Democracies and human rights are under pressure. Russia has invaded Ukraine, in Belarus dissidents are disappearing behind bars. Our festival The People United gives a stage to musicians who speak out for peace and justice. Pianist Hanna Shybayeva plays Frederic Rzewski's iconic variations on the Chilean protest song The People United Will Never Be Defeated. The start of a festival of banned music, past and present, and works by socially engaged composers. Compositions from Estonia, Ukraine and Belarus are on the programme. Musicians from opposing countries play together, showing that music can unite. The Uyghur ensemble Mäshräp plays traditional music from an ancient culture in danger of disappearing. The festival is also an ode to imagination, which can make us stronger and more resilient.
Sunday 21 May 2023, 20:00 The Hague: Elandstraatkerk
The people united
Canto di forza
Bert den Hertog organ
Pēteris Vasks and Arvo Pärt are the most prominent composers from Latvia and Estonia, which suffered for decades under the Soviet regime. The Hague organist Bert den Hertog puts both composers at the centre of his recital. Vasks wrote his organ works around the time of Latvia’s independence. They reflect this eventful period. His music is the expression of a free spirit. Arvo Pärt is another example of a composer following his own path. He emigrated to the West because his music was blacklisted in Soviet times and he had no future in Estonia. He was successful in the West. After independence, he returned to his native Estonia, from where he now travels the world as the most performed living composer.
Saturday 20 May 2023, 20:30 The Hague: Paleiskerk
The people united
Songs of the Heart: A Celebration of Uyghur Music and Spirit
Ensemble Mäshräp
Sophisticated, captivating and complex
Traditional Uyghur music is a sophisticated, captivating, and complex art form that has flourished since the second century in what is now Xinjiang, China. The music is similar to Turkish classical music, as the Uyghur language is related to Turkish. However, this ancient tradition is in danger of disappearing. In China, Uyghur music is often suppressed by the government, and it can only be heard in public outside of the country. A group of six Uyghur emigrants in the Netherlands have formed the ensemble Mäshräp in an effort to preserve this endangered tradition. Mäshräp performs classical Uyghur songs about friendship, homesickness, and love. The ensemble's music is a powerful reminder of the beauty and resilience of the Uyghur people.
Saturday 20 May 2023, 14:30 The Hague: Paleiskerk
The people united
Reflections
Antonii Baryshevskyi piano
Three Ukrainian composers
Shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, master pianist Antonii Baryshevskyi moved to Amsterdam. He has won prestigious piano competitions. As an artist in residence, he is our guest multiple times this season. On several occasions, he has made a stunning impression in our concerts. Baryhevskyi is a passionate advocate for Ukrainian piano music. He performs the piano cycle Reflections and Preludes by Boris Lyatoshinsky, a leading Ukrainian composer. One of his most prominent students is Valentin Silvestrov, whose masterful Second Sonata is on the program alongside a selection from his cycle Kitsch-Musik. Antonii Baryshevskyi concludes his program with piano pieces and dazzlingly virtuosic etudes by Silvestrov's kindred spirit Svyatoslav Lunyov.
New European Ensemble Maya Fridman cello Konstantyn Napolov percussion Hanna Shybayeva piano
One universal language
Music can inspire change and unity. Driven by this motivation, Hanna
Shybayeva, Maya Fridman, and Konstantyn Napolov enjoy performing
together. They moved from Minsk, Moscow, and Odessa to the Netherlands,
respectively. Together with the New European Ensemble, they present a
diverse premiere program featuring compositions by leading composers: Maxim Kolomiiets and Victoria Poleva from Ukraine, and
Kanstantsin Yaskou and Oxana Omelchuk from Belarus, who have fled their
country. The cello sonata by composer-pianist Evgeny Kissin receives its
Dutch premiere. After the performance, Maya Fridman and Hanna Shybayeva
discuss their benefit concerts, supporting Ukraine and Belarusian
political prisoners and their families.
Thursday 18 May 2023, 20:15 The Hague: Paleiskerk
The people united
Different Trains
Animato Kwartet
Parallel railway journeys
Steve Reich composed one of his best works, Different Trains, for string quartet and tape. The idea came to him when he realised that, as a child, he had travelled carefree by train in the US during the war years, while on another continent people were embarking on trains for a last journey. He incorporated recordings of survivors recounting their war experiences into his piece. The Animato Quartet combines Reich's masterpiece with works by Henriette Bosmans, a composer banned during the war, and Anton Webern, who ignored the curfew which proved fatal to him. Joël Waterman looks back on his Jewish family history in his string quartet Moonset, also a tribute to the famous sunrise in Haydn’s quartet, which is also on the programme.
