around maxim shalygin

Sunday 22 May 2022, 21:00

The Hague: Paleiskerk

Todos los fuegos el fuego

Amstel Quartet four saxophones

Keuris Quartet four saxophones

Maxim Shalygin conductor

A masterpiece for eight saxophones

According to NRC, it was one of the best concerts of 2019. The premiere of Maxim Shalygin’s Todos los fuegos el fuego made a deep impression. Shalygin drew inspiration from the collection of short stories of the same name by the Argentine writer Julio Cortázar, in which a parallel universe breaks through our everyday reality. It resulted in a full-length masterpiece for 8 saxophones in 8 movements, where each movement has its own character and sound world. You will be sitting on the edge of your seat.

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around messiaen

Saturday 12 March 2022, 15:00

The Hague: Elandstraatkerk

livre du saint-sacrement

Bert den Hertog organ

Mysticism, darkness and ressurection

Devotion, mysticism, darkness, resurrection and ecstasy. With these motives, Olivier Messiaen turned his last cycle Livre du Saint-Sacrement into a monument in the organ literature. Playing this richly varied music requires the utmost from an organist. Bert den Hertog takes up that challenge on the organ of the Elandstraatkerk, of which he is the regular player. It is a magnificent instrument that does full justice to the beauty of sound and the richness of colour in Messiaen’s music.

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around messiaen

Friday 11 March 2022, 20:00

The Hague: Paleiskerk

vingt regards sur l’enfant-Jésus

Alfonso Gómez piano

An astonishing tour de force

With his Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant Jésus, Olivier Messiaen wrote an overwhelming masterpiece, a twenty-part cycle lasting no less than two hours. The music demands the utmost from a pianist: from whisper-soft chords full of mystery to overwhelming ecstasy in which the fortissimos turn the grand piano into a sound cathedral. The Spanish pianist Alfonso Gómez is a prominent interpreter of 20th century and new music. For Kairos, one of the foremost CD labels for new music, he made a magnificent recording of the Vingt Regards. He travels to the Netherlands to participate in our Messiaen festival.

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around messiaen

Thursday 10 March 2022, 20:00

The Hague: Paleiskerk

quatuor pour la fin du temps

Jelmer de Moed clarinet

Tim Brackman violin

Pieter de Koe cello

Rik Kuppen piano

Spiritual chamber music

In 1940, the 32-year-old Messiaen fulfilled his military service with front-of-line medical assistance. He fell into the hands of the Germans as a prisoner of war and spent a whole year in the Polish camp Stalag VIII-A. There he met a clarinettist, violinist and cellist and composed his immortal Quatuor pour la fin du temps.

The apocalyptic poetry of the apostle John inspired him to a masterpiece with visions of rainbows, angels, a ravine with birds and a hushed final movement, after which the audience is usually silent for many minutes. Galina Ustvolskaya wrote spiritual chamber music as well, in which, just like Messiaen, she found her own, wholly unique voice. Her impressive Clarinet Trio from 1949 shows a strong likeness in spirit.

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in search of lost time

Wednesday 9 March, 20:00

The Hague: Paleiskerk

liszt’s plunge into darkness

Nikola Meeuwsen piano

An ode to the night

The pianist Nikola Meeuwsen is a rising star: on TV, in festivals and recently with the Residentie Orkest as soloist in Clara Schumann’s Piano Concerto. In this solo recital he plays works in which Liszt took a plunge into darkness. In his masterpiece La Notte – that he wanted to be performed on his funeral – Liszt brings an ode to the night. His iconic Sonata in B minor sounds like a titanic struggle between the forces of darkness and light. Because a full evening's recital is possible again, Nikola adds to his programme Bach’s First Partita and Shostakovich’s Second Piano Sonata.

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around messiaen

Saturday 18 December 2021, 14:15

The Hague: Elandstraatkerk

livre du saint-sacrement

Bert den Hertog organ

Mysticism, darkness and ressurection

Devotion, mysticism, darkness, resurrection and ecstasy. With these motives, Olivier Messiaen turned his last cycle Livre du Saint-Sacrement into a monument in the organ literature. Playing this richly varied music requires the utmost from an organist. Bert den Hertog takes up that challenge on the organ of the Elandstraatkerk, of which he is the regular player. It is a magnificent instrument that does full justice to the beauty of sound and the richness of colour in Messiaen’s music.

