A-mag - Amsterdam Magazine: No.2

amsterdam magazine

Sights & Sounds Art & Fashion Dancing & Dining Film & Theatre march & april 2013

Born to bike AMSTERDAM HAS MORE BIKES THAN PEOPLE, AND its LOVE AFFAIR WITH CYCLING IS INSPIRING THE WORLD. WITH SPRING IN THE AIR, THERE’S NO BETTER WAY TO EXPLORE THE CITY THAN BY BIKE.

Go Dutch: Cycle!

no 2 €2.95

All

brands you could

possibly desire

De Bijenkorf is the leading shopping destination in Amsterdam. This luxury department store offers the world’s most exclusive brands, such as Louis Vuitton, Hermès and Gucci.

Come and visit our store on Dam Square in Amsterdam

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amsterdam magazine

n0 2 MAR & APR 2013

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WHEN IN AMSTERDAM Ubiquitous is the word that comes to mind when one thinks about bicycles in Amsterdam. It would be hard to take a picture anywhere in this city that does not include at least one fiets, as we call it.

The bike is like a metaphor for Dutch society. We’re the most egalitarian country in the world: nowhere is income distribution as flat as in this flattest of countries.

So whether you’re a student or a minister, senior citizen or toddler, your means of transport will be a bicycle. Egalitarianism is even reflected in our choice of bikes.

You won’t see many flashy two-wheelers, which tend to get stolen. We prefer our wobbly wheeled, squeaking old rust buckets. That way, we don’t have to worry.

When you arrive here, people will advise you to do as we do and navigate the city by bike. We agree: it’s fast, easy and cheap, and you can rent a bike on practically every street corner.

But here’s a warning: we’re terribly rude once we’re on our bikes. We’ll never stop for a red light, or any other obstacle for that matter. It’s not just the young and reckless; it’s everyone. We apologise. It’s where our genuine love of freedom and our permissive society short-circuited into an ‘I can do whatever the hell I want’ mentality. It’ll go away eventually. Just ignore it in the meantime; once we get off those bikes we’re actually very friendly.

Bart van Oosterhout editor-in-chief A-mag.

Stay in touch: iamsterdam.com facebook.com/iamsterdam twitter.com/iamsterdam youtube.com/videoiamsterdam

contents P.04 WHAT’S NEW?

City confidential: exciting new Amsterdam originals – initiatives, events and venues – featuring temperate ‘snow’, Anne’s new app, ‘the most famous Amsterdammer’, grave dancers and more

P.08 UP CLOSE The city in focus: why the Dutch were born to bike; our expat columnist on the quirky habits of Amsterdammers

P.19 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT The Rijksmuseum back in the frame; our critics’ picks of the best exhibitions, concerts and events; a few of Felix Meritis director Linda Bouws’ favourite things

P.31 EAT, DRINK & CHIC Neighbourhood watch: chocolate-box charm in the Jordaan; the hottest new shops, the tastiest food trends; our selection of the best restaurants and cafés – old and new – for every budget and palate

P.62 CLOSING Amsterdam ABC, your city need-to-know; once upon a time with the Ocean’s Twelve boys; top tips from visitors on the way out

p.45 the A-list Agendas at the ready: clubbing to gallery hopping, The A-List is your one-stop, at-a-glance guide to the city’s best music, theatre (language no problem!), sporting, family and gay & lesbian events and venues. Plus: something’s blooming beyond Amsterdam…

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mar & apr 2013

opening

What’s new?

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(in town)

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All the latest cultural news plus the fresh new initiatives, events and venues making Amsterdam the place to be in 2013.

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‘POPE RESIGNING FOR FIRST TIME IN 600 YEARS. NEXT STOP, AMSTERDAM. #POPESBUCKETLIST.’

TWEETER MATT HARGREAVES THINKS THE PONTIFF COULD BE HEADING THIS WAY FOLLOWING HIS RETIREMENT

A Rotterdam-based conceptual artist has set about beautifying some of Amsterdam’s less visually inspiring spots via a cover-up campaign with a difference. Roeland Otten seeks to transform architectural eyesores into thoughtprovoking installations such as this pixelated charm, which reinstates views lost to a small ‘air-quality measuring station’ on the Jan van Galenstraat. We think you’ll agree, it’s a breath of fresh air. www.roelandotten.com

KNIT FOR PURPOSE When it comes to the world of fashion, young, cuttingedge talent is all well and good, but sometimes what’s needed is the hand of experience. A Rotterdam company called ‘Granny’s Finest’ is recognising the untapped potential of ‘grey power’ by seeking to link up-and-coming knitwear designers with elderly people who are looking to show off their needle skills. From stockists such as Restored in Amsterdam, you can buy a scarf or hat knitted by one of the grannies, then send her a personalised thank-you note.

Part of the idea is to counter loneliness among senior citizens; it was recently estimated that, of the 2.6 million people living in the Netherlands who are over the age of 65, more than a million admit to feeling lonely. www.grannysfinest.com

osa images © 2011 cirque-jackson I.P., LLC

CAMO MAN IN THE ’DAM

anna boukema

text Toby Main

SNAPPY TALK Anyone looking for a quick glimpse of Amsterdam’s potential as a breeding ground for cool ideas could do a lot worse than to check out the city’s version of PechaKucha, the Japanese presentation concept whereby inspirational speakers are allotted no more than 20 seconds per slide, and a maximum of 20 slides. The next edition happens on 24 April at Trouw.

24 APRIL, TROUW Wibautstraat 131  www.pechakuchaamsterdam.nl

5 ‘All right, well you can walk into a movie theatre in Amsterdam and buy a beer. And I don’t mean just like in no paper cup, I’m talking about a glass of beer.’

‘I saw this in Amsterdam.

It is a 17th-century Shame Flute. It was affixed to the necks of bad musicians. #WayAheadThen.’

JOHN TRAVOLTA’S CHARACTER, VINCENT, SINGS THE CITY’S PRAISES IN 1994 MOVIE PULP FICTION

VETERAN BRITISH DJ DANNY BAKER TWEETS ABOUT AN INSPIRING VISIT TO THE TORTURE MUSEUM IN FEBRUARY

FULL THROTTLE

GRAVE DANCING Who’s that bizarre, bloodied and bandaged spectre peering out from behind the grave to make sweet music for us once more? Why, it’s one of the dancers from Michael Jackson: The IMMORTAL World Tour by Cirque du Soleil, of course, as the indefatigable troupe throngs ’Dam-wards to channel the undead from MJ’s iconic ‘Thriller’ video. Other highlights include ‘Earth Song’, which has lost none of its urgent ecological punch.

8-10 MARCH, ZIGGO DOME

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De Passage 100 www.cirquedusoleil.com

If life in Amsterdam’s bike utopia is leaving you a little, well, petrol deprived, you might want to scoot down to the Ziggo Dome arena for some vicarious thrills on 27 April, when the BBC’s hugely popular Top Gear motor show comes to town. Says chief presenter Jeremy Clarkson: ‘We’ll be taking all the best bits of Top Gear, and ambitiously attempting them live in our action arena.

I’m sure it will work out well!’

Famous last words…

27 APRIL, ZIGGO DOME

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De Passage 100 www.topgearlive.nl

IS THIS AMSTERDAM’S SHARD? Amsterdam isn’t always the first place that springs to mind when it comes to sky-scraping futurist architecture, which is why this place, handily situated by the A2 and A9 motorways, has caught our attention. Designed by Amsterdam architectural legends Benthem Crowel (the firm responsible for the Stedelijk Museum’s bath tub extension) the newly opened Fletcher Hotel was conceived as a landmark to punctuate the ‘start’ and ‘end’ of the city.

FLETCHER HOTEL Schepenbergweg 50 www.fletcherhotelamsterdam.nl

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SMALL UP TOP Female members of the Dutch parliament attending the inauguration of the Netherlands’ new king Willem-Alexander on 30 April in Amsterdam’s Nieuwe Kerk have been asked not to wear large hats for the occasion. The reason? All MPs must swear their allegiance to the new monarch as part of the ceremony, a solemn moment for which eye contact is key.

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part I up close

chain reaction

CHAIN REACTION Amsterdam’s love affair with the bike is inspiring the world.

BICYCLE MANIA HOLLAND Nowhere else in the world is cycling so ingrained in daily life as it is in Holland. Shirley Agudo, an American photographer and author living near Amsterdam, has captured the essence of the Dutch cycling culture in her book Bicycle Mania Holland, a fascinating portrait of a culture gone ‘completely mad about bikes’. With countries around the world hoping to emulate this bicycle culture, Amsterdam is a primary focus. www.bicycle-mania.nl Available at bookshops, www. hollandbooks.nl and via Amazon.

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To really understand this city and its people, you have to get in lane.

Shirley Agudo

text Mark Smith & Megan Roberts illustration Gijs Kast

a city of cyclists

A

merican essayist Christopher Morley once wrote that ‘the bicycle, the bicycle surely, should always be the vehicle of novelists and poets.’ While that may be true of the gas-guzzling United States, here in the Netherlands – and in Amsterdam especially – the humble bike is the default mode of transport for the butcher, the stockbroker… and even the supermodel.

At the first edition of Amsterdam International Fashion Week in 2004, it wasn’t just the futuristic designs by the city’s rag-trade mavericks that turned the immaculately coiffed heads of the visiting front-row crowd; it was also the fact that the local models and fashionistas – some of them with skinny lattes or mobile phones in hand – were arriving not by chauffeur-driven car or even by taxi. They were rocking up on bicycles.

Nine years later, during this year’s Fashion Week, Dutch retailer SuperTrash sent its models down the catwalk on bikes, to the soundtrack of Queen’s ‘Bicycle Race’.

Trends come and go, but it seems the fiets never goes out of style.

RUSTY BUT TRUSTY Ridden by royalty and riff-raff alike, the bike is Amsterdam’s great social leveller, with more than 50 per cent of all innercity journeys happening on two wheels. It’s rumoured that there are more bikes than people. You may be able to glance at an Amsterdammer’s clothes, their postcode or their curtains and make a judgement about their social status or heritage. Their bike, however? That’s another story.

According to Michel Geldermans, owner of cycle repair shop Fiets-Toom in the Oud-West, ‘Although there is a growing trend for more expensive “designer” bikes among young people, as a general rule, one person’s bike will look much like the next bike.’

And the next bike, let’s be honest, is no oil painting. Regardless of its owner’s pedigree, a cycle in Amsterdam is frequently a rusty but trusty old wreck, complete with amateur paint job, its key components held together with gaffer tape. Being a

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part I up close

chain reaction

URBAN ARROW

VANMOOF No-nonsense yet eminently stylish, the young Dutch upstarts behind Vanmoof have rethought the traditional Dutch commuter bike and made it, well, just better.

Stripping back all the paraphernalia – ‘visual noise’, they call it – the tubular frame is aircraft-grade aluminium alloy, and the award-winning integrated lights designed in conjunction with electronics giant Philips by the best in the automotive industry.

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Mauritskade 55 www.vanmoof.nl

Anyone who’s tried to navigate Amsterdam’s city centre in even the smallest of cars knows that it’s just not worth the bother. Young bike makers Urban Arrow provide a green, affordable and timesaving alternative with their award-winning motorised cargo bikes. Granted, they won’t keep you dry in the all-too-inclement Dutch weather – although they do have a bespoke rain hood for the kids that folds away neatly into the framework – but they also won’t cost you €5 an hour to park…

Concertgebouwplein 20 www.urbanarrow.com

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BLACKSTAR BAMBOO BIKES

pragmatic bunch by nature, Amsterdammers are aware that the flashier a bike, the more likely it is to be swiped. It’s estimated that some 50,000 steeds are stolen every year in the capital. Often this is the result of lax locking after a few too many biertjes. A whole lot more end up languishing at the bottom of the waterways, albeit not for long – keep an eye out for the City’s amazing crane boat, which pulls up submerged bikes by the motorised clawful.

Most of the time, however, things work exceptionally well. ‘Now that cities worldwide are having to deal with the problems of traffic jams, pollution and parking space, they look to Amsterdam and see that the solution lies in biking,’ says Jorrit Kreek, founder of Urban Arrow, a company that manufactures an ‘electric-assisted’ version of the head-turning bakfiets used by so many Amsterdammers to transport cargo – most often their children – around the city.

‘Tourists look at us like we’re from outer

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space, but for us, it’s totally normal,’ jokes Kreek.

Being compact and famously flat, it’s true that Amsterdam had a head start when it came to bike-friendliness. But – as is appropriate for one of the only mechanised modes of transport whereby passenger and engine are one and the same – people power has played a significant role. Bike sharing schemes, such as London’s ‘Boris Bikes’ network and Paris’s ‘Vélib’ initiative, find their inspiration in Amsterdam’s ‘White Bike Plan’ of 1965, the earliestknown community biking scheme as conceived by radical politician Luud Schimmelpennink in association with the countercultural Provo movement. One of several ‘White Plans’ devised to address social problems (another advocated shared parenting in groups of five couples), it never really got off the ground, but nevertheless demonstrates that, when it comes to biking, Amsterdam has long been ahead of the

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‘Amsterdammers are born on bikes, so of course we know how to reinvent them.’

Yes, you read that right: they’re bikes, and they’re made of bamboo. Specifically, Ghanan bamboo. But it goes further than that: BlackStar Bikes (named for the solitary star on the Ghanan flag) doesn’t just import the raw materials, but commissions its bamboo frames from SubSaharan Africa, actively creating employment in a part of the world where it’s sorely needed, and then distributes profits equally along the supply chain. Ecologically sustainable, surprisingly affordable and socially engaged: this is cycling for social change.

Find them at Restored, Haarlemmerdijk 39 http://blackstarbikes.nl

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chain reaction

part I up close

sustainable, affordable and socially engaged.

(BlackStar Bamboo Bikes)

curve. Since the 1970s, when bike use was at an all-time low, successive legislation and investment has rendered driving in the city more and more onerous, and cycling more convenient. A trip across Amsterdam that would take an hour in the car now takes about half that time by bike.

THE ROAD AHEAD As the rest of the planet gets wise to the near-boundless brilliance of bikes, there are untold opportunities for Amsterdam’s entrepreneurs to take the lead. Like sparkling wine from the Champagne region, a bike designed in Amsterdam has bankable prestige on the world market. As Taco Carlier, whose sleek aluminium Vanmoof bikes with patented integrated chain lock have won a clutch of international prizes for design, says of Amsterdammers: ‘We’re practically born on bikes, so it makes sense that we should know how to reinvent them.’

Mark Groot Wessink of Roetz-Bikes, meanwhile, is taking the much-heralded sustainability of biking to its logical conclusion, by stripping down the steel frames of discarded bikes (they end up in a depot at Hoofddorp, just outside the city) and refurbishing them with natural materials such as cork handles from Portugal: ‘Now that the cost of steel is going through the roof, our approach makes more and more sense.’

The wheel, it seems, is coming full circle.

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PRISTINE You’d be forgiven for wondering if there’s room for a cycling subculture in this city of bikes, but you’ll find one at Oud-West’s Pristine, a temple to all things fixedgear. More than just a shop – although they do stock a pretty comprehensive range of brands, accessories, new and old frames – Pristine is a gathering place for the fixie community, complete with exhibition space. May we recommend the ‘Faster Than You Crew’ T-shirts?

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Kinkerstraat 14 www.pristinefixedgear.com

DE FIETSFABRIEK ‘If you have an idea, don’t sit on it, make it!’ says Yalçin Cihangir. Or rather, make it first, then sit on it. As cofounder of De Fietsfabriek, Turkish-born Cihangir and business partner Dave Deutsch have been making bikes for more than a decade. That brightly-hued ‘bucket bike’ overflowing with children, dogs, groceries and goodness knows what that nearly ran you over? Chances are, Cihangir and Deutsch made it.

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Sarphatistraat 141 www.defietsfabriek.nl

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ROETZ-BIKES A bike made by Dutch manufacturer Roetz is more than the sum of its stylish, sustainable parts – which, coincidentally, include a reconditioned frame, wooden mud guards and cork handle grips. In addition to putting a portion of the 1 million bikes discarded in the Netherlands each year to good use, Roetz-Bikes also provides sheltered employment for people with disabilities and the long-term unemployed. These really are more than just bikes.

Jan Evertsenstraat 719 http://roetz-bikes.com

Wheels for hire ‘When I see an adult on a bicycle,’ said science-fiction writer HG Wells, ‘I do not despair for the future of the human race.’

He may have done, though, if he’d witnessed one of rental company MacBike’s impromptu morning cycling lessons on Amsterdam’s Leidseplein… Bike rentals options in the city run the rainbow of options, from MacBike’s distinctive ruby hue (http://macbike.nl) to the more discrete black of Het Zwarte Fietsenplan (www.hetzwartefietsenplan.nl).

See www.iamsterdam.com for comprehensive listings

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part I

no-nonsense yet eminently stylish.

chain reaction

up close

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(Vanmoof)

FIETSENBOOT While cities around the world look to better integrate the bicycle, Amsterdam offers a cautionary tale of the logistical headaches of doing so.

With the average Amsterdammer owning 1.5 bikes and only 50,000 official parking spots in the centre, it’s not surprising that council officials remove around 55,000 illegally parked bikes each year. The numerous ‘bike boats’ docked at strategic locations around the city may just be the answer…

WORKCYCLES

Nobody can agree on exactly where the Dutch word fiets comes from. But now two linguists from the Univeristy of Ghent think they‘ve traced the word‘s meaning, via the German for cider (Viez, meaning ‘vice wine‘ and pronounced to rhyme with fiets in some parts of the country), to ‘replacment horse’. Which also explains the common Dutch pejorative stalen ros: ‘steel steed‘.

Shirley Agudo

‘vice horse’

Founded in 2003 by American former product designer Henry Cutler, WorkCycles does exactly what it says on the tin: builds bicycles and tricycles made to perform hard work. They may be beautiful in their own way, but make no mistake: the WorkCycle is the shire horse of the Amsterdam bike world, functional and extremely durable.

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Lijnbaansgracht 32b & Veemarkt 150a www.workcycles.com

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part I

15

up close

When in Amsterdam…

deborah van der schaaf

After 16 years here, native New Yorker Lauren Comiteau is still working out how to ‘go Dutch’.

hit up HEMA S

Lauren Comiteau is a journalist and writer who has been covering the Netherlands for TIME magazine, CBS Radio and others since 1996. She lives in Amsterdam with her two daughters.

everal years back, I wrote a story about EL HEMA, an Arabic version of the country’s most beloved and überDutch department store. Although an art installation by design, EL HEMA sold star HEMA products with an Arabic twist, meaning I spent more money on Halal smoked sausage, Arabic-themed tea towels and wine plastered in Arabian odes to drunkenness than I earned for my writing. EL HEMA’s products were sadly taken out of production when the exhibit closed down.

So it was with some cheerful surprise recently when during my seemingly bi-weekly HEMA run, I noticed hijabs for sale. Yes, the traditional Muslim woman’s head covering – the one that just a few years ago was the cause of so much debate as anti-Islamist politician Geert Wilders dreamed of taxing women who wore it – was available in a stretchy viscose version in black, teal and raspberry pink.

That HEMA feeling It’s hard to explain the HEMA phenomenon to people not familiar with the almost 600-strong ubiquitous chain. Its in-house designed products are so appealingly Dutch: down-to-earth, practical, stylish and, perhaps most important, affordable.

Any store whose claim to fame is that it’s taken the quotidian frying pan and painted it day-glow pink is a winner in my book – and apparently in the rest of the Dutch population’s too; my informal poll indicates that your average Amsterdammer, like me, spends

about 1/4 of her annual income at HEMA. That ‘HEMA feeling’ has been described as a combination of nostalgia and comfort. It’s the ultimate retail therapy. There’s no child here who hasn’t grown up in the store’s underwear, not one adult who hasn’t savoured its pale pink creamy confection, the tompouce.

I can’t think of any other chain store that has been given life on stage, even if some critics agree with the show’s tagline, ‘the worst musical ever’, a wordplay on one of the store’s star products – its famous smoked sausage.

HEMA prides itself on changing with the times, on introducing new products so often that when you enter the store for cotton balls you end up leaving with a blue-glazed ceramic pitcher that could have come straight out of a Vermeer painting.

So whether it’s one small step for integration or simply a brilliant bow by HEMA marketers to the nation’s changing demographics, that this temple of Dutch culture now sells hijabs is a welcome move, fitting even for a store that has its roots in a different immigrant community: the Jewish one of the ’20s.

HEMA takes its country’s celebrations seriously, from Ramadan’s Sugar Parties to the more traditional Easter dinner. So come Queen’s Day this 30 April, HEMA will be stocked full of commemorative and celebratory items. As of this writing, mum’s the word on what they will be, but I’m putting my money on the annual orange tompouce, topped with marzipan minis of the King and his popular Argentinean Queen.

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Advertorial

I amsterdam City Card

mar & apr 2013

Step back in time to the city’s Golden Age, with the I amsterdam City Card.

The Golden Age – Gateway to Our World  Amsterdam Museum

The 17th century is often regarded as laying the foundations for the modern state of the Netherlands. It was an era of world trade, economic growth, cultural and religious diversity, flourishing science and the construction of the Amsterdam canals, but also a century of slavery and war. The Amsterdam Museum tells the riveting story of the Dutch Golden Age using the latest multimedia techniques and a treasure trove of world-class art.

Free admission with the I amsterdam City Card

Canal cruising: On the water in Amsterdam  Besides providing a stunning backdrop to the city’s historic centre, floating down Amsterdam’s canals is one of the most memorable ways to explore the city.

Whether you’re a first-time or frequent visitor, everything in Amsterdam seems a little more magical when viewed from a boat. There are a number of departure points throughout the city and tours are available in a multitude of languages.

Free canal cruise with the I amsterdam City Card (choose between Holland International or Blue Boat Company)

400 YEARS OF CANALS 2013 is a very special year for Amsterdam. It is the 400th anniversary of Amsterdam’s famous Canal Ring, which was established in the Golden Age. It forms the heart of the city and was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2010. The beautiful Canal District is also the perfect base for exploring Amsterdam.

To make your stay unforgettable in 2013, a number of hotels, restaurants, museums and a canal cruise operator have put together a special package for visitors who want to immerse themselves in the canalside experience.

Highlights with your I amsterdam City Card:

special exhibitions in March & April Hermitage Amsterdam  One of the highlights of the Netherlands–Russia 2013 celebrations celebrating 400 years of trade, the Hermitage Amsterdam presents a major exhibition devoted to Peter the Great, featuring historical artefacts, world-renowned works of art, priceless exhibits and a number of the Tsar’s personal effects.

9 March-13 September.

Free admission with the I amsterdam City Card

State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg

Peter The Great, An Inspired Tsar

Vincent: The Van Gogh Museum in the Hermitage Amsterdam The Hermitage Amsterdam serves as the temporary home to an extensive collection of Vincent Van Gogh’s most famous works during the reno­vation of the museum bearing his name.

Until 25 April.

Free admission with the I amsterdam City Card

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The history of Amsterdam is intimately connected with water. The 400-year-old Canal Ring was built in the Golden Age to stimulate trade and transport and reclaim land, and the city’s many canals continue to define the landscape today.

AMSTERDAM’S CANAL MUSEUMS

MUSEUM OF BAGS AND PURSES 

Experience first-hand the grandeur of a 17th-century canal-side residence. The fabulously preserved Museum van Loon is certainly worth a look. Het Grachtenhuis (House of the Canals) offers a multimedia exhibition on how the Canal Ring was built, and the Willet-Holthuysen Museum on the Herengracht (pictured) is home to a trea­sure trove of antique collectables.

One of the eight leading fashion museums in the world and the only museum with such an extensive, specialised collection of bags and purses, the Museum of Bags and Purses takes visitors on a tour of the development of bags and purses from the 16th century to the present. The collection provides a fascinating survey of function, design, fabric and decoration in purse fashion through the ages. Built in 1664, the historic museum building boasts an impressive antique interior, too.

Free admission to all with the I amsterdam City Card

Free admission with the I amsterdam City Card

Myra May

> Rijksmuseum opens 

This spring, the Rijksmuseum reopens to the public after a ten-year renovation, with an entirely refreshed layout and fully renovated building. In total, 80 halls will display a staggering 8,000 pieces of Dutch art and history.

From 13 April I amsterdam City Card holders receive €2.50 discount (regular entrance price: €15)

Explore everything Amsterdam has to offer with the I amsterdam City Card.

Visit world-class museums, take a cruise through the charming canals and sample the local delicacies – all for free or with a significant discount.

• Free entrance to over 40 museums • Free public transport • Free canal cruise • 25 per cent discount on attractions • 25 per cent discount on food & drink …and more I amsterdam City Card for 24 hours – €42 I amsterdam City Card for 48 hours – €52 I amsterdam City Card for 72 hours – €62

The I amsterdam City Card is available at Amsterdam Tourist Offices, hotels, canal cruise companies and GVB Tickets & Info offices. For more information, see www. iamsterdamcitycard. com

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mar & apr 2013

opening What’s new?

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‘Magaluf?! The Geordies have been there & done that. Time for Amsterdam, Barcelona, Prague & a French ski resort!’

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WE’RE WONDERING IF THE CAST OF REALITY SHOW CAR CRASH GEORDIE SHORE WOULDN’T MIND SKIPPING AMSTERDAM, AFTER THIS FEBRUARY TWEET

‘I’m in Amsterdam now & have had pretty much zero WiFi on this tour so far & it is driving me nuts. How ever am I to post dumb pics?’

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SINGER AIMEE MANN TWEETS ABOUT FEELING DISCONNECTED BEFORE HER PERFORMANCE IN JANUARY

It’s fair to say that the Amsterdam Museum tells the story of some seriously venerable inhabitants. But it’s testament to the power of the Beautiful Game that it’s not a painter such as Rembrandt nor a lofty philosopher such as Spinoza that the institution refers to as ‘the most famous Amsterdammer’. Nope, that particular accolade belongs to one Johan Cruyff, the shaggy-haired football legend who began his blistering career at Ajax as a youth player, aged ten, and went on to become an icon of the city. No longer quite so shaggy of mane these days, Cruyff turned 65 last year, which is when this exhibitioncum-tribute was planned. A blaze of memorabilia, it’s a must for all footie fans, and runs until May. until 12 may, AMSTERDAM MUSEUM Kalverstraat 92 www.amsterdammuseum.nl

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LOOK, NO HANS! Since 1865, Dutch hero Hans Brinker has been inspiring generation after generation of do-gooders via the simple story of how he put the needs of others before himself, throwing the result of a skating contest in order to benefit the less fortunate. So why all the fuss about the commemorative plaque that’s been erected in his honour on Amsterdam’s Oude Nieuwstraat?  Erm, how about because he never existed? Brinker – who is often wrongly identified as the folklore character who plugged his finger in a dam and prevented a flood – was actually the literary creation of American author Mary Mapes Dodge, who had never even been to the Netherlands when she wrote the best-selling children’s classic.

The plot thickens…

concrete

TROPHY LIFE

POP IT IN YOUR DIARY The line-up is far from being announced, but we’re nevertheless breathlessly excited to be bringing you news that Amsterdam – more specifically the Ziggo Dome – has been selected to host this November’s MTV EMAs (that’s European Music Awards, Granddad). Bruce Gillmer, some, like, way important dude at MTV said: ‘We’re very excited to partner with the city of Amsterdam, a true world-class music city and top destination for artists.’ Swoon!

