G. K. Chesterton once wrote that ‘music with dinner is an insult both to the cook and the violinist.’ Speaking of cooks, we all know that too many of them means spoiling the broth. And coming back to music: that’s what they must have thought at Music Center the Netherlands. As of January 1, 2008 Gaudeamus merged into this single large music institute in which classical, contemporary, jazz and pop music will all be incorporated.

Well…that’s what the press release says. You might be wondering what Gaudeamus is. A quick glance at an article in the very first issue of the yearbook The Low Countries yields this: the Gaudeamus foundation was established shortly after the Second World War and wanted to attract members of the international musical avant garde. Hence it was not only Dutch composers like Peter Schat and Ton de Leeuw who became guests at the beautiful semicircular music room of the Gaudeamus house in Bilthoven. The recently deceased Karlheinz Stockhausen had his Gesäng der Jünglinge performed there and John Cage invited the Gaudeamus audience to listen to silence. All these personal contacts between musicians and composers had a stimulating effect on the development of modern music. Later on Gaudeamus developed into a big official subsidized organisation. Each year the International Gaudeamus Music Week presents a carefully selected cross section of recent developments from the ‘global village’ of contemporary music.

So now Gaudeamus is part of the Music Center the Netherlands. Along with Donemus (the Publisher and information centre for Dutch contemporary music), the Dutch Rock and Pop Instititute, De Kamervraag (an institute for the promotion and study of chamber music) and a number of jazz organisations (De Jazzorganisatie, Dutch Jazz Connection and The Dutch Jazz Archives). That’s a lot of cooks, so the broth will definitely benefit from this new joint kitchen. According to the press release the new Music Center will occupy itself with ‘national and international promotion, and balancing supply and demand’. It will also hold a Music Information Center, destined to be the primary information source for music in the Netherlands, with an extended collection of pop, jazz and contemporary music. Also, with a renewed website – which is still under construction – and a new agenda the Center aims at an even better presentation of contemporary music for both the Dutch and foreign markets.

Incidentally, if you’re in London and into jazz, you may want to check out the Dutch Jazz Connection at the PizzaExpress Jazz Club in Soho. Now…pizza and jazz sounds like an iffy combination if you tend to go along with with the above quote from Chesterton. But fear not: this is a place with a well-established history and an equally sound reputation. Crowds have been loyally flocking to the basement club of this pizzeria since it opened in 1965, and acts have varied from Van Morrison to Amy Winehouse. So if you’re in the neighbourhood and you have a pair of hungry ears, keep in mind that from Wednesday 23rd until Friday 25th January there’s a three-night special showcasing ‘contrasting sounds from the vibrant Netherlands jazz scene’.