Grieg, Elgar, Barber, Gershwin - Willeke Smits (organ) and Emma Brown (mezzo-soprano)

Grieg, Elgar, Barber, Gershwin - Willeke Smits (organ) and Emma Brown (mezzo-soprano)

Some of the program:

Gershwin - Summertime (arr.)

Barber - Adagio for Strings (arr.)

Grieg - Holberg Suite


From overseas

Organist Willeke Smits takes you on a trip across the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean to England and the United States. A better companion than the British mezzo-soprano Emma Brown is hardly conceivable. Together they bring a number of top hits from the classical music of Great Britain and America to life.


Barbers 'Adagio

Swoon away to the romantic sounds of Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber. The lilting melody might make you feel melancholic. So was former first lady Jackie Kennedy. Three days after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, this was broadcast on American radio in memory of the president. Since then the piece has appeared in soundtracks of film classics such as The Elephant Man (1980). Is it the heartbreaking melody or is it the dramatic climax that makes the piece so moving? Willeke Smits plays an equally moving version for organ.


Summertime of Gershwin

What makes composer George Gershwin so unique? He was one of the first to mix elements from classical music, jazz and blues into his own recognizable style. You can hear that right away in his success song 'Summertime' from the opera Porgy and Bess. The piece has the form of an aria, but sounds almost like a negro-spiritual. Gershwin all the way!


From Holberg's time

Everyone knows Grieg's Peer Gynt Suites. The suite from Holberg's time is almost as well known. Grieg wrote the piece in 1884 in memory of the Norwegian writer Ludvig Holberg (1684-1754). With his music he literally went back to Holberg's time, because the suite consists of a series of dances from the seventeenth century, such as a Sarabande, a Gavotte and a Rigaudon.


The Lost Chord

Arthur Sullivan made his name in his time mainly with operetta music. But you don't hear much of those operetta butchers in his lived through song 'The Lost Chord'. The reason was also too serious. For some time Sullivan wanted to set Adelaide Anne Proctor's poem 'The Lost Chord' to music, but every attempt failed. On his brother Fred's sickbed the creative fire suddenly flared up. Arthur, who wanted to offer his dying brother Fred some comfort with an ear-watering melody, wrote down the song in one night


Youtube tip

Listen to Samuel Barber's famous 'Adagio' in a version for organ solo.

Groot-Brittannië Engeland Amerika Verenigde Staten Porgy and Bess Arthur Sullivan The Lost Chord Summertime Seizoen '19-'20 mezzosopraan OrgelPlus Ypma-orgel Adagio for Strings Samuel Barber George Gershwin Edvard Grieg Holberg Suite
Friday 1 November 2019, 20:00

All good comes from afar, some say. This certainly applies to the atmospheric songs and organ pieces by Ralph Vaughan Williams, George Gershwin and Aaron Copland. Enjoy 'hits' like Summertime by Gershwin and an organ version of Barber's touchingly beautiful Adagio for Strings. Under the title 'From overseas', organist Willeke Smits and British mezzo-soprano Emma Brown take you to the picturesque English countryside and bustling New York.

When and where

Begin time:
Friday 1 November 2019, 20:00

The Edesche Concert Hall. Unheard of acoustics, intimate beauty, one of the most beautiful concert grand pianos in the Netherlands with the very best musicians. From one hour before the start of the concert you are welcome in the Edesche Concert Hall, for example for a cup of coffee in advance. Please note: during the performance we do not grant access to the concert hall The Edesche Concertzaal is unsubsidized and is made possible by Eskes Media / DagjeWeg.NL.

  • Many payment options online;
  • Stage Gift Card OK, also online;
  • Free coffee/drinks/breakfasts;
  • Free wardrobe;
  • Free luxury program magazine;
  • Free and paid parking in the vicinity;
  • ECLive! Listen to the concert again in high quality afterwards (at selected concerts);
  • Enjoy the Edesche Concert Hall Diner at the adjacent atmospheric restaurant Buitenzorg;
  • Subsidy free and independent. Sponsor: DagjeWeg.NL Tickets;
  • NPO Radio 4 broadcasts regularly from the Edesche Concertzaal. Listen again to e.g.

Edesche Concertzaal

Amsterdamseweg 9, Ede

Directions: Car Public transportation