ECLIPSE
There is more music in the world than one person could listen to in a lifetime. Sometimes, we don’t see the forest for the trees, which means that a lot of fantastic music slips under our radar, music that begs questions like “Why have we never heard this before?” and “What other treasures are waiting to be discovered?”
Mattias Spee went on a “musical treasure hunt” to shed light on the hidden gems of the piano repertoire. The treasures he found included composers of many different backgrounds who have been lost in oblivion for a variety of reasons.
Mélanie Bonis, for example, was a promising composer and pianist whose career never blossomed to its full potential because she happened to be a woman. She had to leave her education at the conservatory to marry a man more than twice her age and take care of the children from his previous marriages. Alexei Stanchinsky was a generational talent, but troubled by depression from his youth. Before he could gain actual notoriety, he died at a terribly young age, probably by suicide. Louis Couperin was a pioneer on the keyboard instruments, writing music that floated free in time, without bars. He was outshone by his famous nephew François, who was an exceptional composer as well and took up the entirety of the spotlight. Majoie Hajary was a fantastic pianist and had a very idiosyncratic style of composing, but as a woman of colour, not born in Europe, you could say she won the discrimination jackpot. Her lack of fame nowadays has little to do with the quality of her music.
Three composers were so special and spoke to Spee on such a personal level, that he decided to record an entire album’s worth of their music: Joseph Wölfl, Hans Henkemans and Sergei Protopopov. Together they form the Eclipse series, which Spee released on record label TRPTK.
Eclipse
Vol. 1: Joseph Wölfl
Vol. 1: Joseph Wölfl
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Super-Audio CD
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Hi-Res Download
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Spotify
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Apple Music
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Eclipse
Vol. 2: Hans Henkemans
Vol. 2: Hans Henkemans
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Super-Audio CD
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Hi-Res Download
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Spotify
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Apple Music
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Eclipse
Vol. 3: Sergei Protopopov
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Super-Audio CD
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Hi-Res Download
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Spotify
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Apple Music
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Vol. 3: Sergei Protopopov
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Super-Audio CD
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Hi-Res Download
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Spotify
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Apple Music
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VOL. 1: JOSEPH WÖLFL
The first entry in the Eclipse series was dedicated to Austrian pianist and composer Joseph Wölfl. Just like Nicolo Paganini and Sergei Rachmaninov, Wölfl suffered from the Marfan syndrome, which meant his limbs never stopped growing. This allowed him to play bigger chords than most people and set him apart as a virtuoso concert pianist and prolific improviser. Wölfl spent most of his adult life touring throughout Europe and was one of the most celebrated musicians of his generation. In 1799, he had an improvisation duel with Ludwig van Beethoven, who usually dominated his competitors. But Wölfl could not only keep pace, some attendees even preferred Wölfl’s clean playing style with over the scruffy and unpolished Beethoven. Much of his work has never been recorded and this release by Mattias Spee includes some recording premieres as well.
Behind the scenes of Eclipse, Vol. 1: Joseph Wölfl
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Photo Credits: TRPTK (2021)
Around the time of the release of this album, in the spring of 2021, the Covid-19 pandemic was still in full swing. The pandemic had allowed Spee to move to Salzburg for several months, where he enrolled at the Mozarteum University of the Arts, studied Wölfl’s repertoire extensively, wrote his Master’s thesis on late 18th century improvisation practice, prepared for the recording and visited Wölfl’s place of birth. Unfortunately, the lockdowns also meant that a presentation concert was out of the question. Though, Spee was invited on the release day of the album to present the album at NTR Podium on NPO Klassiek, hosted by Dieuwertje Blok.
Behind the scenes of Eclipse, Vol. 1: Joseph Wölfl
Around the time of the release of this album, in the spring of 2021, the Covid-19 pandemic was still in full swing. The pandemic had allowed Spee to move to Salzburg for several months, where he enrolled at the Mozarteum University of the Arts, studied Wölfl’s repertoire extensively, wrote his Master’s thesis on late 18th century improvisation practice, prepared for the recording and visited Wölfl’s place of birth. Unfortunately, the lockdowns also meant that a presentation concert was out of the question. Though, Spee was invited on the release day of the album to present the album at NTR Podium on NPO Klassiek, hosted by Dieuwertje Blok.
Album presentation on NPO Klassiek
Photo Credits: NTR Podium (2021)
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VOL. 2: HANS HENKEMANS
The second entry in the Eclipse series is all about Dutch pianist and composer Hans Henkemans. He was one of the most succesful musicians of his generation. His works were regularly performed at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and as a pianist he traveled the world to perform both his own music and compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Claude Debussy, which were his specialties. Due to health issues and fierce resistance from the young avant-garde movement, Henkemans’s career came to an abrupt end in the 1960s and his music fell into oblivion.
