The pianist Ramón Valle has lived in the Netherlands for years. In 2006, he had long since returned to his native Cuba when he was asked to write a composition for classical guitarist Esther Steenbergen. He called the piece Molinas which means something like Mills. While he was composing he was inundated with memories of the Netherlands. He felt that the years he spent on Dutch soil clearly left
… their mark on the way he developed himself as a musician and artist. Thus the idea developed to release Flashes From Holland. It shows how a Cuban who at first does not speak the Dutch language feels, and is slowly becoming more and more established. The relaxed Cuban life collides with the hectic feeling of a metropolis like Amsterdam where tourists get in each other's way, but slowly both cultures unite to form a steadfast feeling of habituation. Valle knows how to interpret this in a phenomenal way and enlisted the help of guitarist Jesse van Ruller for extra Dutch impulses. (AD)more
