. Ittrospezione III. Concept II). Anachronie I. Contra Tempus. Anachronie II'', (Han de Vries, bassoon), Composers' Voice CV54 CD, 1996. *''The Art of Han de Vries'', Oboe Classics CC2004, 2002 *''Han de Vries – The Radio Recordings'', Oboe Classics CC2024, 2011

References

*Leur, Truus de. "Vries, Han (Libbe amuel de"
''Grove Music Online''
, edited by Deane Root (Accessed 23 November 2010), (Subscription access)

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vries, Han de 1941 births Living people Dutch oboists Male oboists Academic staff of the Conservatorium van Amsterdam Musicians from The Hague Players of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Royal Conservatory of The Hague alumni Conservatorium van Amsterdam alumni