Behind the scenes of Eclipse, Vol. 2: Hans Henkemans
In 2021, the Hans Henkemans Foundation was founded in order to rightfully restore Henkemans’s legacy. Conductor Ed Spanjaard, a close friend, dug up the unpublished manuscripts he inherited from Henkemans, several of which were performed and recorded by Mattias Spee for the first time ever. The album was released in May of 2023 and celebrated with an album presentation in a sold out Amstelkerk. The concert, which included a guest appearance by Spanjaard, was broadcast on NPO Klassiek.
Album presentation at the Amstelkerk
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VOL. 3: SERGEI PROTOPOPOV
The third and final installment of the Eclipse series presents works by Russian pianist and composer Sergei Protopopov. He was one of the most promising composers of his generation, but his career was cut short by the cultural censoring of the Stalin regime. Due to his homosexuality, Protopopov was an easy target. In 1933, he was apprehended by the secret police and sent to a Siberian gulag. His music was swept under the rug and barely performed, until Mattias Spee rediscovered it and made this recording.
Behind the scenes of Eclipse, Vol. 3: Hans Henkemans
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Photo Credits: TRPTK (2024)
The album was released in January of 2025 and celebrated with an album presentation at De Duif, which was broadcast on NPO Klassiek. This historic venue houses the grand piano of the late Youri Egorov, a legendary Russian pianist whose life’s story mirrors Protopopov’s in many ways. Jan Brokken, a dear friend of Egorov’s and author of his biography In het huis van de dichter, attended the concert, received the first copy of the album and subsequently spoke the following words:
“This young virtuoso, Mattias Spee, is an adventurer who searches for hidden music and forbidden repertoire and introduces us in a breathtaking manner to work that we didn’t know yet. [...] Mattias Spee, you are on a mission and I would like to ask the audience for an overwhelming applause for this mission. Thank you, Mattias.”
Album presentation at De Duif
Behind the scenes of Eclipse, Vol. 3: Hans Henkemans
The album was released in January of 2025 and celebrated with an album presentation at De Duif, which was broadcast on NPO Klassiek. This historic venue houses the grand piano of the late Youri Egorov, a legendary Russian pianist whose life’s story mirrors Protopopov’s in many ways. Jan Brokken, a dear friend of Egorov’s and author of his biography In het huis van de dichter, attended the concert, received the first copy of the album and subsequently spoke the following words:
“This young virtuoso, Mattias Spee, is an adventurer who searches for hidden music and forbidden repertoire and introduces us in a breathtaking manner to work that we didn’t know yet. [...] Mattias Spee, you are on a mission and I would like to ask the audience for an overwhelming applause for this mission. Thank you, Mattias.”
Album presentation at De Duif
Photo Credits: Thomas van Driel (2025)
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Eclipse series was realised with generous contributions from several sponsors. An insurmountable level of gratitude goes out to the Sena Muziekproductiefonds, Stichting Hans Henkemans, Stichting Amarte, Van den Berch Van Heemstede Stichting, Jacques Vonk Fonds, Cultuurfonds, Philzuid, VoorDeKunst, Stichting A.F.V.O.M.S. and many private sponsors, including:
Anna van der Kooij & Hans Bos, Kees van der Burg, Loes Mol, Celine Schweizer, Joslène Roijackers & Willem Smit, Monique & Rob Verschoor, Odilia Ubbens, Harm Udding, Marjolein de Moor, Meriam Smit-Loos, Kitty Willemsen & Fokke Munk, Jennie Schotman, Daan Kloosterhuis, Eugenie van Dijk & Frank Brakkee, Rixt Zijlstra, Hugo van Beusekom, Marja & Tjaart Hofman, Clara Spee & Marlon Hart, Ruth Oudraad, Aki & Dennis de Lang, Wient Mulder, Reinier Schrader & Annemiek Nelis, Marcel van Dijk, Cecile & Simon Pool-Swinkels, Richel Bernsen, Nanny Roed Lauridsen, Marlene Victoria-Hilhorst, Sophia van der Hooft, Heleen Wüst & Bart van Rosmalen, Anne de Wijs-Vink, Cristian Santibañez, Albert Clement, Agnes de Ruijter, Willem Boogman, Jeroen Disch, Monique van der Linden, Kübra Colak, Renée Simons, Aad Spee, Jos Nieland, Wes Boldewijn, Fons Duyndam, Mart Blom, Bianca & Gino Hanenberg, Amal van Caem, Martijn de Ruijter & Jacobien Gerbrandij, Tinka Regter, Henk de Regt, Sandra Oude Avenhuis, Karina Meeuwse, Apollon Kalamenios, Catharina Clement, Ellen Spons, Lammie Bruin, Annette van der Burg, Bob Stapel, Loes Mol, Vincent van Amsterdam, Julia Spee, Helmi & Willem Wout Maton, Willy Nelis, Marcel Mock, Jolande Schoonenberg, Raymond Young, Eric Moormann, Kasper Schonewille, Roos van der Burg, Anya & Johan Marinissen, Arjan Linker, Marcel van Dijk, Jeppe Moulijn, Marina, Stephen van der Waals, Tsjerk van Doornik, Erik Boom, Birgit Gerritse, Arnold & Leonora Spee, Esther Deerenberg & Rob de Lange, Akkelien Zuiderhof, Marijn van Sandick & Nico Penners, Enno & Martijn Strating, Emma Roijackers, Frits Zwart & Marja Molewijk, Wim Amir, Donald van der Peet, Titus Tielens, Bert Bollebakker
Anna van der Kooij & Hans Bos, Kees van der Burg, Loes Mol, Celine Schweizer, Joslène Roijackers & Willem Smit, Monique & Rob Verschoor, Odilia Ubbens, Harm Udding, Marjolein de Moor, Meriam Smit-Loos, Kitty Willemsen & Fokke Munk, Jennie Schotman, Daan Kloosterhuis, Eugenie van Dijk & Frank Brakkee, Rixt Zijlstra, Hugo van Beusekom, Marja & Tjaart Hofman, Clara Spee & Marlon Hart, Ruth Oudraad, Aki & Dennis de Lang, Wient Mulder, Reinier Schrader & Annemiek Nelis, Marcel van Dijk, Cecile & Simon Pool-Swinkels, Richel Bernsen, Nanny Roed Lauridsen, Marlene Victoria-Hilhorst, Sophia van der Hooft, Heleen Wüst & Bart van Rosmalen, Anne de Wijs-Vink, Cristian Santibañez, Albert Clement, Agnes de Ruijter, Willem Boogman, Jeroen Disch, Monique van der Linden, Kübra Colak, Renée Simons, Aad Spee, Jos Nieland, Wes Boldewijn, Fons Duyndam, Mart Blom, Bianca & Gino Hanenberg, Amal van Caem, Martijn de Ruijter & Jacobien Gerbrandij, Tinka Regter, Henk de Regt, Sandra Oude Avenhuis, Karina Meeuwse, Apollon Kalamenios, Catharina Clement, Ellen Spons, Lammie Bruin, Annette van der Burg, Bob Stapel, Loes Mol, Vincent van Amsterdam, Julia Spee, Helmi & Willem Wout Maton, Willy Nelis, Marcel Mock, Jolande Schoonenberg, Raymond Young, Eric Moormann, Kasper Schonewille, Roos van der Burg, Anya & Johan Marinissen, Arjan Linker, Marcel van Dijk, Jeppe Moulijn, Marina, Stephen van der Waals, Tsjerk van Doornik, Erik Boom, Birgit Gerritse, Arnold & Leonora Spee, Esther Deerenberg & Rob de Lange, Akkelien Zuiderhof, Marijn van Sandick & Nico Penners, Enno & Martijn Strating, Emma Roijackers, Frits Zwart & Marja Molewijk, Wim Amir, Donald van der Peet, Titus Tielens, Bert Bollebakker
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REVIEWS
“Imaginative music with a sometimes picturesque quality, inhabited by capricious characters who sneak across the staves. [...] Spee emerges as an Edgar Allen Poe-like storyteller with a lot of feel for emotional undercurrents.”
-NRC
"[Mattias Spee] gives highly powerful and convincing performances of these very demanding sonatas, and gentle and expressive ones of the shorter works, including his own."
-Music Web International
"Spee's been described as having a “velvet touch,” and certainly there's ample evidence on hand to support it, and Protopopov is fortunate to have him as his spokesperson when the pianist's playing is articulate, eloquent, and wholly sympathetic to the composer's vision and sensibility."
-Textura
"Masterfuol performance - These words apply first and foremost to Mattias Spee's tremendous artistic achievement, for that is certainly not amiss where these albums are concerned. The music is extremely well-presented, is alternately energetic and delicate, resilient and graceful, expressively deeply layered, and enveloped in a rich palette of light and shadow within a ravishing texture, with, in addition - the one flowing from the other - a highly developed sense of form and content."
-Opus Klassiek
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