Festival/Competition NVvMO Netherlands 2009

**Alex Timmerman** · Nov-17-2009, 7:06pm

Last weekend, Saturday November 14, the National Festival-Competition "from Soloist to Double Quartet" took place in Almere, Netherlands. This yearly event, with a special focus on young talent, is organized by the Dutch Association of Mandolin Orchestras (NVvMO) and open to all guitarists and mandolinists living in the Netherlands. Participants came from places all over the country like Oostvoorne, Nijmegen, Zeewolde, Zwolle, Laag Zuthem, Almere, Lelystad, Bleiswijk and Tilburg.

Mandolin students of the Zwolle Centre for the Arts ‘De Muzerie’, Ferdinand Binnendijk (Zwolle), Pauline Ulderink (Laag Zuthem) and Ruth Rouw (Zwolle), also participated in the competition and what they achieved was truly admirable, so I like to inform you about it.

Ferdinand applied as a mandolin soloist in the highest soloist section named 'Superior' and - together with Pauline and Ruth – he also opted for a good result in the '1st Division for Ensembles’.
That their performances were highly appreciated by the audience became evident because of the enthusiastic applause after each composition that was played. The jury was also impressed for in their report on Ferdinand Binnendijk’s solo playing they wrote: "A fantastic technique", "a performance with many (subtle) differences in timbre',' everything by memory, fantastic',' Tipical Calace, full of bravura and surrender! Beautifully executed double stops, chords, tremolo, pizzicati, etc. and virtuos scale sequences were very well done .. ". "A great achievement".

Ferdinand received the highest score in the category 'Superior' and won the first prize! The compositions he performed were the "Fugue" from the Sonata for solo violin (BWV 1001) by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) and the "Prelude No.2" for mandolin solo by Raffaele Calace (1863-1934).

Photo: Ferdinand Binnendijk at the competion

**Alex Timmerman** · Nov-17-2009, 7:08pm

As a mandolin quartet, playing in the '1st Division for Ensembles’, Ferdinand (1st mandolin), together with Pauline (2nd mandolin), Ruth (mandola) accompanied by their teacher on guitar, were awarded the highest score and the first prize in that catagory.
The quartet played two works; a quartet composed by the Austrian composer Ignaz Pleyel (1757-1831) consisting of an Allegro, a Romanza and a Rondo, and a new work (we all know) originally written for mandolin quartet with the title "Hues of Dusk", a composition by 'our own' tone poet Victor Kioulaphides.

About the mandolin quartet the jury mentioned the following: "Great teamwork, great phrasing and excellent handling of dynamics", and "A very well balanced quartet, performing music with excellent techniques", and "…was listening with admiration and have greatly enjoyed their playing. Bravo!"

All in all it was an exciting and memorable day for all participants and listeners, and a day with wonderful musical results!

Best regards,

Alex

Photo: The Mandolin Quartet playing at the NVvMO 2009 Competition in Almere (Netherlands).

**Pietrobono** · Nov-18-2009, 12:51am

Congrats to your students and to their teacher, Alex !
All my best wishes for your musical activities.

Sincerely yours

**vkioulaphides** · Nov-18-2009, 9:23am

My warmest congratulations to all young artists involved. You have done all of us proud!

Three cheers!

Victor

**Richard Walz** · Nov-19-2009, 1:48am

Congratulations to Ferdinand, Ruth anbd Pauline! I haven't seen any of you in a few years but look forward to a visit to Zwolle sometime in the next couple of months.

**Alex Timmerman** · Nov-20-2009, 4:27am

Hello friends,

Thank you all for your enthusiastic and encouraging comments. I'll forward them to Ferdinand, Pauline and Ruth and be sure it will be much appreciated!

Thanks and best greetings,

Alex

PS. I know there was a video camera running and as a things turn on good enough to show I hope to give you also a hear- and viewable impression of their playing.

**John Craton** · Nov-20-2009, 9:40am

Allow me to echo my own congratulations to Ferdinand, Ruth, Pauline, Alex, et al. You all are vanguards in promoting the excellence of our little instrument to the next generation(s). Well done!

**KristinEliza** · Nov-20-2009, 10:48am

Congrats!!

**Alex Timmerman** · Nov-20-2009, 5:52pm

Hello again,

And thank you John and KristinEliza for your kind comments!

As promised, here is the video of the Ignaz Pleyel mandolin quartet
we played at the NVvMO Festival competition:

Enjoy,

Alex.

**vkioulaphides** · Nov-23-2009, 3:40pm

What an absolutely FANTASTIC performance!

I cannot say enough, either about the technical proficiency, or (far more importantly) the expert --and delicious!-- shaping of the phrases in this elegant piece. (Incidentally, Pleyel is IMHO an unjustly neglected and/or underestimated master of his era.)

At the risk of unfairly singling out only one out of these four, wonderful players, I must still say that Ruth's playing struck me as the most fluid, melodious, cantabile mandola-playing I have EVER heard in my life!

But of course Ferdinand, Pauline, and our own Alex T. are in no way less impressive-- and the sum total of the group is ever greater than the fine "ingredients" that went into it.

You have done the worldwide mando-community proud.

***Applause, applause, applause!!!***

Victor