Organ concert by Laurens de Man and hornplayer Mees Vos

This evening, organist Laurens de Man and horn player Mees Vos will play pieces from Richard Wagner’s “Der Ring des Nibelungen”. With great pleasure, they undertake a tour de force (or rather perhaps a “mission impossible”!) to perform this fascinating music in an arrangement for their instruments. Wagner’s masterpiece consists of no less than four operas that together tell the Tolkien-like story of a mythical ring that grants omnipotence to its bearer. Supreme god Wotan tries to reverse this fate.

Main role for horn in Wagner’s Ring music

In Wagner’s Ring music, the horn plays a leading role: the central hero of the story, Siegfried, has the horn as an attribute. This characteristic timbre also indicates important moments in the composition.

Wagner’s pioneering music soon became world-famous, appearing in all kinds of arrangements. The romantic organ, a kind of one-man orchestra, enticed several famous organists to adapt beloved Wagner passages for their instrument. Reason enough to sketch today, through key passages from Wagner’s music, part of Wagner’s grand saga: the story of Siegfried.

As icing on the cake, the large, automatic concert organ the Double Ruth will also show its orchestral qualities in works by Wagner!

About Laurens de Man and Mees Vos

Laurens de Man (‘s-Hertogenbosch, 1993) was the first organist to win the leading Dutch Music Prize in 2024. He studied piano, organ and minor harpsichord at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. He continued his studies at the Berlin University of the Arts. Laurens won several prizes as pianist and organist, at organ competitions in Groningen and Freiberg, among others. In 2018, he won the Sweelinck-Muller Prize. As pianist of the Chimaera Trio, he plays and arranges chamber music from four centuries of music history. Since 2012, Laurens has been chief organist of the Janskerk in Utrecht. In 2024, Globe Records released his double CD debut: Wagner transcriptions and a portrait of the Leuven Contius organ. At the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, he will start teaching the organ from September 2025.

Mees Vos (Amsterdam, 1994) is solo hornist of symphony orchestra Phion, former Gelders Orkest and Orkest van het Oosten. He is also principal study teacher in horn at The Royal Conservatoire in The Hague. In 2021, he succeeded Ward Assmann as president of Het Nederlands Hoornisten Genootschap. After his preliminary training at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague and studies at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, where he obtained his bachelor’s degree, Mees continued his studies at the “Franz Liszt” Hochschule für Musik in Weimar. While already studying in Germany, he was appointed solo horn player with the Staatskapelle Weimar, where he quit in 2020 and moved to Phion in Arnhem. Mees regularly plays with leading orchestras and ensembles such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Budapest Festival Orchestra.

Practical information

– Start: 20:00 – walk-in from 19:30
– Duration: approx. 75 minutes (no break)
– Admission: €15.00 euro incl. one drink. Museumkaart, VriendenLoterij VIP-KAART and Friends of the Museum valid with a supplement of € 5.00 incl. one drink
– Tickets now on sale here

Series of four classical concerts

This is the second concert in a series of four classical concerts in Museum Speelklok in 2025. On 19 September, the Brioso Trio will play Beethoven’s Triple Concerto in an arrangement for piano trio and organ. On 19 December, the renowned Capella Pratensis will close with a concert around the texts of Sister Bertken. The series was kicked off by organist Gerben Budding and soprano Nanette Mans.

The Witte organ in Museum Speelklok

The current church organ in the Buurkerk is the only musical instrument in Museum Speelklok that does not play automatically. It was made by J. Bätz & Co (Utrecht 1883). In 1826, German organ builder C.G.F. Witte joined the Bätz brothers in Utrecht and later became a partner. Son Johan Frederik Witte took over the business after his father’s death in 1873. His responsibilities included this organ in the Buurkerk. Apart from church services, the organ was also widely used for concerts and radio and recordings.

Photo Mees Vos: Guido Werner
Photo Laurens de Man: Juri Hiensch