Asko|Schönberg in Gaudeamus Opening night and concert in honour of Reinbert de Leeuw in Muziekgebouw

Gaudeamus 2022 Opening Festival
Energising programme including sheng grandmaster Wu Wei

During the opening night of this annual festival, Gaudeamus shows the many faces of new music: surprising, moving and who knows, frustrating.

Asko|Schönberg, a regular guest at this festival, is part of the festive opening night and presents a programme that spans generations and continents. Including the wacky Ilolli doll - somewhere between cartoon music, free jazz and contemporary classical - by Gaudeamus Award 2022-nominee Alex Paxton, and The Colour Yellow by jury member Huang Ruo, with solo roles for renowned sheng player Wu Wei.

Also to be seen and heard this evening include XTRO (percussion trio), Rembrandt Frerichs & the Staalmeesters and musical theatre by Thanasis Deligiannis.

Þ Asko|Schönberg in Opening Night Gaudeamus 2022 - Asko Schönberg (askoschoenberg.nl)

Wed 7 Sept, entire evening programme from 19:00 - 23:30, Utrecht, TivoliVredenburg

Kagels compass

In honour of conductor, composer, pianist and, above all, great champion of new music Reinbert de Leeuw (1938 - 2022)

On 8 September, the anniversary of Reinbert de Leeuw's birth, sounds Die Stücke der Windrose of his kindred spirit Mauricio Kagel. Kagel had an artistic and friendly relationship with Reinbert de Leeuw and Asko|Schönberg. Under Reinbert's direction, several of his compositions have been recorded on CD. So too is the work heard this evening in honour of Reinbert de Leeuw.

With his avant-garde and versatile style, the Argentine-German Kagel (1931 - 2008) is among the leading composers of the 20th century. His music is fresh, imaginative and full of humour. In Die Stücke der Windrose, each wind direction has its own couleur locale. Kagel was born in Argentina, south of the equator. By his own admission, therefore, his view of wind directions is opposite to that of us northern Europeans. This makes for unexpected colours: for instance, the north sounds surprisingly sultry and the west exotic. The cycle was written for the permanent line-up of five strings, piano, harmonium, clarinet and percussion. The percussion, very elaborate and with unusual instruments, is different with each wind direction.
Kagels compass is the first concert of the Thursday night series of the new season.

Þ Kagels compass - Asko Schoenberg (askoschoenberg.nl)

do 8 sept, 20:15, Amsterdam, Muziekgebouw