Thursday 20 August sees the start of the annual Orlando Festival again in Kerkrade. Established in 1982 by cellist Stefan Metz, this event has been luring young musicians to Rolduc Abbey for over three decades to train in musical practice. Named after the then renowned Orlando Quartet, the festival traditionally pays close attention to strings, but other instruments are not forgotten either. This year, for instance, there is a piano trio competition, in which seven ensembles compete for first prize.
For a long time, the festival took place within the protected walls of Rolduc, but in 2014, then-artistic director Maarten Mostert broadened its horizons, organising concerts in the region as well. In doing so, he not only tapped into a new audience, but also generated considerably more income, not a luxury in these harsh austerity times. After last year's successful edition, Mostert resigned his position to concentrate on his work as artistic director of the Cello Biennale and as cellist of Amsterdam Sinfonietta.
Love for Arnold Schoenberg
Mostert was succeeded by viola player Henk Guittart, who signs for the current episode. Guittart co-founded the Schönberg Ensemble in 1974 with Reinbert de Leeuw and initiated the Schönberg Quartet two years later. In 2009, the ensemble merged into the Asko|Schönberg fusion club and the quartet ceased to exist. Signed Guittart at the Schönberg Ensemble together with De Leeuw for programming, at the Orlando Festival, he can set the course entirely by himself.
His programming spans three centuries, from Haydn to Schulhoff and from Berlioz to Louis Andriessen. Nor does the passionate Guittart hide his time-honoured love for Arnold Schönberg. On Friday 28 and Saturday 29, for instance, the ensemble version of Schönberg's wonderful, still quite romantic Sechs Orchesterlieder, alongside Mahler's Fourth Symphony. Guittart himself conducts the ensemble recruited from musicians at the festival, which adorns itself with the fancy name 'Gruppo Montebello' (note the pun).
Where are the women?
As befits a festival for up-and-coming musical talent, there is a strong focus on living composers. Bob Zimmerman (1948), Guittart's former colleague in the Schoenberg Ensemble, is represented with Cinq ou six bagatelles brillantes for piano trio; Sam Wamper (b. 1983) wrote the compulsory piece for the Piano Trio Competition, Portrait of Light. Composer in residence Robin de Raaff (1968) is represented with four compositions and wrote the ensemble piece especially for Gruppo Montebello Carmina chromatico.
In short, a wide and varied programme. - But... I have one pressing question: where are the women? Well Debussy and Ravel, not Lili Boulanger. [Tweet "Orlando Festival: yes Debussy and Ravel, not Lili Boulanger"] Yes Busoni and Schoenberg, not Ruth Crawford. Well Krenek and Schulhoff, not Elizabeth Maconchy and Rosy Wertheim. Even among the living, women are conspicuous by their absence. No note from - I'll just take a guess - Sofia Gubaidoelina, slightly older than Andriessen; Kaija Saariaho, Zimmerman's contemporary; Vanessa Lann, of the same vintage as De Raaff; Helen Grime, only two years older than Wamper.
I have just lit a candle to Mary. My plea: 'Kindle the heart of Henk Guittart in love with the music of ladies like Ig Henneman, Caroline Ansink; Mayke Nas; Rozalie Hirs; Sinta Wullur, Calliope Tsoupaki, Aspasia Nasopoulou, Mathilde Wantenaar...' - The Blessed Virgin must have some say at Rolduc major seminary.
I eagerly await the next Orlando Festival!
The Orlando Festival lasts from 20 to 29 August. An overview of all programmes can be found here.
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