31. May 2022
For the already traditional Alex Reed performance of the now 77-year-old Dutchman Hermann van Veen, his fan community almost completely filled the Great Hall in Linz’s Brucknerhaus on Monday. Many have been coming for decades, but the proportion of younger people is also surprisingly high. They all let themselves be enchanted by the singer, violinist, narrator… Yes, what is he really?
Growing up in post-war Utrecht, where he was classically trained as a violinist and singer, he met the pianist Erik van der Wurff while still a student, founded the “Cabaret Chantant Harlejkin” with him in 1968 and conquered the world’s stages together until his death in 2014.
From the very first appearance, van Veen spreads a feeling of closeness, both in the songs and in the lyrics, which contain a lot of personal things. There he is humorist, actor, clown. He juggles with the imagination. The audience is willing to get involved, hearty laughter, also moments of pausing and contemplating.
There they are, clear memories of his symphonic fairy tale “Für Elise” with the Bruckner Orchestra exactly 20 years ago, of the “Klangwolke” from 2006. This time only a handful of excellent musicians, above all Edith Leerkes, who was there at the time. Internationally successful as a classical guitarist, she switched to van Veen at the end of the 90s.
The first encore before the break: “You can never start too early,” says van Veen mischievously.
He spans the arc from his own birth to “getting older for beginners”, dancing coquettishly and light-footedly across the stage. Always in contact with the audience, which he credibly appreciates. The magic in the live experience!