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‘In Amsterdam the water is the mistress and the land the vassal. Throughout the city there are as many canals and drawbridges as bracelets on a Gypsy’s bronzed arms.’

geert van der wijk

Félix Martí-Ibáñez (1911-1972), Spanish PHYSICIAN WRITER

ELM STREET

SHEIKH IT UP It’s the cult clubbing success story that’s taking over the world, with branches in Istanbul, San Francisco, Los Angeles and London. Now Supperclub, the quirky dinner-dine experience that started right here in Amsterdam, is touching down in the Middle Eastern party capital of Dubai, promising ‘exquisite fine dining, artistic entertainment and sensational hospitality’. Set to open before summer, the club (part of the luxurious Jumeirah Zabeel Saray Hotel on the crazy Palm Jumeirah archipelago) will feature a suitably dramatic two-storey design by Amsterdam’s very own Concrete architects. Supperclub Dubai is apparently already on the lookout for performers, so if you’re looking for a dramatic career change, now could be the time to brush up that tightrope routine. www.supperclubdubai.com

If you weren’t in town to witness the picturesque Amsterdam scenes that resulted from the real snowfall earlier this year, take heart in the ‘Spring Snow’ initiative, which promises equally fabulous photo opportunities.

It’s estimated that there are some 75,000 elm trees in and around Amsterdam, and this year an official 8km walk has been devised to best take in the springtime spectacle of whirling elm seeds floating through the air. www.springsnow.nl

LOAD OF BULL It’s not often that ad men get to refer to themselves as ‘political artists’ but that’s exactly what Spanish-born Alvaro Sotomayor, creative director at Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam, can claim with his exhibition Toro, on display in Westerpark. The paintings seek to make heroes of the 69 victorious animals in the recorded history of Spanish bullfighting.

UNTIL 31 MARCH, Art Directors’ Club Nederland Polonceaukade 17 www.adcn.nl

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READ BETWEEN THE LINES Of course, there’s no substitute for seeing the original edition of the world’s most famous diary – that of Anne Frank – in its heartbreakingly optimistic red cover at the Amsterdam museum bearing her name.  But now, for the first time, the diary can be explored in-depth on the iPad, thanks to a new app developed in conjunction with the Anne Frank Fund. The contents of the app include rarelyseen-before photographs of the Frank family plus audio commentary from those who risked their lives to aid Anne, and is drawn from an archive held in Basel, Switzerland, where Anne’s father Otto lived after the war. It has been assembled with the assistance of Anne’s last remaining direct relative, her cousin Bernd ‘Buddy’ Elias. The app also incorporates the full, definitive text of the diary, alongside audio extracts read by actress Helena Bonham Carter.

Available from iTunes, https://itunes.apple.com

after the rehearsal / persona the taming of the shrew angels in america children of the sun a doll’s house the russians! disgrace all my sons husbands the seagull

eXtraordinary plays with english surtitles

on thursdays at stadsschouwburg amsterdam

toneelgroepamsterdam ticket sales (020) 624 23 11 | ssba.nl | tga.nl/en

Inspired by interviews and films produced by young Dutch and Norwegian students especially for this project.

mar & apr 2013

part II 20 22 27 28

entertainment

‘Like Faust, Amsterdammers have “two souls in one breast”: cyclists are also motorists and vice versa, only each at a different time…’

Linda Bouws, director of Felix Meritis, European Centre for Art, Culture and Science

‘The Night Watch was and is one of the icons of the Rijksmuseum, larger than life, world-famous.

The entire Rijksmuseum was built around IT…’

In Bloom (For Dazed & Confused), 2011

Wim Pijbes, director Rijksmuseum

19

RIJKSMUSEUM REOPENS HIGHLIGHTS 13 QUESTIONS FILM

VIVIANE SASSEN: IN AND OUT OF FASHION Bringing together 17 years of work in the fashion world, this eye-popping exhibition features selections from Dutch photographer Viviane Sassen’s award-winning series and campaigns for design powerhouses including Carven and magazines such as Dazed & Confused.

Sassen’s intuitive and imaginative style can be flamboyant, contemplative, erotic and surreal – often simultaneously.

UNTIL 17 MARCH, HUIS MARSEILLE Keizersgracht 401 www.huismarseille.nl

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rijksmuseum

part II ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

The Rijksmuseum remastered

As the Golden Age art institution reopens after a decade of unprecedented renovation, its director, Wim Pijbes, puts us back in the frame.

jannes linders

text Toby Main

W

hen a penniless thirty-something by the name of Vincent van Gogh visited the new Rijksmuseum in 1885, he was so inspired by what he saw that he resolved to completely reinvent his own creative process.

The work of one Dutch Old Master in particular stood out, as Vincent would write to his brother Theo in October of that year: ‘Rembrandt is so deeply mysterious that he says things for which there are no words in any language.’ A fanboy was born.

Inspired by the pomp of venerable French museums like the Louvre, the Rijksmuseum (meaning: ‘State Museum’) had been founded in The Hague in 1800 to house the spoils of the Golden Age, and was moved to Amsterdam at the behest of King Louis Bonaparte in 1808, before a suitably grand building could be agreed upon.

In 1876 a design contest was held to find the architect who could provide the museum’s priceless collection with a worthy permanent

residence. The winning design was by Pierre Cuypers, and his richly decorated building literally namechecks the glories of Dutch art history in gold leaf.

In the spring of 2013, the museum finds itself in a similar situation to 1885. For a decade now, the lion’s share of Cuypers’ Rijksmuseum building has been closed for one of the most significant programmes of renovation ever undertaken by any museum, anywhere.

Spanish architecture firm Cruz y Ortiz has turned

21

edwin van eis

join the 2013 party Frans Hals, Two Laughing Boys, c1628

Catch De Appel at dusk, at 24H Oost

Huis Bartolotti, open during Heritage Days

FRANS HALS: EYE TO EYE WITH REMBRANDT, RUBENS AND TITIAN Despite his key role in the evolution of 17th-century group portraiture and his pioneering use of loose, expressive strokes, it’s perhaps fair to say that Haarlem painter Frans Hals hasn’t enjoyed quite the same international renown as some of his Golden Age contemporaries. 2013 looks set to change all that, with the museum that bears his name celebrating its 100th birthday by assembling loaned Old Masters from around the globe for a blockbuster exhibition of comparisons and contrasts.

23 March-28 July, Frans Hals Museum, Groot Heiligland 62, Haarlem www.franshalsmuseum.nl

Cuypers’ original 19th-century building into a bright, spacious place, with a jawdropping new light-flooded entrance, state-of-the-art facilities and restored galleries. Parisian museum designer Jean-Michel Wilmotte has created the fixtures and furnishings. Brand new interactive exhibitions look to the iPhone, and beyond.

‘We present Old Masters in a new and exciting way, and everything that visitors see and experience will be totally new,’ says director Wim Pijbes, the art historian who

jannes linders

john lewis marshall

24H OOST

took over in 2008.

During the lockdown, a core, ‘greatest hits’ collection of works has been housed in the museum’s southerly Philips Wing. For the reopening, The Night Watch – most treasured of all the Rijksmuseum’s riches, and comparable to the Louvre’s Mona Lisa in terms of its fame and mystique – is returning to the hall purpose-built for it in 1906; something that Pijbes couldn’t be happier about: ‘It was and is one of the icons of the Rijksmuseum, larger than life, world-

famous. The entire Rijksmuseum was built around this painting and it returns to the room where it belongs.’

So, as the Old Masters reclaim their rightful places among an ever-evolving collection of Dutch and Dutchinspired Masters – check out the newly acquired ‘Mondrian’ dress by Yves Saint Laurent, for example – we can only speculate about which Master of tomorrow might be waiting in line, ready for inspiration to strike. It really is a case of watch this space.

The multicultural district of Amsterdam Oost is considered one of the most exciting parts of the city, with some cool new restaurant or bar seeming to pop up there on an almost weekly basis. These feisty new kids on the block will unite with more established venues, shops and museums across the neighbourhood to celebrate 24H Oost, the second iteration of a no-sleep festival of new surprises that’s sweeping the city during 2013.

Grab yourself a strong coffee, check out the programme and get involved. Top tip: a twilight tour of the Dirk Braeckman exhibition at De Appel arts centre, led by curator Ann Demeester.

23 & 24 March, Amsterdam Oost www.iamsterdam.com

AMSTERDAM HERITAGE DAYS Granting special access to some of the city’s most dazzling – but usually hidden – gems, Amsterdam Heritage Days 2013 is a four-part open-door extravaganza celebrating the 400th jubilee of the stately Canal Ring that brought the city such prosperity during the Golden Age. This first instalment (versions are planned for May, July and September too) focuses on the birth of the waterways, via a peek inside the 17th-century interiors of the grand merchants’ houses built on the Canal Ring, including Huis Bartolotti and Poppenhuis. The stairs may be steep, but the price isn’t: entrance is free.

24 March, www.iamsterdam.com/ heritagedays

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highlights

part II ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Mind, heart and emotions

His work is performed as far and wide as Moscow, Vienna and Berlin; now celebrated Latvian theatre director Alvis Hermanis is coming to Amsterdam. text Margriet Prinssen

O

n a visit to Amsterdam’s Stadsschouwburg (City Theatre) in early February in preparation for the performance of five of his plays here, awardwinning Latvian theatre director Alvis Hermanis revealed that his childhood ambition was to become an ice hockey player: ‘You have to be able to box and play chess at the same time; in other words, be physically strong and a strategic thinker.’

Although ice hockey wasn’t the path his life followed in the end, these seemingly contradictory qualities are easy to identify in Hermanis’s theatrical productions, in which he appeals to the mind, the heart and the emotions.

EVERYDAY PEOPLE The multitalented theatre maker (director of the New Riga Theatre, whose actors perform this work) is often commended for his eye for detail, his humour and his penchant for hyperrealistic images and movement. Central to his work are the everyday lives of ordinary people, yet every production is different. He dislikes repetition and is always experimenting with style. And his perception of people’s behaviour is sharp, if not anthropological.

This is perfectly demonstrated in The Sound of Silence, which has already picked up passport stamps as far away as New Zealand, its touring success no doubt boosted by its ‘language-no-problem’ credentials: there’s not a

Gwts mÃlderis

LONG LIFE The Stadsschouwburg‘s Brandstichter (Firestarter) programme features five of Hermanis‘s seminal works. While most are inaccessible to non-Dutch speakers, along with The Sound Of Silence, Long Life is non-verbal.

Presenting a day in the life of five elderly people living in a block of flats in post-Communist Latvia, it‘s equal parts humorous and heartbreaking.

25 & 26 MARCH Stadsschouwburg Leidseplein 26 www.ssba.nl

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23

don’t miss these

surtitle in sight, nor a single word uttered in the three-plus hours of its duration. Instead, the songs of Simon & Garfunkel form the backdrop for the production, which is a beautiful portrayal of the lives of a group of idealistic youngsters in Latvian capital Riga at the end of the Sixties. The forbidden music oozes out of every nook and cranny into the grey squalor of their dreary flat, like messages from a better world.

The performance comprises fragments from the youngsters’ lives; from the first kiss to the first argument and from the first drag on a forbidden spliff to the rinsing of socks in a cheap washbasin. We feel their desperate need to get out of the grey mediocrity and to live a full and vibrant life. popular appeal Sounds of Silence may most obviously appeal to those who can imagine (or remember) what life was like in the Sixties, or those who are familiar with the misery and political tyranny of the former Iron Curtain countries.

At the same time, however, the play transcends time and place; it is a performance about young people everywhere, from all eras, who crave exciting new experiences and love, light and air.

This is out-and-out feel-good theatre, combining humour and melancholy in an effective and affecting lightness of tone.

THE SOUND OF SILENCE, 7 & 8 MARCH Stadsschouwburg Leidseplein 26 www.ssba.nl

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Could the UK’s House of Lords soon have its first Right Honourable Gentleman in heels?

There are whispers emanating from across the water that Britain’s favourite transvestite comic could be planning a move into politics. Indeed, there’s a still-under-construction section of his website earmarked for ‘sharing his thoughts and feelings’ on the matter. Still, for the time being, ‘the man who turned talking bollocks into an art form’ – his words – is still trading on his core competency. Force Majeure is his most extensive comedy tour ever, visiting 25 countries worldwide, yet is pretty much guaranteed to sell out.

STAR JUBILEE concert On the eve of its momentous 125th birthday, the Concertgebouw – one of the world’s most distinguished classical music venues – celebrates with a glittering night of music in conjunction with its resident Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Dutch violinist Janine ‘Queen of the Downloads’ Jansen (pictured) and American lyric baritone Thomas Hampson are among the famous faces who’ll be joining conductor Mariss Jansons for an unforgettable landmark evening of musical stock-taking. And, given that the entrance price includes an intermission drink, you can raise a toast to the next 125 years.

MIXMAX BRASIL Springtime in Amsterdam: the mangrove forests, the crystal waters lapping golden sands…

If this all sounds a little, well, mixed up, then it is. The Tropenmuseum Junior’s interactive exhibit MixMax Brasil takes its cues from the culture and landscape of Pernamuco, a state in the north-east of Brazil that shares a special bond with Amsterdam, having once been home to Mauritsstad (now Recife), the capital of 17th-century Dutch Brazil.

Comprising expressive musical and theatrical elements, the guided tour invites children aged 6-13 to experience the power of a rich melting pot, under the guidance of staff who speak Dutch and English, as well as Portuguese.

18-20 APRIL, HEINEKEN MUSIC HALL ArenA Boulevard 590 www.heineken-music-hall.nl

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R knapp

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EDDIE IZZARD: FORCE MAJEURE

10 APRIL, CONCERTGEBOUW Concertgebouwplein 10 www.concertgebouw.nl

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ivar Pel

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SATURDAYS & SUNDAYS (EXCEPT 31 MARCH), TROPENMUSEUM JUNIOR Linnaeusstraat 2 www.tropenmuseumjunior.nl

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24

part II ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

highlights

Great expectations



The Hermitage’s Tsar Peter exhibition is a ravishing portrait of a Renaissance man on the ultimate working holiday in Amsterdam.

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State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg

text Toby Main

I

t’s fair to say that Pyotr Alekseyevich Romanov, ‘Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias’, might well still have earned his somewhat snappier nickname ‘Peter the Great’ even if he hadn’t measured a whopping 2.01 metres in his silken socks.

When Russia’s brave new leader came to power in 1682, he inherited a country he felt to be sorely lacking, having missed out on the opportunities afforded the rest of the continent by the European Renaissance. He was determined to turn Russia into a great power with a brand-new capital city: St Petersburg, his ‘window on the West’. Not one to sit around lamen-

ting, the gutsy tsar set off for Amsterdam, capital of the then-world-leading Dutch Republic, to learn a trick or two.

MAN ON A MISSION Whilst visiting Holland, Peter absorbed the ways of Western European life like a sponge, and this new blockbuster exhibition – hosted, most appositely, at the European satellite of the famous St Petersburg art museum – showcases the fruits of an expedition that saw the tsar acquiring skills as diverse as shipbuilding (the little wooden house he lived in at Zaandam whilst doing so is now a museum, the Tsar Peter House; see page 61) to

making paper and pulling teeth.

Featuring historical artefacts, dazzling jewellery, numerous weapons plus the Rembrandt painting that would plant the seed for the Hermitage’s St Petersburg mothership, it’s unquestionably the cultural highlight in a year of festivities that celebrates the special bond between the Netherlands and Russia, built upon 400 years of trade.

PETER THE GREAT: AN INSPIRED TSAR, 9 mar-13 sep, Hermitage Amsterdam Amstel 51 www.hermitage.nl

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25

don’t miss these

‘We’re named after the city of Orlando, Florida, in the United States. I’ve only been once, when I was still in my mother’s belly…’

ROMEO EN JULIA As a tribute to its former artistic director Rudi van Dantzig, who died in January of last year, the Dutch Nationale Ballet is reprising one of the Amsterdam-born choreographer’s best-known and bestloved works. When Dantzig created the ballet in 1967, based of course on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and accompanied by the rousing music of Prokofiev, it was the very first full-length ballet of Dutch origin, and it set the tone of heightened social and psychological realism that would come to characterise the nation’s dance canon. With its lively Verona street scenes, stately court dances and breathtaking battle scenes, the production has toured the world, but this is your chance to see it on home turf.

ruud baan

featured artist

14 MARCH-1 APRIL, HET MUZIEKTHEATER Waterlooplein 22 www.het-ballet.nl

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Royal Inauguration & Queen’s Day

Tessa DouwStra, SINGER Born: 26 June 1989 (age 23) Talent: frontwoman of the band Orlando Performs: album launch, 7 March, Paradiso, Weteringschans 6  ‘Our album is called The Early Warning Company, which is a company that warns you about the wrong choices you make in your life. Such a business seems useful, because my generation has a lot of options. But that is exactly the trouble: anything goes. My songs are about getting to know yourself and finding out what you really want from your life.’

Queen’s Day rivals New Year’s Eve in the Netherlands, but celebrations will be downsized in 2013 following the announcement that after 33 years of royal duties, 75-yearold Dutch Queen Beatrix is passing the crown to her eldest son, Willem-Alexander, the country’s first king since 1890. This Queen’s Day, Beatrix will abdicate at the Royal Palace before walking across Dam square to the Nieuwe Kerk, where WillemAlexander will be sworn in.

From 2014, King’s Day will be celebrated on 27 April, his birthday.

30 APRIL, AROUND TOWN

WORLD MINIMAL MUSIC FESTIVAL Those unfamiliar with the genre needn’t bring an ear trumpet to Muziekgebouw.

Far from being a sparse and bleak affair, minimal music can feature everything from pulsating rhythms to trance-inducingly repetitive sequences of melodies and chords, and is practised by some of the biggest talents in the musical firmament. Want proof? Look no further than the opening-night Kronos Quartet performance Different Trains, written for the group by Steve Reich.

Australian composer Ben Frost (pictured) joins the quartet onstage for what promises to be a genre-defining performance.

3-7 APRIL, MUZIEKGEBOUW AAN ’T IJ Piet Heinkade 1 www.minimalmusicfestival.nl

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26

highlights

part II ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

5 Days Off Take five days off afterwards: resting would be a waste of time during this electro Valhalla. text Kim van der Meulen

This March, interdisciplinary cultural fest Cinedans turns ten.

But is it film, or is it dance? text Bregtje Schudel

‘M

ost moviegoers shy away from dance,’ concedes Cinedans artistic director Janine Dijkmeijer (pictured), ‘while the dance public has trouble that there’s no live performance. It’s just hard to put into words. It’s a special experience – one you’ll just have to witness for yourself.’

If it’s hard to convince diehard genre fans, there are advantages to straddling media. Dance film, Dijkmeijer stresses, is different from dance: ‘Film frees dance from the here and now. You can guide the gaze of the spectator in ways no live dance performance can.’

One of the best examples of a successful marriage of the two can be found in the third edition of the Point Taken programme, where Dutch filmmakers have been matched with Dutch choreographers to make five dance shorts. ‘It forces both parties to re-evaluate their own art form,’ says Dijkmeijer.

But there’s more. Besides 70-odd dance shorts, there are ten dance documentaries, giving rare insight into the workings of the dance world.

Throughout the festival there are lectures and installations.

On Wednesday there is a children’s programme.

The anniversary hasn’t been forgotten, either. Several video booths will screen the most remarkable films in Cinedans history on a loop.

And Dijkmeijer, who has been part of Cinedans from the beginning, will be showing us her own personal favourites on opening night.

This year will be the first time Cinedans is at EYE, and Dijkmeijer can’t wait. ‘The festival has been in De Balie, where we mostly got dance fans, and in Rialto, where it was a healthy mix between dance and film fans. Now we’re here, in EYE. I’m really looking forward to the exchange!’

1-9 MARCH, EYE FILM INSTITUTE IJpromenade 1 www.cinedans.nl

Most notable is 22-year-old Parisian Bambounou (aka Jéremy Guindo), who effortlessly weaves together African grooves, Chicago and Detroit House, dubstep and techno.

As well as talent from techno capital Berlin, the Brits will also be out in force. Flying the flag are Luke Abbott, who brings his perfectly condensed hypnotic sound reminiscent of Aphex Twin, and Nathan Fake, riding high on his international ‘rocktronica’ breakthrough, ‘Outhouse’.

The last ‘Day Off ’ will be closed in fitting style with an epic five-hour live set by another Brit, Mr Scruff. For the past 20 years this DJproducer has been playing ‘everything that has soul’: deep house, jazz, funk, blues, substep, electronic, dancehall, hip hop, breakbeat and anything in between. His music is as diverse as the festival itself.

6-10 MARCH, VARIOUS LOCATIONS www.5daysoff.nl

Desire¦ü van den Berg

Cinedans: blurs boundaries

ruud van Zwet

E

ntering its 13th year, 5 Days Off is clubbing Valhalla for the estimated 20,000 electro fans expected to descend upon Melkweg, Paradiso and De Balie for five days this March. And they won’t be disappointed: celebrating electronic music in all its forms – dance, drum ’n’ bass, dubstep, techno, grime and everything in between– the stellar line-up boasts both famous and emerging names from across the globe, plus a list of oldschool talent that includes Daft Punk, The Gaslamp Killer and Dizzee Rascal.

Kicking things off on opening night are Italian house meisters Bloody Beetroots, who describe their music as ‘the illegitimate child of The Misfits and Daft Punk’.

Berlin techno duo Modeselektor, one of the biggest electronic acts of the moment – thanks in part to their work with fellow Berliner Apparat – perform for the fifth year, bringing a few of their protégés with them.

27 gert-jan van rooij

13 questions Linda Bouws, director of Felix Meritis, European Centre for Art, Culture and Science, gives her take on Amsterdam.

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text Megan Roberts photo Maarten Brinkgrere

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‘ Two souls in one breast’ 1. WHAT’S YOUR FIRST AMSTERDAM memory?

Ice and sand: ice on the pond of the Vondelpark where I skated and sand in the sandbox on the Museumplein.

2. WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE AMSTERDAM-RELATED WORK OF ART? The work of the German artist Max Beckmann during his Amsterdam period.

3. IF SOMEONE HAs A SINGLE DAY IN AMSTERDAM, WHAT should they DO? Grab a bike and go cycling. Let yourself be seduced by what you find along the way: explore the Amsterdam canals; catch a ferry to Noord; go to the Dappermarkt, and if you still have the energy, go through the Nine Streets.

4. WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE STATUE IN THE CITY? The Holocaust Memorial in the Jewish cultural quarter. The

name of my mother’s family is there to read: they have no grave so this is a place to remember them.

5. IN WHICH BUILDING WOULD YOU WANT TO SPEND THE NIGHT? The Amstel Hotel.

6. WHAT IS THE BEST CHARACTERISTIC OF YOUR FELLOW CITIZENS? They are direct and fairly straightforward.

7. WHAT’S THE WORST? They have a short fuse.

8. WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE MODE OF TRANSPORT? I do basically everything in the city by bike.

9. TELL US someTHING ABOUT THE CITY WE DoN’T KNOW. Like Faust, Amsterdammers have ‘two souls in one breast’, and they can become engrossed

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in both. Foreign visitors often think that a kind of armed truce exists between cyclists and motorists. And it’s true: cyclists are also motorists and vice versa, only each at a different time.

10. WHERE is THE BEST VIEW OF AMSTERDAM? At the Observatory of Felix Meritis: you really get an amazing 360-degree view. We reopen the Observatory in our 225th anniversary year, with an exhibition connecting the stars, the canals and landmarks in the city. Four telescopes are not aimed at the sky but at quotes, in neon letters on buildings throughout the city. Only from the Observatory are they all readable. ‘Desire is the very essence of man’ by Spinoza adorns De Nederlandsche Bank; Vondel’s ‘The world’s a stage’ is visible on the city theatre. From 19 April until the end of October you can visit and dream a little about the greatness of our city (www.felix.meritis.nl).

hennah buyne

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11. WHAT DELICACY IS ONLY AVAILABLE here?

There are at least two that you should taste; I myself cannot choose between the stroopwafels from Lanskroon (www. lanskroon.nl) and the sweetbread croquettes from Holtkamp on the Vijzelstraat (www.patisserieholtkamp.nl).

12. WHAT RESTAURANT do YOU RECOMMEND? I really love the casual atmosphere of Café Restaurant Amsterdam (www.cradam.nl).  And if you like personal service and excellent cuisine in an intimate atmosphere, Aan de Amstel (www.aan-de-amstel. nl), from the renowned cook and cookbook writer Yvette van Boven, is for you.

13. What is your favourite public building?

Schiphol, an airport in proportion to the size of megalomaniac Amsterdam, but intimate with its nice tight simplicity. 

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part II ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

film

EYE-catcher

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Amsterdam boasts more art-house theatres than any other European city. Dutch Film Institute EYE could be called the mothership of them all.

iwan baan

text Bregtje Schudel

I

EYE IJpromenade 1 www.eyefilm.nl

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s it a bird, drying its feathers on the northern banks of the River IJ? A plane, perhaps – or a UFO? As it happens, it’s none of the above. It’s the new home of the Dutch Film Institute, the EYE. A year since the opening, EYE is brooding on a new festival in April, keep an eye on their website for details.

Many a film-lover had to wipe away a tear when it was announced that EYE – then known as the Filmmuseum – would leave the lush surroundings of the Vondelpark, which it had called home since 1975.

But even the most sentimen-

tal of movie buffs would have to admit that, although ideally and idyllically situated, EYE’s former digs – with a paltry two theatres and a measly 160 seats – seriously cramped the style of what should have been a shining beacon of film culture.

And shine the new EYE certainly does. As a glimmering ivory-scaled siren it beckons us to come over to the other side, to up-and-coming Amsterdam-Noord, a mere three minutes away by (free) ferry.

The architects deliberately created a construction that never looks quite the same, subtly shifting depending on

the viewing angle and time of day, mimicking the illusive quality of the silver screen itself.

Once inside you won’t be disappointed. EYE’s four theatres can now house over 600 visitors; its immense exhibition hall has already played host to the celebrated Stanley Kubrick exhibition (now on display in LA). Film festivals including Cinedans (1-9 March; see page 26) and Imagine (17-28 April) have been welcomed with open arms. From classics to own distributions, from retrospectives to lectures, there’s something here for everyone.

29

highlight Don’t miss this movie in Eye

go see these Broken

Kon-Tiki

A quietly moving coming-ofage film seen through the eyes of young Skunk (a strong debut by Eloise Laurence). When a local girl accuses an unstable neighbour of rape, it has unforeseen consequences for the whole community. Based on the novel by Daniel Clay.

When Norwegian anthropologist Thor finds a pineapple in Polynesia, a fruit said to be indigenous to South America, he sets out to prove that South Americans travelled there by wooden raft in this small, amusing (albeit limited) adventure film.

he programme name may be a tad unimaginative, but fortunately the movies themselves are anything but.

One Wednesday each month, EYE screens a Dutch film with – wait for it – English subtitles, opening them up to a whole new audience. March will see the screening of Simon (2004), which swept the board at the Gold Calf Dutch film awards, taking home trophies for best film, best director (Eddy Terstall) and best actor (Cees Geel, never better). Geel, as happy-go-lucky and outrageously un-PC coffeeshop owner Simon, is the undeniable star of this unconventional bromance, which evolves between Geel and gay conventionalist Camiel (Marcel Hensema). They become friends after a car crash, fall out, then meet again 14 years later when Simon is dying of cancer.

Ironically, 170Hz (2011; screened in April) is the more serious and gloomy film of the two, a muted drama seen through the eyes of its star-crossed deaf-mute lovers, Evy (rising star Gaite Jansen) and Nick (Michael Muller).

Roze Film Dagen

The Place Beyond the Pines

Simon. Direction: Eddy Terstall.

Screening: 13 March, 19.00 170Hz. Direction: Joost van Ginkel.

