Award ceremony Willem Breuker Prijs to Oscar Jan Hoogland on 4 November 2026

For Oscar Jan Hoogland the world is his playing field. He is a pianist, but also a multi-instrumentalist, and he also builds instruments that hadn’t been invented yet.

He knows and appreciates the musical tradition from which he originated, pays meticulous attention to it and shares it with others. This tradition includes anything he can lay his hands on: various musical styles, ways of playing and cultures; and he adds what isn’t there yet.

He takes to Dutch improv, and the ICP in particular, like a duck to water, and he started various ensembles. We will mention one of them here: EHBO, featuring Ernst (Glerum), Han (Bennink), Benjamin (Herman) and the laureate himself.

An evening with Oscar Jan is always full of surprises, and the result is never known beforehand. If you have an inkling of what might come, he will change the course as well as the destination as he goes along. And the listener/spectator can’t help feeling: ‘is this a premeditated plan or doesn’t he know where things are going either?’ Movement and change are key elements in this process; he manages to mislead you, but always makes sure that you end up in a better, more beautiful place.

His musical existence fully coincides with his view of life: all people are equal, no elites, no hierarchies, just pull your socks up; to a large extent, making music is organizing – in other words: calling people, emailing, texting, cycling to a meeting, posters in your bicycle bag, and taking responsibility. That’s Oscar Jan, too.

He was Misha Mengelberg’s last student, grew up with Willem Breuker’s music, and for all of these men the adage of the German-Argentinean composer Mauricio Kagel firmly stands: ‘Humor ist eine seriöze Sache’ (‘humour is serious business’). In their music, all of them are masters of representing the tragicomical side of life. They will touch your heart deeply and make you reflect, and they will make you laugh out loud (and sometimes make you cry).

Besides all of this, Oscar Jan is a gifted pedagogue. He teaches at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, the Amsterdam Conservatory and the Mime School at the Academy for Theatre and Dance (AHK). We have just seen their presentation. When he passes on his knowledge to younger generations, the following applies: provide ample scope, find new ways, which sometimes includes dead ends – don’t worry, just retrace your steps and take the next turning.

All senses and areas of the brain are put to work at the same time, for the makers and the performers as well as for the audience. Oscar Jan is at the helm, but whoever has the courage to interfere, will be met with a warm welcome.

Board WillemBreukerStichting
Sieuwert Verster
Vera Beths
Saskia van Schaik
Hans Roze
Olga Zuiderhoek