Amstel Quartet four saxophones
Keuris Quartet four saxophones
Maxim Shalygin conductor
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.
Bert den Hertog organ
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. It is a magnificent instrument that does full justice to the beauty of sound and the richness of colour in Messiaen’s music.
Alfonso Gómez piano
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.
Jelmer de Moed clarinet
Tim Brackman violin
Pieter de Koe cello
Rik Kuppen piano
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. Her impressive Clarinet Trio from 1949 shows a strong likeness in spirit.
Jelmer de Moed clarinet
Tim Brackman violin
Pieter de Koe cello
Rik Kuppen piano
The award winning organist Geerten van de Wetering performs Messiaen’s organ cycle La Nativité du Seigneur. His performance is accompanied by spectacular projections on his organ. They show the colours that Messiaen composed in his music. He possessed the gift of synaesthesia: for every timbre and chord he saw a matching colour. To bring the colour spectrum of his music to life, Marcel Wierckx built an ingenious video installation. A hallucinatory experience, in sound and image. In the monumental Kloosterkerk
Nikola Meeuwsen piano
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.
Volkmann Trio
Coraline Groen violin
Jobine Siekman cello
Valentina Tóth piano
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 slipped into oblivion. Fortunately, they are being rediscovered. The musicians of the Volkmann Trio champion piano trios by three French women composers. 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.
Brackman Pianotrio
Tim Brackman violin
Kalle de Bie cello
Rik Kuppen piano
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.
Damask Vocal Quartet
Katharine Dain soprano
Marine Fribourg mezzosoprano
Guy Cutting tenor
Drew Santini bas
Flore Merlin piano
Anne le Bozec piano
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.
Ekaterina Levental mezzo-soprano
Frank Peters piano
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.”
Joe Puglia violin
Ellen Corver piano
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.
Daniel Rowland violin
Tijmen Huisingh violin
Joël Waterman viola
Maja Bogdanović cello
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.
Ekaterina Levental mezzo-soprano
Frank Peters piano
Daniel Rowland violin
Maja Bogdanović cello
Anna Fedorova piano
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.
Ekaterina Levental mezzo-soprano
Jacobien Rozemond vioin
Doris Hochscheid cello
Frans van Ruth piano
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 Sonatafor 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.
Animato Kwartet
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!”
Dana Zemtsov viola
Anna Fedorova piano
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 Moonlight Sonata which is also on the programme. The violist Dana Zemtsov plays with her regular duo partner: the beloved concert pianist Anna Fedorova.
Pieter van Loenen violin
Tobias Borsboom piano
With their debut CD The Silence Between, violinist Pieter van Loenen and pianist Tobias Borsboom have successfully put themselves on the map. The CD received glowing reviews in the press. The two musicians from The Hague play the Violin Sonata Shostakovich wrote for David Oistrakh in 1968. This richly layered piece resounds with Jewish klezmer, but also pays homage to Bach: the final movement is an impressive chaconne. They combine this masterpiece with Stravinsky’s divertimento The Fairy’s Kiss and with Fratres, one of Arvo Pärt’s most compelling pieces.
Nikola Meeuwsen piano
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.
Ensemble De Formule
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.
Anastasia Kozlova violin
Eva Tebbe harp
“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.
Helena Basilova piano
Maya Fridman cello
Konstantyn Napolov percussion
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.
Ralph van Raat piano
Anastasia Kozlova violin
Konstantyn Napolov percussion
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.
Ekaterina Levental mezzosoprano
Ensemble Nomad tape
Chris Koolmees director
“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.
Hanna Shybayeva piano
Animato Kwartet
Bas Vliegenthart double bass
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.
Daniel Rowland violin
Shapeshift Ensemble:
Konstantyn Napolov percussion
Christian Smith percussion
Ryoko Imai percussion
Mervyn Groot percussion
Ricardo Oliveira percussion
Maxim Shalygin 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.