“Een prachtige muzikale vertelling…” Eindhovens Dagblad

“Een uniek concert!” muziekinstrumentenmuseum.nl

“Van Zoelen erwies sich nicht nur als launiger Erzähler,

sondern auch als exzellenter Interpret…filigran und ausdrucksvoll“

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L'Histoire du Sax

…is a musical trip through the past! No other instrument has seen so many changes in such a small time span.Originally thought of as a part of the symfonic orchestra, with the lyric qualities of a string instrument yet with the power of a wind instrument, the whole instrument soon changed when jazz players ‘discovered’ the instrument. The saxophones that are built today hardly even resemble the instrument as it was originally conceived by Adolph Sax!

Andreas van Zoelen has a large collection of instruments. A.o. he owns an instrument from 1866, built by Buffet & Crampon, several high pitched instruments, a so called Tarogató, basically a soprano saxophone made of wood from eastern Europe, and of course several instruments from the atelier of Adolph Sax himself!!! These instruments where carefully revised and brought back into their original state. Apart from the instruments themselves, Andreas also has created a large library of music from all eras of the saxophone history. The oldest work in his collection is a copy of the Méthode complète et raisonnée (the first pedagogical work for saxophone) from 1845, when only a few actual saxophones existed!

This way, L’Histoire du Sax gives an overview of the colourful history that the saxophone knows; from theme and variations from 1845, via the Roaring Twenties, to the symphonic music of the Interbellum. Highlights of the repertoire sound on instruments from the same period!

Recent performances took place a.o. in the Ridderzaal of the Muiderslot, Muiden / de Azijnfabriek in den Bosch / the Jan van Besouwhuis, Goirle / L1 studios Maastricht for a live radio broadcast / the Hilvaria Studios in Hilvarenbeek / the Kloosterkerk of the Hague / Omroep Brabant studios for a live radio broadcast in the programme ‘van genot en passie’ / the old church in Spaarndam / the Toonzaal den Bosch / de Vereeniging in Nijmegen, one of the oldest concerthalls in the Netherlands / de Tiliander, Oisterwijk / de Waalse kerk in Arnhem for the MusikBiennale Niederrhein / Museum Kempenland Eindhoven / Museum Vosbergen Eelde etc. etc.

Recently, van Zoelen has teamed up with Xavier Maes, www.luxuriousdrinks.com . Recitals can be combined with wine tasting events in which the vintage and vibe of a wine are carefully and artistically combined with the music that is played. Truly a remarkable experience!

(with Adolph Sax in front of his house of birth in Dinant, Belgium)

Listen to a performance of the ‘Valse Vanité’ by Rudy Wiedoeft, played by Andreas on a prototype straight alto from the fifties, accompanied by Martien Maas at the piano.

For video excerpts from one of the recent concerts click here

To be sure of an authentic rendition of his repertoire, Andreas studied many old recordings of the great saxophonists of the past, several of which were only available on wax cylinder!

Highlights of his collection are also video images of the old masters.

(examining an Adolph Sax instrument for the collection in London, UK)

Here’s an impression of the recent recitals;