‘Simply a question of notes'. Jan van Vlijmen: From Director/Composer to Composer

If what Jan van Vlijmen said in mid-1997 is true, namely that the number of genuine devotees of classical music is no more than five hundred, then it must be seen as remarkable that his name is certainly known to more than that number. It is doubtful whether they are all music devotees, but it does have something to do with the fact that Van Vlijmen is better known as a director than a composer. But that will change; after a life filled with different responsibilities, which he admits were a means of escape from composing, he has put a definite end to this flight with the termination of his directorship of the Holland Festival.