With the contemporary composers Kaija Saariaho and Rebecca Saunders, jazz pianists Brad Mehldau and Vijay Iyer, the groups Musikfabrik, The Gurdjeff Ensemble and Ensemble Modern and guitarist Julian Lage, festival November Music rolls out the red carpet for a great diversity of top international composers. There is also another Bosch Requiem, this time composed by Hawar Tawfiq and performed by philharmonie zuidnederland and Thomas Oliemans. From pop music, there are concerts by Metropole Orkest & Louis Cole and Dez Mona & B.O.X, among others. November Music 2021 will take place from 5 to 14 November at various locations in 's-Hertogenbosch with over 90 different concerts.
November Music highlights during this 29ste festival edition the vitality, breadth and creativity of composers, creators and musicians. This year, the festival is awarding 12 commissions, 10 of them to Dutch composers. Among them, English festival composer Rebecca Saunders writes for Ensemble Nikel, a collaboration with festival Donaueschinger Musiktage. In addition, 10 commissioned works from 2020 will be heard, including a choral work for the French choir Accentus by the Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho, the second composer-in-focus this year.
Bosch Requiem 2021
Traditionally, November Music opens with the Bosch Requiem on Friday 5 November. The originally Iraqi composer Hawar Tawfiq draws inspiration from the eternal cycle of life and death. More than ever, there is a need for a conciliatory, comforting response. With his Requiem des Fleurs et des Nuages for baritone Thomas Oliemans and the philharmonie zuidnederland, Tawfiq paints an intimate hymn to life.
National & international ensembles
This year more than ever, November Music aims to offer a stage to the Dutch music scene with no fewer than three ensembles-in-residence: Ensemble Klang, Cello Octet Amsterdam and Ragazze Quartet. Complemented by Asko|Schőnberg, New European Ensemble, Cappella Amsterdam, DoelenEnsemble, Silbersee and Fuse, audiences will be able to enjoy top-quality home-grown music with plenty of attention to young talent. This year, November Music welcomes two of Germany's top international new music ensembles. Musikfabrik from Kőln performs in large ensemble two world premieres by Enno Poppe and a November Music commissioned work by Richard Rijnvos. The world-famous Ensemble Modern plays no less than two portrait concerts by composer-in-focus Rebecca Saunders.
Jazz & World
In the field of jazz and contemporary world music, November Music presents a number of world-renowned international artists such as the two trios of pianists Brad Mehldau and Vijay Iyer. Trumpeter Dave Douglas Is coming up with a new project and rising star guitarist Julian Lage performs with his trio during the festival section Colours of Improvisation. The American cult singer Louis Cole steps onto the stage with Metropole Orchestra. English saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings performs with his group Sons of Kemet. The Gurdjieff Ensemble builds bridges between traditional Armenian and new world music and provide a fitting finale to the festival on Sunday, 14 November.
New work
There will be premieres and recent works by Dutch composers, among others, with plenty of attention to new and young talent. Karmit Fadael, Aftab Darvishi, Meriç Artaç, Anthony Fiumara, Jan-Peter de Graaff, Maxim Shalygin, JacobTV, Arnoud Noordegraaf, Bram Stadhouders, Boris Bezemer, Calliope Tsoupaki, Aart Strootman and from outside the Netherlands Brigitta Muntendorf, Laurence Osborn, Mauro Lanza, Oscar Bianchi and Leo Lehtinen.
New Music Conference
On Friday, November 12, the third edition of the New Music Conference take place in cooperation with BUMA Culture.
For more information, visit www.novembermusic.net
About November Music
November Music is the festival for all adventurous music lovers. Every year, it brings together the most idiosyncratic and progressive creators and musicians from all over the world. Not with the flow or against it, but with new, own currents. It is precisely by giving a place to all these different sounds that November Music allows a personal and individual story to be heard, just as the makers themselves do.
Experience modern composed music, jazz, world music, musical theatre, pop, installations and genres you never thought possible yourself. November Music creates encounters and challenges creators to jump into the deep end.
From 2021, November Music will be part of the national basic cultural infrastructure, known as the BIS.
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