Screening: 17 April, 19.00

Direction: Sacha Gervasi Release: 14 March

Dutch Movies, English Subtitles

T

Direction: Rufus Norris Release: 7 March

Keep your eye out for the 16th edition of the Amsterdam gay & lesbian film festival, at Het Ketelhuis. Our top pick this year: 2011’s Cloudburst, starring Olympia Dukakis as an ageing lesbian, who escapes her nursing home and heads for Canada to marry her lover.

13-24 March, Het Ketelhuis, Pazzanistraat 13 www.rozefilmdagen.nl

Hitchcock Behind every great man is a great woman. Director Sacha Gervasi has really taken this saying to heart in Hitchcock, which is more about the relationship between the director (played with relish by Anthony Hopkins) and wife Alma (Helen Mirren) than about the making of Psycho.

A Late Quartet When Peter (Christopher Walken), a cellist in a successful string quartet, is diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s, the whole ensemble starts to crumble. An insightful and subtle drama with stellar performances.

Direction: Yaron Silberman Release: 28 March

Johan van der Keuken exhibition Van der Keuken (1938-2001) was doubly gifted: he filmed with a photographer’s eye and shot photos with the insight of a moviemaker. EYE honours the Dutch director with an exhibition coupled with screenings of his films (in Dutch).

30 March-9 June EYE Film Institute, IJpromenade 1 www.eyefilm.nl

Direction: Joachim Rønning & Espen Sandberg Release: 4 April

You’d be excused for confusing the synopsis of this drama – stunt driver (Ryan Gosling) robs banks for exgirlfriend and infant son – with that of Drive (also starring Gosling). Yet, this is the newest film by Derek Cianfrance, director of Blue Valentine.

Direction: Derek Cianfrance Release: 4 April

IMAGINE FILM FESTIVAL Also known as the Fantastic Film Festival, this is a celebration of the fantastical film in all its myriad forms, including horror, sci-fi, anime and martial arts – from the mildly bizarre to the downright weird.

Prepare to be amazed.

17-28 April, EYE Film Institute, IJpromenade 1 www.imaginefilmfestival.nl

Berberian Sound Studio Sound designer Gilderoy (Toby Jones) is recording the sound effects for a schlocky new Italian horror movie, but some of the death cries on record sound a little too ‘life’ like…

Direction: Peter Strickland Release: 25 April

Warm Bodies Zombie ‘R’ (Nicolas About A Boy Hoult, all grown up, gangly and handsome) is bored to death – that is, he would be, if he wasn’t dead already. But when he locks eyes with achingly alive Julie, R suddenly finds something to live for. A lighthearted ‘zomcom’ by the director of 2011’s 50/50.

Direction: Jonathan Levine Release: 25 April

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mar & apr 2013

part III

eat drink chic ‘THERE’S AN ARTY ATMOSPHERE TO THE JORDAAN; PLENTY OF GALLERIES AND TRENDY, INDEPENDENT FASHION SHOPS.’ Serge Stork, 17, student and drummer in a band

Hipsters, expats, businessmen and gold-diggers all flock to IZAKAYA, creating a mesmerising spectacle to accompany top-notch food…

32 38 40 41 42 44

NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH: THE JORDAAN EATING OUT ON THE MENU CHOCOLATE COUTURE PRETTY THINGS WHAT’S IN STORE

mercat Inspired by legendary Spanish market halls such as Barcelona’s Mercat de la Boqueria (and not, it turns out, by the small African mammal), new kid on the eastern block Mercat overtakes the industrial dining space of former club Panama. Unsurprisingly, the menu lingers lovingly over Catalan and Spanish classics (tapas, paella), the wine list is extensive (four cavas, 11 whites, two rosés, 12 reds, two dessert wines plus three sherries) and the atmosphere lively, from breakfast until late.

Oostelijke Handelskade 4 www.mercat.nl

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part III eat, drink & chic

Neighbourhood watch

neighbourhood watch

JORDAAN Fraukje Hagenaars, 32

yoga coach and new mum, with Berry Nooij, 60

‘People here are warm and friendly. There is no individualistic mentality like in a big city. In that sense, the Jordaan is more of a village.’

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A microcosm of the city, the formerly working-class Jordaan is a small but ambitious ’hood, where boutique shops sit alongside traditional brown cafés. text & photos Marie-Charlotte Pezé

Welcome to the dollhouse

W

hen strolling around the dainty, crooked streets of the Jordaan today, it’s difficult to comprehend that the neighbourhood used to be a pit of poverty on the verge of demolition.

Constructed in the early 17th century, when Amsterdam’s first Golden Age saw a steady influx of wealthy European immigrants, the Jordaan was originally dubbed the Nieuwe Werck (‘New Work’), as it housed the working-class artisans, carpenters and masons toiling away to expand the city’s boundaries. It even became Rembrandt’s last home following his bankruptcy in 1655; a tenant at Rozengracht 184 (a former canal that now serves as the district’s main east-to-west traffic artery), he also hired a small studio on nearby Bloemgracht.

However, by the 19th century, the Jordaanese population had exploded to number 80,000, and the living conditions had severely deteriorated. There was a shortage of

drinking water, the canals were filthy dumping grounds and families lived crammed by the dozen in tiny derelict lodgings.

‘A hundred years ago, it was very dangerous here,’ says Joca Feths, who has lived in the area for more than 50 years. ‘Children were not allowed on the streets after dark, and women stayed at home. It was a rowdy, rebellious neighbourhood.’

The neglect that came with the Nazi occupation during World War II was the final nail in the Jordaan’s coffin, and there were talks of demolishing the entire district in the 1960s. But the fortunate, timely birth of monument conservation laws saved the neighbourhood – which today is enclosed by four picturesque canals: Brouwersgracht to the north, Leidsegracht to the south, Prinsengracht to the east and Lijnbaansgracht to the west. Houses were renovated, the most putrid canals (including Rozengracht and Elandsgracht) were filled in, and the famed garden court-yards (hofjes) built by rich 17th-century benefactors for the

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neighbourhood watch

part III eat, drink & chic

The Jordaan, by then an overcrowded, impoverished neighbourhood, had become a left-wing bastion.

SPRMRKT There’s something heady about stepping into this 450m2 den of fashion, with its dozens of racks hanging from the glass and metal ceiling. The clothes are as architectural as the space; in addition to carrying brands such as Helmut Lang, co-founder Nelleke Strijkers has launched her own collection, SPRB, for which her use of textures won an IAF award.

Rozengracht 191-193 http://sprmrkt.nl

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Boca’s Ever wish you could have a bite of each dish on the menu? Boca’s is for you.

Open from 10am until the wee smalls, this friendly little café-bar-restaurant offers fresh mini-sandwiches for lunch, and platters and bites for dinner. The plethora of dishes is indiscriminately world-inspired: from French cheeses to steak chimichurri, and scallop carpaccio, there’s a mouthful for everyone.



Westerstraat 30 www.bar-bocas.nl

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impoverished elderly were granted preser­ vation status.

While the exact origin of the name ‘Jordaan’ remains a mystery, it was possibly these gardens (from the French jardin) that coined it.

After all, many streets in the area still bear the names of flowers (Bloemgracht – flower canal; Egelantiersgracht – sweet briar canal, Palmstraat – palm street…) and there’s barely a street that doesn’t boast trees and shrubbery, fragrant bougainvillaea or cascading foliage.

>

student and drummer in a band, with Corine Nas, 18

‘There’s an arty atmosphere to the neighbourhood; plenty of galleries and trendy, independent fashion shops.’

Maike de Vries, 26 researcher at a media agency

‘I love the Jordaan on Queen’s Day. It’s very busy and festive, and all the cafés organise parties.’

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Antiek Centrum

Like This

Amsterdam’s own byzantine bazaar, this 1,750m2 treasure trove of antiques, art, and jewellery stores holds everything and anything from kitsch-as-Chrostmas porcelain dogs to rare art deco pieces at the more refined shops. While it’s the perfect stop for gift shopping, getting lost in the maze of aisles overflowing with curiosa is also a lovely way to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon.

Bold blocky prints and colourful woollen sweaters catch the eye in the window of this little fashion shop freshly opened in December 2012. In addition to carrying their own brand, Urs Hasham (pictured) and Fleur van Noesel wanted to bring their favourite rare finds to Holland.

Their picks range from Scandi stalwrats to Japanese accessories and scents like I Hate Perfume.



Elandsgracht 109 www.antiekcentrumamsterdam.nl

Westerstraat 70 likethis.nl



Brouwersgracht

COFFEE AND MEMORIES ‘The Jordaan is the perfect combina­tion of my two favourite things: walking around and discovering new places to drink my coffee,’ divulges Jordaan local Robert Veltman.

Indeed, new cafés seem to pop up on a weekly basis, complete with sunny terraces, fancy menus and friendly service. But up many narrow steps (a staple of the neighbourhood, along with characteristically low ceilings) also lie hundred-year-old brown cafés with a more muted, candlelit atmosphere. This is where the locals hang out, read their newspapers and lament the gentrification of the area. ‘The Jordaan has changed in the past 20 years; it’s a coveted area for expats and the companies which relocate them are ready to pay higher prices, so the rents have increased dramatically,’ regrets Feths.

Nonetheless, the district has retained the creative spirit that flourished during its renaissance period in the 1970s, when many artists moved to the newly renovated area.

Today the neighbourhood is the epicentre of Amsterdam’s thriving independent art scene, with galleries such as Buuf, Rock Archive and Kahmann leading the way. World famous ‘Dutch Design frontman’ Marcel Wanders re-

Serge Stork, 17

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part III eat, drink & chic

neighbourhood watch

The Jordaan became Rembrandt’s last home following his bankruptcy.

Delicatessen Jwo Lekkernijen Jwo Lekkernijen is one of those sinful dens of culinary delight where one shouldn’t shop hungry. Specialised in pan-European gourmet foodstuffs, they carry everything from choucroute and cassoulet to wine, cheese and charcuterie. They also prepare fresh products perfect for picnicking (think homemade quiches and riotously colourful salads). Your palate will thank you for the pit stop.

2e Goudsbloemdwarsstraat 1 www.jwo-lekkernijen.nl

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tains his studio on Westerstraat 187.

In the same vein, Amsterdam’s fashionistas often cite the Jordaan as their favourite shopping destination because it’s home to many trendy shops and upcoming, independent designer labels, or vintage shops filled with rare finds.

‘I used to shop here for clothes, so when it came time to open my own store, I naturally came looking for a space in Jordaan,’ says Urs Hasham, co-owner of the Like This boutique, which just opened on the Westerstraat.

The Jordaanese clearly also have a refined palate. Every Saturday, the square in front of the Noorderkerk fills up with bountiful stalls of local, organic produce, meat, cheese and baked goods (as well as clothes, accessories, art and antiques). The area is also replete with unique restaurants with an international flair – check out Duende for great tapas – and especially gourmet delicatessens. A hankering for traditional cassoulet will take you to Jwo Lekkernijen; Basilico carries mouth-watering, homemade fresh pasta and Delicious Foods is a treasure trove of organic products.

In addition to tours, geocaching parties are a great way to explore the neighbourhood and discover many of its historical treasures such as the alms houses and hidden hofjes.

Its population down to less than 20,000 today with little automobile traffic, the Jordaan is not only a charming haven with a friendly vibe, it’s also awfully romantic, every strolling step an ode to its joie de vivre.

Café Hegeraad A staple of the neighbourhood for more than 100 years, Café Hegeraad is especially famous for its thick, luscious apple pie. From the rich woodwork, blood-red carpeting and old-world wallpaper, you’d expect to find a table of smoking mobsters playing checkers in the backroom, but the crowd is mostly locals and old-timers with a fondness for tradition, newspapers and quiet conversation.

Noordermarkt 34 www.cafehegeraad.nl

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Juffrouw Splinter This little shop of vintage memorabilia and curiosa should be renamed ‘everything is adorable’: it’s more twee than a basket of kittens. Jolijn Bosma, who opened the shop ten years ago, is a master at gathering the endearing: old toys, painted boxes, porcelain tableware and dozens of other decorative objects inhabit the first floor of the shop while the basement level holds romantic, shabby-chic hand-painted furniture.

Prinsengracht 230 www.juffrouwsplinter.nl

AN EEL-Y GOOD TIME Before the days of PETA, the Jordaanese had quite the fun passtime: stringing a rope across a canal and hanging a live, soap-smeared eel from it, participants gathered on small boats beneath it and tried to catch said eel. The game was outlawed in the mid-19th century, but the Jordaan, by then an overcrowded, impoverished neighbourhood, had become a left-wing bastion. Tired of living in squalor, the inhabitants had developed an infamously short fuse.

One summer’s day in 1886, a well-intentioned policeman interrupted the eel-pulling fun, triggering the outrage of the residents and what turned into a violent, four-day riot. The army was eventually called in to quash the rebellion and 26 people died, with more than a hundred injured. Miraculously, the eel survived to tell the tale.

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part III eat, drink & chic

eating out

Our top dining options, from firm favourites to precocious newcomers.

text Zin (Famke & Floor van Praag)

Rose’s Cantina

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Reguliersdwarsstraat 38 www.rosescantina.com

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new in town

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ot technically ‘new in town’, since Rose’s Cantina has been dishing up Mexican staples and fantastic cocktails for more than 30 years, but the restaurant’s recent concept change and fancy refit brings it back into the spotlight. Rose’s startling rejuvenation began when the owners teamed up with local entrepreneur Casper Reinders – the creative force behind Amsterdam hotspots such as Jimmy Woo, Bo Cinq and Lion Noir. Reinders’ first step towards a new and improved Rose’s Cantina? Colours of the sea. The walls and ceiling of the bar area were painted a fashionable, chalky emerald green, while the rooms in the back are now a more subdued petrol blue, the perfect backdrop for the antiques and trouvailles Reinders has collected on his many travels: vintage Mexican tables, beatup old Chesterfield chairs, a model aeroplane, a stuffed bird. Next step in the upgrade process: a new menu. Out with the long list of Mexican tortilla variations and in with a modern take on Pan-American cuisine – think delicious Peruvian ceviche (fish cured in lime juice) and grilled meat with Argentinian chimichurri.

Mexican food aficionados needn’t worry, though: the empanadas, quesadillas and nachos todos remain – although the execution is a little more sophisticated than previously. One of the only things that hasn’t changed is the superlative cocktail menu – thank goodness.

eating out

  

39 trendy Izakaya Located in the vibrant De Pijp neighbourhood you’ll find this superb Asian kitchen and bar. IZAKAYA serves market-fresh fish, mouth-watering sushi rolls and irresistible Japanese dishes with a twist: think scallops with truffle and yuzu. Executive chef Hariprasad Shetty, previously head chef of London’s über-fashionable sleb-spot Nobu, has designed the innovative menu with the traditional Japanese grill at its heart – but the cocktail bar seems to be part of the attraction too. Hipsters, businessmen and gold-diggers all flock here, creating an interesting spectacle to accompany your high-quality food.

Albert Cuypstraat 2-6 www.izakaya-amsterdam.com

critics’ choice De Goudvis Club

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ocated in the city centre, this laidback bar serves great street food. If that brings to mind the automated holein-the-wall machines dotted about Amsterdam, serving up indeterminate meat-based products to late-night revellers, think again. This is Asian streetfood, and in Asia streetfood is a way of life. De Goudvis Club has put the best of Oriental snacking on the menu: think chickpea pakora from the streets of Bombay or Peking duck from a food stall in Beijing – even ‘sophisticated’ dishes like Japanese beef tataki are on the menu. Inside this historic, high-ceilinged building the goldfish mural on one wall is the only real decoration.

But you don’t need a fancy interior when the music, food and wines are just right.

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Spuistraat 4 www.degoudvisclub.nl

classic café Schiller

quick & simple Uliveto Alimetari This Italian-Mediterranean deli is hands-down the best panini place in town (try the one with buffalo mozzarella, radicchio and pumpkin: it’s superb). Also recommended: great pastas, salads and meat or fish dishes that you can either take-out or enjoy sitting down in the minimalist decor of this high-ceilinged corner shop.

Weteringschans 118 www.uliveto.net

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If walls could talk, Café Schiller’s would definitely have some tales to tell. Over a hundred years old, Schiller is a unique establishment that has hosted the Amsterdam chic and arty for decades – and a surprise find on the otherwise neon tourist trap of the Rembrandtplein. The period interior boasts original art-deco lamps, wallpaper and furniture. Enjoy a good glass of wine in the bar or fine French food – soupe de poisson, steak tartare, confit de canard – in the restaurant.

Rembrandtplein 24 www.cafeschiller.nl

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part III eat, drink & chic

on the menu

Three of a kind to suit every palate. text Zin (Famke & Floor van Praag)

asian fusion

mediterranean

international

Blauw

A Tavola

ANNA

Slick Indonesian restaurant in the south of Amsterdam.

The design may be modern, but the food is traditional and mouth-watering: sate ayam, rendang and other specialties from the Spice Islands. Try the Rijsttafel – a Dutch colonial invention, literally ‘rice table‘ – sampling menu to get a taste of it all.

This Italian restaurant between the Scheepvaart Museum (National Maritime Museum) and Waterlooplein serves a small but carefully-selected menu of meat, fish and pasta dishes.

A Tavola means ‘at the table’, so simply pull up a chair for some authentic Italian food and excellent wines.

Located in the oldest part of Amsterdam, with views of the Oude Kerk church, restaurant ANNA serves contemporary dishes of the highest quality. The food on your plate is as beautiful as the decor, yet the prices are reasonable and the atmosphere refreshingly relaxed. A great choice for an unforgettable evening.

Amstelveenseweg 158-160 www.restaurantblauw.nl

Kadijksplein 9 www.atavolarestaurant.nl

Warmoesstraat 111 www.restaurantanna.nl

Take Thai

Barça

Brasserie Harkema

Not your average Thai restaurant: with its stylish, minimalist decor, tables laid with quality linen and a more-than-respectable wine list, Take Thai ups the ante, taking things to the next level. The menu is classic Thai with the occasional innovative variation thrown in: think delicious spicy duck in cognac sauce.

Serving up a menu of authentic Catalan titbits, including patatas bravas, padron peppers and shrimp croquettes, this slick bar offers a large heated terrace overlooking Marie Heinekenplein. Inspired by the warmth and friendliness of Spain, the staff here is attentive and the attention to detail impressive.

A contemporary Dutch take on the classic Parisian brasserie, situated in a former tobacco factory in the Old Centre, Harkema boasts more breathing space than most Amsterdam restaurants. Besides the obvious brasserie classics (oysters, steak) you can choose from a range of Asian-inspired dishes.

Utrechtsestraat 87 www.takethai.com

Marie Heinekenplein 30-31 www.barca.nl

Nes 67 www.brasserieharkema.nl

Yokiyo

Lion Noir

Burgermeester

Head to the Red Light District for a taste of authentic Korean cuisine. Named for the word used to attract a waiter’s attention in Korea, stylish restaurant Yokiyo serves spicy soups, intriguing wraps, barbecued organic chicken and delicious seafood from the open kitchen – until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays.

At this beautifully decorated hotspot you can feast on fine French cuisine – or simply opt for a few cocktails and bar bites on the ground floor (which quickly gets packed with bright young things on weekends). On warm days it’s possible to eat in the lovely garden of this 17th-century former coach house.

This culinary burger place has several venues, all with at least eight burgers to choose from, ranging from organic Blonde d’Aquitaine beef to wild salmon. And vegetarians haven’t been neglected (the lentil burgers are allegedly top-class). But be warned: you won’t find French fries here.

Oudezijds Voorburgwal 67 www.yokiyo.nl

Reguliersdwarsstraat 28 www.lionnoir.nl

Albert Cuypstraat 48, Elandsgracht 130, Plantage Kerklaan 37 www.deburgermeester.nl

on the menu

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Chocolate couture Contemporary cocoa connoisseurs are raising the (chocolate) bar.

B

ack in the day, you could pick up a cheap chocolate bar from the supermarket and everybody would be happy. Recently, however, a new quality standard for chocolate has surfaced in Amsterdam. Specialised stores are popping up everywhere to fulfil the desires of these new chocolate connoisseurs. The most recent addition is Hotel Chocolat (a British import), where you can purchase meant-for-the-freezer bonbons and even cocoa-flavoured olive oil, as well as sampling their cocoa-derived coffee alternatives in the tasting room upstairs. Unlimited Delicious, meanwhile, is famous for its extraordinary flavour s, which include pink peppercorn or rosemary.

And as we always suspected, size really does matter these days. From the giant Puccini Bomboni bar that’s fit to share, to the tiny tasty Van Roselen offerings that ensure instant gratification, they’re definitely raising the bar.

Hotel Chocolat Heiligeweg 7 www.hotelchocolat.co.uk Unlimited Delicious Haarlemmerstraat 122 www.unlimiteddelicious.nl Puccini Bomboni Staalstraat 17, Singel 184 www.puccinibomboni.com Van Roselen Nieuwe Spiegelstraat 72

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part III eat, drink & chic

pretty things

Pretty things Purses at the ready: these tempting stores will have you reaching for your credit card. text Zin (Famke & Floor van Praag)

Hôtel Droog

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new in town

What: Dutch Design collective Droog, the brain child of product designer Gijs Bakker and design historian Renny Ramakers, has extended its Amsterdam showroom featuring beautiful furniture and gift items to include fashion and cosmetics, a café and even a (single-room) hotel with ‘fairy-tale garden’.

Interior: Detailed and inventive, as you’d expect from a design collective.

The historic 17th-century building has been transformed into a ‘house’ with themed rooms. On the ground floor you’ll find a gallery, furniture and gifts; up-

stairs are rooms for food & drinks, fashion and cosmetics.

exclusive beauty products from all over the world.

Collection: Droog furniture classics are displayed to be bought or admired, including classics such as the Shady Lace parasol by Chris Kabel; Tejo Remy’s Milk Bottle Lamp and Joris Laarmans’ Heatwave Radiator. The gift shop stocks smaller products by Droog and ‘Friends of Droog’ (designers of whom they approve), from stylish ceramics and pillowcases to smile-inducing children’s beakers. Upstairs, fashion store Het Kabinet specialises in high-fashion brands such as Isabel Marant, Rick Owens and Avelon. Further down the hall, Cosmania sells

Must Have: The Chest of Drawers by Tejo Remy is a classic design object with a foreboding ‘price upon request’ tag. For those with a smaller budget, there’s a lot of nicely designed stuff to be found in the gift shop.

Conclusion: A place where design junkies and fashion-lovers feel right at home. You can hang out for hours, enjoying a homemade organic lunch before scoring those extra special gifts to take home.

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Staalstraat 7b www.hoteldroog.com

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pet shop Vovnjau In the stylish southern district of Amsterdam you’ll find an original pet boutique, with the unusual name Vovnjau (‘woof’ in Danish). Here they sell luxury goods and fashionable accessories for cats and dogs whose owners have an eye for design: think essentials such as a faux-snakeskin collar, a Fatboy dog bed and ‘Jimmy Chew’ toys in the shape of stiletto heels...

candy

Willemsparkweg 68 www.vovnjau.nl

Papabubble Witness the creation of designer candy at Papabubble, made right in front of you in one of the two lovely shops. Choose artisan multicoloured sweets in hundreds of flavours – including eucalyptus and mojito – or opt for customised candy. You can even order a batch of sweetness with your own name or company logo on it.

& Staalstraat 16

Haarlemmerdijk 70 www.papabubble.nl

classic Hema Ask a Dutchman abroad what he can’t do without, and there‘s a big chance he’ll say HEMA, an affordable department store that only sells its own brand (like M&S five years ago, but half the price). Designs range from minimal to Cath Kidston-esque, and are invariably well thought through.

You’ll find everything from kitchen tools and toys to beauty products and even food (try their famous and slightly greasy sausage, putting the Dutch name, worst, out of mind if you can). Read more on page 15.

Kalverstraat 212 www.hema.nl

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and throughout the city

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part III eat, drink & chic

what’s in store

what’s in store These fashion-forward style emporiums will have you (m/f) turning heads. text Zin (Famke & Floor van Praag)

      

American Apparel (M/F)

Lock Stock & Barrel (M/F)

Famous for its sexy (sleazy?) ads featuring girl-next-door types, American Apparel is the place to go for basic, sustainable clothes, from typical American sportswear to fashionable frocks and hosiery. All garments are guaranteed sweatshop-free and are made in Los Angeles.

One of the main attractions of fashion boutique Lock Stock & Barrel is its emerald-green tiled floor, which everybody loves. Fortunately, the clothes and accessories they sell have the same effect. Stocks an eclectic mix of styles, from easy-chic Parisian to minimalist Scandinavian, for men and women, as well as shoes and jewellery.

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Westerstraat 59 & Utrechtsestraat 85 www.americanapparel.net

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Hartenstraat 26 www.lockstockbarrel.nl

AnnLiz (F) The owner of AnnLiz, on one of the picturesque Nine Streets, has teamed up with the best eco brands from around the globe, such as Alchemist, Camilla Norrback and the rebellious Mini-Rodini for kids. This means buying the coolest stuff for women and children with a clear conscience. AnnLiz also stocks some interior accessories and gifts – all sustainable, of course.

Reestraat 16 www.annliz.comm

Look Out (M) Located in a monumental corner house on the Utrechtsestraat, Look Out sells well-sourced designer clothes for men.

While you try on some chic or casual wear by brands like Paul Smith, Kenzo, Nicole Fahri and CP Company, the Mrs may want to hop across the street to the women’s version.



Utrechtsstraat 93 www.lookoutmode.com

Concrete (M/F)

Maison Scotch (M/F)

Concrete, on the Spuistraat, specialises in arty sportswear and designer toys.

This unusual shop has clothes you won’t find on every street corner: specialedition sneakers by Nike, Pony and Adidas, but also men’s and women’s clothing from Billionaire Boys Club, Penfield and Won Hundred.

From the house of Amsterdam-based label Scotch & Soda, Maison Scotch focuses on laid-back fashion. In the shop you’ll find an eclectic collection of classic staples and ‘rock-chic’ essentials. Scotch & Soda is building a small empire in the Nine Streets shopping district, with shops for jeans (Blauw) and children’s wear (Scotch Shrunk/Scotch R’Belle) nearby.

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Spuistraat 250 www.concrete.nl

Joe Merino (M) Pullovers aplenty, but have you found the perfect one yet? One that doesn’t lose its shape or start pilling? Joe Merino offers only one product: fitted men’s pullovers made of the finest quality Australian merino wool. This perfect pull comes in six sizes, 35 colours and costs a reasonable €97.

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Kerkstraat 169 www.joemerino.com

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Huidenstraat 3-5 www.scotch-soda.com

Ready to Fish_ (F) Ready to fish_ is the prêt-a-porter line of well-known Dutch fashion designer Ilja Visser. The brand store on the Prinsengracht is where you’ll find wearable, everyday clothing, furniture and lighting fixtures, as well as art, accessories, fragrances and chocolate.

Prinsengracht 581-583 www.readytofish.nl

part IV

the

mar & apr 2013

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CLUBBING/MUSIC/ EXHIBITIONS/THEATRE/ KIDS/FESTIVALS/ gay & lesbian/SPORTs

>

Andy Phillipson

For complete listings, see www.iamsterdam.com

LEO: CIRCLE OF ELEVEN In Circle of Eleven’s Edinburgh Fringe award-winning one-man performance, the laws of gravity are inverted, disregarded and eventually defied until the audience is left wondering which way is up. Using innovative stage design, energetic performance and ingenious video projections, LEO combines old-school clowning and mime with a touch of Samuel Beckett’s existential absurdism – all without saying a word. We defy you not to smile.

