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5.08 – Saturday – 12:05 pm

/ the tower of the Main Town Hall /

Jewish weekend – Jewish Music on Bells

Mathieu Daniël Polak – carillon (The Netherlands)

Program:

Giovanni Battista Ferrini (1601-1674)
Ballo di Mantova (opr. M. D. Polak)

Isaac Nathan (1791-1864)
She walks in Beauty (opr. M. D. Polak)

Mordecai Gebirtig (1877-1942)
Hershele (opr. M. D. Polak)

Joel Engel (1868-1927)
Schlach Monus (Purimowe podarki) (opr. M. D. Polak)

Abe Ellstein (1907-1963)
Yidl mitn Fidl (Żydowski skrzypek, opr. M. Lewkowitz)

Felix Mendelsshohn-Bartholdy (1809-1847)
V Symfonia, cz. 3 (fragmenty, opr. M. D. Polak)

Władysław Szpilman (1911-2000)
Mazurek (opr. M. D. Polak)

Aleksander Tansman (1897-1986)
Quartier du Temple (opr. M. D. Polak)

Mathieu Daniël Polak (1972)
Shalach Manos (Purimowe podarki)

MATHIEU DANIEL POLAK  

attended the Dutch Carillon School in Amersfoort. He obtained his Master’s degree in 2000 with a specialisation in carillon education. Since graduation in 2000, he has been a teacher at the Netherlands Carillon Center in Amersfoort. Mathieu won prizes for carillon playing at international carillon competitions in Hamburg (Germany) and Enkhuizen (the Netherlands). He gave carillon recitals in Japan, Denmark, Portugal, France, Belgium, Germany, Lithuania and the USA.

Since 2008, he has been a carillonneur of the Erasmus University Rotterdam. Moreover, since 2003 Mathieu Polak has been a carillonneur of Spakenburg. In May 2022 he was appointed a carillonneur of the Plein 40-45 carillon in Amsterdam.

Mathieu Daniel Polak holds two master’s degrees in composition, namely from the Lemmens Institute Leuven (2013) and from the Utrecht School of the Arts (2010).

Polak’s composition Fleurs de Cerisier (Cherry Blossom) for wind quintet was awarded the third prize at the Coma Maastricht composition competition in 2011 and Puppy Love for horn was awarded the third prize at the composition competition IVME Antwerp 2011. His carillon piece Dandelion Field was awarded the second prize at the Johan Franco composition competition 2017. His composition A Butterfly’s Dance was awarded the first prize at the Johan Franco composition competition 2019. In 2019 he obtained a scholarship by the Fonds voor de Podiumkunsten to compose and arrange Jewish Music for carillon named Chag Sameach. On May 7, 2019, Boudewijn Zwart premiered these pieces at the Westertoren in Amsterdam. On 1 February 2020, Mathieu was awarded the prestigious Visser Neerlandia Award for his composition Chag Sameach. Last year, Mathieu Daniel Polak studied carillon composition at the Royal Carillon School Mechelen (Belgium). In 2021, Mathieu composed a book named Mazzeltov (Good luck) which was premiered by carillonneur Frank Steijns at the carillons of the City Hall and Servaas Basilica in Maastricht.

Polak studied piano with Alwin Bar and Ton Hartsuiker at the Conservatory of Utrecht and graduated in 1997. He teaches the piano at the Music School Amersfoort and is pianist of the Liberal Jewish Community Amsterdam.