ABBA

Clarinetist from Hoogezand-Sappemeer who attended the Amsterdam Sweelinck Conservatory, the Conservatory of Amsterdam, and the Royal Conservatory of The Hague.

He completed his formal education in 1979 and by 1981, he was principal clarinetist of the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic and the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra.

Other groups with whom he has worked include The Barton Workshop, the English Chamber Orchestra, EnsembleCameleon, the Fodor Quintet the Instrumental Ensemble Muziekcentrum van de Omroep, the Metropole Orchestra, the Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Netherlands Wind Ensemble, the Nieuw Ensemble, Nieuw Sinfonietta Amsterdam, the Osiris Trio, the Schoenberg Ensemble, Sinfonia Rotterdam, Symfonieorkest de Philharmonie, and Les Violons du Roy.

In the recording studio, Harmen has been nothing less than stalwart. He can be heard on too many CDs to mention here, but here is a sampling: Adagio: Serene Classical Music for a Peaceful Mind; Bernstein: West Side Story/Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue; The Complete Fives of John Cage; Computer Music Currents, Vol. 8; Galina Ustvolskaya – 1; Gorecki: Kleines Requiem/Lerchenmusik; Jos Kunst: 1936-1996; Morton Feldman Edition, Vol. 5: Voices & Instruments; Olivier Messiaen: La Transfiguration de notre Seigneur Jesus-Christ; Romantic Clarinet Concertos; Top 100 Favourite Classical Melodies; Under the Green Time. He appears on seemingly every other Mozart anthology, including that monster, 170-disc set that became available in 2005.

Given his prodigious recording output, it is hard to believe he has had time to perform live, but here are some highlights from his distinguished career:

In 1991, he teamed up with saxophonist Arno Bornkamp, bassoonist Jos de Lange and oboist Bart Schneeman at the De Muzeval in Emmen for the world premiere of Christian Lauba’s “Douar for Clarinet, Oboe, Alto Sax and Bassoon”, under the direction of Ivo Janssen.

The Netherlands Wind Ensemble appeared at the Muziekcentrum Vredenburg in Utrecht in a mostly American affair that included Leonard Bernstein’s “Prelude, Fugue and Riffs” and “West Side Story Suite”, Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man”, George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue”, and Igor Stravinsky’s “Ebony Concerto” on 31^st January 1993.

On 11^th October 1997, the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic delivered Robin de Raaff’s “Double Concerto for Clarinet, Bass Clarinet and Orchestra” in the Grote Zaal at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam.

Harmen was the featured soloist in June 2002 when Symfonieorkest de Philharmonie put on a program of John Adams’ “The Chairman Dances”, Aaron Copland’s “Klarinetconcert”, George Gershwin’s “An American in Paris”, and Walter Piston’s second symphony.

On 23^rd November 2004, the Netherlands Wind Ensemble performed Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro in concert with baritone Frans Fiselier and soprano Johannette Zomer.

The Osiris Trio offered up Olivier Messiaen’s “Quatuor pour la fine du temps”, with Harmen rounding out the quatuor, in the Kleine Zaal at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, on 27^th April 2005. It was immortalized on CD in 2007.

On 23^rd April 2010, EnsembleCameleon haunted the Kleine Zaal where they interpreted works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Richard Fuchs, Rudolf Sieczynski, and Hugo Wolf. The recital featured Harmen on clarinet and Ellen Versney on harp.

Harmen participated in the Tbilisi Wind Festival in the autumn of 2010. The festival is designed to increase awareness of the wind school of Georgia and to shine the spotlight on a wide variety of music for winds.

His other efforts in the field of music education include master classes and Professor of Clarinet duties at his alma mater, the Conservatory of Amsterdam. His students have included Martine Belderok, Hanka Clout, Anja van Dooren, Ilse Eijsink, Jesse Faber, Sergio Hamerslag, Helge Harding, Bart de Kater, Tamara van Koetsveld, Jorge Montilla, Heleen Oomen, Laura Rijsewijk, Moniek Schippers, Lili Schutte, Andrea Slabbekoorn, Timo Tromp, Levan Tskhadadze, Ingolfur Vilhjalmsson, and Arjan Woudenberg.

On 10^th December 2010, the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic performed Elena Kats-Chernin’s “Ornamental Air voor basset-klarinet en kamerorkest”, Darius Milhaud’s “Scaramouche opus 165d voor klarinet en orkest”, Mozart’s “Symfonie nr. 29 in A KV201”, and Stravinsky’s “Concert in D voor strijkorkest”. They presented Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s “Symfonie in D H 663 / Wq 183/1”, Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Vioolconcert in E BWV 1042”, Mozart’s “Symfonie nr. 40 in g KV 550”, and Georg Philipp Telemann’s “Concertsuite in F voor viool en orkest TMV 51:F:4” on 18^th December 2010.

The Instrumental Ensemble Muziekcentrum van de Omroep, with alto Helena Rasker and soprano Marijje van Stralen, performed the children’s opera, Mandolino, on 4^th January 2011.

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