True listening, empathy and changing perspectives in 79th Holland Festival

The Holland Festival opens on 3 June with City of Floating Sounds by Huang Ruo, a concert in two parts. The first part is a musical walk to Carré, with visitors using an app to sound an orchestral work through the city. In the auditorium, the full composition is then played live, followed by Shattered Steps by the same composer.

In the following weeks, the programme again offers great versatility: from the obscure And Now I Know What Love Is by British choreographer and producer Blackhaine in the former Bijlmerbajes to LACRIMA, a wildly exciting show about the tough world behind haute couture.

The festival closes at the end of June with a full and festive closing weekend. Featuring Rave-L, a Bolero-inspired concert with Ravel's penchant for jazz as its starting point, culminating in a rave. And with A Trial - after An Enemy of the People by Christiane Jatahy (associate artist in 2024) and Golden Globe winner Wagner Moura. A Trial is a special co-production between the Holland Festival, the Edinburgh International Festival and Festival d'Avignon, the three European festivals founded in 1947.

In total, the 79th edition of the Holland Festival features 30 leading productions with 104 performances at 23 venues. There are14 co-productions, 2 own productions and no less than 11 world premieres. This year, 27 makers will make their Holland Festival debut, there will be installations, meetings with makers, workshops, a soundwalk, talks, films and an extensive education programme.

The entire programme is now online at www.hollandfestival.nl

Associate artist Hildur Guðnadóttir: empathy is what makes us human

'Music can touch our deepest selves. It can change the space we find ourselves in, shift our mood and even transform who we are.’ (Hildur Guðnadóttir, associate artist Holland Festival 2026)

Since 2019, the festival has been working with a associate artist who will bring his own new work and help to deepen and broaden the programme. For the Holland Festival 2026, it is composer and musician Hildur Guðnadóttir (Reykjavik,1982), one of today's leading and most versatile creators of film music, experimental pop and contemporary music.

Central to her work are empathy, listening and transformation: according to Guðnadóttir, art is pre-eminently a means of creating shared, connecting experiences. During the festival, she will present four projects that make this palpable. In Chernobyl her music for the HBO series is the basis for a live concert with lighting design by Theresa Baumgartner. Where To From is Guðnadóttir's most personal performance at the festival, in which she plays her new album, born out of her musical diary excerpts. In Nærmynd she offers an insight into her musical universe through a selection from her own (film) music, combined with works by composers who inspire her. In addition, Guðnadóttir has been commissioned by the festival to compose a work for students of various conservatoires. Passing Remark will be a free concert for dozens of brass players in Westerpark.

‘My dream scenario for the festival - and actually for any performance - is simple,’ says Guðnadóttir. ‘I want to be in a space where people are really present and listen deeply. Maybe the slogan should be: listening is the most important thing.’

In Guðnadóttir's wake, this festival pays ample attention to female pioneers in experimental music. For instance, her great inspiration Meredith Monk is coming to Amsterdam for a performance, a film, a conversation with Guðnadóttir as well as a book signing session. This is a special collaboration with presentation partner Hartwig Art Foundation. Laurie Anderson will create the installation Your Eyes in My Head As well as being the narrator in the documentary Sisters with Transistors, about female pioneers in electronic music.

Empathy

According to Guðnadóttir, art helps us think and feel outside the box. This is clearly felt in When I Saw the Sea by Ali Chahrour, a hopeful portrait of three women trying to break free from the grip of modern slavery in Lebanon. In We Are The House by Tomoko Mukaiyama, the audience wanders freely through a multidisciplinary performance about bodily autonomy. And in A Trial - after An Enemy of the People by Christiane Jatahy and Wagner Moura stars Moura in a sharp reinterpretation of Ibsen's An enemy of the people.

Really listening

Listening with attention is a common thread throughout the programme, not only in Guðnadóttir's own work, but also, for example, in Sada (Echo) By Egyptian artist Oz Oz. Sada (Echo) is a theatrical solo featuring recordings of Arabic songs, live sound effects and ‘audio letters’, in which he tells a moving story of loss. Bilderschlachten, with music by Brigitta Muntendorf and Bernd Alois Zimmermann, is a work full of quotations from the history of music from Bach to Stockhausen, performed by the Residentieorkest. Stephanie Tiersch is responsible for the choreography.

Transformation

From empathy and listening, it is a small step to transformation, not automatically, or inevitably, but rather as something that performances invite. For example, in Atomic Joy by choreographer Ana Pi, which transforms joy into a political force. In A Possibility by Germaine Kruip, the transformation is very sensory through the fusion of image and sound. And Mirage, by Damien Jalet in collaboration with Kohei Nawa and Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève, shows how 16 dancers must constantly adapt in a constantly changing, shimmering world.

Familiar and new collaborations

This year, National Opera & Ballet will once again feature performances as part of the Holland Festival. At the Dutch National Ballet, three top choreographers come together in Masters of Movement featuring works by David Dawson, Krzysztof Pastor and Alexei Ratmansky. The National Opera will perform with Simon Boccanegra by Giuseppe Verdi an opera full of political intrigue directed by Jetske Mijnssen and featuring the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

For the second time in a row, the festival is co-producing two concerts together with NTR ZaterdagMatinee. In Voices protest songs from 1974 by Hans Werner Henze are complemented by new works. The performance is in the hands of London Sinfonietta, conducted by Christian Karlsen.
At Arooj Aftab & Daniel Wohl Aftab sings songs from her albums Night Reign and Vulture Prince, alongside new compositions she co-wrote with composer Daniel Wohl, performed by the pioneering London Contemporary Orchestra.

New in 2026 is the collaboration with PLT Theatre Heerlen, A Possibility can be seen there on 25 and 26 June. In Amsterdam, the show can be seen from 13 to 15 June.

Practical information

The Holland Festival will take place from 3 to 28 June 2026. Tickets will go on sale from 17 March at www.hollandfestival.nl. Friends can already order tickets from 3 March. The entire programme can be found on the website.