Trivia

He has performed with virtually every Dutch Orchestra, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under the baton of Bernard Haitink.

Polo de Haas was both a classical musician and improviser as well as leading exponent of contemporary music.

He died in his sleep, in front of his loved ones. "At 7:48 p.m.," according to his partner, "as if he had to perform somewhere at 8 p.m.".

For his services to Dutch music, Polo de Haas was awarded a Knighthood in the Order of the Netherlands Lion.

He performed well into old age, until he had to stop his concerts because of the corona measures.

As a musician, De Haas moved smoothly with the musical zeitgeist, but always made his own choices. When Ramses Shaffy asked him to perform Shaffy Chantant in the 1960s, he agreed on the condition that he could also play works by classical and contemporary composers.

During a "lockdown cleaning" at home, De Haas found a tape from 1980 at home with improvisations on the piano. He decided to go back into the studio to improvise: his latest album consists of both his old and new improvisations.

He made records and CDs with works by Scriabin, Prokofiev, Scarlatti, Mussorgsky, Satie and Beethoven.

Partnering bass clarinetist Harry Sparnaay in the Duo Fusion Moderne (Gaudeamus Duo Prize 1972), he gave concerts at modern music festivals all over the world.

He has a number of compositions to his name.

He studied with Jan Odé at the Amsterdam Conservatoire and subsequently with Eduardo del Pueyo in Brussels and Jacques Février in Paris.

Polo de Haas was a member of the international group of Steinway Artists.

Polo de Haas specialised in the music of the Dutch composer Simeon ten Holt: a compact disc recording of 'Canto Ostinato' by Ten Holt, made together with fellow Dutch pianist Kees Wieringa, was acclaimed by the international press.

He has also given recitals in most West as well as East European countries, the United States, Canada, Korea, Cuba and Japan, and had made numerous recordings for both radio and television.

With bass clarinetist Harry Sparnaay he formed the duo Fusion Moderne, which focused on contemporary music.

He had his own concert series, which he often interpreted in an unorthodox way, by performing at the edge of a swimming pool, for example, or on the roof of the Beurs van Berlage.

During the day he studied classical music at the Amsterdam conservatory and in the evenings he played in the jazz circuit, a very unusual combination at that time.

He also played jazz music with Boy Edgar prizewinner drummer Pierre Courbois and worked with many musicians as Greetje Bijma, Zoumana Diarra, Jos de Haas (New Cool Collective). His record Gong (with Pierre Courbois) was reviewed as a landmark in Dutch JazzHistory.

With composer Peter Schat he also devoted himself to electronic music.

He obtained his soloist diploma cum laude and won many awards such as the Silver Wreath of the Friends of the Concertgebouw and, in 1962, First Prize at the Amsterdam International Piano Competition.