Wednesday 17 May 2023, 20:15 The Hague: Paleiskerk
The people united
The People United Will Never Be Defeated
Hanna Shybayeva piano
Iconic Masterpiece
Frederic Rzewski based his impressive set of variations The People United Will Never Be Defeated on the fight song of the Chilean resistance in their struggle against dictatorship. Rzewski expresses in a magisterial way that different people can unite. In 36 variations, he quotes all kinds of styles, such as jazz, serialism, minimalism and romanticism. The cycle is a signature piece for pianist Hanna Shybayeva. "With exceptional power, imaginative colours and very convincing (Trouw)". After the break, the Hague-based artist Ingrid Rollema and Suzanne Groothuis will present the Hope Foundation, which supports Palestinian children through art projects.
French composer Francis Poulenc began his career as an enfant terrible,
challenging the established order. He remained somewhat of an outsider,
leaving his conservatory studies unfinished. His contemporaries did not take him seriously. He was said to have produced a carefree, rather superficial oeuvre. Wrongly so. Poulenc's music is sincere and never pretentious. But because of this prejudice, his work is still rarely played. In the current season at the Concertgebouw, for example, there is only one hour of Poulenc, spread over several concerts. For Classical NOW! this is reason enough for a five-concert tribute.
Passe-partout 5 concerts € 110
Saturday 15 April 2023, 21:00 The Hague: Paleiskerk
Francis Poulenc: A Portrait
La Voix Humaine Facetime
Ekaterina Levental mezzo-soprano Joram Ish Hurwitz piano (tape) Chris Koolmees director
From telephone to webcam
Alone in her room, a woman video-chats with her ex, who is marrying someone else the next day. Desperate, she makes one last attempt to save their relationship. In his adaptation of Poulenc’s theater classic La Voix Humaine, director Chris Koolmees transforms the protagonist into a webcam girl instead of a woman talking on the phone. This offers a magnificent role for singer and actress Ekaterina Levental in a production by LEKS Compagnie. “We see Levental’s expressive face magnified on the screen, at times hysterically tormented, and at times uplifted by futile hope. These extremes drive the performance, and Levental endows it with impressive power through her gifted mezzo, perfect diction, and strong stage presence (NRC).”
Saturday 15 April 2023, 13:00 The Hague: Paleiskerk
Francis Poulenc: A Portrait
The Adventures of the Little Elephant Babar Children’s Concert 5+
Huib Ramaer spoken word Tobias Borsboom piano
A timeless classic
In 1931, Jean de Brunhoff created a timeless classic with The
Adventures of the Little Elephant Babar, both writing and illustrating
his tale. Poulenc skillfully adapted Babar into a narrative for spoken
voice and piano, resulting in one of his most accomplished pieces. The
work has been performed by some of France’s most esteemed actors. Huib
Ramaer narrates Babar in both Dutch and French, accompanied by pianist
Tobias Borsboom.
Coraline Groen violin Jelmer de Moed
clarinet Bram van Sambeek bassoon Kalle de Bie cello Ekaterina Levental mezzo-soprano Rik Kuppen piano
Poulenc’s brilliant imagination
Enjoy a lavish evening (featuring two intermissions) of chamber music and songs by Francis Poulenc, with additional works by Maurice Ravel and mentor and inspiration Erik Satie. Six musicians, all avid fans of Poulenc’s music, grace the stage. Coraline Groen, the 2020 Oscar Back Competition winner, performs “stylishly and with individuality (NRC).” Jelmer de Moed stands out as “a sophisticated performer (Jury Dutch Classical Talent).” Bram van Sambeek, a “top bassoonist (Volkskrant),” has won prestigious awards. Rik Kuppen creates music “beautifully and generously (Volkskrant).”
Thursday 13 April 2023, 20:15 The Hague: Paleiskerk
Francis Poulenc: A Portrait
Les chemins de l’amour
Charlotte Riedijk soprano Ellen Corver piano
A light touch
Few Dutch singers have delved into Poulenc’s music as deeply as soprano Charlotte Riedijk. She captures every nuance in his songs, which demand the utmost from a singer.
