Violinist Tjeerd Top breaks the hairs of his bow with a performance of Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin.

At the end of a working day there is a chamber music concert in one of the halls of VondelCS in Amsterdam. On stage is the first assistant principal violinist of the Concertgebouworkest Tjeerd Top. The orchestra will play a programme that night dubbed ‘pop art’. This chamber music concert is a so-called ‘appetizer’. It is meant as a foretaste for that evening’s concert in the Concertgebouw Amsterdam.

STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN LIGHTS THE ROOM

The room is darkened. A spot is burning and Tjeerd is radiant in the centre. Contrary to what everyone expects, he does not play classical music. To everyone’s surprise he is performing a rocking version of Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven.

When the music comes to a steam after a quiet start, the room falls silent. The public silently beats the size with their feet. Someone subtly starts ‘head banging’. Tjeerd takes sniffing breaths and almost seems to be dancing in his place. The hairs of his bow visibly come loose.

The tension is noticeably increasing among the people in the audience. On the one hand, they want Tjeerd to continue. On the other hand, they want him to stop so they can break into an applause in a grandiose way. Why? Because everyone finally wants to show: this performance by Tjeerd is Top!

EYE PRINT

‘I print, so I am.’

A photo that is not printed on paper is like a photo that was not taken. Anyone who has had a printed photo in his hands knows that the tactile experience is unrivalled. That is why Renske prints all her photos, which she likes. Every week she places – under the banner Eye Print – a digital photograph of a photo print online. She places the photo with a short description of how the photo came about and what it is about.