Name: Tim Sabel
Main Subject: Classical Piano
Research Coaches: Stefan Petrovic, Renee Jonker
Title of Research: Programme notes - research in programme notes that colours the
experience of a classical concert
Research Question: What kind of programme notes can help to colour the experience of
a classical concert?
Summary of Results:
Programme notes can play a key role in making a classical concert more attractive to the
audience. Often I read informative programme notes at concerts, while putting the music
in an artistic and historical perspective can give a larger view on the music. Also,
experiential programmes note can capture the imagination, so the audience may have an
association with the music they are listening to. For a musician, it is very important to be
aware of your audience since an audience is important to keep (classical) music alive.
Writing programme notes forces the musician to do research in the repertoire and helps to
give an overview of the piece. In this research I wrote three different programme notes
for Miroirs bij Maurice Ravel that I played for an audience. The audience gave their
opinion by a questionnaire and indicated how the programme notes influenced the
experience of the concert. This research paper and my presentation will show how the
programme notes coloured the experience of the concert.
Biography:
Tim Sabel (’90) finishes the Master Classical Piano as a student of Ellen Corver at the
Royal Conservatoire in The Hague this year. Tim performs as a soloist and in various
duos and ensembles, where he often plays modern music. He played compositions of
Reich, Andriessen and Martland during the Dutch Youth Orchestra Summer Academy
and recently he played the Three Pieces For Two Piano’s by Ligeti. Tim followed a
Minor Music Theory, frequently makes arrangements and has an interest in improvising.
Tim is part of Orkest Morgenstond, which has the goal to make the residents of the
district Morgenstond in The Hague familiar with classical music.