Rien de Reede was flutist in the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra for more than thirty years. This appointment was preceded by a few years as co-principal in the Amsterdam Philharmonic and (free lance) solo flute of the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra. Besides this he was a professor of flute and chamber music at the Royal Conservatory (The Hague).
He played in various chamber music groups such as the Viotta Ensemble of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Quartetto Amsterdam, a quartet for flute and strings. He was a member of the celebrated Netherlands Wind Ensemble for more than a decade and toured extensively with this group (including the USA, England and a tour with Steve Reich and his musicians).
For many years he played a series with the complete Bach sonatas with harpsichordist Bob van Asperen in one of Amsterdam’s old churches. This series, later on extended to the eighteenth-century chamber music repertoire, gained great popularity and lasted for over twenty years.
As a chamber music player his main interest is in eighteenth- and twentieth-century music. Dutch composers including Rudolf Escher, Theo Loevendie and Tristan Keuris wrote works for him, as well as foreign composers such as Isang Yun, Jean Françaix, Gottfried Michael Koenig and Per Nørgård. He has recorded numerous CD’s, and has played flute concertos by Vivaldi, Mozart and Jolivet for Dutch television.
He appears regularly as a teacher of masterclasses in Germany, England, Portugal and Italy as well as in the USA. The past few years he has been teaching privately in his studio in Tuscany as well as in Amsterdam.
He is much in demand as a chamber music coach (including the music for winds by Mozart, Beethoven and Stravinski), coach of orchestral wind sections (a.o. European Union Youth Orchestra and Festival Junger Künstler, Bayreuth) as well as a jury member of flute and wind competitions.
As an editor for Amadeus Verlag (Switzerland), Broekmans & Van Poppel and Knuf (The Netherlands) he has published numerous volumes of flute music and books on the flute, including A Catalogue of Dutch Flute Music (co-editor: Frans Vester), Die Flöte in der Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung and Concerning the Flute.
In 2009 the Italian Flute Society FALAUT awarded him – as well as Rainer Lafin en Wolfgang Schultz – a “Premio alla Carriera in Milano. The Dutch Flute Society awarded him in 2012 the Kuiperprijs for his merits for flute playing in The Netherlands.
Dedicated works
R. du Bois, Symphorine voor fluit en strijktrio
E. Raxach, Imaginary landscape for flute and percussion
W.F. Bon, Cinq tours de passe-passe pour flûte et piano
R. Escher, Sonata for flute and piano
T. Keuris, Fantasia for flute solo
K. Boehmer, Adem voor flute solo
M. Bon, Promenade à deux voor twee altfluiten
J. Bank, Een taaie winter voor sopraan en fluit
I. Yun, Inventionen für zwei Flöten
G.-M. Koenig, Per due flauti
M. Kasbergen, Chaconne for flute and double bass
G. van Keulen, Etude voor fluit. (In: Concert Studies)
G. van Keulen, Souvenir for alto flute and piano
P. Nørgard, Mystery for soprano and flute
L. Goethals, Hommage à Schoenberg for flute/alto flute and percussion
J. Straesser, Emergency case for flute/alto flute/piccolo, piano and percussion
J. Straesser, All perishes for soprano and flute
J. Straesser, Solo for Alkaios for flute solo
J. Straesser, Sonata a Due per due flauti
J. Straesser, Quartetto [fl, vn, va, vc]
J. Wisse, Partita per due flauti
R. Dick, Flying lessons, closed hole version
J. Françaix, Colloque des deux perruches pour flûte et flûte alto
G. Shapiro, Sonatina for flute and vibraphone
L. Toebosch, Deux Flûtes pour flûte et flûte grave
T. de Kruijff, Pas de deux, version for flute and piano
G. van Keulen, Souvenir nostalgique (een pastiche) voor altfluit, viool, altviool en cello.
First performances
dedicated works and
Th. Loevendie, Music for flute and piano
Th. Loevendie, Turkish folkpoems
Z. Jeney, Soliloqium per flauto solo
E. Bergmann, ‘Triumf att finas till’ for soprano, flute and percussion
T. de Kruijff, Pas de deux für Flöte und Orchester
T. de Kruyff, Serenata for flute, clarinet, harp and string quartet
S.E. Bäck, … sentire … for flute, cello and piano
J. Voorn, Concert de printemps pour flûte et orchestre à cordes
S. Reich, Octet
S. Reich, Vermont Counterpoint (Dutch premiere)
M. Tal, En sourdine (soprano and flute)
K. Boehmer, Je vis, je meurs… pour soprano, flûte et percussion
L. Andriessen, The Line for three flutes
D. Manneke, Pièce pour flûte seule
K. Essl, Préambule-Pierrot/Arlequin
K. Boehmer, La Coquette Minute
B. Söll, Chiarina/Estrella
J. Y. Bosseur, Entr’acte-Pause
W. Breuker, Marche des Davidsbündler contre les Philistins
