75 jaar Nederlands Studenten Orkest met Sjostakovitsj en Rachmaninoff

75 years of passion and pleasure

Putting your studies on hold for a month to dedicate yourself entirely to classical music. That is the choice that the 90 students of the Nederlands Studenten Orkest (NSO) consciously make. For 75 years, the NSO has been a place for ambitious students to make classical music at a high level alongside their studies. Every year, the NSO gives concerts throughout the Netherlands and abroad for a month. The orchestra is led by the internationally renowned conductor Sander Teepen. This 75th edition is themed ‘Trotseert’.

Shostakovich Fifth, a musical rollercoaster

How do you compose to satisfy both the people and the regime? Dmitri Shostakovich was under enormous pressure from Stalin in 1937 when he wrote the Vijfde symfonie. Shostakovich wrote a work that the regime was satisfied with. It heard heroic and bombastic melodies, but did not listen to the bitter sarcasm that did resonate with the people. This combination made the symphony then, and now 90 years later, one of Shostakovich’s most popular works. A skillful balancing act and a powerful example of how an artist defies a totalitarian regime.

Shane van Neerden plays Rachmaninoff

The Dutch-American Shane van Neerden belongs to one of the great piano talents of his generation. With winning the Dutch Classical Talent Award in 2024 and graduating from the Amsterdam conservatory with a 10, the young pianist already started his career promisingly. His debut album Each and All earned him a nomination for the Edison Klassiek 2026 in the Newcomer category. He is the soloist in the Eerste pianoconcert by Sergei Rachmaninoff.

Celebrating new life with Stronk

Award-winning composer Jan-Peter de Graaff is writing the brand-new piece Stronk especially for the NSO. For this, De Graaff was inspired by the special role of a tree stump in the forest. Even after a tree has been cut down, the stump remains significant: it offers new life to microorganisms. Music that sketches how life can continue to proliferate in all sorts of ways.