FIRAY 19 APRIL, Meervaart Meer en Vaart 300, www.meer vart.nl. 20.30, €17.81/€22.27

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part IV The A-list

clubbing/nightlife DIMITRI ALL NIGHT LONG One of Amsterdam’s most celebrated DJs, Dimitri Kneppers plays house and techno while mixing melodies, not beats. That’s what he reckons he does anyway. Fact is that there’s always a big buzz among (older) clubbers when he’s playing. This is bound to become an epic party with lots of smiling faces and many great and soulful tunes.

Trouw, Fri 8 Mar, 23.00, €15, €8 before midnight NATIVE TONE UK house is super hot and adventurous at the moment, and tonight Amsterdam’s getting some with South London duo No Artificial Colours, performing behind the decks in one of the better clubs in town. Local support comes from Terry Toner, Pony and Prunk; while Kevin Duane and others host the smaller upstairs room.

Chicago Social Club, Fri 8 Mar, 23.00, €12.50 GERD JANSON ALL NIGHT LONG He’s a bad music journalist, but a decent house DJ and that’s what counts tonight. The man from southern Germany loves his house deep and stompin’, which is probably right up your alley if you’re reading this.

Trouw, Fri 15 Mar, 23.00, €15, €8 before midnight RADICAL A night of heavy bass lines in this former film school with a distinctly underground feel.

June Miller, Myrkur, Skeptical and Subsequent play dirty drum ’n’ bass and dubstep.

OT301, Sat 16 Mar, 22.00, €8 NOSAJ THING LIVE Possibly the most melody-heavy producer of instrumental hip hop to come out of Los Angeles, Nosaj Thing, aka Jason Chung’s, tunes are as gorgeous as Squarepusher’s more gentle output. Jason Chung’s new album, Home, came out last January and sounds a lot more poppy than his 2009 debut, Drift.

Melkweg, Sun 17 Mar, 20.30, €15 DRUKPERS It’s a rare phenomenon these days: a DJ who makes a name for himself while completely staying out of the production game. But that’s what Ben UFO did, and his DJ skills and exquisite taste entirely make up for his nonexistent discography. Ben – who is also one of the initiators of the Hessle Audio label – plays anything between grime, jungle, house and techno; this young man is a true dance-floor educator. Also on the bill are Prosumer (Ostgut Ton, Berlin) and Robert Bergman.

Trouw, Fri 22 Mar, 23.00, €15, €8 before midnight OI! Amsterdam’s longest-running dubstep night celebrates its ninth anniversary tonight. Expect a dangerously wild and massive

mosh pit with special guests Skream, Sgt. Pokes and Ponicz playing everything heavy on the wobble. Local support from Brutuzz and Oi! godfather Gomes.

Paradiso, Fri 22 Mar, 23.30, €18 + membership

Choice clubbing

AWAKENINGS EASTER SPECIAL One of Amsterdam’s most atmospheric and longest-running large-scale techno events takes place in this beautiful, laser-lit industrial heritage building. The intensity of the beats played will increase by the day during this weekend. The line-up: Henrik Schwarz, Joris Voorn, Marco Carola and more (Thursday); Carl Cox, John Digweed and Adam Beyer (Friday); and a Berlin-style line-up on Saturday with Ben Klock, Marcel Dettmann, Speedy J and Blawan.

Gashouder, Thur 28-Sat 30 Mar, 22.00, €37.50 per day

SOMEWHERE IN AMSTERDAM Rush Hour Records has a long tradition of casually throwing the sickest parties with big-name DJs dropping their tunes in intimate and unexpected settings. This time, they’ve invited long-time friend Carl Craig, the most spectacular exponent of Detroit techno’s so-called second wave. ‘I’ve heard him before’ isn’t a good reason not to attend this event; as Mr Craig knows this particular crowd can take a whole lot more than your standard floor-filling 4/4 techno tunes. Location TBA, Sun 3 March, 18.00, €15.

Info from Rush Hour Records, Spuistraat 98

TECHNO FOR TIBET Dance and be good to the suppressed people from the country of the Dalai Lama – all revenue will go to Tibet charities. Expect old-school beats by veteran DJs who once reigned over the Mazzo club on the Rozengracht: Cellie, Carlijn, Juriaan, JP MC Marxman and others.

Pand 14, Fri 29 Mar, 21.00, €10 DGTL Pleinvrees and Straf_werk are behind this new daytime festival that looks very promising on paper.

With soulful artists and DJs like Âme, John Talabot, Joy Orbison, Koze and Dekmantel Soundsystem playing the smaller stages plus a bunch of British and German punishers (including Damian Lazarus, Huxley and Marcus Worgull) playing the larger stages to a techno-loving crowd.

NDSM-werf, Sat 30 Mar, 12.00, €44.50 TROUW AND LES ENFANTS TERRIBLE ON SUNDAY ‘The worst is yet to come’ is the watchword for this young techno crew. Expect high quality 4/4 stuff from Steffi (Ostgut Ton, Berlin) and the talented up-and-comer Job Jobse. Support from Club Trouw head honcho Olaf Boswijk plus Jean Pierre Enfant.

Trouw, Sun 31 Mar, 18.00, €15, €8 before 20.00

Modeselektor

clubbing

5 DAYS OFF This little brother of Ghent’s 10 Days Off festival is still one of the city’s most cutting-edge music festivals.

And to prove it, they’ve commanded Hudson Mohawke, Jameszoo, Araabmuzik, Floating Points, Gilles Peterson, Benji B, Addison Groove, Modeselektor, Shed, Booka Shade and more. Read more on page 26. Melkweg & Paradiso, Wed 6-Sun 10 Mar, various times & prices Jaap Eden Complex, Sat 6 Apr, 15.00, €25

THE JUNGLE PLANET Jeff ‘The Wizard’ Mills is back in town for another madheavy techno set. He’s been around for ages, holds one of the most impressive and beautiful discographies in the scene, and his sets are loud, fast and absolutely amazing.

Local techno veteran Steve Rachmad will be supporting Mills. Not to be missed by anyone who loves techno.

Trouw, Sat 6 April, 23.00, €17 LEBENSGEFAHR T3CHNO Music doesn’t always have to cheer you up; this rave’s theme is darkness. With Bo Chandler, Bram Fidder, Einfach Mirella and many others playing dark techno, acid and such. Prepare to get depressed.

Westerunie, Sat 20 Apr, 22.00, €10

OWAP: THE ORIGINAL BALANS AT KLINCH WAREHOUSE ACID PARTY A night of decent techno with The tenth anniversary of this retro DVS1 of Derrick May’s Transmat party, with Kevin Saunderson, 808 Records topping the bill plus State (DJ set), Tommie Sunshine Donato Dozzy and Tripeo playand Dimitri on the bill. It’s fair to ing their favourite bouncy cuts. say these guys are serious about Melkweg, Fri 12 Apr, 23.00, stepping into the time machine. €15 + membership Gashouder, Sun 31 Mar, TRANSVORMERS MAJOR LAZER LIVE 22.00, €40 Transvormers is a cool little It’s hard to say anything bad NEXT MONDAY’S festival in the building where about Diplo, one of the smartHANGOVER: NOAH’S ARK Volkskrant, one of Holland’s est guys in the no-man’s-land A cute little festival boasting major newspapers, once had between underground and some of the finest names in their headquarters. The line-up chart music. Major Lazer is his minimal and experimental is fully in-house: all bands and electronic dancehall project German techno takes over this DJs work in the building. DJs with British producer Switch ice-skating venue for the day Alex Mir, Marcel Barlag, San and numerous Jamaican guest (weird, but possibly brilliant).

Proper, Johnny Mosterd and MCs. Expect guns, chicks and Rock to the beat with Apparat, others play anything you can danceable reggae-derived music Dominik Eulberg, Pantha du boogie to. to lose your mind to.

Prince, Oliver Weiter, Jorn Lief- Volkskrantgebouw, Sat 13 Apr, Paradiso, Sat 27 Apr, 19.30, deshuis and Nuno dos Santos.

13.00, €5 €18

DAVE CLARKE PRESENTS A Queen’s Day party curated

by Amsterdam-based British techno legend Dave Clark. The bill includes Cari Lekebusch (Sweden) Delta Funktionen, Estroe and Steve Rachmad – and, of course, Mr Clarke himself. This one’s for clubbers who like to jump like there’s no tomorrow.

Melkweg, Mon 29 Apr, 22.00, €27 RFLX An event stuffed with mainstream-ish big-room bass music. Netsky (live), Sub Focus & ID, Cookie Monsta and others play dubstep and drum ’n’ bass in this massive concert hall next to Amsterdam’s Ajax football stadium.

Heineken Music Hall, Mon 29 April, 22.00, €36 RAVEN IS LEVEN Most small clubs in town are pretty generic, but new kid on the block Barkode (formerly known as Sinners and then Home) is charming and cool.

This is a strictly techno club with beats matching your high standards. Tonight’s line-up includes DJ Jon Asher (Germany) and Octave (France), who will play a live set.

Barkode, Mon 29 Apr, 23.00, €10 CLICK OPEN AIR Celebrate the queen’s birthday (or rather, the ex-queen’s mother’s birthday) like the locals do it: dressed up in orange with your fist high in the air. The line-up for this massive rave was yet to be announced when we went to press, but count on deep house, tech house and techno.

Frederiksplein, Tue 30 Apr, free, 12.00 ADDRESSES Barkode Wagenstraat 3-7, www.facebook.com/ barkodeamsterdam Chicago Social Club Leidseplein 12, www.chicagosocialclub.nl Gashouder Klönneplein 1, http://westergasfabriek.nl Heineken Music Hall ArenA Boulevard 590, www.heineken-music-hall.nl Jaap Eden Complex Radioweg 64, www.jaapeden.nl Melkweg Lijnbaansgracht 234a, www.melkweg.nl NDSM-werf Amsterdam-Noord, www.ndsm.nl OT301 Overtoom 301, www.ot301.nl Pand 14 Muntbergweg 14, www.p14.nl Paradiso Weteringschans 6 www.paradiso.nl Trouw Wibautstraat 131, www.trouwamsterdam.nl Volkskrantgebouw Wibautstraat 150, www.volkskrantgebouw.nl

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music /popular & JAZZ Dandylion Steven Wilson spirituality in his rhymes.

The solo project of Marianne Melkweg, Mon 11 Mar, A particularly intimate theatre Sveen, who is perhaps more 20.00, €16 performance by Wilson, the BROOKE CANDY recognised from the colourfully vocalist and guitarist of the Konrad Koselleck expressive Norwegian folk pop Fans of Canadian singer hugely popular progressive Big Band quartet Katzenjammer. Over Grimes will recognise Brooke rock band Porcupine Tree. the past year she’s released a One of the Dutch jazz scene’s Candy as the pink-haired Here he’ll be showcasing songs trio of EPs titled Images Under from his new solo album The most flamboyant and performer from last year’s Construction (parts 1 to 3), adaptable big bands. The group video for ‘Oblivion’. She’s a Raven That Refused to Sing throughout which she’s been specialises in an adventurous stripper-turned-rapper known (And Other Stories). exploring a host of new sounds combination of jazz, musifor her two-metre braids and Melkweg, Mon 11 Mar, on her own, from powerful cal-theatre, pop, rock, funk, her lucite heels, who cites Little 19.30, €35 glam-pop through to lively Latin and even classical music.

Kim as an influence.

The Killers electronic dance tunes.

Regularly performing with Paradiso, Fri 1 Mar, 23.30, Bitterzoet, Wed 6 Mar, a wide variety of guest stars, €10 + membership Brandon Flowers and The Kill21.00, €12 ers are back with their bombas- tonight they’ll play with Dutch Cody ChesnuTT cabaret legend Freek de Jonge. tic take on arena guitar-pop, The Jacksons Bimhuis, Mon 11 Mar, This American soul singer is but have they still got soul?

You wanted them back, right? They’re sure to bash out crowd 20.30, €16 probably best known for his Well Jackie, Tito, Jermaine guest appearance with hip-hopfaves like ‘All These Things Jamie Lidell pers The Roots on single ‘The and Marlon are finally together That I’ve Done’ and ‘Mr Brightagain, sadly without Michael.

One of the soul-pop scene’s Seed (2.0)’. It’s now a full deside’, but also expect plenty Almost 50 years since the most creative talents over the cade on since his solo debut The of material from their latest group was first formed, the past decade, Lidell matches Headphone Masterpiece, but album, Battle Born, finally reclassic crooning vocals with he remerged at the end of 2012 Jackson family is back on stage leased last year after they took beatboxing, edgy sampling and with Landing on a Hundred – to recreate their unmistakable a break for other projects. soul and pop hits, including contemporary dance beats. His an ambitious record that showZiggo Dome, Mon 11 Mar, newest release is a self-titled cases his rich Motown-worthy ‘ABC’, ‘Blame It On The Boogie’ 20.00, €42-€45 and ‘I’ll Be There’. croon in a collection of celebraHeineken Music Hall, Thur 7 tory soul songs.

March, 20.00, €50-€75 Melkweg, Fri 1 Mar, 20.00, €21 ORLANDO Fidlar Soulful songstress Tessa Douwstra et al present their Short, sharp blasts of LA skate debut album, The Early punk, garage and hardcore, Warning Company. Read also recalling the energy and more on page 25. humour of late-’70s, early-’80s Paradiso, Thur 7 Mar, 20.00, punk. Their self-titled debut €8 + membership was released at the beginning of this year.

Sonic Soirée Melkweg, Sat 2 Mar, This showcase of up-and19.30, €12 coming Belgian and Dutch pop Latin Crossroads and rock bands takes place in Amsterdam’s Flemish cultural The latest in this series excentre De Brakke Grond. Conploring the joy and diversity nected by a love for melody of Latin-influenced music feaand shared Dutch-Flemish tures musicians such as Jaime Rodríguez (Colombia), Randal culture, three bands are highlighted in each edition.

Corsen (Curaçao), José Lopretti De Brakke Grond, Thur 7 (Uruguay) and Martin Verdonk Mar, 20.30, €8-€10 (Curaçao) with American sax Konono No.1 player Efraim Trujillo.

This raw Congolese crew is probably like nothing you’ve Raul Midón Bimhuis, Sun 3 Mar, ever encountered in world music. Their gigs are a whirlA fresh take on modern soul16.30, €10 wind of electric likembé, salvaged percussion and tribal pop from this impassioned dance. So on the surface they may seem an unusual choice Lucy Rose American singer-songwriter. for inclusion in the World Minimal Music Festival – which Renowned for his distinctive Effervescent folk-pop from the blend of R&B, Latin jazz, folk young English singer-songperhaps you’d consider more refined and serene – but and flamenco and a voice that writer. Having previously the intensity of their primal performances is actually the reminds of classic Stevie guested with guitar band perfect example of how powerful and ecstatic music made Wonder, it’s no wonder that Bombay Bicycle Club, her from minimal ingredients can be. he’s now transformed from a debut album, Like I Used To, Muziegebouw aan ’t IJ, Fri 5 Apr, 20.30, €24 pop session musician into a was released in 2012, mixing global star in his own right. up folk intimacy with slices of Paradiso, Fri 8 Mar, bouncy pop.

20.00, €18.50 affair on Warp Records, once Paradiso, Mon 4 Mar, Living Colour again pushing the limits of 20.00, €11 Jason Moran and the traditional soul and funk to a Emerging from the era of Bandwagon Sean Price new level.

1980s hair metal, American American jazz pianist and Paradiso, Wed 13 Mar, Heavy groove rap from the deeprock band Living Colour 19.30, €20 -voiced vocalist. Hip hop fans composer Moran has appeared proved to be one of the most at Bimhuis numerous times may also know him from the important hard-rock acts of the HEEMS with his group over the past supergroups Boot Camp Clik late ’80s and early ’90s. Most decade and his performances Heems (known by his mother and Random Axe. famous for bridging funk and are always reliably surprising. as Himanshu Suri) rose to fame Melkweg, Mon 4 Mar, metal, they were perpetually From jazz standards to hip hop with now-defunct Das Racist, 20.30, €17.50 political and opinionated, and eccentric pop, it’s always a confronting black stereotypes the hip hop trio who delivered Ron Sexsmith thrilling experience. their race and pop-culture while staying true to melody.

Bimhuis, Fri 8 Mar, rhymes deadpan but whom Canadian singer-songwriter On this tour they’ll celebrate 20.30, €22 we’ve always hoped were being Sexsmith is renowned for his the 25th anniversary of their ironic. As a solo artist, expect timeless writing style, particubreakthrough record Vivid.

Jordaans Fabricaat more of the same from Heems: larly adored by critics and felMelkweg, Mon 11 Mar, A fun blast of traditionally sociopolitical rants set to prettt low musicians. That he hasn’t 20.00, €25 brilliant backing beats. found more commercial success Dutch folk music that has its Matisyahu roots firmly in the Jordaan Paradiso, Wed 13 Mar, 22.00, with his concise and emotional neighbourhood. International Sunny reggae, pop and hip hop €8 + membership songs remains perpetually visitors may struggle with the surprising, but he still plays to from the proudly Jewish New Jonathan Jeremiah rooms full of fervent fans wher- sing-a-longs, but the musical York vocalist. He’s released four character will be obvious to all. albums over the past decade, Soulful folky British ever he travels.

Amstelkerk, Sun 10 Mar, singer-songwriter who People’s Place, Tue 5 Mar, frequently exploring Jewish 15.15, €12 recorded with Holland’s 20.30, €16.50 issues and broader

POPULAR & JAZZ

Choice pop & jazz

own Metropole Orchestra for his second album, titled Gold Dust. The result was a lush-sounding record with a grander soundscape than typical folk productions.

Melkweg, Sat 16 Mar, 20.00, €20 Yo La Tengo This underground indie guitar trio has been on the go since the mid-’80s and enjoyed heaps of critical praise and a loyal fan base throughout – if perhaps not the mainstream notoriety of peers like Sonic Youth. Yet they’ve always been reliable in their mix of noisier jams and intimate folk-pop, and you needn’t be a recordstore clerk to fall in love with newest album Fade.

Paradiso, Sun 17 Mar, 19.30, €18.50 Boubacar Traoré A true legend of the African blues scene, Mali’s Boubacar Traoré has all the character and guitar and vocal prowess that are so familiar to America’s blues greats – although he prefers a softer, acoustic approach. An active musician since the ’60s, his latest album, Mali Denhou, was released in 2011.

Bimhuis, Sun 17 Mar, 20.30, €20 Nosaj Thing Young LA producer Jason Chung was behind one of the most memorable albums of 2010 with his debut Drift – an instrumental collection of hip hop beats, subtle electronica and swaying bass grooves.

Now he’s coming back with new album Home.

Melkweg, Sun 17 Mar, 20.30, €15 Heritage Blues Orchestra With a traditional blues trio at its core and a blistering ensemble cast, the Heritage Blues Orchestra has been exploring traditional blues and gospel traditions with a great deal of respect and vitality.

Their album And Still I Rise was nominated for Best Blues Album at the 2013 Grammy Awards.

People’s Place, Wed 20 March, 20.30, €16 Huey Morgan & The New Yorkers Most famous for his work in the 1990s as leader of the Tarantino-adoring rock/hip hop outfit Fun Lovin’ Criminals (their biggest hit was ‘Scooby Snacks’), the New Yorker is finally stepping out in a solo project that blends his love of blues, funk and soul.

Bitterzoet, Wed 20 Mar, 21.00, €15 The Sound of the Dutch Underground Local music promoter Subbacultcha! Presents an evening of the very best of the Dutch underground music scene yet to encounter the mainstream respect it deserves but

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part IV The A-list

music/popular & JAZZ perhaps doesn’t want. With showcases from labels including Subroutine, Snowstar Records and Samling Recordings, 20 acts perform across three stages: Vox Von Braun, Herrek, Wooden Constructions, WOLVON, Bismuth, Eklin, Nouveau Vélo, Kleinindustrie, Vakantie, Spilt Milk and more.

Melkweg, Thur 21 Mar, 19.30, €12 Example High-energy atonal ramblings from one of the biggest stars of Britain’s pop scene, merging the signature elements of hip hop, dance and chart culture into a concise 2013 sound.

Paradiso, Thur 21 Mar, 20.30, €15 –M– Guitarist and singer –M– may seem an unlikely star of the French pop and rock scene but he’s absolutely massive in his homeland. With his ‘M’inspired haircuts, quirky dance routines to rival ‘Gangnam Style’, nods to glam-rock and, of course, his pure pop songwriting, he’s now taking the fight to the rest of Europe.

Melkweg, Sat 23 Mar, 19.30, €15

Palma Violets Rachel Sermanni The Soft Moon Will they be the next big thing Delightfully earnest folk-pop For San Francisco neo-punk from the British guitar-pop from this young Scottish band The Soft Moon’s singscene? They’re incredibly songstress who released her ersongwriter Luis Vasquez, young, but these lads have been debut Under Mountains in darkness seems to come in signed to the famous Rough 2012. Although less bombastic many shapes and sounds. His Trade label thanks to their in comparison, her voice songs are a harrowing journey rough-and-ready appeals to fans of Amy through his past, breathing attitude to pop and rock ’n’ roll, MacDonald. heavily and contrasting whisarcing all the way back to the Paradiso, Thur 11 Apr, pers with screams. Reminissassy rawness of early Stones.

22.00, €10 cent of ’80s punk-fuzz and Bitterzoet, Thur 28 Mar, new wave, his dark landscape Jools Holland’s Rhythm of droning bass and cascading 20.30, €12 and Blues Orchestra drums creates a wall of enKid Congo & The Pink Every year this former pop thralling noise.

Monkey Birds pianist – who’s now more Melkweg, Wed 17 Apr, He’s something of a rock oddrecognised from his BBC 19.30, €15 ity, but an entertaining one nonetheless, having performed with the likes of The Gun Club, The Cramps and Nick Cave over the decades. As Kid Congo he specialises in raw rock ’n’ roll exotica with a delicious psychedelic twist.

Paradiso, Fri 29 Mar, 22.30, €10

Choice pop & jazz

John Hébert’s Sounds of Love This phenomenal double bassist from New York teams up with an outstanding cast of international jazz musicians to pay tribute to the music of Charles Mingus.

Bimhuis, Sat 30 Mar, 20.30, €20

A Flock of Eels Seagulls The understated pop and blues Though their zany hairstyles of Mark Oliver Everett, better made the band an easy target known as E, doesn’t always for mockery in the ’80s, A reflect the fact that Eels are Flock Of Seagulls were a one of the best live rock bands major influence on the early around. But the fact that the new-wave scene and the video group announced three nights of their hit single, ‘I Ran’, in this grand venue even before was relentlessly screened on the release of new album the then equally young MTV. Wonderful, Glorious should Singer Mike Score has now tell you that those who’ve toned down his hair, but experienced his showmanship classic tracks like ‘Telecommualways go back for more. nication’ are still buzzing Paradiso, Mon 1-Wed 3 Apr, examples of quirky synth-pop.

20.30, €32.50 Bitterzoet, Sun 24 Mar, 21.00, Slagsmålsklubben €16 Swedish electro poppers Mirrorring who’re equal parts ScandinaA sonically strange but really vian silliness and icy Berlin interesting project by Liz cool. Whichever side of the Harris of Grouper and Jesy fence, their eclectic pop is Fortino of Tiny Vipers. always danceable.

Together they’ve created an Melkweg, Thur 4 Apr, ethereal blend of ambient 21.00, €15 noise and ghostly folk music.

Daughter Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, Tue 26 Mar, 20.30, €10 This gentle folk-pop trio fronted by Elena Tonra could Jessie Ware be a small indie band that Sleek pop and modern R&B strikes it huge in 2013. from the London-based Reminding of Laura Marling songstress. Since releasing her and Cat Power, their debut debut album Devotion album, If You Leave, is fresh last summer, she’s gained out so you may wanna catch notoriety for her calm but them quick before the almost ambitious electronic-tinged inevitable forthcoming pop productions. hype explodes.

Melkweg, Thur 28 Mar, 19.30, Melkweg, Sun 7 Apr, €15 19.30, €12 Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw Monthly jazz session by one of Amsterdam’s classiest big-band ensembles. Led by Henk Meutgeert, the group is traditionally joined by guests from around the world as they explore the rich history of jazz and big-band traditions.

Bimhuis, Thur 28 Mar, 20.30, €18

Bombino The latest in a line of top musicians to emerge from the Tuareg folk scene. As you’d expect, the vibe is as dry as the Sahara, with bluesy looping riffs and soothing and soulful vocals. After years of folk gigs, Bombino’s debut album was finally released in 2011. Its much-anticipated sequel, produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, is up next this month. Melkweg, Fri 12 Apr, 21.00, €14 television show – gets back on the road with an exceptionally gifted bunch of musos. They specialise in vivacious blasts of boogie-woogie and rock ’n’ roll, proving he makes more sense when not talking.

Paradiso, Sat 13 Apr, 20.30, €27.50 Tribute to Chet Baker A host of renowned Dutch jazz musicians team up for a tribute to trumpeter Chet Baker, a star who blazed a trail through the international jazz scene in the 1950s. Baker actually died here in Amsterdam in 1988, found lying in the street below his hotel room on the Prins Hendrikkade.

Bimhuis, Sun 14 Apr, 20.30, €20

Sarah Blasko A massive star in her native Australia, having evolved from a shy folk songstress to an award-winning performer who can enchant huge crowds with the most minimal but emotional of arrangements. Following the success of her previous album As Day Follows Night, there’s loads of anticipation for the gigs in support of new album I Awake. People’s Place, Sun 14 Apr, 20.00, €12 Letz Zep There will always be fans of Led Zeppelin until the levee breaks. Their rock and roll is a stairway to heaven for so many and only a lemon song to a bizarre few. Even then, who doesn’t like a tangerine?

So break out a rain song or two for some good times, bad times. After all, this is the closest you’ll get to being dazed and confused this side of Kashmir.

Melkweg, Sat 20 Apr, 21.00, €20

Chris de Burgh Now in his 60s, soft-pop troubadour Chris de Burgh still has some of the most fanatical fans around, ready to kill for a sniff of his leathers.

Undoubtedly his biggest hits Counting Crows landed in the ’70s and ’80s, They were one of America’s most notably ‘The Lady in Red’ Stornoway biggest bands in the ’90s and ‘A Spaceman Came Although named after the thanks to radio-friendly hits Travelling’, but he’s still a wind-lashed Scottish island, like ‘Mr Jones’ and ‘Round prolific pop songwriter, releasthis indie-pop group is actually Here’ from debut album ing new records every couple from Oxford. Their second August and Everything After. of years. album, Tales From Terra With their definitive blend of Heineken Music Hall, Mon 22 Firma, is an eloquent collecAmericana and pop, the group Apr, €40-€58 tion of stories covering birth, has always been hugely popular Afro-Cuban All Stars death, marriage and in Amsterdam, even recording coming of age. a live album here in 2006.

A delectable selection of Bitterzoet, Sun 7 Apr, Heineken Music Hall, Tue 16 authentic Cuban grooves, from 21.00, €12 Apr, 20.00, €52 bolero, chachachá, salsa and

son through to guajira and rumba. Over the past couple of decades many of the group’s performers have found international fame, while tonight’s cast includes Laura Lydia Gonzales, Yaure Muniz, José Gil Pinera, Gabriel Hernandez and Juan de Marco Gonzales.

People’s Place, Wed 24 Apr, 20.30, €32.50 Ebony Band Founded by Werner Herbers, a former lead oboist of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, in the Ebony Band’s ‘Da-dadancing’ programme, the ensemble considers the new lengths and methods that various composers have explored to inspire dancing – particularly the explosion of jazz between the wars.

Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, Thur 25 Apr, 20.15, €24 Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes He’s every bit as New Jersey as Springsteen and Bon Jovi – albeit without the stadium tours and the hairspray – so it’s perhaps no surprise the blue-collar brassy blues-pop of Southside Johnny has remained a live favourite around the world for more than three decades.

