Lantaarns is a theatrical concert which Shane van Neerden created together with theater director Jos van Kan, composer Rick van Veldhuizen, and video artist Frouke ten Velden as one of the four finalists of Dutch Classical Talent. The concert was performed 14 times in January and February 2024 in some of the Netherlands’ most notable concert venues.
The program consists of three musical pillars—Alexander Scriabin's 8th sonata, two movements from Charles Ives' ‘Concord’ Sonata, and a new composition by Rick van Veldhuizen—which are surrounded by a selection of études by Claude Debussy.
The new composition by Van Veldhuizen, Lantaarns (Lointaines), commissioned by Van Neerden, was written for two pianos: a ‘traditional’ equal-tempered piano and a piano in a newly developed, just intonation. Image and text projections on an near see through screen made by Aldo Brinkhof and very subtle theatrical elements throughout the performance guide the listener like a lantern through music on the program.
Toonzetters is a Dutch concert performance and album that presents new music by twenty Dutch composers, roughly born in the 1990s. The project was an initiative of composer Primo Ish-Hurwitz, in collaboration with the Oranjewoud Festival. The music, written for piano, percussion and/or electronics, is accompanied by a film by Bowie Verschuuren. The performers are percussionists Arjan Jongsma and Agostinho Sequeira and pianists Ramon van Engelenhoven and Shane van Neerden. Theater director Jos van Kan was involved as a directorial consultant.
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NRC: "Toonzetters zal in de toekomst wellicht en historisch project blijken, een unieke inkijk in het muziekleven van de jaren '20."
Trouw: “Met hun enthousiasme, finesse en concentratie laten de uitvoerders de eigenheid van de componisten op hun allerbest zien."
In March 2024, Shane recorded a solo CD with Guido Tichelman and the Dutch radio and television public broadcasting system AVROTROS. The CD was recorded in the Muziekcentrum van de Omproep in Hilversum (Studio 1) and includes works by J. Haydn, C. Debussy, and F. Liszt, as well works by lesser known composers such as L. Godowsky, N. Medtner and G. Catoire. The CD will be sent in early May to the 6.500 members of AVROTROS Klassiek together with a magazine and text/interview about Shane by the Dutch music critic Frederike Berntse.
MANKES PIANO QUARTET
Founded in 2019, the Mankes Piano Quartet is an international chamber music group consisting of pianist Shane van Neerden (U.S.A.), violinist Emil Peltola (Finland), violist João Álvares Abreu (Portugal), and cellist Henrique Constância (Portugal). The Mankes Piano Quartet has performed extensively in both The Netherlands, Portugal, and the United States. They have played in venues such as Palácio da Bolsa, Museu Nacional da Música, Fundação Cupertino de Miranda, Casa das Artes de Famalicão, and the Orquestra de Câmara Portuguesa. Additionally, they appeared on both Portuguese national television (RTP) and radio (Antena 1). In October of 2021, during a series of concerts throughout the Azorean islands, they were selected to develop a project within the Azores’ candidacy to the European Capital of Culture 2027. The quartet developed a project which created a link between traditional Azorean music and Western Classical Music. The quartet is named after the Dutch painter Jan Mankes (1889-1920).