Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0257/02574.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 28KB | 526 lines

$Unique_ID{COW02574}
$Pretitle{433}
$Title{Netherlands
The Arts, Media, Tourism and Sports}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Antoinette de Cock Buning and Leo Verheijen}
$Affiliation{Foreign Information Service}
$Subject{netherlands
dutch
broadcasting
radio
television
organisations
international
year
amsterdam
sports}
$Date{1987}
$Log{Windmill at Night*0257401.scf
Binnenhof, the Hague*0257402.scf
}
Country:     Netherlands
Book:        The Netherlands in Brief
Author:      Antoinette de Cock Buning and Leo Verheijen
Affiliation: Foreign Information Service
Date:        1987

The Arts, Media, Tourism and Sports

[See Windmill at Night: Courtesy Embassy of Netherlands, Washington DC]

[See Binnenhof, the Hague: Courtesy Embassy of Netherlands, Washington DC]

     The position and function of the arts in Dutch society have been much
discussed in recent years, particularly with reference to the role of
government. A number of financial and social measures have been introduced to
provide support to art and artists. Another key aspect of this policy is the
role of art in improving the quality of life.

The visual arts

     Old Dutch masters such as Hieronymus Bosch (16th century), Rembrandt,
Hals and Vermeer (17th century) enjoy an international reputation, as do
painters from the 19th and 20th centuries such as Van Gogh, Jongkind, Mondrian
and Appel. Modern painters and sculptors such as Wessel Couzijn, Carel Visser,
Dibbets, Ad Dekkers, Ger van Elk and Marthe Roling have produced work which
has received acclaim both at home and abroad.

     Movements initiated by Dutch artists include De Stijl (of which Mondrian
was a member) and Cobra (which included Appel, Corneille and Constant). The
drawings of Maurits Escher have also achieved wide international popularity.
The Netherlands Institute for Art History in The Hague documents Dutch works
of art in collections in the Netherlands and other countries and also has
extensive dossiers on non-Dutch artists and collections.

     Painting and sculpture can be used to enhance the environment when allied
to housing and planning. The work of artists can enrich the quality of the
man-made environment and hence the quality of life of the people who live in
it. The government therefore encourages cooperation between artists and
designers. In a number of pilot schemes, such as that in the new town of
Zoetermeer, near The Hague, teams of architects, planners, sociologists,
artists and sculptors are working together on plans for new areas of towns.

Literature

     More than 20 million people within the Netherlands and elsewhere speak,
write and read Dutch, constituting a potentially large audience for Dutch
writers. Over the centuries, the Netherlands has produced major writers who
have enjoyed international acclaim: Joost van den Vondel in the 17th century,
Multatuli in the 19th century and Simon Vestdijk and Harry Mulisch in the
present century.

     The Foundation for the Promotion of the Translation of Dutch Literary
Works in Amsterdam plays an important role in propagating Dutch literature
abroad. The International Association for Dutch Studies in The Hague promotes
the study and teaching of Dutch language and literature, history and cultural
history at universities outside the Netherlands and Belgium.

Theatre

     The Netherlands has a large number of professional theatre companies
which stage a wide range of plays, totalling some 4,500 performances every
year. Broadly speaking they fall into three categories:

     1. Repertory companies which perform standard classical and modern works.

     2. Experimental companies which experiment with new forms of theatre and
receive a government grant, usually for two years. Experimental workshop
projects are organised regularly using directors from home and abroad. In
recent years, a form of theatre has come into being performed by small groups
whose main aim is to make their audiences more socially aware. They perform
mainly for schools, old people, trade unions etc. Some are politically
committed while others deal with subjects such as women's rights, sexuality,
relations within the family and education.

     3. Ad hoc or commercial theatre companies which perform the kind of
repertoire, mainly purely entertainment, not covered by the major companies.
They assemble for a given period and disband once the play has finished its
run.

     The Netherlands Theatre Institute in Amsterdam has a complete library of
documentation on Dutch theatre. It promotes the work of Dutch playwrights,
directors and actors abroad and stimulates interest in foreign plays in the
Netherlands. The institute has an extensive catalogue of Dutch plays in
translation.

     The Holland Festival is held every year in June and July. It stages
plays, concerts, ballet, musics exhibitions etc. with leading international
artists as well as less famous names from home and abroad. Its progressive
programming distinguishes it from other European festivals.

Cabaret

     Cabaret came into being in the 1930s in the Netherlands and has been
popular ever since. Students wishing to study cabaret can enrol at the Cabaret
Artists Academy in Amsterdam where they train in all aspects of a career on
the stage. Cabaret is an art form which requires an immediate response to
topical events. The only way of finding out whether students can handle the
genre is by practical experience. It is a combination of humour, comment and
music, usually in the form of a one-man show written by the performer. Wim
Sonneveld and Wim Kan, both of whom died recently, were the two most popular
and successful artists in the history of Dutch cabaret. Their recordings are
still broadcast regularly on radio and television. More recent performers
such as Toon Hermans, Paul van Vliet, Seth Gaaikema, Jasperina de Jong and
Adele Bloemendaal have successfully kept full houses amused and entertained
with their distinctive brand of humour and social comment.

Music

     Traditionally music has centred round major institutions such as symphony
orchestras, the two opera companies and the three major dance companies.
Several of these are well known internationally, notably the Amsterdam
Concertgebouw Orchestra which achieved world-wide fame under the baton of
Bernard Haitink.

     Other famous orchestras are the Rotterdam Philharmonic and the
Residentie Orchestra of The Hague. Small ensembles are also extremely
successful both at home and abroad. They include the Eighteenth Century
Orchestra led by Frans Bruggen, the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and the
Schonberg Ensemble.

     The major music competitions include:

     -the Oscar Back violin competition for young Dutch violinists aged 15-24.
Prizes take the form of student grants;

     -the International Gaudeamus Competition which has been held every year
since 1963 for interpreters of contemporary music. Competitors must include at
least two contemporary Dutch works in their programme;

     -the International Organ Competition organised since 1958, in the St.Bavo
Cathedral, Haarlem, where the young Mozart once played.

     There is also a wide range of jazz and improvised music in the
Netherlands. Many Dutch musicians such as the ensembles of Willem Breuker and
Misha Mengelberg have a considerable international reputation in this field.
Jazz festivals are held every year in Dutch towns, some of which specialise in
a particular jazz style. The biggest is the North Sea Jazz Festival held every
year in The Hague featuring musicians and groups from all over the world.
Dutch pop groups have achieved fame and popularity abroad through their
records and television and radio appearances.

     The main opera companies are:

     -the Netherlands Opera Company which stages about ten productions a year,
mainly in Amsterdam and The Hague. Its repertoire ranges from early opera to
twentieth century works;

     -the Forum Opera Company whose repertoire is chiefly nineteenth century
and which tends to perform in the east and south.