About conductor Alexander de Blaeij

"Always tell your story," Professor Denes Zsigmondy told Alexander when he was studying violin with him. A very valuable lesson that he still works with daily. Don't get bogged down in technique, but open yourself up to your audience. Conducting opened even more doors for Alexander to tell his story and to reach people with music.

Conducting inspires Alexander. He studied violin with Else Krieg at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam and at the University of Mainz with Professor Denes Zsigmondy. After his studies, he quickly got a job with Het Gelders Orkest. Martin Sieghart saw a different potential in him and invited Alexander to study conducting with him at the University of Graz. Even during this study, Alexander began conducting and collaborated with orchestras and ensembles such as Het Gelders Orkest, The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Phion, and the Savaria Symphony Orchestra. He won 2nd prize at the prestigious Wiener Musiktage with his performance of Bruckner's 4th Symphony.

Alexander loves to share his knowledge about the art of orchestral playing with young people and has worked with youth orchestras such as The National Youth Orchestra, the orchestra of the Conservatory of Groningen, and the orchestra of the University of Hannover. The inspiration he gets from this was also felt when he collaborated with Eva Maria Westbroek. Together with an ensemble from the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, they performed the Sieben Frühe Lieder by Alban Berg. From Eva, he learned that nothing is more important than getting into the flow together and enjoying it.

Don't change the product, but the packaging! Alexander is working on innovative concepts where orchestras have to step out of their comfort zone, but where classical music in its pure form is still the main course. Showing that we don't need other music styles or trendy artists to make the orchestra hip. We need to look carefully at how we present ourselves to become friends with our audience again. This is the mission we now have as musicians to ensure that the rich tradition is not lost and people no longer have access to this beautiful music.

"His interpretation of the Vorspiel of Wagner's music drama 'Tristan and Isolde' took me back to the good old days," said musicologist and Wagner expert Maarten Brandt in his review of a concert by Alexander. The funny thing is that this concert was one of his first attempts to rid concerts of their dusty image. Alexander always tries to find fresh new ways to present and showcase classical music and what 'the good old days' stand for.

"The best part was that we had a lot of fun and really got into the flow together. For me, the most important achievement during making music together," said soprano Eva Maria Westbroek after a concert they gave together in Amsterdam. This represents everything Alexander also believes in music. Enjoy listening and get into the flow of the music.