Rudolf Jansen

Dutch pianist Rudolf Jansen rose to fame accompanying Lieder singers and recitals. Born in Arnhem on January 19, 1940, he studied piano at the Amsterdam Conservatory with Nelly Wagenaar and Felix de Nobel, organ with his father Simon C. Jansen, and harpsichord with Gustav Leonhardt. Winner of several prizes, including the conservatory prizes of excellence, the Toonkunst Jubileumprijs (1965), and the Zilveren Vriendenkrans (1966), the pianist won the Edison Prize twice: in 1973 with Han de Vries and in 1987 with Dorothy Dorow. In addition to his piano recitals, Rudolf Jansen also distinguished himself as an accompanist, both on record and on stage. His career, which began in the mid-1970s, developed over the following two decades through a wide repertoire of composers. He accompanied soprano Elly Ameling in works by Wolf, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Ravel, Brahms and recorded the albums Serenata (1984), Soirée Française (1986), and Elly Ameling Sings Schubert at Tanglewood (1988). He also accompanied Dorothy Dorow, Ruud Van Der Meer, Udo Reinemann, Edith Wiens, Monica Groop, Christiane Oelze, and Marianne Hirsti on the complete catalog of Grieg songs released in 1992 and 1993. Rudolf Jansen accompanied Andreas Schmidt on the great Schubert cycles, Die Schöne Müllerin (1992), Winterreise (1992) and Schwanengesang (1993), as well as Schumann's Liederkreis and Kerner Lieder (1994). A teacher at Amsterdam's Sweelinck Conservatory, Rudolf Jansen also gave master classes and while pursuing his career as a pianist. With his wife, soprano Christa Pfeiler plus Roberta Alexander, Robert Holl and Christoph Prégardien, he accompanied these performers in a complete three-volume recording of the works of Dutch composer Alphons Diepenbrock (1995-1996). Then, with Andreas Schmidt, Julie Kaufmann, Donald Sulzen, Michael Gees and Christoph Prégardien, he recorded a complete collection of Hans Pfitzner's lieder in four volumes (1999). In 2000, Rudolf Jansen once again accompanied Andreas Schmidt in a new recording of Schubert 's Schwanengesang and Winterreise. He made a rare live appearance when he performed in public for the last time at a concert in his honor in Amsterdam in 2017. Rudolf Jansen died on February 12, 2024, at the age of 84. A prize at the International Vocal Competition's – Hertogenbosch is named after him.

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