It often happens that a forgotten composer is put in the limelight with a special CD, only to be forgotten afterwards. However, the oeuvre of the pianist and pedagogue Wolfgang Wijdeveld deserves attention because of its unique position in the Dutch musical landscape. While greats like Pijper and Vermeulen were arguing about the hegemony of French or German music, Wijdeveld decided on an alternative
… direction: the Hungary of Bartók and the Russia of Stravinsky. Wijdeveld's Liederen op South African Tekst (1940) was certainly successful at the time. On this CD, however, we also hear the lesser known, but nevertheless beautiful Sonata for two violins and piano and the Three Songs (soprano, clarinet, piano, violin, viola). The driving force behind this project is apparently Ton Hartsuiker. He once had lessons from Wijdeveld for a short time, when he was the director of the music school in Zwolle. (HJ)more