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in search of lost time

Sunday 28 November 2021, 15:00

The Hague: Paleiskerk

la belle époque

Volkmann Trio

Coraline Groen violin

Jobine Siekman cello

Valentina Tóth piano

French piano trios with a theatrical context

In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, women composers were more likely to present their works in salons than in concert halls. Many of their compositions have therefore slipped into oblivion. Fortunately, they are currently being rediscovered. The musicians of the Volkmann Trio champion piano trios by three French women composers. Cécile Chaminade and Germaine Tailleferre were able to attract some attention in their time. Mel Bonis, admired by César Franck, led a shadowy existence, in which she nevertheless composed many pieces. Valentina Tóth is a pianist and an actress. She gives the wonderful piano trios a theatrical context with texts of her own, which take us back to Paris during the belle époque.

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in search of lost time

Saturday 27 November 2021, 20:15

The Hague: Paleiskerk

Vienna around 1900

Brackman Pianotrio

Tim Brackman violin

Kalle de Bie cello

Rik Kuppen piano

It happened in Vienna

The up-and-coming Brackman Piano Trio from The Hague immerses us in Vienna’s musical life around 1900. That is where it all happened. First, Arnold Schönberg first composed late-Romantic masterpieces, such as Verklärte Nacht. Then he abandoned tonality: a revolution. He inspired Anton Webern to write highly original miniatures, such as his Vier Stücke for violin and piano. At the same time, the violinist Fritz Kreisler achieved enormous success with his irresistible miniatures: nostalgic salon music in the best sense of the word. Other composers remained true to late-Romanticism, such as Zemlinsky in his overwhelmingly beautiful piano trio, and the fortunately rediscovered Joseph Marx.

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in search of lost time

Saturday 27 November 2021, 15:00

The Hague: Paleiskerk

liebeslieder-walzer

Damask Vocal Quartet

Katharine Dain soprano

Marine Fribourg mezzo-soprano

Guy Cutting tenor

Drew Santini bass

Flore Merlin piano

Anne le Bozec piano

The ultimate music for the salon

Four singers, two pianists quatre-mains. In the 19th century, this was an ideal ensemble for musical soirées at home. Dozens of composers wrote pieces for vocal quartet. Schumann and Brahms even contributed some masterpieces. The singers of Damask, also successful as soloists, elevate this domestic music to an exceptional level. Their debut CD O schöne Nacht was honoured with the prestigious Choc Award in 2019. With his Liebeslieder-Walzer, Brahms composed music for the salon and, according to his biographers, a declaration of love to Clara Schumann. Also today, some composers cherish vocal quartets, including John Corigliano and Zachary Wadsworth, who gave a contemporary twist to Brahms’s Liebeslieder-Walzer.

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in search of lost time

Friday 26 November 2021, 20:15

The Hague: Paleiskerk

a tribute To nikolai medtner

Ekaterina Levental mezzo-soprano

Frank Peters piano

Instilled with beauty

The Russian composer Nikolai Medtner left behind more than a hundred exquisite songs. Mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Levental and pianist Frank Peters came up with the brilliant idea to record them all, for the first time. It will become a five-CD cycle. They present a selection of Medtner’s songs, which in his time were often performed in the salons of music lovers with refined tastes. Erik Voermans wrote in the leading Dutch newspaper Het Parool: “They perform this repertoire completely heartfelt. The level at which Levental and Peters convey Medtner’s message makes a tremendous impression.”

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pop-upconcert

Thursday 25 November 2021, 20:15

The Hague: Paleiskerk

goodbye Gagliano !

Joseph Puglia violin

Ellen Corver piano

Palace of Mirrors

The violinist Joseph Puglia – together with his regular duo partner Ellen Corver – bids farewell to his Gagliano violin, on which he plays his last concerts after many years of having it on loan. For this occasion he performs a  programme with retrospective farewell pieces. In his Violin sonata, his last work, Claude Debussy honoured the French baroque masters he greatly admired. In Spiegelpaleis, Klaas de Vries pays tribute to Schubert. Joseph Puglia and Ellen Corver conclude their recital with Schubert’s virtuoso Phantasy that includes a beautiful series of variations on the farewell song Sei mir gegrüsst.

