Klassiek Centraal, how it all began…
Den Brabo was an Antwerp sociocultural website that already started in 1999 and for years had more visitors than the official website of the city of Antwerp. Behind Den Brabo was one man: my oldest brother Koen. Could I write some reviews about classical concerts in Antwerp for him? Well, why not? I did that for about 20 years for an Antwerp weekly newspaper so...
After three (3) texts he said: "Listen, why don't you start your own website? You know this stuff well and it's the right time, a magazine like that won't work anymore". That was in 2003. But my then busy job and my still disbelief in 'the internet' meant that I took no initiative, even though he regularly asked when I would finally start with that website, emphasizing: "I'll put everything online and make and maintain the website, you just have to go to the concerts, type the texts in a Word document and email them to me. You can do that, can't you?". Until one November evening in 2005 a concert opera took place in the Koningin Elisabethzaal. After the performance, a talented all-knowing journalist from the Gazet Van Antwerpen said: "Allei, da was nen ouwperra zongder toniejl? Dor schraajve kik ni ouwver!" (That was an opera without scenery, I don't write about that!)
"Koen, you're right! I MUST start!"
The reception table where we were standing after that opera-without-scenery-about-which-you-therefore-don't-write nearly broke in two when I, more than angry and rather too loudly, shouted a rougher Flemish expletive, with a serious fist bang on the table. The GVA and the Flemish Opera are, together with my late brother – especially him – the direct catalyst for what Klassiek Centraal is now.
Deciding to start something, just like that, without means is one, two is: what name does the child get? It lasted until an afternoon at the end of July 2006. All possible and impossible names were considered. The only ones that sounded good were already taken by other magazines, ensembles and so on. Until somewhere at the end of July 2006 in the VRT radio news at 1 p.m. a subject came up about the central station of Antwerp. THAT was it! THAT had to be it, combining classical and central to make clear that we place the classical centrally. But how then? At that moment I'm in the car and talking to myself: "the classical central - no, central classical – no, classical and central, no – central and classical then? no – and what if I now take classical central, there's rhythm in it, like with Coca Cola?"…
I park the car, I rehearse: classical central. I write it on a crumpled piece of paper and look at it. Is that not a brand name? And everyone understands it. Repeat once more: classical central. I say it 50 times or so. In a light euphoria I come home, sit down at the laptop, send our Koen an email: "I've got it! The name is Klassiek Centraal and here's the list of the sections that should be in it".
1 August 2006: Klassiek Centraal goes online!
Wow, our Koen needed only three days to build a website in the by then barely known program frontpage. Back then you could do it, build a website in very low resolution, quite primitive, not very clear logo, but still with content. Goal? Reach 3,000 readers. For a magazine that's already a lot and difficult to achieve. When in a previous life I had the 3-monthly newsletter of the Koninklijke Beiaardschool in my hands, we had 350 subscriptions and that was a whole witch's trick to manage. You see how experienced I was in organizing publications: not at all. After three days our Koen calls: "Want to know something? We already had 350 visitors!" … I've lost the plot. Where did they come from for something totally unknown? How could they have found it already? Six weeks later, after a successful campaign to save the decaying buildings of the Brussels Royal Conservatory – some professor or student from the UGent had found us and taken over the petition with a link to Klassiek Centraal, gave a boost to KC and the petition: we collected 2,000 signatures in a very short time. By the end of September 2006 we had already welcomed 3,500 individual visitors. Well, then I had to continue. Who would have thought such a thing? Nobody and to think that today Klassiek Centraal receives up to 260,000 hits per month via Google. Yes, we are the largest classical music website in Dutch and far from sufficient, so much more can be done. If you feel called upon while reading this, submit your application and email info@klassiek-centraal.be to strengthen and expand our team in Flanders, the Netherlands and and and ...
Luc Brewaeys as first external collaborator
December 2008: an email from Luc Brewaeys, much praise for the initiative that after just under 2.5 years was already gaining a name, but still, someone like him who contacted us and not only with praise, but offered his collaboration? A genius, a guy who didn't mince words, his heart was on his tongue, he only told the truth. Yes, I was floating. We talked for two hours. Ah, really becoming a collaborator, it only worked very briefly, Luc became ill. He and my brother Koen suffered from the same ailments and probably speak to each other now and then somewhere up there…
January 2009, a few weeks later, Lucrèce Maeckelbergh and Milo Derdeyn join in. Lucrèce still writes for us, as does Vivane Redant who joined our ranks in September 2009. She met KC at the very first Golden Labels Award Ceremony.
The Golden Labels of Klassiek Centraal
Flanders had an enormous need for a quality label. How could a heartland where classical music had its origins, a country with so much quality, not have a quality label? That had to change and it would aim as high as possible from the start, no provincial modesty. No, a label of international top-level quality. That's what it became and that's what needs to come back.
First Golden Labels Award Ceremony, 5 June 2009 under the motto: Three Years Klassiek Centraal
The Province of Antwerp, thanks to the mediation and efforts of director Koen De Vlieger, made Kasteel d'Ursel available to us for the celebration of our three-year existence and the presentation of our first Golden Labels. The name came from Milo, for which extra thanks! We were provided with a piano, several excellent musicians attended the afternoon and 'my Zigeunerkes' provided the reception as true professionals. 85 attendees from the sector: this was a success and I would have liked to organize it annually. We awarded Golden Labels ten times, it was a successful formula in every respect until covid19 put a spoke in our wheels and the world's wheels.
Meanwhile, more authors came on board, regular and freelance contributors, some dropped out for one reason or another. For 10 years there was the association Klassiek Centraal with Erik Vercauteren as its first chairman. But again that covid19, very serious health problems of my own, the departure of some colleagues… Klassiek Centraal was almost history. That wasn't accounting for the webmaster. Peter Kuipers, who had been a neighbor and comrade of my by then deceased oldest brother for a number of years, took the reins. He had been taking care of the website for some time, which became increasingly better and more beautiful, technically a masterpiece. He didn't want that to disappear. He and Helena Gaudeus gathered the necessary courage and energy together and Klassiek Centraal lived on. Nobody from the outside world knew about it, until now because I'm telling you.
Klassiek Centraal Reborn
2022, no more association, fewer staff, not even a board anymore, but yes, plenty of texts on a voluntary basis. The core team remained loyal and provided the necessary quality texts for the serious reference that Klassiek Centraal had become. Young colleagues found, also thanks to the fact that they were allowed to write for us, jobs in the sector. Invitations from abroad resumed after covid19, when that had come to a standstill. New colleagues signed up. My health improved considerably – long live science! – never before have I felt so healthy, I retired and yes, the telephone didn't stop ringing: "We do want you to…" Yes, yes…
How to Thank Whom?
20 years, that's not nothing. How should I thank whom? Very sincere thanks go out to everyone (!) who has ever worked for Klassiek Centraal. Not one of them could have been missed at the time. Oh, there were sometimes tensions with this one or that one, but in the end all those colleagues did it anyway, invested a lot of time in something, invested a lot of energy in something from which you didn't benefit financially. KC was and still is a volunteer initiative, without any significant budget, a few hundred euros, that's all. Therefore, to everyone from then and now and in the Mechelen way: "Mannekes, nen dikke mercie!"