JAMES BOLDIN

• Jan Koetsier: Romanza Op.59 No.2

"James Boldin is a good young horn player. Fine playing, too, by pianist Richard Seiler, harpist Jaymee Haefner, and organist Matthew McMahon."

Kilpatrick, American Record Guide [May/June 2014]

“This is wonderfully light but well-written music for horn by Jan Koetsier… Mostly known within Germany, the Dutch-born Koetsier loved writing pieces that were accessible and sometimes humorous, and this generous collection gives us a little of both. None of this music is difficult to describe…yet it is all so engaging and delightful that to break it down further would spoil one’s listening enjoyment. Yet, inevitably, what makes this CD work is the wonderfully warm and ebullient playing of young hornist James Boldin… superb playing by a regional American artist on an extraordinarily high level of both technique and communicative abilities. Boldin negotiates his way blithely through Koetsier’s music… Equally fine are the contributions of pianist Seiler, organist McMahan, and harpist Haefner. This is, quite simply, a fun disc.”

Lynn René Bayley, Fanfare [March/April 2014]

“Thank you so much for sending me your fine Koetsier CD! I so enjoyed hearing you play again! I think by recording these pieces you've done an important service for the horn world. Your sound is very clear and beautiful; your performances, moving and dramatic! Thanks so much for sharing your work!”

Eli K. Epstein
2nd Horn, Cleveland Orchestra (retired)
Brass Chair, New England Conservatory Preparatory School
Faculty, New England Conservatory
Faculty, Boston Conservatory
Faculty, Music Academy of the West
Music Director, Inside Out Concerts

“Thank you for sending me your recent CD on MSR Classics...your recording is a significant audio document of this less-known composer for all of us to study...Your performances and accompanying program notes show a wide panorama of his work over two decades--and you provide fine demonstrations of his writing for horn in a variety of instrumentations...In short, you capture the drama, lyricism, and humor of Koetsier's music--and present it with brilliance. Congratulations on your excellent performances and significant new contribution to the study of Horn literature!”

Randall E. Faust, D.M.A.
Professor of Music, Western Illinois University
Hornist, The Camerata Woodwind Quintet and LaMoine Brass Quintet

Though relatively little known in the United States, except among brass players, Dutch-born composer, conductor and professor Jan Koetsier is well-regarded throughout Europe, and especially in Munich, where he served as professor of conducting at the Hochschule für Musik in Detmold, Germany, for many years. As a composer, he devoted much of his efforts to brass and wind instruments, and seemed especially interested in developing the repertoire for unusual or under-utilized combinations of instruments. His music is often virtuosic, as in his Scherzo Brillante and Variations, but also lyrical, as in his Romanza and the second movement of his Sonata for Horn and Harp. In all cases, whether serious or humorous (sometimes both within the same work), Koetsier’s compositions are all well-crafted, enjoyable to perform and engaging to hear. I have chosen to record this unjustly neglected music to encourage other performers to program it, thereby bringing it to a wider audience. [ www.jan-koetsier.de ].

Jan Koetsier was born on 14 August 1911 in Amsterdam, the son of the singer Jeanne Koetsier and the teacher Jan Koetsier-Muller. From an early age, he received musical encouragement and support through piano instruction. Koetsier decided to study music early on, entering college straight after leaving school. He moved to Berlin in 1913 with his family, and aged 16, was the youngest student of
his day to pass the entrance audition in piano to the Berlin Hochschule für Musik. There, as well as studying piano, he studied score-reading and music theory with Walther Gmeindl, and conducting with Julius Prüwer from 1932. Also encouraged by Artur Schnabel, signs of his future direction in music began to emerge – composing and conducting. In 1933, Koetsier took up a position as a répétiteur at the Stadttheater in Lübeck. But after just one concert season, he returned to Berlin and began working as a conductor touring with theatre ensembles such as the ‘Deutsche Musikbühne’ and the ‘Deutsche Landesbühne’; his repertoire expanded to include music theatre works.