Paradiso, Fri 26 Apr, 20.30, €24.50 José James Famed for his emotive vocals, blending jazz, hip hop and soul, Blue Note artist James steps up for the annual Queen’s Night concert at the Concertgebouw. In this one-off special he teams up with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra to perform orchestral versions of his own songs, as well as oldies like Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue’.

Concertgebouw, Mon 29 Apr, 22.30, €42.50 Addresses Amstelkerk Amstelveld 10 www.stadsherstel.nl Bimhuis Piet Heinkade 3, http://bimhuis.nl Bitterzoet Spuistraat 2, www.bitterzoet.com Concertgebouw Concertgebouwplein 10, www.concertgebouw.nl De Brakke Grond Nes 45, www.brakkegrond.nl Heineken Music Hall ArenA Boulevard 590, www.heineken-music-hall.nl Melkweg Lijnbaansgracht 234a, www.melkweg.nl Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ Piet Heinkade 1, www.muziekgebouw.nl Paradiso Weteringschans 6-8, www.paradiso.nl People’s Place Stadhouderskade 5 www.peoplesplace amsterdam.nl Ziggo Dome ArenA boulevard 61 www.ziggodome.nl

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music/classical Lendvai String Trio Featuring violinist Nadia Wijzenbeek, violist Ylvali ZilliCalefax Reed Quintet acus and cellist Marie Macleod, These Dutch reed specialists the string trio will launch their present a programme that’s split new double CD, which features in two: ‘Out of Bach’s Shadow’, string trio works by Beethoven. featuring works by Purcell, Amstelkerk, Fri 8 Mar, Scarlatti and other contem20.00, €15 poraries of Johann Sebastian Radio Philharmonic Bach; and then ‘Big Bach is Orchestra Watching You’, with works from Louis van Dijk, Shostakovich Mezzo-soprano Christianne and others, all directly inspired Stotijn guests in a performance by the old master. of Britten’s mini-opera Phaedra.

Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, Fri 1 Yet the star of this performance Mar, 20.15, €24 is the surprisingly cheery Eighth Symphony by Dvořák; Kavakos & Pace conducted by Sir Mark Elder.

Part of the Concertgebouw’s Concertgebouw, Sat 9 Mar, 125th anniversary jubilee series, 14.15, €28.80-€33.30 virtuoso violinist Leonidas Ronald Brautigam Kavakos and pianist Enrico Pace perform Beethoven’s sonaHe’s one of the Netherlands’ tas in an intimate setting. most renowned musicians and Concertgebouw, Fri 1 Mar, has been integral in spreading 20.15, €45 knowledge and love for Haydn’s piano sonatas. In this special Royal Concertgebouw programme, Brautigam will Orchestra take to the fortepiano for an afItalian conductor Giovanni ternoon of authentic renditions Antonini and the Royal of his favourite examples.

Concertgebouw Orchestra Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, Sun perform music by Bach, 10 Mar, 14.30, €34 Mozart and Haydn.

Erard Ensemble Concertgebouw, Fri 1 Mar, 20.15 & Sun 3 Mar, 14.15, The Erard Ensemble specia€22.50-€85.50 lises in romantic classic music performed on authentic instruCantate Amsterdam ments. The ensemble includes 2013 soloists from the Royal ConcertAn international choir exchange gebouw Orchestra, the Radio featuring vocalists from Philharmonic Orchestra and Norway, Ireland, England, the Netherlands Philharmonic Slovakia, Germany and, of Orchestra, plus pianist Edward course, local Amsterdammers.

Janning.

Posthoornkerk, Sat 2 Mar, Amstelkerk, Tue 12 Mar & 23 16.00, free Apr, 20.15, €15-€18

CLASSICAL

Lunchtime Concerts Who said there’s no such thing as a free lunch (concert)? The Concertgebouw lunchtime concerts are exactly that, showcasing everything from young, upcoming talent to chamber music and public rehearsals by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. It’s advisable to show up at least half an hour in advance to guarantee entry.

Concertgebouw, Wed 6, 13, 20, 27 Mar; 3, 10, 17 & 24 Apr, 12.30, free Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Swiss conductor Charles Dutoit takes the helm of the orchestra for the first time since 1995.

He’s joined by star solo violinist Janine Jansen in a programme that includes Wagenaar’s Cyrano de Bergerac Overture, Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D and Brahms’ First.

Concertgebouw, Wed 6 Mar, 20.15, €22.50-€94.50

Netherlands Wind Ensemble For the programme ‘Oost West Thuis Niet Best’, the ensemble collaborates with asylum seekers and refugees from all over the world, resulting in a global fusion of sound and composition.

Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, Thur 14 Mar, 20.15, €34 Netherlands Chamber Orchestra An evening of serenades, led by violinist Gordan Nikoliç, with the chamber orchestra joined by special guest cellist JeanGuihen Queyras.

Concertgebouw, Sat 16 & Tue 19 Mar, 20.15, €15.80-€46.40

focus A St Matthew’s Passion from Naarden Part of the Concertgebouw’s jubilee concerts, The Netherlands Bach Society brings its annual interpretation of the Passion – traditionally performed in Naarden’s Grote Kerk – to the Concertgebouw.

Concertgebouw, Wed 20 Mar, 19.30, €27-€76.50 Brentano Quartet A sharp quartet with a worldclass pedigree, the young musicians will perform Beethoven’s String Quartet in G; Hartke’s ‘Night Songs for a Desert Flower’ and Brahms’s String Quartet No.2.

Concertgebouw, Wed 20 & Fri 22 Mar, 20.15, €44.10 Quirine Viersen Performing alongside the Amsterdam Sinfonietta, the popular Dutch cellist turns her attention back to Mozart, most notably in an interpretation of his Oboe Concerto rearranged for cello.

Concertgebouw, Sat 23 Mar, 20.15, €27-€32.40 Ruysdael Quartet The quartet presents an evening of chamber music highlighting the phenomenon of the fugue.

Their three chosen highlights are: Bach’s Kunst der Fuge, Mozart’s Adagio and Fugue, and Beethoven’s Quartet (op.130).

Felix Meritis, Sat 23 Mar, 20.15, €22.50 LUNCH CONCERT On the last Tuesday of every month, Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ offers a free lunch concert featuring a different artist on every occasion: soloists, quartets or ensembles. A guided tour of this cutting-edge classical music venue precedes these concerts (11.00, €8).

Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, Tue 26 Mar & Tue 23 Apr, 12.30, free Carte Blanche for Mariss Jansons This Latvian conductor turns 70 in 2013, and having spent a number of years leading the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, he will particularly enjoy this opportunity to return to the old hall with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks. The performance features many of his favourite Russian songs.

Concertgebouw, Tue 26 Mar, 20.15, €35.10

Klára Würtz This mesmerising Dutch pianist has made a name for herself Schellingwouder thanks to renowned interpretaFestival tions of music by Schubert and Over the Easter weekend, vioMozart. In this love-themed afternoon recital she’ll perform linist Heleen Hulst and pianist Gerard Bouwhuis organise this works by Clara Schumann, Asko|Schönberg Brahms, Robert Schumann and annual festival of classical music featuring special guest musiA musical adventure of surreal Wagner/Liszt. cians. Capacity is limited in this fantasies, dreams and nightAmstelkerk, Sun 17 Mar, spectacular waterside church, mares, featuring Unsuk Chin’s 16.00, free thus concert reservations are ‘Fantaisie Mécanique’, György Allegrezza d’Amore required by emailing vipi@ Ligeti’s Violin Concerto and xs4all.nl.

György Kurtág’s Messages of the Travel back in time to experiSchellingwouderkerk, Late Miss RV Troussova. ence a world of 16th-century Sat 30 Mar-Mon 1 Apr, time & Conducted by Reinbert de Italian court culture, as Enprice TBA Leeuw, with soprano Natalya semble Saltarello presents a Zagorinskaya and violinist performance of traditional song Händel’s Messiah Joe Puglia. and dance.

A grand interpretation of Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, Thur Schuilkerk De Hoop, Mon 18 Händel’s biblical-inspired ora7 Mar, 20.15, €24 Mar, 15.00, €12

CLASSIC EASTER PASSIONATE PERFORMANCES

E

very Easter, one famous classical composition dominates the city’s concert halls and churches: Johan Sebastian Bach’s St Matthew Passion. Premiered in 1727, Bach’s most famous sacred work sets chapters 26 and 27 of the Gospel of Matthew (the Last Supper and Crucifixion of Christ) to music. It forms a grand and dramatic choral piece, full of intricate details and intense call-and-response vocals.

CONCERTS Bach Choir of the Netherlands Performed on authentic period instruments. 10, 14, 17 & 31 Mar, Concertgebouw, various times, € 50-€ 55 Amsterdams Gemengd Koor (Amsterdam Mixed Choir) Performed by the large-scale oratorio specialists.

15 Mar, Concertgebouw, 19,30, € 31-€ 36.50 A St Matthew’s Passion from Naarden Part of the Concertgebouw’s jubilee concerts, the Netherlands Bach Society performs. 20 Mar, Concertgebouw, 19.30, €27-€76.50 Hebrides Ensemble & Synergy Vocals Composer James MacMillan has written a modern sequel to Bach´s Passion: Since it Was the Day of Preparation. 21 Mar, Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, 20.15, €24 Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra The RCO performs Frank Martin’s Golgotha, a piece inspired by Rembrandt’s etching The Three Crosses. 22 Mar (20.15) & 24 Mar (14.15), Concertgebouw, €22.50-€ 85.50 Combattimento Consort Amsterdam & Toonkunstkoor Amsterdam Specialising in music from 1600-1800, the Passion is a staple of this local ensemble. 22 Mar, Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, 19.30, € 39.50 KCOV Excelsior Grand Christian choir founded in 1885.

24 & 25 Mar, Concertgebouw, 19.30, € 33-€ 39 Dudok Ensemble Performance the so-called Frühfassung version of St Matthew Passion – Bach’s initial draft.

30 Mar, De Duif, 15.30, €28 Amsterdams Bach Consort A special family-friendly interpretation of the Passion, with performances by young Dutch actors. 31 Mar, De Duif, 15.15, €10-€21

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part IV The A-list

music/classical Choice classical

torio from the 18th century, per- rary ensembles from different formed by the Bach Choir and nations come together to Orchestra of the Netherlands perform Reich’s Double Sextet, with soprano Olga Zinovieva, premiered in 2008 by American counter-tenor Sytse Buwalda, ensemble eighth blackbird. tenor Martinus Leusink and Special guest is Bryce Dessner baritone Andrew Slater. from rock group The National, Concertgebouw, Mon 1 Apr, who will also present new 14.15, €50-€55 classical work.

Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, Sat 6 Rondane Kwartet Apr, 20.15, €24 This quartet specialises in music Ensemble

by Dutch contemporary classical Caméléon composer Simeon ten Holt, who sadly passed away at the end of Young and talented string 2012. In this concert they will ensemble that explores music perform his renowned Canto for larger chamber works. In Ostinato. this concert they’ll perform De Duif, Tue 2 Apr, 20.15, Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony €27.50 reworked for String Septet, Strauss’s Metamorphosen and Kronos Quartet the world premiere of Philippe & Ben Frost Hersant’s Onze Miniatures.

Opening the World Minimal Felix Meritis, Sat 6 Apr, Music Festival, the world-re20.15, €22.50 nowned Kronos Quartet will Ivo Janssen be performing one of the most famous minimal works: Steve The closing performance of the Reich’s ‘Different Trains’. Reich’s World Minimal Music ‘WTC 9/11’ and Triple Quartet Festival sees pianist Ivo Janssen are also on the bill. Special performing Simeon ten Holt’s guest is Australian composer/ Canto Ostinato with four perminimalist/noise specialist Ben cussionists (two vibraphones Frost. See page 23. and two marimbas).

Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, Wed 3 Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, Sun 7 Apr, 20.15, €29.50 Apr, 20.15, €24

Asko|Schönberg & Cappella Amsterdam A concert conducted by Reinbert de Leeuw and featuring special guests, such as The Court Music Troupe of The National Gugak Centre and Slagwerk Den Haag. Abstract minimalism is the theme, with the first half of the concert showcasing traditional Korean court music. After the break, a performance of Louis Andriessen’s De Tijd (1981).

Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, Thur 4 Apr, 20.15, €24

Kelly God & Paolo Giacometti Soprano Kelly God is a rising star of the European opera scene. Here she’s accompanied by pianist Paolo Giacometti for songs and arias by Wagner, Strauss and Rachmaninoff.

Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, Wed 10 Apr, 20.15, €34 Star Jubilee Concert Not only one of the classical spectacles of all 2013, with its performances by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, special guests from the Berlin Philharmonic and Vienna Philharmonic, violinist Janine Jansen, baritone Thomas Hampson and exuberant pianist Lang Lang, this festive concert promises to be one of the most colourful nights in the concert hall’s rich history. See page 23.

Concertgebouw, Wed 10 Apr, €18.88-€188.80

Haitink & the RCO Former chief RCO conductor Netherlands Chamber Bernard Haitink returns to the Orchestra Concertgebouw to explore the energy of one of his favourite Italian composers Puccini and composer’s favourite works, Rota are the reliable equivalents and one of Romantic music’s of pizza and pasta, but in this most breath-taking experiences: concert the orchestra shines a Bruckner’s Eighth. light on some of their lesserConcertgebouw, Fri 5 Apr, known works, as well as similar 20.15 & Sun 7 Apr, 14.15, sounding pieces by Mozart €31.50-€121.50 and Schubert.

Concertgebouw, Sat 13 Apr, Piet-Jan van Rossum 20.15; & Sun 14 Apr, 14.15, Part of the World Minimal €15.80-€46.40 Music Festival, Van Rossum Valentina presents the premiere of All Lisitsa is Well, utilising a number of organs and some brass players This Ukrainian-born pianist on the stairwell. As Van Rossum (now based in the United notes, ‘Little happens, but there States) is an unusual classical is much to hear.’ star in that her path to interOrgelpark, Sat 6 Apr, national success came via some 15.30, €15 40 million YouTube views and social media promotion. No eighth blackbird matter the route, there’s no & Lunapark denying her talents. Tonight Two like-minded contemposhe performs works by Scriabin,

De IJ-Salon The saxophone isn’t typically known as a key instrument in classical music but in this performance featuring guests from the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, saxophonist Ties Mellema will demonstrate the rich possibilities the instrument provides via works by Webern and Milhaud.

Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, Sat 20 Apr, 15.00, €24 Slagwerk Den Haag & Colin Stetson The mesmeric percussion ensemble teams up with American saxophonist Colin Stetson for an evening of power and hypnotic charge. It includes a performance of American composer Michael Gordon’s ‘Timbre’, which is a vigorous and intense ritualistic piece performed on simantras.

There’s also a solo set from Stetson, who is no ordinary sax player. Armed with his rack of saxophones and looping effects, his performances typically sound like he’s channelling music from deep within the Earth’s core, punching directly in the gut. Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, Fri 8 Mar, 20.30, €24

MARCO BORGGREVE

Rondane Kwartet Following their performance on 2 April, the quartet will perform Simeon ten Holt’s Horizon, a challenging and adventurous work marked by moments of dancing energy and dissonance.

De Duif, Wed 3 Apr, 20.15, €27.50

certo for Chamber Ensemble; Misato Mochizuki’s ‘Outrenoir’; and Ondřej Adámek’s ‘Nôise’.

Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, Thur 18 Apr, 20.15, €24

Wagner & Jansons 2013 is not only a special year for Amsterdam and the Concertgebouw, it also marks 200 years since the birth of German composer Richard Wagner. In this tribute concert, Latvian conductor Mariss Jansons leads the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in a rich programme of favourite Wagner arias and operatic excerpts.

Concertgebouw, Fri 12 Apr, 20.15, €31.50-€121.50

Schumann, Prokofiev and Beethoven.

Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, Sat 13 Apr, 20.15, €29.50 The Royal Wind Music The 13 members of this internationally-minded ensemble perform on an array of renaissance recorders, ranging in size from 12 inches to ten feet.

This afternoon’s programme presents the great variety of consort music for recorder, for example, utilising characteristically English forms such as the fancy or fantasia: a free form with contrasted sections, full of imitation, rhythmic games and unexpected harmonic progressions.

Amstelkerk, Sun 14 Apr, 16.00, €17.50

De Sacre du printemps Part of the Concertgebouw’s jubilee series, shining a light on Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, which almost caused a riot upon its premiere in Paris in 1913. These days it’s regarded as more majestic than shocking, though its impact is undeniable.

Paired with The Firebird and Petrushka, conducted by Valery Gergiev (pictured).

Concertgebouw, Mon 22 Apr, 20.15, €38.70-€102.60

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Italian conductor Riccardo Chailly returns to the helm of the RCO, having previously been its chief conductor from 1988 to 2004. Renowned for his feel for symphonic traditions, he’ll lead the orchestra in their performance of Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang Symphony and Hans Werner Henze’s Elogium Musicum.

Concertgebouw, 17, 18, 19 Apr, 20.15; & 21 Apr, 14.15, €31.50-€90 Nieuw Ensemble A feast of new international contemporary music as the Dutch ensemble presents three colourful and surprising compositions: Emre Kaleli’s Con-

Liza Ferschtman The top violinist joins the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra for a performance of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D. Concertgebouw, Sat 20 Apr, 20.15, €32.40-€39.60 Matangi Quartet This young string quartet has grown into one of the Netherlands’ most reliable ensembles over the past decade and performed around the world. In their final intimate Amstelkerk performance of this season they’ll perform a programmed titled ‘Beethoven Fever’.

Amstelkerk, Sun 21 Apr, 15.30, €16 Roaring Twenties Part of the Concertgebouw’s 125th jubilee celebrations, the Calefax Reed Quintet and mezzo-soprano Cora Burggraaf present a diverse snapshot of the music heard in European concert halls during the 1920s.

Concertgebouw, Wed 24 Apr, 20.15, €45 Oskar Back Violin Competition Three young violinists compete in this final, with the winner receiving the opportunity to debut as a soloist with the illustrious Rotterdam Philharmonic.

Concertgebouw, Sun 28 Apr, 14.15, €30-€35 ADRESSES Amstelkerk Amstelveld 10, www.stadsherstel.nl Concertgebouw Concertgebouwplein 10, www.concertgebouw.nl De Duif Utrechtsedwarsstraat 7, http://deduif.home.xs4all.nl Felix Meritis Keizersgracht 324, www.felix.meritis.nl Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ Piet Heinkade 1, www.muziekgebouw.nl Orgelpark Gerard Brandtstraat 26, www.orgelpark.nl Posthoornkerk Haarlemmerstraat 124 http://www.stadsherstel.nl Schellingwouderkerk Wijkergouw 6 www.stadsherstel.nl Schuilkerk De Hoop Hartveldseweg 23, Diemen www.stadsherstel.nl

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mar & apr 2013

exhibitions/TEMPORARY his paintings and etching of of art, artefacts and everyday of the Rijksmuseum. Featuring Amsterdam’s canals, of farms objects transport visitors to works by Frans Hals, Johan in the Gooi and of common the prairies of the Midwest, Barthold Jongkind, Jan Toorop house cats. The simplicity of his the plains around the Great and Karel Appel. paintings often saw his oeuvre Lakes, the shores of California, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam EXTRAORDINARY labelled ‘naive’ until a 1957 artiCanada’s west coast and into Airport Schiphol, until 1 May cle by painter and critic Kasper the homes of the Navajo and Exhibition focused on unusuJEWISH FLAVOUR, A Niehaus acclaimed him as ‘our the Inuit. ally-shaped handbags, which WORLDWIDE CUISINE greatest modern primitive’.

De Nieuwe Kerk, until 14 April first made an appearance back Jewish Historical Museum, From chicken soup to in the 19th century. It wasn’t VINCENT: THE VAN GOGH until 17 Mar Surinamese pom, Jewish dishes until the 1930s, however, that MUSEUM IN THE are enjoyed all over the world. new materials and techniques JAN HOEK: HERMITAGE In the first exhibition of its meant that designers were only ME & MY MODELS The Hermitage Amsterdam kind, the Jewish Historical limited by their imaginations.

Photographs of amateur modserves as the temporary home Museum invites visitors to Includes work by Lulu to an extensive collection of taste, discover and experience Guinness, Sylvia Moschard and els captured by Jan Hoek, from homeless fashionistas in Africa Van Gogh’s most famous works the Jewish kitchen first hand.

Sandra van Vliet. to a heroin addict looking for during the renovation of the Jewish Historical Museum, Museum of Bags & Purses, a career as a model and people Van Gogh Museum, offering until 5 May until 10 Mar he met via adverts or on the the opportunity to discover 75 VANITY BAGS BY internet. The exhibition moves of his key works in an entirely TROY: CITY, HOMER, TURKEY MARCK&MO beyond the images themselves new context.

Temporary exhibition delving to explore the relationship Hermitage Amsterdam, into the legendary world of Exhibition marking the 20th until 25 Apr Troy, a city of controversy and anniversary of celebrated fash- between the photographer and the models. contradictions that never fails ion design duo MARCK&MO. POLLOCK & KRASNER FOAM, until 20 Mar to inspire the imagination.

Edwin Marck & Moon GeerFor a six-week period, the Featuring a wealth of artefacts lings founded Studio Moed in DIRK BRAECKMAN & Jewish Historical Museum will drawn from archaeological 1992, which rapidly developed ZARINA BHIMJI into an esteemed leather goods Dual show by Belgian pholabel respected for its timeless, tographer/filmmaker Dirk high-quality handbags and Braeckman and British artist became MARCK&MO in 2003.

Zarina Bhimji. Braeckman is This retrospective exhibition acclaimed for his evocative will showcase the label’s photographs that, while based finest work. on subjects from his own enMuseum of Bags & Purses, vironment and surroundings, until 10 Mar evoke obscure and mysterious ONE GROUP SHOW: worlds. Indian/Ugandan/BritWASSINKLUNDGREN ish photographer, filmmaker and installation artist Zarina The first major solo exhibition Bhimji vividly depicts the long

by Dutch photography duo and often black shadow of WassinkLundgren colonialism in Africa, India provides a comprehensive overand Europe. view of their work, including a De Appel, until 31 Mar number of projects that have never before been on show THE MASTERPIECES to the public before. The duo During the rebuilding and bases their work on small obrenovation of the Rijksservations or humorous details museum, more than 400 of and situations that arise in the finest works from the 17th daily life, from which they excentury will continue to be on plore how the medium of phoMIKE KELLEY show in the redesigned Philips tography can distort reality.

Artistically active from the late 1970s through to his unWing. The famous dollhouses, FOAM, until 17 Mar timely death early in 2012, Kelley worked with a wide array the finest Delftware, a wealth of media including textile banners, drawings, photographs JAN VERSWEYVELD: of silver, icons of Dutch history and found objects, adeptly blending high and low culture.

INBETWEENS and of course the paintings by Spread over the entirety of a new space at the renovated A celebration the 25th anniver- the great 17th-century masters sary of the pre-eminent Dutch Frans Hals, Jan Steen, Vermeer Stedelijk, the retrospective comprises over 200 paintings, theatre company. Photographer and Rembrandt all tell the story sculptures, objects, works on paper, videos and multimedia of the Golden Age. Jan Versweyveld began working installations. This is the first full retrospective of Kelley’s Rijksmuseum, until 31 Mar with Toneelgroep Amsterdam work since 1993, and the largest overview of his work ever in 2001 and became their offiorganised. Stedelijk Museum, until 1 Apr IMAGINED PLACES cial photographer in 2005. For Photographs and video this exhibition, Versweyveld selected works that represent the installations by five artists from different corners of the globe be home to two seminal works collections housed in Istanbul, moments theatre lovers never explore the desire to be elseby legendary American artist Ankara and Canakkale (the get to see – before or after a recouple Jackson Pollock and modern-day location of Troy), hearsal – or from a perspective where and the reality of forced migration. A key matter examLee Krasner. Pollock became the exhibition explores the that could never be seen from ined by the exhibition is the a central figure as abstract many stories of the legendary the audience. extent to which a person’s locaexpressionism developed in city, showing how its meaning FOAM, until 17 Mar tion determines their identity. the 1940s, and is famous for is constantly changing and is a OSKAR FISCHINGER: Imagined Places is concerned his drip paintings. He arguably continual subject of debate.

EXPERIMENTS IN CINEnot only with the significance of overshadowed his wife for Allard Pierson Museum, MATIC ABSTRACTION physical place, but also many years, but following his until 5 May our sense of connection to premature death, she developed Retrospective of pioneer of abplaces elsewhere. a style and following of her own TUTANKHAMUN, HIS TOMB stract cinema Oskar Fischinger AND HIS TREASURES Tropenmuseum, until 14 April within the abstract expression(1900-1967), one of the most ist movement. Featuring PolSome 90 years after Tutankhaimportant film artists of the THE AMERICAN INDIAN: lock’s Untitled/Greetings and mun’s tomb was discovered by 20th century. An avant-garde ART AND CULTURE Krasner’s Dark Easter, both archaeologist Howard Carter, filmmaker, Fischinger’s oeuvre BETWEEN MYTH AND part of the Triton Collection. this international exhibition inhas proved highly influential in REALITY Jewish Historical Museum, vites visitors to relive one of the the development of animated Exploration of the artistic until 30 Apr greatest archaeological finds in film, music videos and comtraditions of the indigenous history. Covering 3,000 square puter graphics.

TYPICALLY DUTCH peoples of North America. The metres, visitors wander through EYE, until 17 Mar exhibition covers seven differ- International travellers can kill a life-sized reproduction of the SAL MEIJER’S AMSTERDAM ent regions, painting a picture time before their flight with a labyrinthine burial chambers, of the rich and diverse arts and selection of paintings selected which contain more than 1,000 The first retrospective of this Amsterdam artist in more than cultures of the Native American for their quintessentially Dutch exact replicas of the young phapeople. More than 200 works themes at the Schiphol branch raoh’s swag, from weapons to 25 years, Meijer is known for

TEMPORARY EXHIBITIONS

Choice exhibits

his famous death mask.

Amsterdam Expo, until 5 May JOHAN & ME An exhibition bursting with pictures and stories of people who have had an encounter with Dutch football legend Johan Cruyff, who turned 65 in April last year. Pictures and personal tales are complemented by a number of objects loaned from Cruyff ’s private collection. See page 6.

Amsterdam Museum, until 12 May VAN GOGH: MY DREAM A selection of Van Gogh’s seminal works, restored to their original vibrant colours and presented in chronological order. Seven specially-commissioned 3D animations of some of the artist’s most famous works reveal the hidden dimensions of these paintings, animating suggested movements and exposing hidden details.

Beurs van Berlage, until 13 May ALONG AMSTERDAM’S CANALS As Amsterdam celebrates the 400th anniversary of its canals, the Rembrandthuis hosts a magnificent selection of views of Amsterdam, from the 17th through to the 20th century.

On loan from the Royal Antiquarian Society of the Netherlands, this compilation features works by artists such as Jan van Call, Reinier Vinkeles and Gerrit Lambertsis.

Rembrandthuis, until 26 May BARBED WIRE Featuring a selection of art and personal interviews, this exhibition focuses on the plight of Dutch ex-soldiers who in 1943 were forced into prisoner of war camps by the occupying Nazis to carry out enforced labour.

Dutch Resistance Museum, until 26 May BOOMING AMSTERDAM During the Golden Age, Amsterdam’s growth and expansion were unprecedented. Trade and shipping from all corners of the globe turned the city into one of the most important metropolises in Europe. Celebrating Amsterdam’s many milestones in 2013, the City Archives pays special attention to this monumental growth with an exhibition of original 17thcentury maps and artefacts.

Amsterdam City Archives, until 26 May MICHAEL TEDJA: SNAKE A selection of 350 drawings and paintings on paper and linen by multidisciplinary artist Michael Tedja, all revolving around the fictional character SNAKE and his imagined world.