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around shostakovich

Sunday 17 October 2021, 20:15

The Hague: Paleiskerk

six adagios

Daniel Rowland violin

Tijmen Huisingh violin

Joël Waterman viola

Maja Bogdanović cello

A deep affinity

Few musicians show such a strong affinity with Shostakovich as the violinist Daniel Rowland. For the final concert of our five-day festival, he has assembled a string quartet with musician friends. They will be performing one of Shostakovich’s most poignant pieces: the Fifteenth String Quartet from 1974. Its six hushed, at times haunting adagios include an elegy, a serenade, a nocturne and a funeral march. The musicians will perform this awe-inspiring masterpiece  alongside the lyrical Fourth String Quartet with Jewish themes and the radical one-movement Thirteenth String Quartet, one of Shostakovich’s most exciting and daring pieces.­

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around shostakovich

Sunday 17 October 2021, 15:00

The Hague: Paleiskerk

a piano trio as in memoriam

Ekaterina Levental mezzo-soprano

Frank Peters piano

Daniel Rowland violin

Maja Bogdanović cello

Anna Fedorova piano

A heated dispute

Shostakovich turned his Second Piano Trio into an in memoriam for Ivan Sollertinsky, who died in Novosibirsk in 1944. The trio is more of a personal salute than an outlet for the horrors of war. The furious scherzo portrays not a clash of arms but a heated discussion between the two friends. Jewish themes play a prominent role in the trio, which forms a great combination with the Jewish songs by Mieczysław Weinberg.­

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around shostakovich

Saturday 16 October 2021, 20:15

The Hague: Paleiskerk

Britten and shostakovich

Ekaterina Levental mezzo-soprano

Jacobien Rozemond violin

Doris Hochscheid cello

Frans van Ruth piano

A close friendship

Shostakovich was a close friend of Benjamin Britten’s, with whom he had become acquainted through Mstislav Rostropovich, the cellist who invited the prominent composers of his time to compose new cello repertoire. Britten completed his Cello Sonata for Rostropovich in 1961. Six years later, Shostakovich wrote his Suite on poems by Alexander Blok for soprano and piano trio for the cellist. The acclaimed mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Levental will be joined by Doris Hochscheid and Frans van Ruth, praised in de Volkskrant for the “great élan” and the “unconditional dedication” in their playing.

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around shostakovich

Saturday 16 October 2021, 15:00

The Hague: Paleiskerk

musical diaries

Animato Kwartet

Beauty conquers

Shostakovich saw his string quartets as his musical diaries. He wrote his First Quartet in 1938, a few months after he fell out of favour with Stalin. The quartet is not a political commentary but a revisiting to his childhood. Shostakovich considered his phenomenal Third Quartet from 1946 to be one of his best pieces: an ode to beauty that always conquers. He wrote his Seventh Quartet as an in memoriam to his first wife, who passed away in 1954. The Animato Kwartet is one of the most promising young string quartets in the Netherlands. The jury of Dutch Classical Talent noted: “Four top players with bubbling energy, they grab you from the first note!”

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around shostakovich

Friday 15 October 2021, 20:15

The Hague: Paleiskerk

winter sonata

Dana Zemtsov viola

Anna Fedorova piano

A sonata like a novel

The viola sonata is Shostakovich’s swan song, composed like a novel, full of quotes from his earlier work. Shostakovich composed this work, his last, after his colleague and friend Grigori Frid had played his viola sonata to him: a fascinating and idiosyncratic piece that will be performed with the sonata for which it was a spark of inspiration. Shostakovich based the final adagio of his sonata on Beethoven’s Mondschein Sonata which is also on the programme. The violist Dana Zemtsov plays with her regular duo partner: the beloved concert pianist Anna Fedorova.

