Sergiy Bolotny grew up in Ukraine, studied violin at music academies in Lviv, Kyiv, and Vienna, and now holds the post of Assistant Second Concertmaster with the Noord Nederlands Orkest in the Netherlands. Away from the orchestra, he composes and records his own solo violin works, drawing on the folk music of both his birth country and his adopted one.
This piece belongs to an ongoing cycle he calls Ukrainian Caprices and Little Dutch Rhapsodies. The first Little Dutch Rhapsody was built around a folk tale from Groningen and leaned into humour, and with the third instalment he heads for the capital.
Little Dutch Rhapsody No. 3 Capriccio Amsterdam
The starting point is “Aan de Amsterdamse grachten,” Pieter Goemans’ much-loved ode to the city’s canals and a song so tied to Amsterdam that locals treat it as an unofficial anthem. Bolotny takes that familiar tune and turns it into a showpiece for solo violin, opening with a bold, dramatic flourish before letting the melody step forward.
From there, the piece swings between two moods. In the slower stretches he lets the melody sing, stretching and bending the phrasing so it feels like a slow walk along the water. In the faster ones he piles on double-stops and quick-fingered variations that toy with the tune without ever burying it. However far he wanders, you can always find your way back to Goemans’ melody.
The recording does it plenty of favours too. It was captured acoustically in a real room with very little processing, so you hear the wood of the instrument and each note dying away into the space around it. It feels less like a studio product and more like sitting a few rows back at a recital. The piece even picked up national airplay on Dutch classical station NPO Klassiek on the day it came out.
Final Thoughts
“Little Dutch Rhapsody No. 3 Capriccio Amsterdam” is a warm, clever tribute to Bolotny’s adopted home. Even if you have never heard the original song, it is easy to fall for.
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