Cobra Museum, until 26 May ADRIAAN DORTSMAN: THE IDEAL CANAL Revisiting the great legacy of Amsterdam architect Adriaan Dortsman (1635-1682). Although perhaps not a famous name to many present-day Amsterdammers, Dortsman’s work

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part IV The A-list

exhibitions/temporary/permanent in the 17th century remains ing works by shortlisted phoinclude ornamental gardens as HET SCHEEPVAARTMUSEUM beautifully preserved and highprominent throughout the tographers Jacqueline Hassink, well as sumptuous salons. lights include the magnificent The permanent exhibition at city: the unmistakable circular Carl de Keyzer and Guy Tillim Blue Room, ornamental garthe recently-renovated National HET GRACHTENHUIS Lutheran Church on the Singel; as well as the winning photodens and servants’ quarters.

Maritime Museum is comprised (HOUSE OF THE CANALS) Huis Six on the Amstel; Maison graph by Luc Delahaye. of a series of smaller exhibitions ADDRESSES Descartes on the Vijzelgracht Huis Marseille, A tribute to the Canal District, all exploring various elements and Museum Van Loon itself.

22 Mar-16 Jun with multimedia exhibitions Allard Pierson Museum of maritime life through history.

Museum Van Loon, until 8 Jun showing how the engineering Oude Turfmarkt 127, And don’t miss thechance to BEASTLY BEAUTY marvel was built on swamp www.allardpiersonmuseum.nl board the Amsterdam – an ENCOUNTERS: HIDDEN Examining the prevalent role land. From here, visitors can Amsterdam City Archives exact replica of a famous Dutch STORIES FROM OUR OWN of animals in Jewish art. In easily explore other museums Vijzelstraat 32, East India Company Ship COLLECTION the late 19th century, artists housed in canal mansions. http://stadsarchief. moored outside.

The Tropenmuseum explores discovered a renewed interest amsterdam.nl MUSEUM VAN LOON STEDELIJK MUSEUM the hidden tales behind items in animals, partly because of Amsterdam Expo from its own extensive collecthe growing popularity of zoos Among the most powerful 17th- The museum’s permanent colGustav Mahlerlaan 24, tion, pairing together a series of and natural history museums. century families, the Van Loons lection is now on display in the www.amsterdamexpo.nl objects to explore what happens However, the use of animals belonged to the city’s governing beautifully restored historical Amsterdam Museum when two ostensibly different in art for decorative and symKalverstraat 92, things are brought together: bolic purposes has roots much http://amsterdammuseum.nl an African idol meets an Apple further back in history. In the Anne Frank House computer; a portrait of Marlene Jewish tradition, ceremonial Prinsengracht 263-267, Dumas meets a German sample objects were decorated with www.annefrank.org card showing 40 different eye animals and labels featuring De Appel Arts Centre colours. The encounters give an animals were also used to Prins Hendrikkade 142, impression of the Tropenmupersonalise objects. www.deappel.nl seum’s turbulent history from Jewish Historical Museum, Beurs van Berlage the 19th to the 21st century, and 29 Mar-1 Sep Damrak 243, consequently an impression www.beursvanberlage.nl JOHAN VAN DER KEUKEN of what links the Netherlands Bible Museum with the rest of the world.

Examining the work of acHerengracht 366-368, Tropenmuseum, until 14 Jul claimed Dutch photographer www.bijbelsmuseum.nl and filmmaker Johan van der Cobra Museum THE GOLDEN AGE: Keuken (1938-2001), widely reSandbergplein 1, Amstelveen, GATEWAY TO OUR WORLD vered for his dual talents, makwww.cobra-museum.nl Using cutting-edge new media ing films with a photographic Dutch Resistance Museum alongside world-class historic eye while bringing filmic elePlantage Kerklaan 61, PRIMROSE, RUSSIAN BEATRIX REGINA pieces, the Amsterdam Muments to his photographs. www.verzetsmuseum.org seum delves into the Dutch EYE Film Institute, EYE Film Institute COLOUR PHOTOGRAPHY Marking the end of Beatrix’s Golden Age like never before.

30 Mar-9 Jun IJpromenade 1, A showcase of the different rule, a unique selection of This sweeping exhibition takes www.eyefilm.nl methods of colour photogra- 30 photographs charting her WORLD PRESS PHOTO a close look at all aspects of the FOAM Photograohy Museum phy that have blossomed time as sovereign. Includes Golden Age in the Netherlands: The winning images from the Keizersgracht 609, since the introduction of photographs of the (former) an era of world trade, economic world’s most prestigious annual http://foam.org photography to Russia in Queen in her official capacity growth, cultural and religious press photography contest.

Geelvinck Hinlopen House diversity, flourishing science Oude Kerk, 26 Apr-26 Jun Keizersgracht 633, the mid-19th century – from as head of state, but also and the construction of the http://geelvinck.nl mass-produced images to in- private moments when not Amsterdam canals, but also a Het Grachtenhuis dividual hand-tinted photos. on official business. Featuring century of slavery and war.

Herengracht 386, Part of the Netherlandsworks by several acclaimed Amsterdam Museum, http://hetgrachtenhuis.nl PERMANENT Russia 2013 celebrations, photographers, drawn from until 13 Aug Hermitage Amsterdam EXHIBITIONS marking 400 years of trade the Rijksmuseum’s own Amstel 51, FELT BAGS BY KIMIE YAGI between the two countries. collection. Rijksmuseum, www.hermitage.nl BIBLE MUSEUM A first in the Netherlands, the Huis Marseille FOAM, until 3 April until 17 Mar Museum of Bags and Purses Keizersgracht 401, Home to a large collection of displays a selection of felt works www.huismarseille.nl ancient Jewish and Egyptian by renowned Japanese bag elite, and were among the Jewish Historical Museum building, with fixed spots for religious artefacts, museum designer Kimie Yagi. Yagi pri- highlights include a reconstruc- founders of the mighty VOC – Nieuwe Amstelstraat 1, highlights such as The Beamarily draws inspiration from tion of the Tabernacle tent that the Dutch East India Company nery by Edward Kienholz and www.jhm.nl nature, landscapes and flowers, is said to have housed the Ark – back in 1602. With much of Museum of Bags & Purses works by Willem de Kooning producing felt in a myriad of Herengracht 573, and Andy Warhol. Half of the of the Covenant plus a first-rate its original interior intact , the colours which she then uses to museum collection comprises http://museumofbags ground floor is reserved for collection of Bibles, including ‘paint’ her designs. andpurses.com the oldest printed version in the paintings, antique furnishings the best pieces from the design Museum of Bags and Purses, and objects d’art.

De Nieuwe Kerk collection, to demonstrate the Netherlands.

12 Mar-5 May Dam square, Stedelijk’s importance in the ONS’ LIEVE HEER OP EYE FILM INSTITUTE www.nieuwekerk.nl design realm.

ARMANDO VS ARMANDO SOLDER (OUR LORD IN THE Ons’ Lieve Heer Op Solder Cinematography museum ATTIC) TROPENMUSEUM After devoting an exhibition Oudezijds Voorburgwal 40, home to an internationally to the artist back in 2006, the At first glance, this looks like www.opsolder.nl Visitors to the Tropenmuseum renowned collection of films Cobra Museum presents an a typical 17th-century canal Rembrandthuis can get to know the most beaucovering the whole history of overview of recent work by house, but there’s a historical Jodenbreestraat 4, tiful, exciting and interesting cinema, from the very first Dutch painter and author Archurch hidden behind the www.rembrandthuis.nl stories from around the world. silent movies to the latest conmando (aka Herman Dirk van temporary digital productions. classical facade. This clandesRijksmuseum The historic building provides Dodeweerd). Renowned for his tine church in the attic dates Jan Luijkenstraat 1, space for eight geographicalThe museum’s extensive proanimated, expressive works, the gramme includes exhibitions back to the Reformation when www.rijksmuseum.nl ly-themed permanent exhi83-year-old Berlin-based artist and events examining the his- Catholics were not permitted to Rijksmuseum Amsterdam bitions and an ongoing series certainly hasn’t rested on his openly practice their faith.

Airport Schiphol of temporary presentations, tory of film and contemporary laurels in recent years, contin- cinematographic developments www.schiphol.nl including both modern and REMBRANDTHUIS uing to create a prolific amount Het Scheepvaartmuseum traditional visual arts. alongside regular screenings of art demonstrating personal Get to know the Old Master Kattenburgerplein 1, classic and art-house movies WILLET-HOLTHUYSEN development while referencing personally by visiting his home www.hetscheepvaart plus festivals, theatrical MUSEUM his earlier work. and studio. Located in the picmuseum.nl family shows and Cobra Museum, 12 Mar-2 Jun turesque heart of Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum Soak up the authentic 19thretrospectives. the house that Rembrandt Museumplein 10, century atmosphere at the POWER – PRIX PICTET 2012 GEELVINCK HINLOPEN HUIS called home for nearly 20 years http://stedelijk.nl Willet-Holthuysen Museum The exhibition accompanying boasts an impressive collection and find out what life was like Tropenmuseum Aa decadent canal-side manthe prestigious Prix Pictet phoof drawings and paintings by Linnaeusstraat 2, in Amsterdam for both wealthy sion showcasing 17th-century tography competition stops by Rembrandt himself as well as www.tropenmuseum.nl and ordinary members of sopatrician wealth. Located on Amsterdam as part of its world the Golden Bend of the grandby his contemporaries. The Willet-Holthuysen Museum ciety. Built in 1687, the house tour. This is the fifth time that Herengracht 605, est canal of all (Herengracht), Rembrandthuis is also home to and its fine collection of art and the prize has been awarded, the the house was built as a status 290 of Rembrandt’s etchings www.willetholthuysen.nl furnishings were bequeathed 2011/’12 edition challenging – a near complete collection – Museum Van Loon symbol for Golden Age power to the city of Amsterdam by photographers to create works couple Albert Geelvinck and his and an alternating selection is Keizersgracht 672, its last resident, Louisa Wilon the theme of ‘Power’. Featur- wife Sara Hinlopen. Highlights on permanent display. www.museumvanloon.nl let-Holthuysen. The mansion is VINCENT MENTZEL

piotr vedenisov

Choice exhibits

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mar & apr 2013

THEATRE & DANCE Opera: L’amour des trois oranges De Nederlandse Opera presents a suitably ludicrous interpretation of Prokofiev’s famous fairy tale. In this satirical fouract work, which premiered in 1921, a series of rival characters based on commedia dell’arte are engaged in a dispute: the supporters of comedy hope for joyful merrymaking, while the advocates of tragedy have their sights set on juicy conflict. In French, with Dutch surtitles.

Het Muziektheater, 1-21 Mar, various times, €15-€140 Dance: Programme IV Crystal Pite is a rising star in the world of dance, both as choreographer and artistic director of Kidd Pivott. She is also ‘associate choreographer’ with the Nederlands Dans Theater. Known for her flowing, organic and poetic style, she attracts a wide audience with her surprising and innovative ways of working. As such, there will be much attention on this programme, which is centred on her choreographies.

Het Muziektheater, Sat 2, 20.15 & Sun 3 Mar, 14.00, €15-€48 Performance: Michael Jackson – The IMMORTAL World Tour The latest Cirque du Soleil spectacular is a tribute to pop star Michael Jackson, not just showcasing his famous pop and soul songs but his distinctive artistry.

As you’d expect from Cirque du Soleil, there’s tons of colour, dynamism and elaborate gymnastics, but this time it’s Jacko’s dance moves and artistic flashes driving the plot. See page 4.

Ziggo Dome, Fri 8, Sat 9 Mar, 20.00, Sun 10 Mar, 16.00, €50-€95 Theatre: The Sound of Silence Feel-good theatre about the ’60s, featuring the music of Simon & Garfunkel. The Sound of Silence is about a group of young people who share an apartment in Latvia during the Soviet regime, featuring the brilliant actors of the New Riga Theatre recreating the era down to the smallest of details. See page 22.

Stadsschouwburg, Thur 7 & Fri 8 Mar, 20.00, €15-€30 Dance: Dévorer le cie The Canadian choreographer and dancer Daniéle Desnoyers is not so well known in Europe, but she’s one of the most innovative dance-makers in her homeland. Dévorer le ciel is an energetic performance where its six dancers are subject to the whims of a violent storm.

Stadsschouwburg, Tue 12 Mar, 20.30, €10-€27.50 Theatre: Children of the Sun Maxim Gorky portrays a group of intellectuals, who, detached from society, turn to science, art and love only to realise too late

that their ideas do not rhyme with the harsh reality. The play’s protagonist has withdrawn with his wife and his sister to the parental home where he is working madly on a visionary idea: the potential of mankind to overcome its biological limits to found a new society. In Dutch, but surtitled in English on the listed dates.

Stadsschouwburg, Thur 14 & 21 Mar, 20.00, €24.50-€33.50 Opera: Opera per Tutti!

Regular opera sessions in the beautiful Vondelkerk. Each

shows a day in the life of five elderly people who live in a flat in post-Communist Latvia, living amongst a hoard of old belongings. see page 22.

Stadsschouwburg, Mon 25 & Tue 26 Mar, 20.00, €12.50-€27.50 Theatre: Orange Tea Theatre Company The Orange Tea Theatre Company is a source of English language theatre in Amsterdam.

Each month they can be seen performing modern plays in the Waterstone’s Amsterdam book-

Dance: Zout An acclaimed production by Dutch troupe Conny Janssen Danst, featuring seven exceedingly strong male dancers and Anne Soldaat, one of the best pop guitarists in the Dutch music scene.

Stadsschouwburg, Mon 8 & Tue 9 Mar, 20.30, €17.50€32.50 Theatre: Husbands Based on John Cassavetes’ film of the same title, Husbands tells the story of three ‘men in menopause’. In a desperate attempt to rekindle their youth, they immerse themselves in a weekend of drinking, gambling and women. This production by Toneelgroep Amsterdam is in Dutch, but surtitled in English on the listed dates.

Stadsschouwburg, Thur 11 & 18 Apr, 20.00, €23.50-€32.50

Het Muziektheater, Sun 20, Wed 24, Sun 28 Apr, various times, €15-€140 Dance: Drumming Belgian choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker is seen as one of the most important figures in her field and Drumming (1998) is without doubt one of her most fascinating choreographies. It’s a masterpiece of sparkling dance set to the powerful percussive music of Steve Reich.

Stadsschouwburg, Mon 22 & Tue 23 Apr, 20.00, €20-€35

Performance: Wow – A Celebration of the music and artistry of Kate Bush Eclectic English singer-songwriter Kate Bush is hardly like to return to the stage any time soon, although she has begun releasing records again in recent Musical theatre: We Will years. But for fans missing out Rock You on the dramatic stage shows, there’s always this production This musical was famously featuring singer Maaike Breipenned by British comedian/ jman. As you can tell from writer Ben Elton and launched its title, it’s not just about the in London’s West End in 2002. singing; there’s many costume It’s centred around the songs of changes, dance routines and Queen, so even though it has a multimedia, highlighting the clumsy narrative about an Orentire Bush oeuvre. wellian future in which rock ’n’ roll is unknown and individual- Royal Theatre Carré, Thur 25 Apr, €17-€29 ity has been banished, rock fans can still lap up the classic tracks Theatre: and glam theatrical production.

CABARET: Ashton Brothers – Treasures In Ongenade Heineken Music Hall, This slapstick comedy troupe has been responsible for a An adaptation of Disgrace, the Thur 11- Sat 13 Apr, 20.00, fantastic run of elaborate shows. Language has never been critically acclaimed novel by €35-€45 a problem either. The not-actual brothers (Pepijn GunSouth African writer John M neweg, Pim Muda, Joost Spijkers and Friso) have taken their Dance: Drought Coetzee. A 52-year-old poetry and Rain Buster Keaton-worthy ideas abroad before, as their enerteacher (Gijs Scholten van Aschat) and his daughter are Premiered originally in 1995, getic combinations of acrobatics, magic, music and general attacked by a black gang. The French-Vietnamese choreogclowning about is clearly open to all ages and cultures. aftermath of the tragedy shows rapher Ea Sola’s Drought and Their latest show, Treasures, marks their tenth anniversary, how father and daughter each Rain examined the lasting efcombining precise physical chaos and laughs. Royal Theatre experience a different South fects of the Vietnam War on its Carré, Wed 13-23 Mar, various times, €17-€34 African life – he is still a part people and culture. It has now of the old society, her the new. been reworked at the invitation This production by Toneelgroep of the renowned Edinburgh performance typically includes store. In March: Lone Star by International Festival. Tensely Amsterdam is in Dutch, but surfive or six operatic fragments or James McLure; in April: Rope titled in English on the directed abstract images call arias – some you’ll know inside

by Patrick Hamilton. listed date. back the memories of that past. out, others may be new to you.

Waterstone’s, Tue 26 Mar; Tue The traditional music is played Stadsschouwburg, Thur 25 Apr, In spring 2013 there’s a partic23 Apr, 19.30, €5 20.30, €18.50-€33.50 live, with the production standular focus on young performers ing as a poignant testimony of Theatre: All My Sons ADDRESSES from institutions such as the physical, mental and spiritual Dutch National Opera Academy.

Arthur Miller wrote All My Concertgebouw resilience.

Vondelkerk, Thur 14, 28 Mar; Sons as a final attempt at writ- Stadsschouwburg, Mon 15 Apr, Concertgebouwplein 10, & 19 Apr, 20.15, €10-€20 ing a commercially successful 0900 671 8345, 20.30, €10-€30 play – if it failed to find an www.concertgebouw.nl Dance: Moderne Meisjes Opera: Die Zauberflöte audience Miller had vowed to Heineken Music Hall Introdans proudly presents ‘find some other line of work’.

ArenA Boulevard 590, The Nederlands Blazers Enthree ‘grand old ladies’ of the It’s based upon a true story, 0900 687 4242, semble hosts an atmospheric American choreography scene: describing how a woman inwww.heineken-music-hall.nl chamber presentation of MoLucinda Childs (‘Chairman formed on her father who had Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ zart’s delightful comedy opera.

Dances’), Jennifer Muller sold faulty parts to the US mil- Its light and magical music will Piet Heinkade 1, (‘Bench’) and Twyla Tharp itary during World War II. In 020 788 2010, be familiar to all, although its (‘Moderne Meisjes’).

Dutch, but surtitled in English www.muziekgebouw.nl narrated moments have been Stadsschouwburg, Thur 21 on the listed date.

Het Muziektheater reworked into Dutch.

Mar, 20.30, €11-€30 Stadsschouwburg, Thur 28 Amstel 3, 020 625 5455, Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, Fri 19 Mar, 20.00, €23.50-€32.50 www.het-muziektheater.nl Apr, 20.15, €34 Opera: La scala di seta Royal Theater Carré Performance: 125 Years Opera: Die Walküre Rossini’s brilliant comic farce, Amstel 115-125, 0900 252 5255, of Royal Theatre Carré with libretto by Giuseppe Maria www.carre.nl Under the direction of Pierre Foppa. This intimate opera, Amsterdam’s Royal Theatre Stadsschouwburg Audi, De Nederlandse Opera with moments of melancholy Carré first opened its doors in Leidseplein 26, 020 624 2311, revisits the second instalment amidst the humour, premiered 1887 as a circus theatre. After www.stadsschouwburg of Wagner’s Ring cycle, which in Venice in 1812. Its virtuosic 125 years of hosting all kinds of amsterdam.nl leaps from the almost allegoroverture is its most recognisable entertainment, the glorious theVondelkerk ical prelude Das Rheingold to passage, still commonly heard in atre still welcomes the annual the actual Norse-inspired nar- Vondelstraat 120, 020 572 1721, the classical concert repertoire.

World Christmas Circus, but www.vondelkerk.nl rative. Composing his most pasConcertgebouw, Sat 23 Mar, also so much more. This black- sionate music for the characters Waterstone’s €44.10-€51.30 tie gala affair marks the venue’s with whom he most identified, Kalverstraat 152, 020 638 3821, anniversary party, and promises this momentous work is also the www.waterstones.com Theatre: Long Life a diverse programme.

Ziggo Dome home of one of Wagner’s most This visual performance in Royal Theatre Carré, Wed 3 recognisable movements: ‘Ride De Passage 100, 0900 235 3663, which scarcely a word is spoken Apr, 20.00, €31.25-€125 www.ziggodome.nl of the Valkyries’.

Highlight theatre

lorenzo di nozzi

theatre & dance

54

part IV The A-list

comedy Comedy

larity. Shot of Improv sees the entire Boom Chicago cast take to the stage, so the laughs are guaranteed to keep on comin’.

It’s a show that starts big and never slows down.

Boom Chicago, every Wed, 20.00, €22

BABY I LIKE IT RAW! Boom Chicago’s first show in their new home at the Rozentheater gets back to basics: pure, improv-driven comedy genius. Expect a BURLESQUE scripted scene or two and some GLAMOUR NIGHT current events commentary Catch old-fashioned variété, but above all, expect no holds burlesque, magic and comedy to be barred. In this show, the guys and gals don’t hold back, at this new event at one of the city’s comedy stalwarts. because baby, they like it raw!

Boom Chicago, every Thur, Fri Comedy Theater in de Nes, Sat 2 Mar, 23.00, €18 & Sat, 19.45, €18-€20

Highlight comedy

CHEECH & CHONG LIGHT UP EUROPE Richard ‘Cheech’ Marin and Tommy Chong rose to fame in the ’70s and ’80s with their spoof on hippie and free-love antics, films and songs. They’re still going strong, and given that they make a living from making spliff jokes to people often too stoned to be discriminating, they’re still surprisingly funny. Don’t miss the chance to catch the comedy duo live as they drop by on their European tour to deliver a hefty dose of absurd coffeeshop humour to Amsterdam – a city that, we imagine, is pretty close to their hearts.

Royal Theatre Carré, Thur 7 Mar, 20.00, €38-€53 EASYLAUGHS The international Easy Laughs comedy group performs a hilarious, hi-octane, completely improvised show at the recently renovated Crea Café every Friday night. There’s also an early-bird show, guest performers from around the world, various formats and open podiums.

Crea Café, every Fri, 20.00, 21.00 & 22.00, €10

WORLD BAND: PLAYGROUND The most humorous, energetic evening of music you’ll see in a while, World Band have packed boxes of instruments, oodles of enthusiasm – and a pogo stick for this latest performance.

Meervaart, Sat 9 Mar, 20.15, €13.36/€17.81

ASHTON BROTHERS: TREASURES ENGLISH COMEDY NIGHT Although perhaps not so well known internationally, this With a full line-up of Enslapstick comedy troupe has glish-language artists, every been responsible for a fanFriday night is international tastic run of elaborate shows stand-up comedy night at the throughout the past decade.

Comedy Theatre in the Nes. Language has never been a Hang around after the show problem either. The not-acfor a chat, drinks and no doubt tual brothers have taken their some more laughs with the Buster Keaton-worthy ideas comedians while the live band abroad before, as their enerkeeps the tunes coming. getic combinations of acrobatComedy Theatre in de Nes, ics, magic, music and general every Fri, 20.30, €14 clowning about is clearly open SHOT OF IMPROV/STUDENT to all ages and cultures.

WEDNESDAY Royal Theatre Carré, Wed 13-Sat 23 Mar, various times, Every Wednesday night at €17-€34 Boom Chicago, three students get in for the price of one ticket PIERRIC: MAN FRAMED for the fully improvised Shot ON WHITE BACKGROUND of Improv comedy shows. This An intriguing performance weekly improvised chuckle fest recently expanding to two acts blending the worlds of theatre, magic, mime and comedy. for double the spontaneous hi-

Kids & family Swiss artist Pierric Thentory’s Man Framed on White Background introduces the audience to a man in a mysterious white room with locked doors.

Things happen that go above and beyond comprehension as the man struggles to escape from a room in which nothing is at it seems.

Meervaart, Fri 5 Apr, 20.30, €13.36-€17.81 GREG SHAPRIO PRESENTS: PETE JOHANSSON Shapiro – the original chuckle meister of Boom Chicago fame – presents and evening with Canadian-born, London-based comic Pete Johansson. His 2009 Edinburgh debut was nominated for a prestigious ‘Best Newcomer’ award, and (oddly) he’s the brother of Paul Johansson, aka Dan Scott on One Tree Hill. With 20 years of stand-up under his belt, Johansson should know how to be funny...

Griffioen, 18 Apr, 20.30, €14 EDDIE IZZARD – FORCE MAJEURE The internationally-renowned cross-dressing stand-up comedian and actor brings his unique brand of witty banter to town as part of his Force Majeure World Tour. No confirmation yet if he’ll be performing in running sneakers (he once ran 43 marathons in 51 days to raise money for British charity Sport Relief ) or eight-inch heels (he’s also a cross-dresser, often describing himself as ‘a lesbian trapped in a man’s body’). See page 21.

Heineken Music Hall, Thur 18-Sat 20 Apr, 20.00, €39 DA BOUNCE COMEDY NIGHT Featuring the best stand-up comedians from the US. You know them from Def Comedy Jam, P-Diddy’s Bad Boys of Comedy, MTV Comedy Hour and more.

Meervaart, Friday 26 Apr, 20.30, €17.81/€22.27 Addresses Boom Chicago Rozentheater, Rozengracht 117, 020 423 0101, www.boomchicago.nl Comedy Theater in de Nes Nes 110, 020 422 2777, www.comedytheater.nl Crea Café Nieuwe Achtergracht 170, 020 5251 400 www.crea.uva.nl Griffioen Uilenstede 106, 020 5985 100, www.griffioen.vu.nl Heineken Music Hal Arena Boulevard 590, 0900 687 4242, www.heineken-music-hall.nl Meervart Meer en Vaart 300, 020 4107 777, www.meervaart.nl Royal Theatre Carré Amstel 115, 0900 2525 255, www.carre.nl

Attractions

ing every Saturday evening! .

Radioweg 64, www.jaapeden. nl. Various times & prices

AMSTELPARK PLAYGROUND KINDERKOOKKAFÉ & PETTING ZOO The ‘Kids Cook Café’ is a deAmstelpark has a very large lightful and unique restaurant playground, a miniature golf located near the Vondelpark. course, flower gardens and Here children (ages five to 12) a charming petting zoo – aldo absolutely everything to help though it’s not uncommon run the restaurant, including to see chickens and rabbits cooking, serving, bartending, throughout the entire park. tidying up and running the Europaboulevard 1 cash register.

AMSTERDAM Vondelpark 6b, www.kinder DUNGEON kookkafe.nl. Open daily 10.0017.00, various prices The Amsterdam Dungeon brings 500 years of dark KLANKSPEELTUIN history to life with 11 shows, (SOUND GARDEN) seven actors and one terrifying The Klankspeeltuin is unlike experience! Can you survive the horrific plague during the any other playground. Children between the ages of seven and 80-minute tour? Make sure 12 learn how to compose their you don’t get tortured by the very own music using all sorts executioner from the Spanish of sound installations and comInquisition or get lost in the puters during this interactive mirror labyrinth… workshop. Parents/caretakers Rokin 78, www.the-dungeons. are not present during the nl, open daily 11.00-17.00, €21, workshop, but get to hear the ages 5-17 €12.50 compositions at the end.

AMSTERDAMSE BOS Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, Piet (AMSTERDAM FOREST) Heinkade 1, www.muziek gebouw.nl. Wed & Sun, 15.00Amsterdam’s largest park and 16.30, €8.50 recreational area makes for a fun-filled family day out.

