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Reviews
Heroic performanceIn the seventeen years of its existence, reed quintet Calefax has gathered repertoire ranging from the fourteenth century to the present day. Living composers are usually brave enough to write work for this unusual combination of oboe, clarinet, saxophone, bass clarinet and bassoon. But the moment Bach or Okeghem emerge, Calefax applies the art of arranging. And with considerable taste, as evident from the Calefax CD' that have appeared in recent years. In the Trompzaal of the Scheepvaartmuseum in Amsterdam, the five wind players exhibited that also more recent work of Conlon Nancarrow and Karlheinz Stockhausen lends itself royally to a re-composition for reed quintet. Even when it regards pieces that the composers have originally ordained for the mechanics of the player piano (Nancarrow) or the music box (Stockhausen). Conlon Nancarrow, the Mexican American who died in 1997, managed to avoid the natural limitations of ten fingers by using the player piano. Considering that it is already a tour de force to sweep together the notes of Nancarrows complex piano rolls, to play them with five persons and end at the exact same moment may be called an heroic feat. By their own account, they had chosen four of the easier pieces. Nonetheless, one melody fanned out in four different tempi. And more, one does not play a canon where the second voice is exactly four thirds slower than the first at prima vista (source: De Volkskrant, 11/2003)
 The Music Factory wins German award : Theaterkrant 2012 Calefax and North Netherlands Orchestra in Liszt's Totentanz : Dagblad van het Noorden, 3 november 2012 Calefax second 'house ensemble' for Leiden : Leidsch Dagblad 18 oktober 2012 Calefax-esprit : Ensemble magazine, augustus 2012 'Calefax Quintett hat das Publikum voll im Griff' : Münchner Merkur, 16 juni 2012 Bach Goldberg Variations in Oranjewoud : Friesch Dagblad, 14 mei 2012 Calefax and Lenneke Ruiten in deSingel Antwerpen : Klassiek Centraal Intimate songs in a playful musical bed : Eindhovens Dagblad, april 2012 Driven class with Reed Quintet Calefax and soprano Lenneke Ruiten : Trouw, april 2012 Calefax on Dutch Radio 6 in 'De Avonden' : VPRO Radio 6 Goldberg Variations 5 stars in Dutch newspaper Volkskrant : Volkskrant 11 april 2012 'Unbelieveble' - Calefax in Dutch news paper Telegraaf : Telegraaf, 7 april 2012 Goldbergvariationen : Klassiek Centraal 'This was an exceptional concert, which received astonished acclamation from the BBC's regular lunchtime audience.' : Musical Pointers Calefax: Breath of Fresh Airs : San Fransisco Classical Voice Calefax Reed Quintet at Sunset Center : Peninsula Reviews Hans-Dieter Grünefeld about Calefax in Sonic - Wood & Brass : Sonic Wood & Brass Calefax and Jungle Boldie on Jazz festival Leiden : Leidsch dagblad, 27 januari 2012 Calefax Reed Quintet with 'Moving Music' : blog Concertzender Raaf Hekkema about Calefax in newsletter Festival Oranjewoud : Stichting Landgoedconcerten Oranjewoud, 2011 Calefax in leading music magazine ‘Luister’ : Luister, april/mei 2011 Calefax in Chamber Music America Magazine : Chamber Music America Magazine, 2010 'Live they are breath takingly great' : blog recensie Moors Magazine CalefaXL juggles with notes : Volkskrant New CD Sander Germanus : Volkskrant New arrival: CalefaXL CD : MCN website Waving reeds : VPRO gids, 24 maart 2011 Calefax is constantly searching for unique projects : Volkskrant, 28 maart 2011 Calefax in German magazine 'Ensemble' (august/september 2010) : Ensemble Magazin 'Addicted to the sound of so many reeds' : Trouw, 22 maart 2011 Calefax concert lottery in Dutch Newspaper NRC : NRC Handelsblad, 5 maart 2011 PAN by Hans Koolmees: 'The freedom of the historical form' : Trouw, 3 maart 2011 Muziek uit buizenfabriek : PZC (Provinciale Zeeuwse Courant), 2 maart 2010 Calefax at Wigmore Hall with La Spagna : www.classicalsource.com, 14 februari 2011 Bach Goldberg Variations in Wigmore Hall : Musical Pointers, 2009 Calefax in the Los Angeles Bradbury Building : The Minty - writer, artist, foodie in LA 'Auf Duke Ellingtons Spuren' : Westdeutsche Zeitung "Spectacle in benefit of classical music" : Vrij Nederland, 20 maart 2010 'Calefax Reed Quintet's fresh approach wows Ventura Music Festival audience' : Ventura County Star 'A mighty wind', Palo Alto Weekly/USA, 23 April 2010 : Calefax Reed Quintet sell out : El País - 16-03-2010 Calefax' Tierkreis one of the highlights of the Stockhausen festival : Volkskrant, 8 februari 2010 "shiny ear rings and sensible shoes" : NRC, 19 november 2009 Superb feats of melted styles : Trouw, 6 oktober 2009 "Bizarre Zeitspiele" : Ensemble April/Mai 2009 "Klangfantasie" : Piano News Mai/Juni 2009 Old fashion monkey orchestra tripping on extasy : Luister, zomer '09 Breathtaking trip trough rough landscape : Klassieke Zaken Such suite music : The Hindu, 18-03-2009 Dazzling Nancarrow : Telegraaf, 7 februari 2009 Lovely and raw sound with Calefax : De Volkskrant, 26 januari 2009 A brilliant Calefax doens't care about the rules : Brabants Dagblad, 21 januari 2009 CD: Conlon Nancarrow - Studies for player piano 01/2009 : Het Parool, 14 januari 2009 A surprising melange of jazz, world music and classics : Trouw, 30 december 2008 Five extremely gifted Dutch gents: Times (July 17, 2008) : Times New York Reviews (8 juli 2008) : New York Times / New Jersy Star Ledger (8 july 2008) Sparkling treats : The Daily Telegraph,12/2007 (Ivan Hewett) Exciting Mix of Bassoon and Electronics : De Volkskrant, 09/2007 Calefax Reed Quintet plays sensitively and perfectly in tune : NRC Handelsblad, 04/2007 Calefax Ventures on Nancarrow’s Musical Involutions : De Volkskrant, 04/2006 Five souls playing as one : De Telegraaf, Thiemo Wind 01/2006 Happy Event : De Volkskrant, 02/2006 Calefax proves it is in a class of its own : De Volkskrant, 09/2005 Dazzling CD : NRC Handelsblad, 06/2005 Inner emotion and beauty : Luister, 01/2004 Wind wizards : mdg web site, 01/2004 The beautiful amalgam : Trouw, 02/2004 The art of virtuoso arranging : De Volkskrant, 11/2003 A wonderful discovery : Sud Ouest, 08/2003 Bordering the superhuman : De Volkskrant, 04/2003 Stunning musicianship : Hampstead & Highgate Express, 05/2001 Spirited and polished : Matthew Rye/ Daily Telegraph, 05/2001 Essential listening : BBC Music Magazine, 02/2001 This is great! Buy it! : American Record Guide, 01/2001 Superb ensemble playing : BBC Music Magazine, 11/2001 An act of love : Chamber Music, 12/2000 Musical photorealism : De Volkskrant, 11/2000 Isles of poetry : FonoForum, 10/1997 Almost painful beauty : Fanfare, 10/1997 Wonderfully hypnotic : Sonart Music Vision, 10/1993
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