“Charlotte Riedijk sings with a great sense of theater... declamation, empathy, and lyrical vocal lines are perfectly balanced (De Volkskrant).” She also performs works by Satie and Ravel, two of Poulenc’s sources of inspiration. Riedijk’s long-standing duo partner is pianist Ellen Corver, with whom she has shared the stage for many years.
Wednesday 12 April 2023, 20:15 The Hague: Paleiskerk
Francis Poulenc: A Portrait
Poulenc Cleans His Ears with Mozart
Hexagon Ensemble
A spectacular sextet
If Poulenc had to endure a Wagner opera, he wanted to cleanse his ears with Mozart, his favorite composer. The Hexagon Ensemble – five wind players and one pianist – will perform Mozart's Quintet for winds and piano. The musicians pair this Mozartian masterpiece with a rich selection of Poulenc’s works for wind instruments, including his spectacular Sextet.
“The Hexagon Ensemble is outstanding and holds a unique position in the Dutch musical landscape (Opus Klassiek).”
In seven concerts, we pay homage to our planet. We present works by
composers who feel connected to the planet and nature. Who challenge us
to listen more carefully to the world around us. Who share their wonder
at the richness of nature and inspire us.
With Classical NOW!, violinist Daniel Rowland hosts a long weekend with musicians from his Stift Festival. “Well worth a detour,” wrote the NRC in a four-star review. Now it is possible to listen to the festival musicians over a long weekend in The Hague. A rich programme of compositions in varying line-ups, from flute solo to Maxim Shalygin’s ode to the ocean and whales for seven string players and piano.
Friday 31 March 2023, 20:15 The Hague: Paleiskerk
gaia: our holy planet
Droplets
Konstantyn Napolov percussion
Superhuman control
Percussionist Konstantyn Napolov fills the stage with dozens of instruments. He plays gongs and objects from the Chinese opera in Droplets by Christiaan Richter. This piece captures rhythmic processes found in nature, such as the patter of falling raindrops, which resonate in various rhythms. Combining these rhythms requires exceptional control and skill. On other instruments he plays nature-inspired solo pieces by Louis Andriessen, Maxim Shalygin and Nicolas Martynciow. For Eva by Remy Alexander, the artist Rob van den Broek built a new percussion instrument.
Thursday 30 March 2023, 20:15 The Hague: Haags Pianohuis (Noordeinde)
gaia: our holy planet
Pan
Tobias Borsboom piano
Embracing the universe
In Pan (an hour-long tone poem for piano), Czech composer VítězslavNovák wanted to embrace the forest, mountains, sea, and even the universe with ecstatic music. His ambitious plan resulted in a gripping masterpiece thanks to his meticulous exploration of nearly every sonic possibility the piano has to offer. This generous music transports us back to Prague circa 1910. The Hague pianist Tobias Borsboom passionately believes in every note of Novák’s work, and witnessing him fully immerse himself in the music is an unforgettable experience. Praised for his playing, with “the right amount of drama and a jewel of a touch” (Trouw), Borsboom “deserves a full house” (Parool).
Sunday 12 March 2023, 15:30 The Hague: Paleiskerk
gaia: our holy planet
A Magical World
Daniel Rowland violin Maja Bogdanović cello Janne Thomsen flute Natacha Kudritskaya piano
At one with nature
In childhood we feel at one with nature, our senses are still intimately connected. The Romanian composer Georges Enescu expressed this magical world in his Impressions d’Enfance.
Daniel Rowland and Natacha Kudritskaya play this half-hour cycle superbly. “Magisterial chamber music at the highest level,” wrote the Volkskrant.
Claude Debussy captured the magical world of his youth in Syrinx, an ode to a mythical forest nymph, and La Mer, his three-part tribute to the sea, brilliantly arranged for piano trio by Sally Beamish. Philippe Gaubert’sAquarelles for flute, cello and piano are playful and magical.
Sunday 12 March 2023, 20:15 The Hague: Paleiskerk
gaia: our holy planet
Night Song
Ekaterina Levental mezzo-soprano Frank Peters piano
The Divine in Pristine Wilderness
The nineteenth century was the age of the nature philosopher. The divine could be found in pristine wilderness. Their ideas were an endless source of inspiration for poets and composers.
Nature poems by Goethe and others are the focus of this recital with songs by Nikolai Medtner. Pianist Frank Peters and mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Levental present the fourth CD in their cycle, the first to include all of Medtner’s songs.
“With their heart and soul it’s all right... their performance makes a deep impression (Parool).”
Saturday 11 March 2023, 20:00 The Hague: Paleiskerk Concert with 2 intervals
gaia: our holy planet
Metamorphoses & The Ocean
Daniel Rowland&Tim Brackman violin Dana Zemtsov& Benjamin Roskams viola Maja Bogdanović& Pieter de Koe cello Ekaterina Levental mezzo-soprano Natacha Kudritskaya & Antonii Baryshevskyi piano
A ripple in eternity
Nature is changing. Turbulent changes and the melancholy of what is lost have never been so poignantly expressed in music as by Richard Strauss in his Metamorphoses. In Chausson’sChanson perpétuelle, a woman becomes one with the eternal nature. Eternity is also the theme of Gija Kancheli’sTime ... and again, a masterpiece as moving as it is poetic and enigmatic. Master pianist Antonii Baryshevksyi combines Ravel’sUne barque sur l’océan with two other movements from Ravel’s magical cycle Miroirs. In George Crumb’sVox Balaena, the whales come to life beneath the reflective surface of the water. A theatrical masterpiece for masked musicians in blue light. It is also the perfect setting for Blue in blue in blue, the premiere piece in which Maxim Shalygin plunges us into a hallucinatory new world.
Saturday 11 March 2023, 14:30 The Hague: Paleiskerk
gaia: our holy planet
Pastorale
Daniel Rowland&Tim Brackman & Floor Le Coultre violin Dana Zemtsov&Benjamin Roskams viola Maja Bogdanović & Pieter de Koe cello Nicholas Schwartz double bass Janne Thomsen flute Natacha Kudritskaya piano
Connected with nature
Few composers feel as close to nature as Pēteris Vasks. Daniel Rowland plays Sonata Estiva (Summer Sonata) dedicated to him. Pianist Natacha Kudritskaya conjures up autumn colours from her piano in Autumn Music. Danish flautist Janne Thomsen performs Landscape with Birds. Beethoven also painted a landscape with birds, in his Sixth Symphony, the Pastoral. The festival musicians perform a masterful version for string septet.
A fine line-up. With Tim Brackman and Pieter de Koe of the acclaimed Animato Quartet, international viola star Dana Zemtsov and Nicholas Schwartz, double bass player of the Concertgebouw Orchestra (“he does magic with the double bass” – NRC).
Friday 10 March 2023, 19:30 The Hague: Paleiskerk
gaia: our holy planet
Night & The End of Times
Daniel Rowland & Tim Brackman violin Benjamin Roskams & Floor le Coultre viola Maja Bogdanović & Pieter de Koe cello Ekaterina Levental mezzo-soprano Jelmer de Moed clarinet & Janne Thomsen flute Natasha Kudritskaya piano
NIght falls
We open the festival with an ode to the night. The sun sets in Respighi's classic Il tramonto for mezzo-soprano and string quartet. Night falls in Vivaldi's flute concerto La notte. Two lovers stroll through the moonlit night in Arnold Schoenberg's iconic Verklärte Nacht for string sextet. Biblical visions of the end of time inspired Messiaen's visionary masterpiece Quatuor pour la fin du temps. As a prelude, Natacha Kudritskaya plays ZZ's Dream by Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov. The Chinese philosopher Zhuang Zhou dreams of ending up as a butterfly in another dimension. Among them Daniel Rowland (“Beautiful, intense and hyper-musical” – NRC), Maja Bogdanovic (“Lots of character, colour and depth” – NRC), Jelmer de Moed (“A sophisticated performer” – Dutch Classical Talent jury) and Natacha Kudritskaya (“Overwhelming” – Gramophone).
The Ukrainian composer Maxim Shalygin from The Hague is known as a magician of sound. Concerts and CDs featuring his work have been named cultural highlights of the year by the press on several occasions. Classical NOW! is organising the first festival devoted entirely to his work in his home town. The festival musicians will perform solo pieces, duos and songs. Together with Filmhuis Den Haag, we will screen the premiere of the first documentary about his life and work. In his compositions, Shalygin dares to explore within himself the undercurrent beyond reason. In it, he says, he finds truth and beauty, which can produce refined and serene sounds, but also unruly and mysterious music.
