Erik Bosgraaf & Francesco Corti

Wreathed with pearls, draped in ermine and silk, she gazes out of the picture frame: Princess Anne, daughter of the British King. This concert evening is dedicated to her, George Frideric Handel's favourite pupil. He didn't actually enjoy teaching, but Princess Anne was an exception – brilliant at the harpsichord, quick at reading music, adept at counterpoint. Handel likely wrote several sonatas for recorder and basso continuo for the music lessons.
Anne loved music, even later when she married and moved to the Netherlands. Here she assembled the very best musicians around her, maintained a court orchestra and promoted talented composers. Among them were Jean-Marie Leclair, who dedicated the light-footed sonatas Opus 9 to his patroness, and the avid traveller and recorder player Johann Christian Schickhardt. The diplomat Wilhelm van Wassenaer, who possessed exquisite composition skills, also frequented the court in The Hague.
The princess's excellent taste is reflected in the concert program by Erik Bosgraaf and Francesco Corti: the works in this finely conceived evening concert resonate with elegance, joie de vivre and sensitivity.