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around shostakovich

Friday 15 October 2021, 17:00

The Hague: Paleiskerk

inspired by bach

Nikola Meeuwsen piano

Shostakovich and Bach

In 1943 Shostakovich composed one of his most lucid pieces: the Second Piano Sonata. The sonata is not a showstopper. A reason that few pianists perform this masterpiece. Completely unjustified according to Nikola Meeuwsen, the young pianist from The Hague who was selected by NRC as one of the most promising young talents in the Netherlands. In the Second Piano Sonata, you can hear that Bach was an important source of inspiration for Shostakovich. He liked to perform Bach’s dance suites and partitas on his piano. These pieces have left a mark on the sonata’s clear texture and vital rhythmical drive. Nikola Meeuwsen concludes his recital with Bach’s rich and overwhelmingly profound Sixth Partita

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around shostakovich

Thursday 14 October 2021, 20:15

The Hague: Paleiskerk

fratres

Pieter van Loenen violin

Tobias Borsboom piano

Klezmer and Bach

For their debut CD The Silence Between, violinist Pieter van Loenen and pianist Tobias Borsboom received glowing reviews in the press. The two musicians from The Hague perform Shostakovich’s Violin Sonata from 1968. This richly layered piece resounds with Jewish klezmer, but also pays homage to Bach. Igor Stravinsky could return to his homeland in 1962 after many decades. He brought back childhood memories of the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, where his father was a singer, in Le Baiser de la fée. He summarised this ballet in a brilliant divertimento. In 1977, Arvo Pärt wrote Fratres, one of his best works.

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around shostakovich

Wednesday 13 October 2021, 20:15

The Hague: Paleiskerk

caught in a formula

Ensemble De Formule:

Laura Lunansky violin

Floor Le Coultre violin

Sofie van der Schalie viola

Rogier Tamminga cello

Rik Kuppen piano

Double meanings

Shostakovich received the Stalin Prize in 1941 for his beloved Piano Quintet. A dubious honour. How could this piece receive the highest marks from the same authorities, who dismissed his earlier work as “chaos instead of music”? In the theatrical performance Caught in the Formula, the musicians of ensemble De Formule and director Kenza Koutchoukali delve into the hidden drama in Shostakovich’s music. They search for double meanings and also wonder how free we are today to express our thoughts and tell our own stories.

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pop-upconcert

Sunday 26 September 2021, 15:00

The Hague: Paleiskerk

i dream of …

Anastasia Kozlova violin

Eva Tebbe harp

Disappearing for a while to a different time and place

“Brilliant. A continuous string of delights ... They play together with perfection, with beautifully articulated melodies.” We couldn’t agree more with the Algemeen Dagblad and have invited the violinist Anastasia Kozlova and the harpist Eva Tebbe for a colourful duo recital in the Paleiskerk. They chose as the central theme for their recital a longing that overwhelms all of us from time to time: the desire to escape reality and disappear for a while to a different time and place.

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pop-up concert

Saturday 28 August 2021, 19:30

The Hague: Paleiskerk

130 years van gogh

Trio Basilova | Fridman | Napolov
Helena Basilova piano

Maya Fridman cello

Konstantyn Napolov percussion

To the centre of the earth

With their unusual ensemble, they open up new sound worlds. Konstantyn Napolov, Helena Basilova and Maya Fridman play percussion, piano and cello. Many composers write new works for them. For the Van Gogh Year 2020, two composers were inspired by the trio and by Van Gogh: the American Molly Joyce was inspired by the iconic painting Wheat Field with Crows, the Venezuelan Martin Francisco Mayo by the correspondence between the painter and his brother Theo. Jules Verne wrote in Van Gogh’s time Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Aart Strootman descends to the earth’s core as well: in Obscure Atlas СГ-3, a gripping musical journey.

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pop-up concert

Saturday 28 August 2021, 15:00

The Hague: Paleiskerk

reflections

Ralph van Raat piano

Anastasia Kozlova violin

Konstantyn Napolov percussion

Time stops

Three inspired musicians meet up in a programme about time and timelessness for violin, piano and percussion. In heaven where time rushes to a halt, bells are ringing. They resound in The Bells of Saint-Clement’s by Jan-Peter de Graaff, one of the most successful young composers in the Netherlands. In Fratres by Arvo Pärt, time stops in its hypnotic repetitions. A masterpiece is Varied Trio by Lou Harrison, who crosses times and cultures from Indonesian gamelan to the art of the French rococo painter Fragonard. In his Fourth Violin Sonata, Charles Ives recalls childhood memories, of the church service where sounds from outside intrude and the loudest singers start off on wrong notes.

