Pynarello
About us
We are Pynarello!
Pynarello stands for classical music without a straitjacket. Pynarello is a group of musical free-thinkers who bring classical music down from its ivory tower and place it firmly in the here and now. Young top musicians, in all kinds of formations – from string quartet to symphony orchestra.
Why? Because music has to live, breathe, crackle.
How? Pynarello bends rules and stretches boundaries. Mozart becomes a rock star, Mahler gets a remix, and Vivaldi turns into hip hop. Musicians are always moving, always connecting. No conductor, no sheet music, but full-on commitment. Together with creators of every flavor and background.
Where? In concert halls, clubs, neighborhoods, churches, or open fields. Wherever we land.
What? Compact, genre-defying productions with classical music at their beating heart. Dynamic, raw, rebellious. Anything goes, and one thing’s certain: you’ll be surprised!
For whom? Curious ears, adventurous hearts, and anyone who feels that classical music is anything but a thing of the past.
Pynarello was nominated for an Edison Jazzism Audience Award (2022), captured the hearts of music lovers and the Amsterdam Neighborhood Music Jury with the album No Man’s Land alongside saxophonist Kika Sprangers, and in 2023 received De Ovatie from the VSCD for the program Freedom & Victory—as the most impressive classical music performance of the year. Whether on Podium Klassiek, at Eva Jinek’s talk show, or at the 2025 King’s Day Concert, Pynarello makes its presence heard!
Audience on Pynarello
I thought it was beautiful! Very beautiful, moving, intense, and serene. I thoroughly enjoyed Joost Oomen, whose book I had already read, as well as the musicians, Schumann, and the arrangements. An admirable project!
– audience member on Pynarello & Joost Oomen, April 2026
Pynarello always brings an intriguing surprise: beautifully performed, creative, and full of music you think you know. This is a group of fascinating innovators.
I thought it was brilliant. I immediately bought tickets for the next Pynarello performances in Vredenburg.
– audience members on John Giovanni, November 2025
Fantastic, exhilarating mix of Roma music with outstanding musicians.
– audience members on Romani, May 2025
A very special and beautiful blend of musical styles.
Moving and impressive.
– audience members on Passie met Shishani, March 2025
Extremely versatile and astonishingly accomplished, all performed from memory. Their enthusiasm radiated from the stage.
Beautiful! I was moved to tears by Sinat Arak on his flute and the Eastern singing.
– audience members on Oerknal, January 2025
In the press
With a remarkable combination of text and music, poet Joost Oomen and Pynarello are presenting a compelling performance about euthanasia these weeks, one that is clearly making a deep impression on audiences.
– Carend website
“Every second of this concert was exciting, and fortunately it ended up lasting a full 75 minutes, though two hours would also have been fine, because so many musicians not only performing standing up (and walking around) but also entirely from memory creates a particular kind of concentration and a special connection, both among themselves and with the audience.”
– Peter Schlamilch in De Nieuwe Muze.nl, 1 February 2026
“Mozart’s Don Giovanni undergoes a metamorphosis in the hands of Julian Schneemann. … Since last year, Julian has been leading Pynarello, the energetic chamber orchestra that does everything differently. Performing standing up and from memory, mixing genres – and now, with the pop-rock opera John Giovanni.”
– Guido van Oorschot in de Volkskrant, 5 November 2025
“But when did it actually feel as though you were watching a new approach? One successful concept was the concert film made by Nander Cirkel featuring Pynarello and soprano Laetitia Gerards. It helped that the ensemble plays standing up and moves around, and for once does not perform in black dresses and suits. Thanks to the dynamic camerawork, you found yourself right in the middle of the group and up close to the soprano, making the lyrics about internet cables, parsley and sea cucumbers hit even harder. The piece sung by Gerards was the brand-new song cycle A Lock Without A Key, composed by Thomas Beijer. The easiest way to surprise an audience is to programme new music. There are plenty of composers in the Netherlands capable of writing it.”
— de Volkskrant (Merlijn Kerkhof, 26 May 2021), on the concert film Milk it Punk