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 After
extensive piano studies with Gérard van Blerk (Amsterdam),
Malcolm Frager (USA) and Noël Lee (Paris) the Dutch
pianist Reinild Mees concentrated her activities on accompanying
singers and instrumentalists in recital. High-ranking
artists as Elly Ameling, Gérard Souzay and Sandor
Végh helped her refine and perfect her talents
in this demanding métier.
Today Reinild Mees is a much sought-after accompanist
for song recitals and duo concerts. She performs regularly
in radio and television broadcasts. For Channel Classics
Records she has recorded a number of interesting CD’s:
The Complete Songs of Ottorino
Respighi, Franz
Schreker and Karol
Szymanowski. Currently she is recording all
songcycles of Robert
Schumann with the German baritone Jochen
Kupfer, playing a historical grand piano from Schumann’s
time. All of her CD’s have received extremely good
reviews in Gramophone, Fono Forum, Musica, Luister
and other magazines. In 2004 Reinild Mees won the Szymanowski
- Award and the Medal 'Merit of Polish Culture' for her
achievements in promoting the song repertoire of Karol
Szymanowski. Recently the Szymanowski CD's won the FRYDERYK
AWARD, the most prestigious music award in Poland for
the best recording of Polish music in 2004.
As a vocal coach Reinild Mees has taught at the Amsterdam
and Utrecht Conservatory, the European Centre for Opera
and Vocal Art (Ghent) and the Opera Studio Nederland.
In addition to accompanying masterclasses for Elisabeth
Schwarzkopf, Irmgard Seefried, Galina Vishnevskaja and
other famous singers she played as an official accompanist
for a number of international competitions.
In order to promote the revival of the beautiful songs,
mainly from the interbellum, which have been
neglected after the Second World War, Reinild Mees founded
the 20th
Century Song Foundation. This foundation
aims to bring back the musical treasure to the public
by producing (semi-staged) song recitals with special
themes: Spotlights
concerts.
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