Jan Willem de Vriend
Conductor Jan Willem de Vriend is equally well known as a historical performance specialist and conductor of modern symphonic ensembles. He founded and for many years led the Combattimento Consort Amsterdam, an important early music group.
De Vriend was born in Leiden on July 31, 1962. He attended the Amsterdam Conservatory and the Royal Conservatory in The Hague and began his career early as he conducted performances of Johann Strauss II's Die Fledermaus and Kurt Weill's Der Silbersee while he was still a student. In 1982, de Vriend founded the Combattimento Consort Amsterdam, performing on violin with the group and remaining its director until 2015. The Combattimento Consort Amsterdam specialized in music of the 17th and 18th centuries, and it revived unusual operas by the likes of Rameau, Haydn, and Florian Gassmann. Touring widely and frequently recording with the ensemble, de Vriend became known as one of the Netherlands' leading historical performance specialists. His interest in authentic performance extended to music of the Romantic era, and as the conductor of the Orkest van het Oosten (later renamed the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra) from 2006 to 2017, he led performances of works as late as Mahler's symphonies with period instruments and ensemble sounds.
In the mid-2010s, de Vriend retired from the Combattimento Consort and began to devote full time to conducting. From 2015 to 2019, he served as the conductor of the Residentie Orkest in The Hague, and, beginning in 2015, he was the principal guest conductor of the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra. In 2018, he added a similar post at the Orchestre National de Lille in France to his responsibilities, and he has also served as the principal guest conductor of the Stuttgart Philharmonic. He has also performed often with major Dutch orchestras, including the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Limburg Symphony, and the Brabant Orchestra, as well as foreign groups such as the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester in Hamburg, the Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg, and the SWR Symphonieorchester in Stuttgart.
De Vriend has a large catalog of recordings as a conductor, much of it with the Combattimento Consort Amsterdam and Netherlands Symphony Orchestra; with the latter group, he recorded a complete cycle of Beethoven symphonies in period style. He has recorded for Challenge Classics, Channel Classics, and NM Classics, among other labels. In 2019, with the Residentie Orkest, he began a complete cycle of the symphonies of Schubert.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Beethoven: Complete Symphonies & Concertos
The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra, Jan Willem de Vriend
Classical - Released by Challenge Classics on 9 Oct 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: The Complete Piano Concertos
The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra, Jan Willem de Vriend, Hannes Minnaar
Classical - Released by Challenge Classics on 2 Jun 2017
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 23 & 14
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Dejan Lazić, Jan Willem de Vriend
Classical - Released by Challenge Classics on 1 Sep 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Georg Friedrich Händel : Concerti grossi op. 6
Combattimento Consort Amsterdam, Jan Willem de Vriend
Classical - Released by Challenge Classics on 27 Sep 2012
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Emilie Mayer: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 7
NDR Radiophilharmonie, Jan Willem de Vriend
Classical - Released by CPO on 28 Oct 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Symphonies 1 & 2
Jan Willem de Vriend, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Challenge Classics on 1 Mar 2024
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
L.A. Lebrun: Oboe Concertos, Vol. 2
Bart Schneemann, Radio Chamber Orchestra, Jan Willem de Vriend
Classical - Released by Channel Classics on 12 Oct 2004
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3
The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra, Jan Willem de Vriend, Hannes Minnaar
Classical - Released by Challenge Classics on 2 Jun 2017
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Complete Works for Piano Trio Vol. 5
Van Baerle Trio, Residentie Orkest The Hague, Jan Willem de Vriend
Classical - Released by Challenge Classics on 10 Apr 2020
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Complete Symphonies, Vol. 4: Symphony No. 5, D. 485 - Symphony No. 6, D. 589
Residentie Orkest The Hague, Jan Willem de Vriend
Classical - Released by Challenge Classics on 7 Oct 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Arias and Overtures
Jan Willem de Vriend, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Mari Eriksmoen
Classical - Released by Challenge Classics on 12 Feb 2021
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Four Seasons
Jaap van Zweden, Jan Willem de Vriend, Combattimento Consort Amsterdam
Classical - Released by Challenge Classics on 16 Sep 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sackbutt: Trombone in the 17th and 18th Century
Jörgen van Rijen, Combattimento Consort Amsterdam, Jan Willem de Vriend
Classical - Released by Channel Classics on 12 Aug 2008
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Concertos 4 & 5
Hannes Minnaar, Jan Willem de Vriend
Classical - Released by Challenge Classics on 20 Feb 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mendelssohn: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5
Jan Willem de Vriend, The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Challenge Classics on 7 Nov 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Christmas Oratorio / Weihnachtsoratorium
Combattimento Consort Amsterdam
Classical - Released by Challenge Classics on 18 Oct 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mendelssohn: Concertos For Two Pianos MWV O 5 and 6
Roberto Prosseda, Alessandra Ammara, Residentie Orkest, Jan Willem de Vriend
Classical - Released by Universal Music Italia srL. on 31 Oct 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Concertant (Concert Pieces and Piano Concerto)
Matthias Kirschnereit, Konzerthausorchester Berlin , Jan Willem de Vriend
Classical - Released by Berlin Classics on 22 Mar 2019
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: The Complete Symphonies Vol. 3: Symphony No.9, D.944
Jan Willem de Vriend, Residentie Orkest The Hague
Classical - Released by Challenge Classics on 2 Oct 2020
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ruy Blas, Op. 95
Jan Willem de Vriend, The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Challenge Classics on 18 Sep 2020
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
Roberto Prosseda, Jan Willem de Vriend, Residentie Orkest
Classical - Released by Universal Music Italia srL. on 28 Sep 2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo