On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Simeon ten Holt (1923-2012), Pianoduo Scholtes & Janssens will pay tribute to the Dutch composer this fall with a special Canto Ostinato tour in various churches in the Netherlands.

The duo can be heard at six different locations starting November 16, 2023: Amersfoort, Arnhem, Groningen in November, followed by four Christmas concerts in Tilburg, Naarden and The Hague in December. The concerts last about 75 minutes (Naarden: 60 minutes) and there will be room for drinks afterwards.

For ticket sales, see the agenda and website www.100jaartenholt.nl.

Canto Ostinato consists of more than 200 different sections with different variations that can be played and repeated at will. "We are inspired by the moment, the atmosphere and the audience " said Lestari Scholtes. "Every concert is therefore a unique experience. Even if you have heard the piece a hundred times, each performance is different."

"We hope with this tribute to Ten Holt not only to enthuse our fans and regular concert-goers" says Gwylim Janssens, "the music of Ten Holt is accessible to everyone and wonderful to dream away at, and we would also like to convey that to anyone who does not yet know this music."

Scholtes & Janssens' new CD is now being praised by the international press. BBC Music Magazine and Music Web International, among others, wrote rave reviews about the duo's new recording.

BBC Music Magazine wrote 'They breathe together, agree on relative dynamics and tonal color and understand the balance of the textures.' and awarded the CD with no less than 4 **** stars. Read the full review here.

Music Web International compared the recording with the legendary CD by Murray Perahia and Radu Lupu, also with Mozart and Schubert:

'Given my affection for that Murray Perahia / Radu Lupu recording of these great works by Mozart and Schubert, I have been pleasantly surprised by how soon I was sold on these performances by Piano Duo Scholtes & Janssens. These recordings can certainly live side by side in any collection, and I have a feeling the newer version might easily end up getting more airplay.'

You can read the full review here.

On Sunday 28 February, Lestari and Gwylim were guests at the television program Podium Witteman on NPO2. The duo played parts from Mozart's Sonata for two pianos in D during an item by Floris Kortie, who talked about the 'Mozart effect'. Lestari and Gwylim also played a short medley of film music together with strings from the Metropole Orchestra. The arrangement was written by film composer Bob Zimmerman.

You can watch the broadcast here.

The 8th edition of the Pianoduo Festival Amsterdam took place from 2 to 6 December. Lestari and Gwylim, artistic leaders of the festival, this time presented a modified, corona-proof edition with the main location De Duif in Amsterdam.Guests included jazz duo Peter Beets & Cor Bakker, young jazz talents Sergio Abdoelrahman & Vanjo Elzinga and Piano duo Beth & Flo. Scholtes and Janssens themselves could be heard in four concerts, including with the Intercontinental Ensemble.

Piano duo Scholtes & Janssens will cooperate with the Challenge Classics / Challenge Records International label for their upcoming new cd. In September, Lestari and Gwylim will record works by Schubert and Mozart in the Dutch Broadcasting Centre studio's. Their third cd is expected to be released early 2021.