MADAME TUSSAUDS You’ll find a goat farm (with AMSTERDAM a petting zoo) that makes deStep into the amazing world licious homemade ice-cream of Madame Tussauds. The coland cheese on site, a Pancake lection of wax figures include House, a ‘FunForest’ climbing the gorgeous Brad Pitt, the park, a vintage tram, a botanoutrageous Lady Gaga and ical garden and a rowing lake.

Bicycle, canoe, kayak and pedal the brilliant Einstein. Pose for photos with the likes of David boat rental are available.

Beckham or Princess Máxima www.amsterdamsebos.nl and take a seat on Queen BeatANNE FRANK HOUSE rix’s throne.

Dam 20, www.madame This is the hiding place where tussauds.nl. Open daily 10.00Anne Frank wrote her diary 18.30, €22, ages 5-15 €17 during World War II. For more than two years, Anne Frank MIRANDABAD lived secretly in the back part SWIMMING POOL of her father’s office building.

Subtropical swimming pool Quotations from the diary, phocomplex with a beach, palm tographs, films and original obtrees, several indoor and outjects – including Anne’s diary – all serve to illustrate the events door pools and wave machines. which occurred here. Suitable Other amenities include squash courts, a solarium and a for children over ten. restaurant.

Prinsengracht 267, www.anneDe Mirandalaan 9, www. frank.org. Open Mon-Fri, Sun 09.00-19.00; Sat 09.00-21.00, mirandabad.nl. Various times & prices €9, ages 10-17 €4.50 PANCAKE BOAT ARTIS ROYAL ZOO A cosy boat, all-you-can-eat The first zoo to be established in the Netherlands celebrates pancakes and a view of Amsterdam’s canals make the Pancake 175 years in 2013. Admire the Boat a great activity for all tropical fish in the Aquarium and travel through time in the ages. Choose from a number of cruises every week and, for a set Planetarium. See the giraffes galloping amongst the zebras, price, everyone can eat as many pancakes as they like with a springboks, oryx and wildewide variety of tasty toppings. beests. Surround yourself with Ms van Riemsdijkweg t/o 38, hundreds of fluttering butterwww.pannenkoekenboot.nl. flies in the Butterfly Pavilion Various times and prices or stroll through the historical park with its centuries-old trees SCHEEPVAARTMUSEUM and a multitude of plants.

(NATIONAL MARITIME Plantage Kerklaan 38-40, MUSEUM) www.artis.nl. Open daily Het Scheepvaartmuseum has 09.00-17.00, €18.95, ages 3-9 a variety exhibitions designed €15.50 just for kids. Sal & Lori and the JAAP EDEN ICECircus at Sea is an underwater SKATING RINK fairy-tale for the youngest visitors, while older children will Amsterdam’s largest and bestknown ice-skating centre, with enjoy The Tale of the Whale or a large indoor rink and a begin- multimedia adventure See You ner’s corner. Facilities include in the Golden Age. Moored just a restaurant, showers and lock- outside the museum, the Dutch East India Company ship Amers. Don’t miss the disco skat-

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FOCUS KERMIS crafting and painting for the (FAIRGROUND) future Van Goghs.

Mr Visserplein 7, www.tunfun. Whether you’re one for being nl. Open daily 10.00-18.00, flung around high above the ages 1-12 €8.50, adults free city, racing around in the

dodgems, being spooked in the WESTERPARK PETTING ZOO haunted house or simply sightSCIENCE CENTER NEMO Nestled in the Westergasfabriek seeing from the top of a Ferris NEMO introduces young and Culture Park is a petting zoo. wheel, the fairground is guarold to the world of science Here children can learn about anteed great fun at any age. and technology. Five floors and help feed the goats, sheep, Stadspark Osdorp 9-17 Mar; are filled with continuously ponies, ‘Vlekkie’ the Piétrain Westerpark/Westergasfabriek updated exhibitions, theatre pig and ‘Teuke’ the Belted 23 Mar-1 Apr; Buiksloterperformances, films, workshops cow. The farm is also home to meerplein 4-14 Apr. See www. and demonstrations. Smell, plenty of small animals such iamsterdam.com hear, feel and see how the world as poultry, rabbits, guinea pigs works. Everything is interacand birds. A playground with THE AMAZING JOURNEY OF DR FAUST Amsterdam’s Marionette Theatre presents a musical puppet rendition of the age-old tale of the scholar who ‘knew too much and yet never enough’.

The tale of Doctor Faust was often performed in puppet theatres way back in the Middle Ages, and the Amsterdam Marionette Theatre delights in continuing the puppet theatre tradition with this magical and humorous, yet philosophical adaptation. Suitable for children aged ten and above.

Nieuwe Jonkerstraat 8, www. marionettentheater.nl. 10 & 24 Mar 15.00; 1 Apr 12.30 (opera brunch, €29.50), 14 Apr 15.00, 24 Apr 20.30, €16, under-14s €7.50

The Bear Palace in Artis, 1902 by GJ Staller Artis Archive

sterdam is a hit with visitors of all ages.

Kattenburgerplein 1, www. scheepvaartmuseum.nl. Open daily 09.00-17.00, €15, ages 5-17 €7.50

Highlight kids

EASTER AT ARTIS Artis Royal Zoo has a fun line-up of activities scheduled during the Easter holiday.

Throughout the weekend, kids can join an Easter treasure hunt and learn all about which animals lay eggs. Other Easter activities include cuddling baby chicks, guinea pigs and bunnies as well as watching baby chicks make their entrance into the world. Activities are free of charge with entrance to the zoo.

Plantage Kerklaan 38-40, a slide, sandpit, swings and www.artis.nl. Treasure hunt see-saw is located next to the Fri 29-Sun 31 Mar 12.00petting zoo.

14.00; cuddling baby chicks Overbrakerpad 10, www.

Sun 31 Mar & Mon 1 Apr kinderboerderijwesterpark.nl.

13.30-14.15 & 14.45-15.30; Open Tue-Sun 9.00-17.00, free from egg to chicken Sun 31 Mar & Mon 1 Apr 11.00-16.00

VINTAGE TRAM RIDE See historic trams that have been lovingly restored to their former glory. The vintage electric trams travel along the former Haarlemmermeer railway line along the edge of the Amsterdamse Bos, and there are several stops along the track where you can get off and visit attractions by foot.

Tram ride season kicks off on Easter weekend, when passengers will be joined by a certain rabbit bearing chocolate eggs. Amstelveenseweg 264, www.museumtramlijn.org.

Every Sun 31 Mar-27 Oct, departs 11.00-17.30 from Haarlemmermeerstation, various times & prices tive, so you can play along.

Oosterdok 2, www.e-nemo.nl.

Open Tue-Sun 10.00-17.00, €13.50

TROPENMUSEUM JUNIOR Located in a majestic building on the edge of the Oosterpark, Tropenmuseum Junior was created especially for children Events from ages six to 13 and is foVAN GOGH WORKSHOPS cused on non-Western cultures.

The interactive exhibits introThe Van Gogh Museum is duce children to new cultures offering budding artists three in a playful way that sparks different creative workshops at their curiosity. In 2012, the their temporary home in the Tropenmuseum Junior received Hermitage Amsterdam. In Japthe Children’s Museum Award, anse beestjes (Japanese insects) recognising it as one of the best children learn about these children’s museums in famous prints and then make the world. their very own masterpiece.

Linnaeusstraat 2, www.tropen In Een schilderij in je lievelmuseum.nl. Open Tue-Sun ingskleur (A painting in your 10.00-17.00, various prices favourite colour), kids learn about the artist’s preferred coTUNFUN lour and then create a painting Perfect for those rainy days, in their own favourite shade.

TunFun is an indoor paradise There is also a workshop based for children under 12. Under on the new Peter the Great adult supervision, kids can exhibition. Suitable for children enjoy hours of active, creative aged six to 12. and adventurous fun in a huge Hermitage Amsterdam, Amstel 4000 m2 indoor playground.

51, www.vangoghmuseum.nl.

There’s something for every age Sat & Sun 2 & 3, 9 & 10, 16 & and interest: from soft slides & 17, 23 & 24 Mar, 6 & 7, 13 & mini-ball pool for babies and 14, 20 & 21 Apr, 14.00-16.00, infants, trampolines and jungle €7.50 per child, includes gyms for the older kids, and materials and refreshment

FROZEN PLANET IN CONCERT Frozen Planet in Concert promises to be a breath-taking musical and cinematic experience.

High-definition (HD) images of the great frozen wilderness of the North and South poles will be displayed on an 18-metre-wide screen and accompanied by the Gelders Orchestra conducted by George Fenton.

Suitable for children over eight.

Ziggo Dome, De Passage 100, www.ziggodome.nl. Sat 13 Apr, 15.00 & 20.00, €22.50-€59.50 WHAT DOES A SAXOPHONE SOUND LIKE? These blasting, blamming, blazing rascals of the Amstel Quartet are sure to blow you away with their brassy talent at this family performance. Suitable for children over six.

Concertgebouw, Concertgebouwplein 10, www.concert gebouw.nl. 27 & 28 Apr, 13.30 & 15.30, €13.50

175 years of Artis The Human Zoo

I

n 2013, Artis Royal Zoo is 175 years old. Back in 1838 construction began on a city park with resident animals. Today, Artis has become the green heart of Amsterdam, an oasis of peace and nature in the middle of the city enjoyed by millions of visitors each year.

Artis was never just about watching animals, from the beginning it was also a human park, a place to meet other people. Especially in the first decades of its existence, it functioned as a society for the upperclass. This beautiful painting of Artis in the summer is a work of GJ Staller (1880– 1956), who became known as a chronicler of everyday life in Amsterdam. We see people looking at the famous Bear Palace, built in 1897 (and demolished in 1974). In the background is the still existing gallery of predators. Other visitors are quietly strolling through the park or reading a book.

Anniversary events Flowers in Artis For the whole of the year, Artis will be ablaze with the most colourful and fragrant Dutch flowers, 176,875 of them in total, as well as 36,000 plants and two special desire trees.

Anniversary Tour Discover the history of the zoo.

Every Saturday & Sunday, departs Ape Rock 11.00

Petting Zoo Get up close and personal with small animals. Every Sunday, Classroom Stolp, 13.30-14.15 & 14.45-15.30 Architecture Tour Learn about the zoo’s architecture.

Every Saturday & Sunday in March & April, departs Ape Rock 12.00

Kids’ Programme Over four Saturdays, children learn all about life at the zoo. Saturdays 2, 9, 16 & 24 March, 10.0014.00, €160.

Stargazing An evening programme including starclock workshops, design-your-own-planet classes and, of course, stargazing.Saturday 16 March, from 19.00 Easter in Artis Easter-egg hunts, brunch, chick cuddling and more. 29 March-1 April Artis in Wartime Discover the temporary shelters that kept the animals safe. Saturday 4 & Sunday 5 May, Ape Rock, 16.00

Ascension Day Help make a celebratory chalk pavement drawing. Thursday 9 May, all day Mothers’ Day Take the free tour of the various mothers of Artis. Sunday 12 May, Ape Rock, 12.00 Artis Royal Zoo, Plantage Kerklaan 38-40 www.artis.nl

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part IV The A-list

festivals & events JENEVER FESTIVAL until the nuptials are null and void at dawn. And on Sunday, A staple tipple in the Nether7 April, Wed & Walk are orgalands, it comes as no surprise CROSS-LINX FESTIVAL nising the Love Market at the that jenever (sometimes known A brand new addition to AmPosthoornkerk in Amsterdam’s as Dutch gin) has its own sterdam’s music scene, CrossJordaan neighbourhood, featurfestival. With a huge array of linx straddles musical bounding everything couples (to be) workshops, masterclasses and aries by promoting refreshing could possibly wish for. tastings, the fourth edition of combinations of indie and clasVarious locations, www. the festival aims to showcase sical music. Headliners finclude trouwenvoor1dag.nl. Sun 17 the various faces of the drink.

Patrick Watson and Lamb, both Mar; & 7 Apr, various times, A mixing and cocktails proCHOCOA FESTIVAL of whom will be accompanied by various prices gramme will run throughout the Amsterdam Sinfonietta.

Chocolate lovers of all ages are the festival and on the final day, Paradiso/People’s Place, invited to learn more about the don’t miss professional bartend- SUBBACULTCHA! PRESENTS www.cross-linx.nl. Sat 2 Mar, origin, production and taste of ers battling it out for first place THE SOUND OF THE DUTCH UNDERGROUND 18.30, €32.50 chocolate at the Chocoa Festival. in the Dutch Open National Did you know that the Port of This mini-festival showcases the Championship for Mixing & TANGO SALON very best of the local indepenDe Duif comes alive with Argendent pop, rock and electronic tian passion every first Sunday scenes. Bands hitting the stage of the month as it plays host to for this edition include Wooden the Tango Salon, organised by Constructions, Herrek and Zandunga Tango Productions Space Siren. (the driving force behind the Melkweg, Lijnbaansgracht successful annual Tangomagia 234a, www.subbacultcha.nl. festival). Join hosts Marijke de Thur 21 Mar, 19.30, €12 Vries and Sebastián Coli Bazzini IGNITE AMSTERDAM for this monthly dive into the magical world of tango.

Ignite is a fast-paced and merciDe Duif, Utrechtsedwarsstraat less information-sharing event 7, www.tangomagia.com. Sun held every last Wednesday of 3 Mar; & 7 Apr, 18.30, €10 the month. Speakers get five minutes to present, making use SHORTCUTZ AMSTERDAM of 20 slides that auto-advance The new celebration of the every fifteen seconds. All preshort-film genre has editions sentations are given in English. across Europe. Celebrating local Mediamatic Fabriek, VOC– filmmakers, movies made within kade 10, www.mediamatic. the last year that are shorter net. Wed 27 Mar; & 24 Apr, than 15 minutes and that have 20.00, €2 a Dutch connection are eligible FOOD FILM FESTIVAL MAGNEET FESTIVAL to compete for the audience Returning for its third edition, the Food Film Festival KICK-OFF vote, with the eventual overall presents a selection of documentaries, shorts and movies winners touring the entire This multidisciplinary event related to food, sustainability and gastronomy. Alongside Shortcutz network and winning brings four packed weekends of the cinematic programme, a series of unique workshops a €5,000 grant towards the proculture to the Oostpunt grounds provide a hands-on approach to food and cooking while duction of a feature film. in Amsterdam Oost from the Canvas, Wibautstraat 150, end of August, but there’s no there are also debates, readings and club nights on the www.facebook.com/ need to wait until then for your menu. The festival is aimed at an international audience, so shortcutzamsterdam. Every dose of Magneet! Head along to there are plenty of films and activities for non-Dutch speakWed, 20.00, free the Paradiso at the end of March ers. Studio/K, Timorplein 62, www.foodfilmfestival.nl. Fri for a sneak preview of what’s 22-Sun 24 Mar, various times, various prices HISWA in store at this year’s festival.

This annual fair is the ideal Alongside a host of acts, the start to the new season for kick-off event marks the official water sports fanatics, featuring Amsterdam is one of the world’s opening of the online platform Cocktails with Jenever. hundreds of boats, informative most important and busiest for the 2013 festival and the Posthoornkerk, Haarlemmerworkshops and the latest gadcocoa ports? As such, it’s quite straat 124-126, www.jenever themes for the upcoming edition gets on the market. Younger fitting that this busy weekend will also be announced. festival.nl. Sat 16 & Sun 17 visitors are also invited to get celebrating all things chocolate Mar, 13.00-23.00 (Sat), 13.00Paradiso, Weteringschans 6, their feet wet at the Water Fun takes place in the National www.paradiso.nl. Sun 31 Mar, 17.00 (Sun), from €17.50 Zone, offering the chance to go Maritime Museum. The variety 21.00, €15-€17.50 BUILDING DAYS waterskiing, canoeing, sailing of aromas in good cocoa totals SONIC CONNECTIONS and plenty more. almost 700. In high quality Head to the Mediamatic FabAmsterdam RAI, Europaplein, chocolate you can even detect Presenting musical highlights riek on Tuesdays, Thursdays www.hiswa.nl. Wed 6-Sun 10 aromas such as flowers, fruits, from the low countries, Sonic and Sundays to let your inner Mar, various times, day ticket minerals and nuts, just like in Connections brings three evebuilder loose! Mediamatic are €12.50, evening ticket €8.50 wine or coffee. And once you’ve busy constructing the temporary nings of alternative pop and rock experienced the difference, ‘Freezing Favela’ settlement and bands from the Netherlands and SONIC SOIREE you’ll know there can be so Belgium to Amsterdam. For its all help is welcome building litSonic Soiree is a smaller, more much more to your chocolate tle kiosks, a kitchen, a distillery fifth anniversary edition, the fesintimate version of Sonic bar. Enjoy tastings, presentaand a farm for food and animals. tival will feature 12 bands spread Connections, the festival for tions, workshops and more. across two stages and a closing Come along and take charge Belgian & Dutch pop and rock National Maritime Museum, party in collaboration with Kill of a project or learn new skills bands. Held every first Thursday Kattenburgerplein 1, www.

All Hipsters. from a pro. of the month (except in April, chocoa.nl. Sat 9 & Sun 10 Mar, De Brakke Grond, www.

Mediamatic Fabriek, VOC– when Sonic Connections itself 10.00-17.00, €5-€12.50 brakkegrond.nl. Thur 4-Sat kade 10, www.mediamatic. is held), it’s a great chance to 6 Apr, 20.30, €14-€16 (per net. Tue, Thur, Sun until end UNTRIED UNTESTED check out new alternative pop evening) of March, 11.00-17.00 (Tue & and rock bands from the NethArtist Kate Hudson invites you Thur), 13.00-17.00 (Sun), free CINEMASIA FILM FESTIVAL erlands and Flanders. to this ‘festival of ecstatic experDe Brakke Grond, Nes 43, imentation’, where performers WED & WALK/LOVE MARKET CinemAsia makes a welcome www.brakkegrond.nl. Thur 7 and objects are collected toFaster than you can say ‘Britney return to Amsterdam with more Mar, 20.30, €8-€10 gether in an experimental space groundbreaking films from Asia.

Spears in Las Vegas’ you’ll be where they enter into a relationPast editions have included married and divorced again.

WOMEN IN PARADISE ship. Take a fresh look at the the most vibrant film cultures, Wed & Walk is a kiss-off to ‘till GOES RUSSIA world around you and discover featuring everything from Holdeath do us part’, as you part The Paradiso takes its hat off the wealth of surprises inherent lywood hopefuls to orphaned ways after one day. The fairyto women all around the world in the familiar. tale dress, vintage jacket, plastic children and Himalayan quests with a special event to celebrate De Brakke Grond, Nes 43, for God to lip-synching Filipino rings, bogus bouquets and the International Women’s Day. www.brakkegrond.nl. Wed drag queens. CinemAsia has wedding photo are all supplied: Hosts for the evening Marynka 13 & Thur 14 Mar, 20.30, its roots in the Queer & Asian it’s the ideal way to say those Nicolai-Krylova and Victoria €12.50-€16 Film Festival first held at the three magic words ‘I Lust You’ Koblenko talk about talent, ambition and inspiration with Annelies van den Belt, Arita Baaijens and Anna Stolyarova.

The interviews will be interspersed with performances by top female artists.

Paradiso, Weteringschans 6-8, www.womeninparadise.nl.

Fri 8 Mar, 19.30, €11.50

Highlight festivals

daria mnych

FESTIVALS

Filmhuis Cavia in 2003 and the Queer & Asian programme remains a prominent and popular part of the festival. Other major themes are Diaspora and Asian Eyes on Docs.

De Balie, Kleine Gartmanplantsoen 10, www.cinemasia. nl. Thur 4-Sun 7 Apr, various times €6-€8 per film (day and all-access passes also available) BREAKIN’ WALLS This biannual festival features a range of performances, productions and sideshows aimed at the under-27 crowd of theatre-goers.

Frascati Amsterdam, www.breakinwalls.nl. Wed 17-Sat 20 Apr, various times, various prices 1,000 DRAWINGS An innovative and inspired platform to raise money for Favela Painting – a Brazilian project that helps young artists to bring new life to their neighbourhoods through art. The concept: to create, collect and sell thousands of A5 drawings, doodles and masterpieces from and to everyone. Creative (and of course, non-creative!) talents can submit their A5 works of art before 19 April and everyone is invited to turn up on the day to purchase artwork to take home, with all proceeds going straight to Favela Painting.

De Brakke Grond, Nes 43, www.

1000drawingsamsterdam.nl.

Fri 19 Apr, time TBA, €12.50€16 per drawing MEIBOK (SPRING BEER) FESTIVAL The spring sister of the Bokbier Festival later in the year, the 15th edition of this beery festival celebrates meibok (spring beers) from the Netherlands and further afield. With a huge selection of glorious draught and bottled ‘bok’ beer on offer, it’s a haven for connoisseurs and enthusiasts alike. In many ways it’s back to basics: you get a glass upon entry and this is yours for the entire visit, so take good care of it! After you’ve tried a beer, rinse out your glass and it’s off to the next brewer’s stand.

Posthoornkerk, Haarlemmerstraat 124-126, www.pint.nl.

Sun 21 Apr, 13.00, entrance €6 (inc festival glass), beers €1.75 each or 6 for €10 QUEEN’S DAY Queen’s Day festivities invite locals and visitors alike to soak up Amsterdam’s open-air fun.

In the streets, canals, parks and everywhere in between, the city is bursting with orange as everyone is invited to enjoy the nation’s biggest party of the year. The announcement that this special day in 2013 will also mark the official abdication of Queen Beatrix means that various revisions will be made to the traditional Queen’s Day programming, but the famous street market and parties will be going ahead and one thing certainly won’t change – it’s guaranteed to be a day to remember!

Citywide, Tue 30 Apr, all day, free

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gay & lesbian The dress code is strictly enforced: briefs and jocks are welcome; swimming trunks, TUESDAY BLUESDAY boxers, sports shorts or going commando are permitted.

Club night with a special focus Board shorts, Bermuda’s and on blues, soul and contempostreetwear (ie, trousers) are rary music. While there’s no prohibited. With DJs Rado, entrance fee, you are asked to Max Principe and guests. spend at least €10 at the bar if you’re a single man, or the same Church, every Fri & every Sun + Sat 3 Mar; & Sat 6 Apr, amount if you’re a couple. various times, €10 Same Place, every Tue, 21.00

GAY & LESBIAN

NAKED SWIMMING The Marnixbad has two pools, both on the same level as the Singel canal. While you’re swimming, you can look outside and feel as if you’re out in the open among the boats and the ducks. Both pools are equipped with the most up-todate gadgets and the water contains much less chlorine than most pools. Which is good to know since you’ll be exposing your most sensitive bits…

Marnixbad, every Tue, 21.00, various prices DRINK & COCKTAIL EVENING Thursdays are cocktail night at drag bar Lellebel on the corner of Rembrandtplein. Get a taste of Sugi’s Mojito, May’s Mango or Electra s Sunrise… And yes, those are cocktails.

Lellebel, every Thur, 20.00 BLUE Kooky clubbing with Amsterdam’s drag supremo Jennifer Hopelezz, whose impressive posterior rivals that of her namesake. Drinks are just €2.50.

Church, every Thur, 22.00 THE PONY CLUB If you want to quit horsing around and get serious about starting the weekend on Thursday (and who doesn’t?), you couldn’t ask for a better place than at the Pony Club in the latest addition to Gay Street, Club NYX. Three floors of DJs spin an energetic mix of pop, disco, house and electro alongside performances to lift your spirits. Arrive before midnight and get in for free.

Club NYX, every Thur, 23.00, €5 THANK GOD IT’S FRIDAY Celebrate the weekend with a drink, some snacks and tunes by the resident DJ at this gay-oriented re-creation of an old English pub.

Engel van Amsterdam, every Fri, 17.00

IT’S SHOWTIME FOLKS It’s show time almost every night at Lellebel, the most outrageous drag show bar in town, but Saturdays are especially fabulous, with the bar’s most glamorous stars coming together for a supernova of cabaret fun.

Lellebel, every Sat, 20.00

Pathé de Munt, Wed 6 Mar; & Wed 3 Apr, 21.00, €10 F*NG POP QUEERS F*ng Pop Queers advertises itself with the tagline ‘It’s Fun! It’s Pop! And it’s sooo Gay!’.

This ego-free irreverence is also present in the whimsical themes and the cheeky mix of dance-floor fillers and fluffy pop songs.

Jimmy Woo, Sat 9 Mar; & 13 Apr, 23.00, free Roze Film Dagen ‘Pink Film Days’ is the 16th

DV8 Expect a mix of techno, house, wave, dub and electro, as well The fresh-faced DV8 promises as a relaxed and open atmoa party that recaptures the feeling of Amsterdam’s legendary sphere. There’ll be a live performance, tunes by DJs Martijn, (and sorely missed) IT club, Trashling and Kaseta and viwhere house music first arrived in the Netherlands. Instead of suals by VJs AlexEtJeremy and a massive party with monoto- X-Machine. Upstairs, there’s art and further creativity courtesy nous beats, DV8 aims to be an of Toon, Dortart and guests. intimate affair with happy proOCCII, Sat 6 Apr, 23.00, €7 gressive, tribal, dance and vocal house music.

BEAR NECESSITY – Akhnaton, Fri 22 Mar, KINGS’ DAY EDITION 22.00, €10 The biggest and most popular NYXTYRIA party for bears, hairy hunks, beefy boys, cubs, otters, Every fourth Friday of the their lovers and everyone else goes regal.

Odeon, Sat 27 Apr, 23.00, €17.50

Highlight gay

DOUBLE HAPPY HOUR Get the drinks in at Taboo’s Double Happy Hour every Sunday, because why wouldn’t you want to start the working week with a hangover? Taboo doesn’t serve boring old beer or wimpy wines, either, so line up for fabulous cocktails and sumptuous shots.

Taboo, every Sun, 18.00 SUNDAY CAROUSEL Be transported to exotic climes with Arabian and Turkish music courtesy of old and new divas at Lellebel, with the glamorous Miss Rini leading the charge.

Lellebel, every Sun, 22.00 BEAR NECESSITY – NOFOAM PARTY The biggest and most popular party for bears, hairy hunks, beefy boys, cubs, otters, their lovers and everyone else is known for its relaxed atmosphere where people come to enjoy themselves to high-quality music by resident stars and international guest DJs. Since its launch in early 2008, Bear Necessity has expanded to host regular parties in London and Antwerp, and also makes regular visits to Cologne, Barcelona and Madrid.

Odeon, Sat 2 Mar, 23.00, €15 RAPIDO WINTER EDITION Epic gay-friendly electro dance fest, with DJs Dikky Vendetta, Saeed Alí, Tony Moran, Fabio White and more.

Paradiso, Sun 3 Mar; & 28 Apr, 15.00, €45/€70

WASTELAND Leave your inhibitions at home for Europe’s most notorious fetish fantasy extravaganza. Welcoming fetishionistas from all over the globe since 1994, when the first edition brought fetishism out of the darkness of the underground and mixed it with house music and spectacular entertainment. Wasteland is Europe’s most notorious adult playground where the fetish lifestyle is celebrated, and you´re expected to dress accordingly: leather, uniforms, plastic, rubber, metal, burlesque and baroque are acceptable; casual streetwear is definitely not. North Sea Venue, Sat 13 Apr, 22.00, €49.50 edition of the Amsterdam Gay month is NYXTYRIA at Club & Lesbian Film Festival, hosted NYX, with three DJs playing by movie theatre Het Ketelhuis. three different styles of music Our top pick this year: 2011’s across all three floors. The Cloudburst, starring Olympia staple is ’90s music, while the Dukakis as an ageing lesbian, vibe in the other two rooms will who escapes her nursing home change with each edition. It’s and heads for Canada to like clubbing roulette… marry her lover.