Passe-partout 2 concerts € 55
Sunday 26 February 2023, 19:30 The Hague: Paleiskerk
around maxim shalygin
Preludes, Letters & Canti: Three Solos
Maya Fridman cello Emmy Storms violin Antonii Baryshevskyi piano
Far beyond the edge
Maxim Shalygin’s solo cycles have been praised by the press for their ‘orchestral richness’ and ‘evocative beauty’. Maya Fridman’s performance of Canti d’inizio e fine was even named a musical highlight of 2019 by the Volkskrant. She will be performing this acclaimed cycle again. Violinist Emmy Storms plays the challenging Letters to Anna, an ‘odyssey through the human mind’ subtitled Symphony for solo violin. Pianist Antonii Baryshevskyi delves into silence in the meditative Preludes. Shalygin likes to write cycles for solo instruments, preferably for musician friends, which he often pushes to their limits.
Saturday 25 februari 2023, 19:30 The Hague: Paleiskerk
around maxim shalygin
Songs of Holy Fools: Songs and Duos
Ekaterina Levental mezzo-soprano
Daniel Rowland violin
Emmy Storms violin
Lidy Blijdorp cello
Antonii Baryshevskyi piano
Entering unexplored territory
Five of Maxim Shalygin’s favourite musicians come together for two song cycles and five duos. A programme ranging from intimate songs on the edge of silence to virtuoso pieces that demand the utmost from the performers. With homages to the Persian mystic Omar Khayyam, to Maurice Ravel and to the composer’s newborn daughter. Shalygin has written exciting and varied listening experiences that will leave no listener unmoved.
Saturday 18 February 2023, 16:00 The Hague: Filmhuis Den Haag
around maxim shalygin
Raising Waves
Anastasiia Suprun-Zhyvodrova director
A film portrait
Together with Filmhuis Den Haag, we present the premiere of Raising Waves: a film portrait of Maxim Shalygin. The film crew followed the composer to Dniprodzerzhynsk. He wanted to use music to overcome the depressing view from the flat where he grew up. As a composition student in Kyiv, Louis Andriessen's music fascinated him and encouraged him to continue his studies in The Hague. He continued to live there and became one of our country's most outstanding composers.
Saturday 11 February 2023, 20:15 The Hague: Paleiskerk
Three solos in the hague’s paleiskerk
Bach versus Paganini
Dana Zemtsov viola
Powerful tone and compelling storytelling power
She is praised for her “powerful tone and compelling narrative power (NRC)”. Dana Zemtsov is one of today's most captivating viola soloists. Her
interpretations are brilliant, full of fire and life, and also benefit
from the dark and rich timbre of her instrument. In her solo programme, she pits Bach against Paganini. The programme also includes tributes to Bach and Paganini by Vieuxtemps, Mikhail Kugel, Penderecki and Stravinsky.
Saturday 15 January 2023, 20:15 The Hague: Paleiskerk
Three solos in the hague’s paleiskerk
On a Journey with Lidy Blijdorp
Lidy Blijdorp cello
A train journey past vast landscapes
The cellist Lidy Blijdorp has won two Edison Awards in 2020 for her debut CD Journeyers: Best Debut and the Audience Award. The jury praised her “highly individual, maximally colorful interpretations” of works by Kodály and Ravel. In her first solo recital in The Hague, Blijdorp will perform Bach’s Sixth Cello Suite and Kodály’s Sonata for solo cello, a “train journey through Hungary, past vast landscapes and ancient villages, with a variety of Hungarian folk music and gypsy sounds,” according to Blijdorp.
Sunday 18 December 2022, 19:30 The Hague: Paleiskerk
Three solos in the hague’s paleiskerk
Bachs Complete Sonatas and Partitas
Liza Ferschtman violin
A breathtaking adventure
“An inspiring voyage of discovery, a breathtaking adventure.” Five-star reviews appear in the newspapers with superlatives when Liza Ferschtman plays Bach’s complete sonatas and partitas in one evening. Over two hours of sublime music in a concert with two intermissions. Liza Ferschtman interprets Bach so masterfully that you never get the idea of attending a marathon concert. No detail escapes her attention. Her Bach sings, speaks and dances. Inspired by Rachel Podger, Walter van Hauwe and Anner Bylsma – icons of early music – she convincingly brings Bach's baroque sound world into our time.