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Sunday 22 August 2021, 21:30

The Hague: Paleiskerk (full moon)

Pierrot lunaire 2.01

Ekaterina Levental mezzosoprano

Ensemble Nomad tape

Chris Koolmees director

Soloperformance at full moon

"An impressive tour de force ... a flawless mezzo, perfect diction and strong presence.” Four stars the NRC put above the jubilant review of La Voix Humaine en Quarantaine with Ekaterina Levental. We presented this performance in July 2020, together with OPERA2DAY and LEKS Compagnie in the Koninklijke Schouwburg. Pierrot Lunaire 2.01 is no less impressive music theatre, in an interactive video installation. To be seen after sunset at full moon. The best possible moment for Arnold Schönberg’s Pierrot Lunaire.

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pop-up concert

Monday 12 July 2021, 19:30

The Hague: Nieuwe Kerk

beethoven’s piano concertos
as chamber music

Hanna Shybayeva piano

Animato Kwartet

Bas Vliegenthart double bass

The concert hall in the living room

The pianist Hanna Shybayeva is successful with CDs and live performances in which she presents piano concertos in chamber music versions. She does not have to compete with a large orchestra. As a listener, you discover new details. The music becomes more intimate. For the renowned Naxos label, Hanna records all Beethoven’s piano concertos in arrangements for string quartet and double bass. The first CDs were received enthusiastically by the press. She crowns her cycle with Beethoven’s Second and Fifth piano concertos.

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pop-up concert

Friday 2July 2021, 19:30 & 21:30

The Hague: Paleiskerk

Maxim shalygin’s
percussion marathon

Daniel Rowland violin
Shapeshift Ensemble:
Konstantyn Napolov percussion

Christian Smith percussion

Ryoko Imai percussion
Mervyn Groot percussion

Ricardo Oliveira percussion

Maxim Shalygin conductor

An enormous battery of percussion

An enormous battery of percussion - 114 instruments - appears on stage for five magnificent percussion pieces by Maxim Shalygin. This Ukrainian composer from The Hague has become one of the most outstanding composers in the Netherlands. His works can be heard at prominent festivals and have received rave reviews.

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Nieuwjaarsfestival
Classical NOW! & het Stiftfestival in Studio 150

Zo 3 januari 2021, 19:00 (livestream)

Amsterdam: Studio 150 (Bethlehemkerk)

verklärte nacht

Daniel Rowland viool

Tijmen Huisingh viool

Floor Le Coultre viool

◀ Dana Zemtsov altviool
Vladimir Mendelssohn altviool

Maja Bogdanović cello

Anna Fedorova piano

Natacha Kudritskaya piano

Surrealistische nachtvisioenen

De festivalmusici spelen nachtmuziek bij kaarslicht. Bij Debussy klinkt serene rust. Surrealistische nachtvisioenen, inclusief poltergeist, flitsen voorbij in Ravels Gaspard de la nuit: een iconische pianocyclus. Schönbergs Verklärte Nacht voor strijksextet is gebaseerd op een gedicht van Richard Dehmel. Twee geliefden wandelen door de met maanlicht overgoten nacht. Zij verwacht een kind van een ander en biecht het op. Hij vergeeft het haar. Schönberg verklankte het onvergetelijk.

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Nieuwjaarsfestival
Classical NOW! & het Stiftfestival in Studio 150

Zo 3 januari 2021, 14:30 (livestream)

Amsterdam: Studio 150 (Bethlehemkerk)

the french connection

Daniel Rowland viool

Floor Le Coultre viool
Vladimir Mendelssohn altviool

Maja Bogdanović cello

Nicky Schwartz contrabas

◀ Anna Fedorova piano

Boris Fedorov piano

Natacha Kudritskaya piano

Nikola Meeuwsen piano

Overstromende passie

Opnieuw spelen de festivalmusici een meesterwerk van César Franck: zijn pianokwintet. Het stuk stroomt over van passie. Voor de toehoorders bij de première was het duidelijk. Franck had zijn hart verpand aan een nieuwe maîtresse. De geruchten bleken waar. 20 Jaar later schreef Ravel Le Tombeau de Couperin, een in memoriam voor zes in de Grote Oorlog gesneuvelde vrienden. Serene en lucide muziek als toevluchtsoord in een turbulente tijd. De Oekraïense componist Boris Fedorov brengt in twee stukken voor piano en contrabas een hommage aan Chopin en aan Franse muziek.