Club NYX, Fri 22 Mar; & 26 Het Ketelhuis, 13-24 March, Apr, 23.00, €10 various times & prices NETHERBEARS FURBALL Bi-weekly get-together for Special underwear-themed bears and their fans. If you edition of Amsterdam’s don’t know what those are, hairy-men party. this isn’t for you.

Church, Sat 16 Mar, Queen’s Head, Sun 23 Mar; & 22.00, €10 28 Apr, 19.00

MSMA MONTHLY MEET-UP FUNHOUSE – THE CAGE THANK GODDESS, That’s Motor Sport Club AmIT’S FRIDAY sterdam, one of the oldest fetish Inspired by the film La Cage and motorcycle clubs in EuAux Folles, expect the unexWelcome the weekend with live rope, to the uninitiated. pected at this cheerful, sexy and performances and an open-mic flamboyant dance party, with stage. Hostess Miss Sugi La Ri De Schreierstoren, Sun 3 Mar; & 7 Apr, 22.00 DJs Micke Hi and Saeed Ali. is accompanied by stars includDetails are scant, but it’ll be ing Ginger G-Spot, May ButterGAY MOVIE NIGHT worth the wait. cream, Electra Shock and more.

Enjoy a screening of the gems WesterUnie, Sat 16 Mar, And if you want to become a of gay cinema every first 23.00, €20-€55 star yourself, the open stage is Wednesday of the month. there for you to shine.

HORSEMEN & KNIGHTS Whether it’s the latest film by Lellebel, every Fri, 20.00 Pedro Almodovar, Gregg Araki Big willy gay sex party. Dress ZONDERBROEK or John Cameron Mitchell, code: naked or underwear. work from an upcoming direcDrop ’em and if you measure Drop your trousers and lose tor or a classic gay flick, you’re up, entrance is free. your pretences with them, at sure to catch the best LGBT Club Fuxxx, Sun 17 Mar; & 21 this regular dance party hosted movies in great company.

Apr, 15.00, €8 by gay scene stalwart, Church.

EROTIC CHILL-OUT PARTY Erotic party for couples, ladies, transvestites and a select group of single men. If you wish to attend, make sure that you visit the Sameplace website (www. sameplace.nl) and check out the dress code, the rules of conduct and apply for a reservation, which is absolutely required for this party.

Same Place, Sun 23 Mar; & 27 Apr, 16.00, €30 for single men SPELLBOUND This gay underground dance party has been based in the legalised squat OCCII for years.

AMSTEL QUEEN’S DAY PARTY Open air Queen’s Day party cohosted by all the gay bars on the Amstel. With popular (Dutch) sing-a-long hits and a truly festive atmosphere guaranteed.

Amstel, Mon 29 Apr, 17.00 Addresses Akhnaton Nieuwezijds Kolk 25, www.akhnaton.nl Church Kerkstraat 52, www.clubchurch.nl Engel van Amsterdam Zeedijk 21, www.engelamsterdam.nl Club Fuxxx Warmoesstraat 96, www.clubfuxxx.com Jimmy Woo Korte Leidsedwarsstraat 18, www.jimmywoo.com Ketelhuis Pazzanistraat 13, www.ketelhuis.nl Lellebel Utrechtsestraat 4, www.lellebel.nl Marnixbad Marnixplein1, www.hetmarnix.nl North Sea Venue Hemkade 48, Zaandam, www.northseavenue.nl Club NYX Reguliersdwarsstraat 42, http://clubnyx.nl OCCII Amstelveenseweg 134, http://occii.org Odeon Singel 460, www.odeonamsterdam.nl Panama Oostelijke Handelskade 4, www.panama.nl Paradiso Weteringschans 6, www.paradiso.nl Pathé de Munt Vijzelstraat 15, www.pathe.nl Queen’s Head Zeedijk 20, www.queenshead.nl Same Place Nassaukade 120, www.sameplace.nl De Schreierstoren Prins Hendrikkade 94/95, www.schreierstoren.nl Taboo Reguliersdwarsstraat 45, www.taboobar.nl WesterUnie Klonneplein 4-6, http://westerunie.nl

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part IV The A-list

Sports & wellness AJAX VS PEC ZWOLLE Amsterdam’s footballing heroes take on PEC Zwolle. Former FRIDAY NIGHT SKATE Ajax player Jaap Stam is curGet your skates on for the weekly rently second-in-command at Friday Night Skate, an instituZwolle, a club based in a town tion in Amsterdam! to the north-east of Amsterdam.

Vondelpark Pavilion, www.

The widely-respected defender fridaynightskate.com. Every finished his career on the pitch Fri, 20.30, free at Ajax but enjoyed successful spells at both AC Milan and AMSTERDAM G’S Manchester United, winning Amsterdam’s own premiere ice the Champion’s League with hockey club. Playing in the nathe latter. tional ‘Eredivisie’ league, you can Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam catch their home games at the Boulevard, www.amsterdam Jaap Eden ice rink. arena.nl. Sun 10 Mar, 14.30, Jaap Eden Ice Rink, Radioweg various prices 64, www.ijshockeyamsterdam.

HEAD OF RIVER AMSTEL nl. Sat 2 Mar, 18.00, €5-€8 Since its inception in 1933, the VELODROME ON SUNDAY Head of the River Amstel has There’s always ample opporgrown into a national boating NATIONAL SPORTS WEEK tunity to get on your bike in institution. In crews of four and Get a sweat going at the many special tournaments, introAmsterdam, but riding on a eight (plus a coxswain), more ductory clinics and demonstrations. Everyone is invited to velodrome track is an altogether than 4,000 participants will take get involved in sports they love, as well as sports they’ve different challenge. During on the 8km course stretching the Velodrome on Sunday pro- from the heart of the city centre. never had the opportunity to try out before. Crucially, all gramme, beginners and River Amstel, Amsterdam of the National Sport Week activities are free, whether you amateurs can take to the track. (to Ouderkerk), www.headofthe fancy a go at combat sports, some ultimate Frisbee in the Velodrome Amsterdam, Sloterriver.nl. Sun 17 Mar, Vondelpark or just a quiet game of jeu-de-boules, experts weg 1045, www.velodrome.

15.15, free will be on hand to offer their time and guidance throughout nl. Every Sun (check website), the week. Various locations, www.nationalesportweek.nl.

DE BRETTENLOOP 10.00, various prices From Sat 20 Apr, various times, free This will be the fourth edition of AMSTERDAM HASH this running competition orgaHOUSE HARRIERS nised in and around De Bretten SOCIAL SQUASH NITE AJAX VS SC HEERENVEEN Dating back to the 1960s, this nature reserve in Amsterdam ‘drinking club with a running West. Starting and finishing at Squash City host a Social Squash The ‘Super Fresians’ make the problem’ now has more than the Westergasfabriek, choose Nite every last Friday of the trip from the north. Ex-Ajax 1,250 chapters worldwide. from 5- and 10km-courses or month: an evening of squash player Marco van Basten is now Visitors and newcomers are wel- go for broke with the half mara- and socialising open to all. Meet trying this luck at SC Heerencome, so head along every Sun- thon. Kids can also get involved new faces, work up a sweat on veen and will be looking for a day and walk, jog or run the trail with the 1.2km sponsored chilthe court and cool down with a win after a string of disappointwith fellow ‘hashers’, singing and dren’s run, raising money for a drink at the bar after the action. ing results for his team. drinking along the way. good cause in the process.

No registration needed, just turn Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam Various locations, www.

Westergasfabriek, www.aac up on the night.

Boulevard, www.amsterdam harrier.nl. Every Sun; check site amsterdam.nl. Sun 17 Mar, Squash City, Ketelmakerstraat arena.nl. Fri 19 Apr, 20.00, for latest dates various times & prices 6, www.squashcity.com. Fri 29 various prices Mar; & 26 Apr, 18.00, €12.50 ROLLERDISCO LOUIS VINKLOOP (free for members) Get your skates on (or hire a pair Organised by the AV Atos AJAX VS NEC NIJMEGEN LOCATIONS for the night) and enjoy a night athletics association, the Louis of roller skating, disco and funk Vinkloop in Amsterdam-Noord Ajax boasts an outstanding AJAX EXPERIENCE boogie. And if it’s been a while is the second event in the Rondje home record against the club since you moved on wheels, head Mokum (Amsterdam Circuit) Head on an interactive and from Nijmegen so there’ll be along early for the beginners’ programme of running competi- high hopes that the Amsterdaminnovative journey into Amworkshop. tions. Alongside the professional mers will take three points from sterdam’s Ajax football club, Club Lite, Jan van Galenstraat 10km event, there’s also a 3km, discovering all about the club’s this match.

24, www.clublite.nl. Sun 3 5km and 10km event for recre- Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam philosophy and rich history.

Mar; & 7 Apr, 19.30 (workshop ational runners.

Rembrandtplein/ Boulevard, www.amsterdam 18.30), €5 (workshop €5 & skate AV Atos, Sportpark Elzenhagen, arena.nl. Sun 31 Mar, 16.30, Utrechtsestraat 9, www.ajax hire €5). www.louisvinkloop.nl. Sun 17 various prices experienceamsterdam.com.

Mar, various times Various times, €11-€16 HISWA AJAX VS HERACLES ALMELO and prices KLIMHAL AMSTERDAM This annual fair is the ideal Heracles Almelo has been buildMUD MASTERS start to the new season for ing up something of a reputation The perfect place for the beginOBSTACLE RUN water sports fanatics, featuring as giant killers in recent seasons ner and the advanced climber. hundreds of boats, informative Have you got what it takes to and their middle-of-the-league Its main wall is 21 metres high, workshops and the latest gadtake on this gruelling obstacle position is no guarantee of with a climbing surface of more gets on the market. Younger course? Designed with help from a win for Ajax. than 2,300 m2 and a bouldering visitors are also invited to get members of the armed forces, Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam area of 250 m2. their feet wet at the Water Fun the 6- and 12km-courses feature Boulevard, www.amsterdam Naritaweg 48, www.klimhal Zone, offering the chance to go sections of off-road running arena.nl. Sun 7 Apr, 16.30, amsterdam.nl. Various times waterskiing, canoeing, sailing combined with a bevy of testing various prices & prices and plenty more. obstacles (some requiring teamNESCIOLOOP DE KLIMMUUR Amsterdam RAI, Europaplein work). Although the event isn’t 1, www.hiswa.nl. Wed 6-Sun 10 exclusively for supermen and The next instalment of the Rock climbing in the centre of Mar, various times, day ticket women, it’s certainly not for the Rondje Mokum (Amsterdam Amsterdam. Enjoy a fun and €12.50, evening ticket €8.50 faint-hearted!

Circuit) takes running enthusisafe event for beginners, or a Haarlemmermeer, www.mud asts to Amsterdam Oost/IJburg more challenging climb for expeFRIDAY NIGHT RUN masters.nl. Sun 17 Mar, from for a challenging 15km course. rienced rock hoppers.

Every second Friday of the 10.00, €54.50 Starting and finishing at the Dijksgracht 2, www.deklim month, this free group runAV’23 athletics club grounds, the muur.nl. Various times GAASPERPLASLOOP ning event is open to both event includes two passings over & prices recreational and more serious Another staple event in Amthe Nesciobrug. If 15kms seems KNIJN BOWLING sportsters. Beginners can join in sterdam’s running calendar, this like a bit of a stretch, you can the 40-minute run at a slower biannual competition features also take on the 7.5km version: Ten-pin bowling for everyone: tempo and there’s also the stan- 1, 2.5 and 10km courses around half the distance but certainly suitable for family events, 50+, dard one-hour run. the Gaasperplas Lake. not half the fun! beginners or competitive players.

Olympic Stadium, www.

Bijlmersportpark/Gaasperplas, AV’23, Radioweg 89, www.

Scheldeplein 3, www.knijn phanos.org, Fri 8 Mar; & Fri 12 www.avfeniks.nl. Sat 23 Mar, nescioloop.nl. Sun 14 Apr, bowling.nl. Various times Apr, 19.30, free various times & prices various times & prices & prices

Highlight sports

ERIK HIJWEEGE

Events

LASERCITY AMSTERDAM Less painful than paintballing, but certainly no less fun, the laser gaming adventures on offer here are perfect for large and small group outings. The 600m2 playing area is also the biggest laser gaming centre in the region.

VOC-kade 3, www.laser gamenamsterdam.nl. Various times & prices SKI INN AMSTERDAM It’s not quite the Alps, but whether you’re looking to warm up for a winter vacation or just curious to try your hand at a spot of skiing or snowboarding, you can do just that in the heart of Amsterdam. The indoor rolling slopes of the Ski Inn are adaptable for all skill levels.

WG Plein 281, www.ski-inn.nl.

Various times & prices SLOTEN GOLF COURSE Straight down the middle! This nine-hole golf course on the outskirts of Amsterdam features both wooded and water areas.

Head on to the fairway or practice your swing at the driving range. Club hire available.

Sloterweg 1045, www.golf baansloten.nl. Open Mon-Fri 08.30-18.00, various prices

WELLNESS KOAN FLOAT Leave the real world behind as you experience the tranquillity of a floatation tank or a wide variety of massage sessions.

Herengracht 321, www.koan float.nl. Various times & prices THE ORIGINAL DR FISH The feeling of fish nibbling at your hands and feet may feel a little strange at first, but you’ll soon discover just how relaxing it is. It’s the ultimate treatment for clean, soft hands.

Van Baerlestraat 45, www.the original-drfish.nl. Various times & prices SAUNA DECO AMSTERDAM Enjoy lounge rooms, a pleasant atmosphere and all the facilities you require for a day of luxury.

And as you can guess from its name, the sauna is styled in historic and beautiful art deco pieces, transporting its guests to a bygone era.

Herengracht 115, www.sauna deco.nl. Various times & prices SENTO SPA AND HEALTH CLUB Find complete professional supervision and personal training for every requirement. Enjoy the spa and beauty facilities or go for a swim in the pool.

Marnixplein 1, www.sento.nl.

Various times & prices SPA ZUIVER Located on the edge of the Amsterdamse Bos, with facilities including saunas, baths, Hamam treatments, relaxation chambers, sports, swimming pool and dining and hotel options. The perfect place to relax.

Koenenkade 8, www.spazuiver. nl. Various times & prices

Relax with your favourite cocktail while taking in the delights of the city.

Our Cocktail Cruise takes 2 hours and departs daily at 20h00 from the Holland International pier on the Prins Hendrikkade 33a, opposite Central Station.

Buy your tickets online and get a discount.

To get your discount enter code AMAG1 at canal.nl

Adv ATCB_ 176x121.indd 1

€ 35,00

€ 29,75 03-01-13 15:18

AMSTERDAM

every day concerts, dance theatre, comedy and more at 50% discount amsterdam at your fingertips From top tourist destinations and cultural events to the city’s hidden gems, the I amsterdam City Guide is like having a local by your side. Available for iPhone and Android.

www.lastminuteticketshop.nl

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beyond

a’dam

Get out of town for these don’t-miss attractions beyond the city limits.

beyond amsterdam

cheese market

Alkmaar has been famous for its cheese market since 1593.

From the first Friday in April, traditionally-dressed cheese carriers transport thousands of kilos of the stuff to the weighing house in colourful procession every Friday. www.kaasmarkt.nl

AALSMEER FLOWER AUCTIOn Green-fingered early birds should be sure to visit FloraHolland’s enormous flower auction to witness Holland’s contemporary bulb boom. Each day, 19 million flowers and two million plants are sold in an area so large the workers traverse it by bike. The earlier you arrive (it opens at 7am) the more action you’ll see. Buyers haggle for the best prices, and the blooms – riotously colourful and heavenly scented – are dispatched all over the globe within hours of being sold. The flowers are sold in a ‘Dutch auction’: as the clock ticks down, the price of the flowers gets lower.

Bidders risk either paying too much or missing out entirely. www.floraholland.com Getting there: from Central Station, bus 172 (direction Kudelstaart) takes you directly there in just under an hour.

COBRA MUSEUM Entirely dedicated to the avant-garde art of the Copenhagen-, Brussels- and Amsterdam-based movement of the 1940s and ’50s, the CoBrA spirit of artistic experimentation and expression is featured and celebrated here, with seminal works by leading artists including Karel Appel and Corneille, as well as pieces by their Dutch contemporaries.

Until the end of May, catch a selection of 350 drawings and paintings on paper and linen by multidisciplinary artist Michael Tedja, all revolving around the fictional character SNAKE and his imagined world. www.cobra-museum.nl Getting there: from Central Station, take bus 170 (direction Uithoorn; journey time 35 min).

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czar peter house

In the year the Netherlands celebrates 400 years of trade with Russia, visit the house where Peter the Great resided in 1697 while learning Dutch ship-building.

'It’s like this – you are in front of your canvas, your hands hold the painting, ready, raised. The canvas waits, waits, empty and white – but all the time it knows what it wants.'

www.zaanseschans-museum.nl

KEUKENHOF

BULB FIELDS If there was a scrabble for the window seats on your flight into Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, here’s why: as the aircraft flies low over western Holland those who bagged the prime seats will see breathtakingly bold, beautiful stripes of colour flaming across the landscape.

After the crocuses, it’s the turn of the tulips, daffodils and hyacinths, an impressive display which begins at the end of March and continues into May. In late summer, the gladiolas, dahlias, carnations and asters stage a second, spectacular show of colour.

Come tiptoe through the tulips, admire the amaryllis and cruise past the crocuses at the Keukenhof in Lisse, the world’s largest flower gardens.

For eight weeks only – from 21 March to 20 May – the Keukenhof will burst into a kaleidoscope of colours as the gently rolling grounds are carpeted with blooming flowers, planted in extraordinary patterns and swaths of contrasting colour. From the days when the humble tulip cost a small fortune, Holland’s love affair with the flower continues: a staggering 7 million have been planted across the 32-hectare park, set to be admired by 800,000 international visitors. www.keukenhof.nl GETTING THERE: the Connexxion all-in combi-ticket includes bus transport from the city centre or Schiphol airport plus entrance to the park and can be purchased at all Tourist Information Offices.

frans Hals, lute player, Louvre

Cobra artist karel appel on his process

FRANS HALS MUSUEM Haarlem’s most popular attraction turns 100 this year, and with a collection of Golden Age Old Master paintings to rival Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum, they’ve got plenty to celebrate. Founded in 1862 to house the City’s rich art collection, much of it seized during the Reformation when Catholicism was outlawed, the museum has more than a dozen paintings of the Old Master after whom the museum is named on permanent display – the largest collection in the world. Alongside his iconic Civic Guards’ portraits, works by Hals’ predecessors and contemporaries contextualise his paintings, while furniture, ceramics, glass and silverware tell the story of the city itself. www.franshalsmuseum.nl Getting there: trains from Central Station to Haarlem take around 15 minutes.

The museum is a 20-minute walk – or catch Stadsbus 3 (direction Schalkwijk Centrum).

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need to know

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need to

know

Tax-free shopping to tipping, your ABC of navigating Amsterdam.

illustration Qamar van Leeuwen

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

EMBASSIES & CONSULATES Just about every country in the world has a representative in the Netherlands. Check the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website for contact details and visa requirements: www.government.nl

An extensive, easy-to-navigate transport network of trams, trains, metro and boats connects Amsterdam’s neighbourhoods. Disposable OV-chipkaarts, which have an inbuilt chip, can be used on all forms of transport and may be purchased or topped up with credit at locations across the city – just don’t forget to check in and check out or your card may be invalidated. Trams and buses are the most common form of public transport within the centre, while trains and the metro are efficient for travelling longer distances. Behind Central Station, ferries transport passengers across the River IJ to the north of Amsterdam – completely free of charge.

TAX-FREE SHOPPING TAXIS Taxis are a popular form of transport in a city where many residents don’t own a car. However, since the city centre is a maze of roads, bike lanes and footpaths, taxis cannot legally stop in certain places. To keep traffic flowing at peak efficiency, there are regulated taxi ranks across the city – including outside Central Station and on Leidseplein.

As of 2011, for the sake of transparency, all taxis must legally be equipped with an on-board computer which will automatically print a receipt. Regulated fares have also been introduced.

These are listed below for a regular, four-passenger taxi.

Maximum start price: €2.66 Maximum price per kilometre: €1.95 Maximum price per minute: €0.32 For more information, see www.taxi.amsterdam.nl

Non-EU residents are eligible for Value Added Tax (VAT) refunds on purchases made within the European Union. In the Netherlands, VAT is 21% and the minimum spend is €50. There are three ways to reclaim your VAT: • Shop only at retailers affiliated with Global Blue, ask for a tax-free cheque and then reclaim the VAT at their desk at Schiphol Airport: www. global-blue.com • Shop wherever you like, save your receipt and reclaim the VAT online or at the VAT Free service desk at Schiphol Airport: www.vatfree.com • Visit Customs before leaving the EU to get your receipts stamped, then send them back to the shop for a full VAT refund

TIPPING Service is always included in your bill (de rekening). It is, however, customary to tip in restaurants, bars and taxis.

As a general rule, between 5 and 10 per cent is acceptable. If service is bad (as it all too often can be), don’t hesitate to withhold the tip.

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COFFEESHOPS

MONEY

A tolerance policy is active in the Netherlands, which means the possession and sale of soft drugs is recognised as a violation of the law but isn’t prosecuted. In Amsterdam, smoking cannabis or hashish is permitted in the city’s many coffeeshops – although visitors should keep in mind that other establishments generally do not allow their consumption.

The so-called ‘Weed Pass’, which threatened to prohibit non-residents from frequenting coffeeshops, has been abandoned, which means coffeeshops are permitted to sell up to five grams of cannabis to any patron over the age of 18. All hard drugs and the sale/purchase of soft drugs on the street are strictly illegal and punishable by law. Note that smoking regular tobacco in a coffeeshop is not allowed due to the smoking ban.

As in most European countries, the currency of the Netherlands is the Euro (symbolised as EUR or €). Other currencies are normally not accepted, so be sure to change money at one of the currency exchange offices located throughout the city. Most shops and restaurants in Amsterdam accept credit cards, but not all so it’s worth checking ahead or ensuring you have sufficient cash to cover the bill. Likewise, some supermarkets only accept cash or Dutch PIN cards. Most shops and restaurants do not accept €200 or €500 notes. ATM machines generally have language-selection functions and accept all major bank cards.

USEFUL PHONE NUMBERS In an emergency (police, ambulance, fire) call 112 To report theft or other petty crimes, call 0900 8844 For non-urgent medical advice call 020 427 5011

TOURIST OFFICES For information and to book excursions, visit one of the Tourist Information offices around town:

• Noord-Zuid Hollands Koffiehuis, Stationsplein 10 (open Mon-Sat 09.00-17.00; Sun 10.00-17.00) • Schiphol Airport, Holland Tourist Information, Arrivals 2 (open daily 07.00-22.00) • Leidseplein/AUB Ticket Shop (open Mon-Fri 10.00-19.00; Sat 10.00-18.00; Sun 12.00-18.00) • Spuistraat 44 (open Mon-Sat 11.00-20.00; Sun 12.00-20.00) • Stadhouderskade 55 (open daily 09.00-17.00) • Het Muziektheater, Amstel 3 (open Mon-Fri 12.00-18.00; Sat, Sun 12.00-18.00)

BIKES Most locals swear by their bikes as the best – and often their only – means of transport. With 400 kilometres of dedicated bicycle paths, it’s not hard to see why. Bike rental companies are located across the city.

Just follow these simple rules to remain safe: Stay in lane: use the right-hand bicycle lane Follow the rules: adhere to all traffic signs and lights Indicate: always signal before turning Light at night: it is illegal to cycle without lights in the dark Watch out for tram tracks: cross them at a sharp angle Lock up: bike theft is prevalent; always chain up to a bike stand Don’t imitate the Dutch: Amsterdammers are notorious for breaking the rules. Don’t follow their example!

Read more about cycling culture in Amsterdam on pages 8-14.

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closing sean connery

Then and now

JULY 1971 Sean Connery as 007 on Amsterdam’s iconic canals, in Diamonds are Forever

then & now

MAY & jun 2013

Hans was Heiri ® Mario Del Curto

1 June: The Holland Festival, the city’s prestigious festival for the performing arts, turns 66

5 May: UEFA Europa League final bernhard martinez moyenne

It had lasers, diamonds, a battle for international nuclear supremacy, one of the most iconic Bond theme songs – and, of course, Sean Connery, returning for his final outing as Ian Fleming’s quintessential British spy. Back in 1971, Diamonds Are Forever was the first major international movie to be filmed on location in Amsterdam, and the city’s 17th-century backdrop almost stole the scene from the dashing leading man. Today, you can retrace Bond’s journey in his canary-yellow Triumph Stag along the River Amstel (where Margaret Lacey’s body is found) to the Reguliersgracht, where diamond-smuggler Tiffany Case lived in the third-floor apartment at number 36, which looks exactly the same today…

next issue

24 May: the third ARTZUID sculpture routewinds its way through leafy Amsterdam Zuid 1 May: The Van Gogh Museum reopens (after an exile of six months in The Hermitage!)

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on the way

out

We asked people leaving Schiphol Airport for their Amsterdam advice.

on the way out

Adam Moshi, 21, works at an old folks’ home, and Oda Brandseth, 19, works in a sports shop, from Bergen in Norway ‘Our favourite part of the weekend was the people. Everybody was so friendly, warm and welcoming. Amsterdam is a very special place for that reason.’

text and photos Marie-Charlotte Pezé

Inez van Rossum and Wil Meeth, from Den Haag and Buunnik ‘The Jordaan is a wonderful place, it‘s always joyful; we love going to the brown cafés and there‘s always music in the neighbourhood.’

Katy Buzueva, 28 and Victoria Vasilenko, 26, bank employees, from Russia ‘The canals are so beautiful.

We find it so interesting that the whole city was built on water; there is nothing similar in Russia.’

Charlène Wolters, 26, works in marketing, From Amsterdam - returning from Curaçao ‘I was on vacation in Curaçao. But I never mind coming home; I just love the atmosphere here. Simply sitting at a café terrace in the summer…’

editor-in-chief Bart van Oosterhout art director & design Loes Koomen designer Astrid Terpstra staff photographer Marie-Charlotte Pezé cover illustration Gijs Kast copy editor Megan Roberts contributors Lauren Comiteau, Qamar van Leeuwen, Toby Main, Kim van der Meulen, Magriet Prinssen, Deborah van der Schaaf, Bregtje Schudel, Mark Smith, Zin (Famke & Floor van Praag) listings Tamar Bosschaart, Eden Frost, Steven McCarron, Dave Nice, Christiaan de Wit sales 020 702 6100 / sales@iamsterdam.com

‘Capex’, 39, tattoo artist, from Italy ‘I come here regularly to visit my girlfriend, and I always stop by the Tattoo Museum.

It’s great for inspiration.’

HIS TOMB AND HIS TREASURES

AMSTERDAM EXPO NEXT TO STATION AMSTERDAM ZUID (SOUTH) BOOK YOUR TICKETS ONLINE UNTIL 5 MAY 2013 PRESENTED BY

WWW.AMSTERDAMEXPO.NL

A unique day out among the flowers Have you ever seen more than 7 million tulips, daffodils and hyacinths, all in bloom?

Come to Keukenhof, the world’s most beautiful spring garden. In addition to over 32 hectares of flowers, the spring garden offers 30 beautiful flower shows, 7 amazing inspirational gardens and 100 wonderful works of art. Keukenhof is world-famous, truly unique, and has for over 60 years provided a wonderful decor to the most beautiful photographs. Leading media from the Netherlands and abroad have this year once again proclaimed Keukenhof one of the most popular destinations in the world.

Visit Keukenhof this spring! Buy your entrance ticket online at www.keukenhof.nl, or ask your hotel, travel agent, tour operator or tourist information office.

Open from 21 March until 20 May 2013