"For me, it’s natural to explore and bridge connections between individual musicians and ensembles with every new composition. The music coming out will always be an expression of the constant research I do throughout my artistic life.

Rembrandt Frerichs

Keep browsing or go to the general website of Rembrandt as a pianist-composer and artistic initiator.

 

 

Composing is all about playing

Rembrandt literally grew up in his father music shop, south of Rotterdam. Since a kid, he’s been playing piano (his main instrument) and organ, had trumpet and drum lessons and lately also picked up some acoustic bass. After highschool in the Netherlands he spent a couple years in the Middle East, aged 17 to 19 years old.

Playing with all these instruments gave Rembrandt insight into the different families of musical instruments, but to really focus completely he went to study at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague and was offered a scholarship to study for some time in New York City on “his” instrument, the piano. He’s been based in The Hague ever since his studies at the conservatory.

His journey into composing began with encouragement from his colleagues, who frequently requested more of his music for their concerts. Grateful for their support, he promised to bring new pieces to their performances—a commitment that drove him to further develop his skills as a composer.  (Watch this concert at the Concertgebouw by Liza Ferschtman). This pivotal encouragement inspired him to expand his work for a variety of ensembles. Today, his focus on composing has grown to the point where he also often steps back from the stage, dedicating himself to creating music for others to perform.

Actually much of the composing he does directly on to the staves, avoiding the piano in the early stages to allow the music in his mind to flow as purely as possible, without being influenced by translation to the keyboard. Later, he turns to the piano to refine the details and further develop his ideas.

Rembrandt’s music is characterised by a strong rhythmic drive. His poetic and danceable rhythms give his compositions an immediate sense of accessibility. However, as performers delve deeper into the pieces, they often discover the intricate and delicate craftsmanship underlying the music. (Watch some of that rhythmic drive here) performed by David Cohen & Daniel Rowland

"One of the highlights of the Delft Chamber Music festival" - 


— Volkskrant

Tailormade expression of the individual

Rembrandt is inspired by the unique storytelling of each individual musician or singer he writes for.

Whenever composing for someone, he starts with a conversation about what this specific artist wants to express in their music. The focus then lies on crafting a personal, true story once the music starts playing, that gives free way to the individuality of the artist.

Rembrandt: “For me, composing is not merely about arranging notes on a page but about uncovering the hidden potential of the individuals l’m writing for”

Videos

New European Ensemble & Rembrandt. World Premiere for Dutch TV.

Premiere for New European Ensemble & Rembrandt.
Fragments of the piece “Whispers of the Wind, The Horseman’s Gallop”
As recorded by the VPRO for Dag van de Componist at Tivoli Vredenburg.

Promotional video. Pianoconcerto Rembrandt Frerichs, Alma Quartet, Dominic Seldis, Vinsent Planjer

Pianoconcerto #3. Residentie Orkest, Wouter Vossen & Rembrandt

Recorded during rehearsal at Nieuwe Kerk Den Haag. 10 June 2023. Residentie Orkest The Hague Rembrandt Frerichs-piano & composer. led from the violin by Wouter Vossen

Pianoconcertos 1 & 2

Premiere of Pianoconcertos 1&2, composed for musicians of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra’s series “de IJsalon”

Recorded live on May 21 2021 At Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ.
Visuals by GryckoVisuals | Audio recorded by Arjen van Asselt.
Comissioned and organised by Music Stages Foundation / Michael Gieler
Musicians: Alma Quartet: Marc Daniel van Biemen -1st violin | Benjamin Peled -2nd violin
Judith Wijzenbeek -viola | Clement Peigne -cello | Andrea Caruso -acoustic bass | Vinsent Planjer -drums | Rembrandt Frerichs -composer & piano soloist.

Triple Concerto (violin, cello, piano) Daniel Rowland & David Cohen. Stift festival orchestra

From the World Premiere of the Triple Concerto “The Ashes Glow, the sleeping fire rises” Performed by the Stift Festival Orchestra & Daniel Rowland (violin), David Cohen (cello) and Rembrandt the composer at the piano.

Freedom in music

Rembrandt regards himself as a catalyst for artistic expression, providing the performer with significant freedom to interpret and improvise, thereby highlighting their individual qualities.

This collaborative approach provides for that each concert becomes a different one, both for the musician and the audience.
By this focus on the individuality of the performer, his compositions are never static. Each musician brings their own voice, creating variations and nuances that transform the piece with every performance.

Rembrandt: ‘I always encourage musicians to embrace vulnerability. I believe authenticity comes out most when artists allow their “true selves” to be heard, imperfections and all: in my personal experience this approach brings out a more deep connection between the performer and their audience”

“Rembrandt makes music with substance; poetic, gentle, subtle and elegant

— NRC Handelsblad

The classical now

‘When Mozart performed, he played Mozart. And he improvised. In that respect, the concerts of my music sometimes might be closer to the performance practise of the classical composers than many people might think.’

With the preservation and perfecting of classical music, improvisation – originally an important part of the working method for many classical composers – has increasingly faded into the background. In the current concert practice of playing Urtext’s, we are paradoxically drifting further and further away from how the classical composers themselves worked.

“Mozart, for example, is known for often having no written piano part when he performed the piano concertos himself…at least not until his publisher urged him to write down his music so that others could perform it as well. One could say that from the late 19th century onwards, classical tradition drifted away from this, towards a more strict approach of playing only the written notes, without the original spontaneous elements. i intend to bring back that element to classical music

“Rembrandt knows how to build small ideas rhythmically pointedly into long arcs of tension.”

— Trouw