Lecture – The History of the Recorder with Prof. Han Tol

The recorder has a long history. Around 200 examples dating from 1300 to 1600 are preserved in private collections and museums. Han Tol traces the development of the instrument step by step from the Middle Ages to 1700, using images from selected paintings that meticulously illustrate these processes and are presented in detail in a PowerPoint presentation. The presentation is rounded off with a demonstration of an original alto recorder made of ivory from Han Tol’s collection, which was made around 1700.

For more than 25 years, Han Tol has been in great demand as a soloist and teacher throughout Europe, America and the Far East. He holds a professorship at the University of the Arts in Bremen and is a visiting professor at America’s renowned Jacob’s School of Music, part of Indiana University in Bloomington. He has also given additional courses at universities in Vienna, Graz, Salzburg, Geneva, Frankfurt, Freiburg, Munich, Copenhagen, St Petersburg, Baltimore, Seoul, Hong Kong and Tokyo, amongst others.
With his ensembles La Dada and La Fontegara Amsterdam, he has spent 20 years developing and recording an extensive repertoire. From 1999 to 2007, he was a member of the Belgian ensemble Flanders Recorder Quartet. With this group, he undertook countless concert tours to destinations including Japan, Taiwan, South Africa, Mexico, the United States, Russia and Israel. As an orchestral musician and soloist, Han Tol has performed with renowned conductors such as Leonhardt, Harnoncourt, Brüggen and Thomas Hengelbrock. He has undertaken extensive concert tours with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra and the Balthasar Neumann Ensemble. His numerous recordings, which showcase his skill, are available on various labels. He is deeply engaged in research areas such as Venetian music around 1500; this sometimes results in the publication of sheet music.