The Dutch violinist, Bob van der Ent, began his violin studies with Lauri Vreeken-Bos at the age of 5, and made his solo debut at the age of 10 (December 1992) with the Netherlands Youth String Orchestra under the guidance of Roland Kieft. In 1993, he entered the special Young Talent department of the Conservatorium van Amsterdam as one of its youngest students, where he studied firstly with Jan Repko and Davina van Wely and then with Vesko Eschkenazy (leader of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra), while having additional tuition from Herman Krebbers and obtained his Bachelor's degree in 2006. He obtained his teaching certificate from Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de Kunsten, where he studied Postgraduate Teaching Methods under supervision of Professor Joyce Tan (2008-2010). He also attended master-classes with with internationally famous violinists, including Lorand Fennyves, Eduard Grach, Shmuel Ashkenazy (primarius of the Vermeer Quartet), Ivry Gitlis and Pierre Amoyal. He has received numerous prizes on a national and international level. In 1996 he won the 1st Prize at the Iordens Viooldagen (the national violin competition for young violinists), and in 1999 was a prize winner the at the Princess Christina Concours. In 2000 he achieved the Diplôme d’Honneur at the famous International Wieniawsky- Lipinsky Competition in Poland and in 2005 he was prize winner at the National Violin Competition Oskar Back.
Since his debut in 1992, Bob van der Ent has worked as a soloist with many orchestras. In 2005 he made his debut in the Main Hall of the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam under the guidance of Jurjen Hempel. He is regular soloist in the Netherlands and abroad with violin concerti by J.S. Bach, L.v. Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Bruch, Dvorak, Glass, Lalo, Felix Mendelssohn, W.A. Mozart, Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, Wieniawsky. He has been chamber musician in numerous recitals and festivals in the Netherlands and abroad. He is one of the most prominent and versatile violinists in the Netherlands. He has been described by the press as “a highly gifted and virtuosic violinist with a beautifully spacious and rounded tone”. In 1995 he gave his first recital and he performed in renowned halls such as the Concertgebouw, Muziekcentrum Vredenburg (Utrecht), the Doelen (Rotterdam) etc., and in Belgium, France, Austria, Switzerland, Portugal, Russia and the USA. He regularly appears in the Netherlands and elsewhere as both soloist and chamber musician, in concerts, at festivals and on radio and television. As a passionate advocate for Dutch composers of the 19th and early 20th centuries who have all but disappeared into the mists of obscurity, the first CD he
issued, through Aliud Records, was of Dutch violin sonatas. His CD of the Paganini caprices also appeared on the same label in 2015, making him the first Dutch violinist of his generation to have recorded all 24 Paganini caprices.
Bob van der Ent is also a teacher at Het muziekcollectief (since September 2018), and Muziekschool Amsterdam (since September 2018) and gives lessons to talented young musicians in Amsterdam. He continues to provide his assistance to the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra on a regular basis. |