From 1936/37 he had the opportunity of working as a freelance conductor for the short-wave broadcasting station in Berlin, directing broadcasts of his own folk music arrangements, including arrangements of South American and African songs. Because of the political situation, Koetsier gave up his position at the Berlin radio station in 1940 and took up an offer of working as piano  accompanist to the dancer Ilse Meudtner on a year-long tour. Following on from this, he worked as conductor of the newly-founded Kammeropera in The Hague, during which he travelled to numerous Dutch towns and cities (1941/42). He then became second conductor of the ‘Concertgebouw Orchestra’ in Amsterdam (1942-48), a central point in his artistic development, which brought with it valuable stimuli and experience, including collaborating with the orchestra’s chief conductor, Willem Mengelberg. He then spent a short period as conductor of the ‘Residentie Orkest’ and as conducting teacher at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague before being invited by Bavarian Radio to become principal conductor of its newly-founded Symphony Orchestra in 1950. Koetsier held this position for sixteen years, working intensively on studio productions of all periods and styles which were required for daily broadcasting. He also conducted public concerts, including some in the Bavarian
Radio ‘musica viva’ series. In 1966 he became professor of conducting at the Hochschule für Musik in Munich, in which position he was involved in reforming the teaching schedule. After his retirement, Koetsier concentrated mainly on composing at his home in Rattenkirchen, Upper Bavaria. In these years, he founded the International Jan Koetsier Competition for the encouragement of young brass ensembles, since 1999 at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Munich.

James Boldin balances a diverse career as performer and educator. As a performer, Boldin appeared at the 44th International Horn Symposium, and at numerous regional horn workshops. He has also presented clinics at the Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference, Louisiana Music Educators Association State Convention, and South Central Regional Music Conference. He performs extensively with Black Bayou Brass, a resident faculty ensemble at The University of Louisiana at Monroe. As a member of this ensemble, he has performed recitals and
presented master classes throughout the region and abroad. Recent engagements include performing at the National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors national conference in San Diego, and a series of performances and master classes in Thailand at Mahidol University, Silpakorn University and the Royal Thai Navy Music School.

An active orchestral musician, Boldin holds positions with the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra, Rapides Symphony Orchestra, and Monroe Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed with the South Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Louisiana Lyric Opera, Opera East Texas, and with numerous orchestras in the Midwest, including the Madison Symphony Orchestra and La Crosse Symphony Orchestra. Boldin’s articles have been published in The Instrumentalist Magazine and The Horn
Call (the journal of the International Horn Society) and his musical arrangements have been published by Cimarron Music Press. In 2012, he was awarded a Career Advancement Grant from the Louisiana Division of the Arts. He also maintains a website devoted to horn playing and teaching at hornworld.me. Boldin is a member of The College Music Society, The National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors, and The International Horn Society, currently serving as the IHS area representative for Louisiana. Boldin earned the Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Bachelor of Music degree from Appalachian State University. He is a member of the faculty in the School of Visual and Performing Arts at The University of Louisiana at Monroe, where he currently holds the Dr. William R. Hammond Professorship in Liberal Arts.


All selections published by Editions Marc Reift [ www.reift.ch ]

JAN KOETSIER (1911-2006)
SONATINA, OP.59, NO.1 for horn and piano (1972)
Allegro moderato
Andantino grazioso
Presto

ROMANZA, OP.59, NO.2 for horn and piano (1972)
Larghetto

VARIATIONS, OP.59, NO.3 for horn and piano (1986)
Tempo giusto
Variation I. L’istesso tempo
Variation II. L’istesso tempo
Variation III. L’istesso tempo
Variation IV. L’istesso tempo, ma doppio movimente
Coda. Tempo I

SCHERZO BRILLANTE, OP.96 for horn and piano (1983)
Presto – Trio. Poco meno mosso

13 ÉTUDES CARACTÉRISTIQUES, OP.117 (1989)
VIII. Rythme comme Le Sacre du Printemps for horn alone

CHORALE FANTASY, OP.89 for horn and organ (1981)
after Jakob Hintze’s chorale “Gib dich zufrieden und sei stille”
Adagio – Allegro

SONATA, OP.94 for horn and harp (1983)
Allegro
Larghetto
Allegro vivace


ENGELBERT SCHMID ES1 DOUBLE HORN
FAZIOLI F278 CONCERT GRAND PIANO

MSR Classics