Otto Vowinkel

Guitar maker Amsterdam

models

Pieter Nanne now feels what he is playing

Loosing both parents, getting divorced and becoming a grandfather in a period of four years has had a great impact on Dutch gitarist, teacher and organizer Pieter Nanne. “But now, when I play a note, I feel it.”

After fifty years of playing the guitar, “my physique is declining, but the intensity of my playing has increased,” so he tells in an interview in Dutch news paper NHD.

Most of his professional life he spent with what he now describes as “making things possible for others”, teaching and organizing concerts. During the silence of the lock down, he concentrated on his own music. This resulted in a new cd: Gentle Guitar.

Pieter Nanne plays an eight-string concert guitar with spruce top.

Website Pieter Nanne | Interview website NH Dagblad

Frits Nierstrasz actually was a guitarist

Frits Nierstrasz in the workshop of Otto Vowinkel

Frits Nierstrasz in my workshop

Back in 2016 I got a phone call from Mister Nierstrasz who wanted to buy a concert guitar. I told him about my waiting list. Would I, in his case, be so kind to make an exception, he asked. Mister Nierstrasz happened to be 90 years old.

Frits Nierstrasz (1926-2021) was an international authority in the housing field. But according to his son, he was actually a guitarist. Frits Nierstrasz bought his first guitar at the age of 14. Many lessons and endless studying followed and eventually he even started performing. This he would do for the rest of his life.

As a student at the Netherlands School of Economics, now the Erasmus University Rotterdam, he travelled to Spain to learn the language. There he spent most of his time in flamenco bars in Burgos, Barcelona, Madrid…

Mr. and Mrs. Nierstrasz in Spain.

Mr. and Mrs. Nierstrasz in Burgos, Spain.

Last month I got a sad message from his son, who is now selling his fathers guitar. Normally I don’t promote occasions, not even if they were made by me. But again I make exception:

For sale: a beautiful instrument with a spruce top and Amazonas rosewood back and sides. It’s in good shape, since Mr Nierstrasz has always taken great care of it.

If you’re interested it’s best to contact me.

Arne Willems performs Marius Bajog

This is Arne Willems, a classical guitarist from Wuppertal, Germany. The picture above was taken back in 2017 when he visited my workshop to collect his guitar. The picture can be found on his instagram account. Every now and then, Arne drops by for lunch, combining his holidays at the Dutch coast with a social visit. Last month he sent me two YouTube videos in which he premieres the work of his friend, composer Marius Bajog. I herewith forward them. Arne plays a cedar top concert model.

Almudena Rubio (voice) and Isabelle Laudenbach (guitar)

These are Almudena Rubio (voice) and Isabelle Laudenbach (guitar) during their concert at the Embassy of Spain in Den Haag (The Netherlands).

Singer and art historian Almudena Rubio works at the International Institute of Social History (IISG) in Amsterdam, researching the Cajas de Amsterdam, photo archives from two Jewish immigrant photographers, Margaret Michaelis and Kati Horna, who put their camera at the service of the social revolution during the Spanish Civil War.

Together with Isabelle Laudenbach, a French flamenco guitarist, living in Barcelona, Almudena Rubio performs on a regular base.

Rubio started singing at a later age and much of her repertoire is related to her research: music by singer-songwriter Chicho Sánchez Ferlosio, Latin American folklore, songs by Chavela Vargas and music-set poetry by Rosalía de Castro, García Lorca and Agustin Garcia Calvo.

The hauntingly beautiful and passionate voice of Madrid singer Almudena Rubio immediately transports you back to the 1920s and 1930s, to the zarzuelas of Madrid, the milongas of Buenos Aires and the agit-prop cabarets of pre-war Berlin and France.
Stuart Christie

Every year , with the arrival of Sint Nicholas in the Netherlands , the Spanish Embassy organizes a concert at the Paleiskerk in The Hague. Due to Covid-19, this years concert took place at the Embassy itself. The entire concert, including the ambassador’s introduction, can be seen on YouTube.

links: Almudena Rubio | Isabella Laudenbach | IISH | Spaanse Ambassade den Haag | Sinterklaas explained

Isabella Laudenbach plays a concert model flamenco guitar

Boi Akih livestream at the Concertgemaal

These are guitarist/composer Niels Brouwer and vocalist Monica Akihary, the core of ensemble BOI AKIH.

BOI AKIH has a unique, striking sound based on musical traditions from the Moluccas (Melanesia/Oceania), Sunda and Bali, Dutch (European) jazz and improvised music, classical Indian music and traditional African music.

Singer Monica writes and sings in her father’s native language, regarded as moribund by the scientific world. Since 1998 Brouwer and Akihary have been working with Dutch and Australian linguists who study Haruku. With their help and support, Boi Akih not only keeps the tradition alive, but also employs the language in its most authentic form: poetic self-expression.

