During a festive concert in Amsterdam last Sunday, rising star piccoloist Ilonka Kolthof and Ralph have released their new CD Halo for the label TRPTK, for which Ilonka, through her Dutch Piccolo Project, has commissioned six composers to write new works for her and Ralph. In quite some anticipation of this release, Kolthof and Van Raat have appeared at radio shows before the release. These were followed by an excellent first review in yesterday’s Dutch national newspaper Volkskrant, praising the extreme diversity of musical characters, colors and virtuosity displayed in this recording: ‘[…] Ilonka Kolthof certainly did change the reputation of the piccolo in those 80 minutes! Kolthof never sounds shrill and she whispers with her instrument – so it is also possible this way. Her partner in crime is the unparalleled Ralph van Raat, who brings to the limelight, amongst others, Jan Vriend’s Sonata with much urgency.’
