Double Bass Player James Oesi Opens Pakhûs SOLO's Anniversary Season

Pakhûs SOLO celebrates its tenth anniversary! During the 2026–2027 season, the venue marks ten years of presenting adventurous music for curious audiences. For a decade, Pakhûs in Stiens has been a place where exceptional musicians share remarkable stories through music. At the heart of the programme are the solo recitals that started it all: a single musician, a distinctive instrument, and a unique musical journey. Throughout this anniversary season, audiences will once again meet pioneering virtuosos and welcome back outstanding soloists from the past ten years. One of them is double bassist James Oesi, who opens the anniversary season on Friday evening, 18 September, with his programme Inspired by Bach.

James Oesi is one of the Netherlands' leading double bass soloists. Raised in Johannesburg, he moved to Moscow at the age of sixteen to study for four years before settling in The Hague. Renowned for his compelling performances, Oesi has established himself as a leading figure in both classical and contemporary music and regularly appears as a soloist in the Netherlands and abroad.

The concert centres on the Cello Suites by Johann Sebastian Bach. Oesi has spent many years exploring these masterpieces, developing his own interpretation for the double bass. The result is a rich palette of sound in which the instrument's lyrical voice and remarkable depth come together effortlessly. Through beautifully shaped melodic lines, Oesi makes the double bass truly sing, demonstrating its extraordinary ability to bring polyphonic music vividly to life. His new album featuring these works will be released later this autumn.

Commissioned by Concertgebouw Brugge, Greek-Dutch composer Calliope Tsoupaki wrote two companion works for Oesi in 2023: Fantasia I and Fantasia II. Combining soaring harmonics with fast, low-register passages, these works reveal the remarkable expressive range of the double bass. Oesi will also perform the première of MELOS, a signature composition by Amarante Nat. Commissioned by Stichting Stinze-Stiens, the work will be performed at every Pakhûs SOLO concert this season.

The programme concludes with the Eight Studies for Solo Double Bass by Sofia Gubaidulina, who passed away last year. Born in Russia and later based in Germany, Gubaidulina was celebrated for her distinctive musical language and highly individual sound world. These studies originated in 2009, when she reworked ten cello preludes composed in 1974 into eight studies exploring different aspects of double bass technique. Each piece focuses on a specific playing technique, varying articulation and bowing to reveal new sonic possibilities. Oesi recorded the work for an album released in early 2025. During that period, he had several meaningful conversations with Gubaidulina, a connection that proved deeply important to the composer in what would later turn out to be the final weeks of her life. Those encounters continue to inspire him.

The concert lasts approximately one hour and is performed without an interval. Coffee or tea is served before the concert, followed by a complimentary drink afterwards.

Programme curator Beate Loonstra says:

"James has appeared at Pakhûs SOLO twice before during our first ten years. Even then, he was already exploring the music he now brings to this concert. James Oesi shows that anything is possible on the double bass, and he does so with extraordinary conviction and artistry. It has been a joy to follow his artistic development, and listening to him perform is always a privilege."