Home > The Dutch Chopin

Gerard von Brucken Fock

a forgotten artist from Zeeland

The project

My Von Brucken Fock Project aims to give the Zeeland composer and painter Gerard von Brucken Fock (1859–1935) a contemporary stage.

So far, my project has produced the following results:

Sea at Zoutelande, 1904.

Cover: detail of a painting by Von Brucken Fock, Landscape with Cloud Effect, c. 1910.

A highlight: in May 2023, the 24 Präludien Opus 15 were released on CD for the first time. Pianist Frans Douwe Slot received five stars in the Leeuwarder Courant and a 9 in Luister magazine.

cover: Gerard von Brucken Fock – 24 Preludes for Piano – Opus 15 – Frans Douwe Slot.

Cover: detail of a painting by Von Brucken Fock, Landscape with Cloud Effect, c. 1910.

cover: Gerard von Brucken Fock – 24 Preludes for Piano – Opus 15 – Frans Douwe Slot.

The first prelude from the 1924 collection, composed in Bormes (southern France): Le Mistral.

Within the Von Brucken Fock Project, one discovery led to another, with the absolute highlight being my discovery of a stack of 152 unpublished preludes from the period 1924–1931. These have now been published by Donemus (see webshop) and can be listened to on YouTube. The year 2024 marked the centenary of the first collection of twenty Preludes from 1924, composed in southern France. Until 2031, every year the preludes composed exactly one hundred years earlier will be performed at Salon Résonance in Amsterdam.

The latest major development took place this spring: several orchestral works were transcribed from manuscript into notation software, allowing the pieces to be played back. For the first time in history, the following works can now be heard — performed by an artificial orchestra, but without mistakes, and sounding remarkably real. Visit my YouTube channel and listen, for example, to the symphonic poem Of the Sea and the Green, the three symphonies, part of a piano concerto, the first movement of the oratorio The Second Coming of Christ, or a brief orchestral suite such as Aus dem Süden. In total, there are now more than forty works by Von Brucken Fock on the channel, including new piano pieces, some performed by Jorian van Nee.

A second revised edition of the biography will be published in November!
The CD is no longer included. For a direct connection to the music via QR codes, you can now read my second book:
How Much Longer? Life Memories of the Composer and Painter Gerard von Brucken Fock, available from Uitgeverij Verloren in Hilversum. See below.

Recording engineer Guido Tichelman (left) and Frank van de Laar listen to the take of “Solitude” (Prelude No. 4 from 1924).

My second book about Von Brucken Fock has been published (October 2025):

From a review in Opus Klassiek (Aart van der Wal, October 2025):
“With How Much Longer, Eric Matser offers an important addition to his biography. […] Hopefully this book too will encourage greater interest in the work of this composer, both among performers (for that is where it begins) and the public. From the author’s chosen perspective, the book focuses on the composer and therefore much less on the painter […]. But you will have understood that already after reading this review.”

In early November, Uitgeverij Verloren will publish the second revised edition of The Dutch Chopin – Composer and Painter Gerard von Brucken Fock 1859–1935.

Earlier reviews:

“The book is a true travail d’amour by Eric Matser.”
(René Seghers, Villa d’Arte, December 2021)

“The richly illustrated book has become a biography to truly enjoy.”
(Ed Spanjaard, in the foreword)

“Eric Matser’s biographical study is a very welcome contribution and will, I hope, persuade more musicians to include the music of Von Brucken Fock in their repertoire and to exhibit his paintings.”
(Leo Samama, on the cover)

“A fascinating biography.”
(Marcel Hulspas, Volkskrant, 29 January 2022)

The Dutch Chopin – Composer and Painter Gerard von Brucken Fock 1859–1935 (second revised edition, without CD) is available from bookstores and from Uitgeverij Verloren in Hilversum.
Price: €35.

How Much Longer? Life Memories of Gerard von Brucken Fock is also published by Verloren, priced at €25, and includes QR codes.

On the Verloren website, under “Articles”, you will find an article and an interview with me. In just under twenty minutes, you will know almost everything about Von BF and me.

The video's on YouTube

At the moment, more than 60 videos and shorts can be seen on my YouTube channel (click on my portrait). Many of these are world premieres, including works presented through computer animations.

A video recording of a concert at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam (2017) has already reached nearly 2K views. The program featured 40 of the 152 late piano preludes by Gerard von Brucken Fock, performed by Frank van de Laar and nine students. In the video, the preludes are interspersed with paintings and drawings by the composer, as well as melancholy quotations from his personal writings.

All under the watchful eye of Gerard von Brucken Fock and myself (Conservatorium van Amsterdam, October 22, 2017).

Salon “Résonance” – Gerard Doustraat 149, Amsterdam, with the new Blüthner grand piano from 1896

Concerts in Salon Résonance

Sunday, November 2, starting at 11:00 a.m. Featuring, among other works, the beautiful cello sonata by Von Brucken Fock (1884) and Beethoven’s Sonata No. 2.
Floris Mijnders, cello, and Jelger Blanken, piano.

Here is an impression of Von Brucken Fock’s Sonata, movement 2, Allegro grazioso.

The next recital is scheduled for Sunday, February 2, 2026, once again with phenomenal musicians: Martino Colombo, violin, and Aidan Mikdad, piano. They keep getting younger!

De biografie

Kinderviolen en –cello’s zijn natuurlijk kleiner dan instrumenten voor volwassenen. De kleinste viool waar nog redelijk op gespeeld kan worden is een 1/16 viool (ongeveer voor een kind van 4 jaar). Die viool is niet precies 16 keer zo klein als een hele viool, ook 4/4 viool genoemd (viool voor een volwassene). Die breuken geven meer een volgorde aan dan een absolute maat. Voor kindercello’s geldt uiteraard het zelfde.

Grootste ontdekking

De grootste ontdekking in mijn gehele Von Brucken Fock Project zijn de 152 late preludes voor piano. 10 hiervan staan op de cd bij mijn boek. Ze worden meesterlijk gespeeld door Frank van de Laar, die er speciaal de Hilversumse studio voor inging. De productiekosten van de cd waren ongeveer even groot als die voor het boek, maar ik had er graag voor over. Het gaat bij deze preludes namelijk om het onbetwist hoogtepunt in het oeuvre van Von Brucken Fock.

The painting exhibition

Until the end of July, an exhibition of works by Gerard von Brucken Fock was held in the Council Chamber of the Municipality of Heemstede. It marked the 90th anniversary of the death of this former resident of Heemstede. It was a multimedia spectacle.