This video was recorded at the Concertgemaal, a former pumping station which was turned in to a cultural spot and concert venue. During the lock down it offered live streams for their audience.

Niels Brouwer plays a seven string, cutaway, Model 2A.

Lazaro Tejedor on the Spotify List

Leyenda - Lazaro Tejedor_CD

This is Leyenda, a CD by Lazaro Tejedor. He sent it to me a while ago since he recorded it with a spruce top cutaway concert model , built by me.

Lazaro Tejedor works as a guitar teacher, guitarist and composer. He also organizes guitar workshops in the Netherlands, Spain and Morocco.

Lazaro Tejedor was born on Tenerife, the largest and most populated island of the Canary Islands (Spain). He’s fluent in Spanish, English and Dutch. Occasionally he performes as a singer-songwriter, usually in Spanish.

Last week Spotify celebrated it’s ten year anniversary so I updated my playlist on Spotify with albums or tracks, played on guitars built by me. It’s named Played on guitars made by Otto Vowinkel. The playlist is far from complete. If you know an album or track which should be added, please tell me. For now, I hope you enjoy Lazaro’s interpretation of the title track of his CD, which obviously, I included on my list.

Sanel Redzic Trio plays Lau Euskal Abesti

Sanel Redzic, the young, successfull guitarist I have written about earlier, invested a lot of time and effort in making high quality recordings. It pays off as one can see on his YouTube channel where he releases new videos on a regular basis.

Recently he released an original quarantine video: Lau Euskal Abesti, four Basque songs by composer Jesus Guridi. It was written for guitar trio and Sanel Redzic takes care of all three parts.

Last year Sanel also released a new cd called Journey with music by Aguado, Tarrega, de Falla and Bach.

Sanel Redzic_CD_Journey
Sanel Redzic Journey-booklet

In the video and on the cd Sanel playes two different concert guitars. The one on the cd was built in 2004. The one in the video in 2019. For more info about Sanel and his cds, please check out his website.

Benjamin Verdery – Scenes from Ellis Island

I wrote an email to New Yorker Benjamin Verdery. To check out how he is doing in these horrible Corona Times.

” Aloha Ester and Otto!!!!
… These are simply unprecedented times. I have not been out for 5 days and will finally today. We are being very vigilant and wearing masks and gloves and wiping everything!! We both have been doing on line teaching and I have been chatting and writing to friends around the world like you guys.”

It can’t be underestimated that this is a kind of war. Amsterdam ave is the main street to a hospital so we hear sirens frequently which is a reminder of all those in pain.

Every evening at 7:00 we go out on our little balcony ( we are so lucky to have that) and cheer the health care workers, doctors, nurses and delivery people and all on the front line. It’s very moving.

Benjamin also told me about his latest CD, Scenes from Ellis Island which was released with New Focus Recordings on February 14. The pictures below show the front and back. The latter taken in the great hall on Ellis Island.

“I can guarantee that very few guitars have been played in that hall. It’s not of course a concert hall but the hall where so many were examined before being allowed to go to land. It’s maybe appropriate that it be Dutch guitar there as you were the first Europeans to come to this Island and come on, I live on Amsterdam ave!!!! So it was meant to be.”

“It will be some time before we are allowed to send things from the post so please find the booklet . At the back of it is the photo of me and your insanely great baritone! “


Scenes from Ellis Island can be found on
Spotify | Amazon | YouTube | Website Benjamin Verdery

Nina Fourie Gouws

This is Nina Fourie Gouws, AKA Nina_Guitar. I wrote about her earlier.
Nina is a South-African guitarist. Active as a concert player as well as a guitar lecturer at Stellenbosch Konservatorium where she teaches pre-undergraduate and undergraduate practical music studies, accompaniment, repertoire studies and teaching methodology.

Nina plays a cedar top concert guitar with, as you can see in the picture above, a beautiful back.

Nina is very active on Instagram where I found all photos in this post – taken by Marnhe Grové. Among other things, she uses Instagram to keep herself motivated and to share her ideas about practising .

Last year she challenged herself with a so-called # 100daysofpractice in which she posted a video of her progress every day. This year she is doing something similar but reduced the challenge to # 40daysofpractice. Below you can watch day 32: a short video from Asturias, recorded by candlelight due to a power outage.

Keep it up Nina, only 8 more days to go!

José Antonio López

This José Antonio López, a classical guitarist from Puerto Rico. Every year he travels through Europe, accompanying his students from the Universidad de Puerto Rico where he teaches at the Department of Humanities. Last year he paid me a visit.

This year he came to collect his guitar and to celebrate we went out for dinner. José Antonio is very active man. Performing, teaching, composing and traveling. He does it all and all with great dedication.

Check out his instagram account where he posted a lot of pictures and video’s of his new instrument: a concert guitar with maple back and sides and a spruce top. I herewith forward one which shows the beautiful bear claw spruce.

Bear claw _Spruce Guitar