The States General has commissioned a composition specially written for the United Assembly at Prinsjesdag by 26-year-old Dutch composer Max van Platen. This piece, Ode al vento (Ode to the wind), will be performed by our own brass quintet.

This is now the second time that a young composer has been given the opportunity to compose a piece of music especially for Prinsjesdag . President of the First Chamber, Jan Anthonie Bruijn: "It is incredibly nice to be able to offer young, up-and-coming musical talent such a stage. Van Platen has really turned it into something very beautiful and fitting."

Van Platen graduated from the Royal Conservatoire The Hague in The Hague in 2020. Already in 2008 he won the Lions Muziekconcours (piano) and in 2009 the first prize of the Prinses Christina Composition Concours. He was also twice a finalist in the composition competition of the Netherlands Wind Ensemble and twice winner of the master class prize of the Royal Conservatoire The Hague. Van Platen's compositions have been performed several times in recent years on stages throughout the Netherlands and broadcast on Radio 4. Just last February, we premiered his piece Dance of the Magpie in our One Minute Symphonies series.

Traditionally, at Prinsjesdag in the United Assembly, we also play Jurriaan Andriessen' s Il discorso della corona, which is played at the King's entry, and Johan de Meij's Hymne van de Staten-Generaal. This Hymn was specially composed in 2015 for the celebration of 200 years of the States General.

A brief interview with Max van Platen.

How did your interest in music come about?
"I come from a musical family. My father is a musician and composer and my mother taught music. From a young age, I heard a lot of classical music around me. As a toddler, I endlessly conducted my cuddly orchestra to the music of Stravinsky: especially the Circus Polka For a Young Elephant and his Scherzo à la Russe. I also remember being allowed to go to Ravel's opera L'enfant et les sortilèges in Paris with my parents. A fantastic experience!

As a small child I also invented melodies on the piano. Together with my father I improvised a lot. We would think of a theme and then play it. When I was seven years old I took piano lessons with Julia Wasowicz. She inspired me a lot. Then as a young child I entered the composition competition of the Netherlands Wind Ensemble. That was such a special experience for me that from then on I thought, "I want to become a composer later. My encounters with Louis Andriessen reinforced this feeling."

What do you enjoy about composing?
"Creating my own world within which I can do anything I want. That gives me great satisfaction. Just like the endless search for how to express a certain feeling."

What did you think of the request to compose a piece for the United Assembly at Prinsjesdag?
"I find it a great honor to be able to write a piece for this important day."

What does Prinsjesdag mean to you?
"That's when I feel I belong as a Dutchman. It's a day like May 4 or 5, or like King's Day. A day on which I feel connected."

Can you tell something about the play? What is the idea behind it?
"I tried to capture the dual nature of Prinsjesdag in notes. On the one hand, the ceremonial-static of the ceremony; on the other, the look to the future. The opening of the piece reflects the ceremonial beginning, then there is more movement in the music. This symbolizes the start of the parliamentary year, the wind that will blow through the Dutch polders. Whether it is a hurricane, a fresh breeze or a gentle breeze, wind will always be there in the Netherlands. However bleak the times are now, the piece ends energetic and hopeful and focused on the future."

How did you get the inspiration for the piece you composed for Prinsjesdag? How did you start working on it?
"I looked back at a few broadcasts of Prinsjesdag from the past few years. I also listened to the piece by Jurriaan Andriessen, which Prinsjesdag begins with. I really like that. Just like the music played at the wreath laying on Dam Square on May 4. Then I tried to capture the ritual in music. I went on an adventure with the resources I had, looking for something hopeful and uplifting."

If people heard your piece at Prinsjesdag , what would you want people to remember about it afterwards?
"I hope they feel through the music that it's an important day, connecting us to each other. And that no matter how many problems are going on right now, they still keep faith in the future."