Korngold: A portrait for piano Ramon van Engelenhoven

• Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897 - 1957): Das Wunder der Heliane, Op. 20 Act II:
• 1Korngold: Das Wunder der Heliane, Op. 20 Act II: "Ich ging zu ihm"07:30
• Piano sonata No. 2, Op. 2:
• 2Korngold: Piano sonata No. 2, Op. 2: Moderato08:28
• 3Korngold: Piano sonata No. 2, Op. 2: II. Scherzo. Allegro impetuoso08:08
• 4Korngold: Piano sonata No. 2, Op. 2: III. Largo07:18
• 5Korngold: Piano sonata No. 2, Op. 2: IV. Finale. Allegro vivace05:52
• Love Scene from "The Adventures of Robin Hood":
• 6Korngold: Love Scene from "The Adventures of Robin Hood"07:14
• The Sea Hawk:
• 7Korngold: The Sea Hawk27:59
• Total Runtime01:12:29

Info for Korngold: A portrait for piano

It must have been some seven years ago that I first discovered the music of Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1857-1957) and I remember feeling absolutely overjoyed. I immediately felt an incredible connection to his music and it was honestly a sensation that I could only remember from discovering classical music in my early childhood. It more or less shocked me though that this had happened through my interest in symphonic film music rather than the classical music world that surrounded me, where at the time he seemed to be hardly known.

As I am writing this in 2024 I am reminded of how classical music is seemingly not unsusceptible to trends, despite the fact that we sometimes like to pretend otherwise. Not too long ago, I spoke about Korngold with a colleague of about my age. He referred to him as a ‘well-known classical composer’ and I was frankly quite taken aback by it. That things have been different in the past is quite an understatement, and it is thanks to a tough battle that has been fought by so many advocates over the last decades that we finally get to play (and hear!) his music again.

Ramon van Engelenhoven, piano

Ramon van Engelenhoven
started playing the piano at the age of six and pursued his studies at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, where he completed his Master’s degree in 2019 with the highest possible grade. He studied there with Frank Peters and also worked with Jan Wijn and Naum Grubert. Ramon attended masterclasses with renowned musicians such as Alexander Gavrylyuk, Boris Berman, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, and Paul Badura-Skoda.

From a young age, Ramon has won prizes in various competitions, including the first prize at the International Steinway Piano Competition (2012) and the first prize at the Prinses Christina Concours (2013). In 2015, he won the Grand Finale of the Young Pianist Foundation Competition. Additionally, he received the ‘Grand Prix Youri Egorov’ as the very first laureate, an award given only when the winner is recognized as having international potential. He also won the audience prize as a finalist of ‘Dutch Classical Talent’ in the 19/20 season, leading to a tour of prominent Dutch concert halls.

Ramon frequently performs on major concert stages, including Tivoli Vredenburg, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, Muziekgebouw Eindhoven, and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, where he made his recital debut in the Amsterdam Piano Series in 2023. He has also performed internationally at venues such as the Laeiszhalle in Hamburg and the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg. As a chamber musician, he collaborates with musicians like Lucie Horsch, Laetitia Gerards, and Sylvia Huang. He has also performed with the Alma Quartet and Camerata RCO (members of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra), with whom he toured North America in 2023. Additionally, he forms a piano trio with violinist Elise Besemer and cellist Clément Peigné.

Ramon also participated as a pianist in the acclaimed ‘Toonzetters’ project, where twenty new works by young Dutch composers were performed nationwide in an extensive tour, culminating in a CD recording with the label 7Mountain Records in 2023. Following this project, Ramon will premiere solo piano works by Jan-Peter de Graaff and Ramin Amin Tafreshi in upcoming seasons.

He has performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the Philharmonie Südwestfalen, the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, the Real Filharmonía de Galicia, Phion (Orchestra of Gelderland), and the Noord-Nederlands Orkest. In these performances, he collaborated with conductors such as Nabil Sheheta, Tianyi Lu, Ed Spanjaard, and Rolf Verbeek.

In 2018, he recorded a CD for ‘AVROTROS Klassiek Presenteert!’ featuring works by Chopin, Liszt, Skrjabin, Debussy, and Poulenc, with the Volkskrant stating: “The 23-year-old pianist dives deep into the depths” (four stars). Since then, he has been a frequent guest on various radio programs on NPO Klassiek. He has also appeared regularly on Television, with a highlight being his debut at the Prinsengrachtconcert in 2023, where he performed alongside internationally acclaimed pianist Paul Lewis.

Currently, he is working on an album featuring works of Erich Wolfgang Korngold, scheduled for release in 2024 under the TRPTK label. In addition to original piano works, the album includes arrangements for which he has obtained permission from the Korngold family. His transcription of music from ‘Das Wunder der Heliane’ will be officially published by Schott Music.

Booklet for Korngold: A portrait for piano