From November 11 through 15, young professional song duos will be working on Robert Schumann’s *Myrten*, Op. 25, at the Haagse Kunstkring.

All master classes are open to the public. The audience can watch the singers and pianists as they work on the songs with their instructors.

Schumann wrote the cycle of 26 songs in 1840 as a wedding gift for Clara Wieck. He gave her the collection on the evening before their wedding on September 12, 1840. This had been preceded by a long struggle. Clara’s father opposed the marriage, and the couple was only able to wed after a judge granted permission. The title refers to the myrtle, whose white flowers were traditionally incorporated into the bridal wreath and bouquet as a symbol of marital happiness and fertility.

Schumann chose the poems with care, including works by Goethe, Heine, and Byron. Many of the texts contain references to the lives of Robert and Clara. This background is explored in the master classes and in Rixt van der Kooij’s lecture.

Tenor Erik Slik and soprano Hanneke de Wit are coaching the singers. Pianist and founder Rixt van der Kooij is accompanying the pianists.

In the closing concert on Sunday, November 15, at 3:00 p.m., the songs will be interspersed with excerpts from the correspondence between Robert and Clara

Link to the ticket shop

Active participation is free

Photo: Marco Borggreve

Hanneke de Wit

Soprano Hanneke de Wit studied at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague and continued her training at the Dutch National Opera Academy. In 2004, she won the prestigious Cristina Deutekom Competition. At the International Vocal Competition in ‘s-Hertogenbosch in 2006, she received the Caroline Kaart Prize for the best Dutch singer.

Hanneke de Wit has performed opera roles such as Euridice in Gluck’s *Orfeo*, Pamina in Mozart’s *Die Zauberflöte*, the Countess in Mozart’s *Le nozze di Figaro*, Malwina in Marschner’s *Der Vampyr*, the High Priestess in Rameau’s *Hippolyte et Aricie*, and Woglinde in Wagner’s *Das Rheingold * and *Götterdämmerung*.

Hanneke de Wit made her debut with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Bruckner’s Mass No. 3 in F minor, conducted by Philippe Herreweghe. She performed on tours featuring Mozart’s Requiem ( with the Brabants Orchestra, conducted by Jan Willem de Vriend) and Haydn’s *Die Schöpfung* (with the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, conducted by Frans Brüggen). Under the baton of conductor Peter Dijkstra, she sang in Bach’s *Magnificat* and *St. Matthew Passion* as part of the *ZaterdagMatinee* series. In 2012, she performed Wagner’s *Wesendonck Lieder* with the Gelders Orchestra.

Hanneke de Wit is a professor of voice at the Prince Claus Conservatory and teaches at the Dutch National Opera Academy (DNOA). She also studied German language and literature at Leiden University.

For more information: www.hannekedewit.nl

Erik Slik

Dutch tenor Erik Slik studied at the Utrecht Conservatory. As a soloist, he has performed in Riga, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Gran Canaria, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Belgium, and Germany, among other places.

He was engaged as a soloist by the Dutch National Opera & Ballet, the Nationale Reisopera, Opera Zuid, and the Concertgebouw’s Matinee series.

He performed leading roles in the world premieres of Jonathan Dove’s *The Day After * and Calliope Tsoupaki’s *Fortress Europe *. He has collaborated with conductors such as Hartmut Haenchen, Richard Egarr, Otto Tausk, Bruno Weil, Antony Hermus, Kenneth Montgomery, Charles Dutoit, Joanna Malwitz, Lorenzo Viotti, and Carlo Rizzi.

He was a member of the Theater und Philharmonie Thüringen ensemble and made his debut in South Africa as Tamino in Mozart’s *Die Zauberflöte* at the Brooklyn Theater.

Erik is currently a member of the close-harmony group FROMMERMANN and teaches classical singing at the Utrecht Conservatory (HKU).

For more information: www.erikslik.com

Rixt van der Kooij has been a piano instructor at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague since 1991. She studied with Else Krijgsman at the Royal Conservatory and with Mila Baslawskaja at Codarts in Rotterdam.

Rixt van der Kooij took master classes with Konrad Richter, Detlef Kraus, Christian Zacharias, Roger Vignoles, and Graham Johnson, among others. She specialized in song accompaniment and took private lessons with Rudolf Jansen.

Her experience playing authentic instruments led her to earn a master’s degree in Classical Piano in 2018, with a thesis titled: “Schubert Songs Performed on a Historical Instrument and a Modern Piano—A Search for Expression Through Comparison.”

Since 2001, she has been organizing her own concert series, “Vocaal drieluik,” in Leeuwarden, and since 2016, the “JongVocaal” masterclasses in The Hague.

For more information: www.rixtvanderkooij.nl

Myrten masterclasses are made possible by:

The Gilles Hondius Foundation

The Georgine van den Boogert Foundation.

and the St. Nicholas Guest House