Arno Bornkamp
Classical saxophonist Arno Bornkamp is a unique figure in both the saxophone and classical music worlds. During his career, now spanning nearly 40 years, he has amazed audiences with his energetic and stylish interpretations that are full of lyricism and passion. He believes in the saxophone as an instrument with an infinite amount of nuance and colors, one that reflects the brilliance and depth of the human soul. Bornkamp, a natural storyteller, offers a highly personal take in his interpretations of all the music he plays.

Arno Bornkampʼs musical style is strongly rooted in the 20 th century French tradition: in addition to Ed Bogaard, his teachers included French saxophone legends Daniel Deffayet and Jean-Marie Londeix. Nonetheless, he was primarily influenced by the Dutch musical climate of the 1980s, when norms were overthrown, dogmas were broken and classical music attracted huge audiences.

Bornkamp flourished greatly in this culture, and together with Johan van der Linden, André Arends and Willem van Merwijk he founded the Aurelia Saxophone Quartet in 1982, which was active until 2017. Regarded by many as one of the greatest ensembles of its kind, it adapted string quartets such as those by Debussy and Ravel for saxophone quartet, often performing them without sheet music. The Aurelia Quartet, later with Niels Bijl, Femke IJlstra and Juan Manuel Dominguez, has left a true legacy that still serves as a source of inspiration for young ensembles.

Also noteworthy is Bornkamp's longstanding collaboration with pianist Ivo Janssen. Janssen, in his own right a gifted soloist, was the perfect musical counterpart to Bornkamp. Their interpretations of original repertoire and arrangements, many of which have been released on CD, are still considered exemplary. More recently, Bornkamp has started working with younger musicians: the Voyager Trio with cellist Pamela Smits and pianist Tobias Borsboom, the Duo Calvadoré with the Flemish pianist Jan Lust, and the Pannonica Saxophone Quartet, which specializes in playing Argentine tango music.

His infectious way of making music makes Arno Bornkamp the ideal soloist. He has given more than 200 performances with orchestras as a soloist, collaborating with conductors such as Hans Vonk, Jac van Steen, Lucas Vis, Thierry Fischer, Bernhard Klee, Jean-Bernard Pommier, Andrey Boreyko and Pierre-André Valade. His repertoire spans from the standard repertoire for saxophone to new, often commissioned concertos. The Tallahatchie Concerto by Jacob ter Veldhuis ranks highly in the latter category, with Bornkamp giving many performances around the world. Quite recently, in July 2018, he gave the premiere of Leyendas by Guillermo Lago (the pen name of Willem van Merwijk), which was warmly received by the audience during the performance of the XVIII World Saxophone Congress in Zagreb.

For approximately 25 years, orchestras such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Residentie Orkest, the Holland Symfonia, and various radio orchestras have used Bornkamp's services as a substitute player, giving him the privilege of performing orchestral repertoire under such greats as Carlo Maria Giulini, Riccardo Chailly, Mariss Jansons, Daniele Gatti, Mstislav Rostropovich, Heinz Holliger and Bernard Haitink.

Bornkamp greatly loves the tradition of the saxophone. He has built up a small collection of historical instruments, enabling him to perform older saxophone repertoire in a historically informed manner in both solo projects as well as with the Flemish orchestra Anima Eterna. However, he is particularly fond of new music: in total, Bornkamp has collaborated on more than 150 premieres, both as a soloist and chamber musician. Initially inspired by leading composers such as Luciano Berio and Karlheinz Stockhausen, he later built deep, long-term, and productive musical relationships with Ryō Noda, Christian Lauba, Guillermo Lago, Santiago Baez and Jacob ter Veldhuis, frequently performing many of their works.

Arno Bornkamp finds it essential to pass on his knowledge to new generations of musicians, teaching at the Conservatory of Amsterdam where many of his students put his ideas into practice. He is also regularly invited to give master classes all over the world.