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Nieuwjaarsfestival
Classical NOW! & het Stiftfestival in Studio 150

Za 2 januari 2021, 19:00 (livestream)

Amsterdam: Studio 150 (Bethlehemkerk)

Hommage aan césar franck

Daniel Rowland viool

Floor Le Coultre viool

Dana Zemtsov altviool

Maja Bogdanović cello

◀ Pau Codina cello

Nicky Schwartz contrabas

Anna Fedorova piano

De mooiste vioolsonate ooit

De mooiste vioolsonate ooit. Volgens velen zette César Franck die op papier. Aan het eind van zijn leven, op de toppen van zijn kunnen, schreef hij dat uitgebalanceerde meesterwerk. Minder bekend is dat hij rond zijn twintigste stukken componeerde die overrompelen door hun gedurfde originaliteit. In 1845 voltooide hij een Sextet voor piano en strijkers. Een stuk dat met niets uit die tijd te vergelijken valt. Minimal music avant la lettre.

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Nieuwjaarsfestival
Classical NOW! & het Stiftfestival in Studio 150

Vrij 1 januari 2021, 21:30 (livestream)

Amsterdam: Studio 150 (Bethlehemkerk)

Beethoven goes freejazz

Anna Fedorova piano

Natacha Kudritskaya piano

Fabian Fiorini piano

◀ Nicky Schwartz contrabas

Beethovens boogie-woogie

Het is in Beethovens laatste pianosonate een verbijsterend moment. In het slotdeel van zijn opus 111 springt hij een minuut lang een eeuw in de tijd vooruit. De sonate breekt uit zijn klassieke stramien en wordt swingende boogie-woogie. Voor de Belgische jazzpianist Fabian Fiorini een aanleiding om Anna Fedorova en Natacha Kudritskaya uit te dagen samen met hem van twee Beethoven-sonates freejazz te maken: voor twee piano’s. Contrabassist Nicky Schwartz nodigt Amsterdamse jazzmusici uit voor de spetterende jamsessie na afloop.

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Nieuwjaarsfestival
Classical NOW! & het Stiftfestival in Studio 150

Vrij 1 januari 2021, 19:00 (livestream)

Amsterdam: Studio 150
(Bethlehemkerk)

Beethovens liefdesbrieven

Daniel Rowland viool

Tijmen Huisingh viool
Joël Waterman altviool

Dana Zemtsov altviool

◀ Maja Bogdanović cello
Pau Codina cello

Natacha Kudritskaya piano

Anna Fedorova voordracht uit Tolstois Kreutzersonate

Liefde volgens Beethoven

Beethoven richtte aan zijn “onsterfelijke geliefdes” liefdesverklaringen in muziek en in brieven, waar de musici delen uit voorlezen. Het hielp hem niet verder. Een huwelijksaanzoek aan Therese Malfatti mislukte. In zijn Quartetto serioso blies hij stoom af. Zijn liefde voor de mensheid verklaarde Beethoven in zijn Negende symfonie, en in de cavatina van zijn strijkkwartet, opus 130. Een opname van dat kwartetdeel ligt aan boord van de Voyager II, die in 2018 ons zonnestelsel heeft verlaten. Een muzikale groet aan de buitenaardse wezens die de ruimtesonde mogelijk ooit inspecteren. Beethovens iconische Kreutzersonate klinkt naast een voorgelezen fragment uit Tolstois gelijknamige novelle over liefde en waanzin.

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Do 2 en vrij 3 juli 2020, 19:30

Den Haag: Koninklijke Schouwburg

La Voix Humaine en Quarantaine

Ekaterina Levental mezzosopraan

Yoram Ish-Hurwitz piano (tape)

Chris Koolmees regie

Een facetime-versie van Francis Poulencs ‘La voix humaine’

Een coproductie met LEKS Compagnie en OPERA2DAY

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