ACTUAL
All about politics, policy, society and how those things relate to culture and art.
Crushingly good: Nine Rivers by composer James Dillon, with conductor and percussionist Steven Schick @HollandFestival
From the mild, everyday cacophony around the Muziekgebouw in the afternoon, on the terrace by the IJ, you'll get into the silence of the concert hall in a few steps. For three and a half hours (with over two hours of breaks in between), Asko|Schönberg, Slagwerk Den Haag and Capella Amsterdam will play and sing your ears off. Steven Schick (a.o. once Bang on a Can), not only conducts, but also takes charge of the middle part of the concert, at the Bimhuis, as a percussionist. Under his inspired direction, 'Nine Rivers' navigates between spectacle and purism: a battle between complex form and the simplicity of raw sound matter.
What else are we looking forward to at @hollandfestival?
This month is all about the Holland Festival. Culture Press reports almost daily. What are we most looking forward to?
First children's book ambassador @jacques_vriens on the breach for reading pleasure: 'Frighteningly few Dutch children enjoy reading'
Reisopera 2.0 presents itself and blows dust off gala
With a real gala, the Reisopera 2.0 presents itself. And immediately strips the gala of its stuffy image. With thanks to the Nederlands Blazers Ensemble.
Keren Levi at Theatre Kikker with unique documentary and smart performance.
Culture minister Bussemaker promises investment in young artists
Today, the Dutch pavilion of the Venice Biennale was opened by culture minister Jet Bussemaker. And she did so with a speech that the culture sector will appreciate. No longer the harsh and cold tone of Halbe Zijlstra's neo-conservative vacuousness, but a
Peter Blok does a Don Draper
Tjitske Reidinga, our favourite actress, who is in the middle of her golden years, is coming up with a new summer comedy: 'An Ideal Woman'. The blonde who theatre people have known for a long time, but ordinary people only got to know through the TV series Gooise Vrouwen, gets to decide what she does at the New Delamartheatre for three years, and so she is now going for Mad Men....
Dutch dance acrobats stand a chance at final Britain's got talent
The booking agency is sending around enthusiastic emails, and some British newspapers don't seem to like it, But still. Martin and Mariëlle are through to the semi-finals of the ITV show Britain's Got Talent. And that seems to be quite an achievement. Judge for yourself.
Sharp, comic and vulnerable: Kris Verdonck and A Two Dogs Company do Daniil Charms at Spring Utrecht
Victor, beautiful duet about contemporary male danger
Putting a man and a boy on stage together - upper body bared; in today's times, that means asking for trouble. Our gaze, saturated by paedophilia scandals, leaves little in the way of intimacy between what could also be father and son, brothers or friends. But 'Victor' by choreographer Jan Martens and director Peter Seynaeve is no good, politically correct repartee. In their search for a loving look at the relationship between husband and child, they also consistently push the boundaries of what is permissible.
No work by Kylián at NDT: a masterstroke?
The French are coming, but are these choreographers that good?
Cannes opens with The Great Gatsby, but the novelty is already off
Would Gilles Jacob, the director of the Cannes Film Festival, see it as a godsend or a knee-jerk reaction to American studios? That Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby Wednesday's opening film certainly means spectacle and a lot of attention. But it is not a world premiere,
World country the Netherlands: Rotterdam, Delta Works, Cows, Tulips, Flatboats and Mills.
We are quite happy with the Netherlands, if only because of the language. After all, we can write in Dutch here, and then there are quite a few people who can read us, and understand us when we speak. In Thailand
For some artists, people are scary
As an art journalist, art makers give me VIP treatment: free tickets, separate desks, they say YOU to me and hang on my every word when I tell them something. That's a
Selection Theatre Festival 2013 marked by audience-friendly performances
De Verleiders, last season's big theatre hit, heads the jury selection of The Theatre Festival 2013. The by a group of actors and cabaret artists, including Pierre Bokma and
Wagner in Düsseldorf: opera jewel or publicity stunt?
When both nu.co.uk, BBC news and virtually every German newspaper simultaneously cover an opera, something must be going on. And there is: Nazis! Wagner! Outraged spectators! More than that: doctors had to be called in!
NDT opens door to future without Kylián with 'School of Thought'
On the premiere day, an official announcement went out that choreographer and former artistic director Jirí Kylián is washing his hands of NDT after 36 years of involvement. In addition, from September 2014 to 2017, no work by
VPRO honours Reinbert de Leeuw
On 8 September next, pianist, composer and conductor Reinbert de Leeuw hopes to turn 75 and this will be celebrated with a range of events. These include a three-day festival dedicated to him in The Hague and Amsterdam at the end of September, and next season he will be
Research shows: nothing so immutable as the art public
More people go to popular art than 'high' or 'canonical' art. Researcher Andries van den Broek has researched this. Therefore, there are now figures explaining the word 'popular' and 'elite'. So
Will broadcast library collection be saved?
Hilversum, 1-5-2013 - On Labour Day, the VARA programme spent The Guide on Radio 1 focused on the impending abolition of the library of the broadcaster, causing some 10 highly specialised and dedicated staff to lose their jobs. Although this immense and unique archive, which houses some five kilometres of scores, parts and books, can be kept afloat for half a million euros, it will still be disbanded from 1 August.
NSB officer Tobie Goedewaagen and subsidies: the faulty founder of a good system
The Dutch system of art subsidies was set up in 1942 by NSB leader Tobie Goedewaagen, who also founded the Kultuurkamer. Typical of a fact that
Finally another Dutch film in competition at Cannes: Borgman by Alex van Warmerdam
A major frustration of the Dutch film world has come to an end. After 38 years, we again have a film in the main competition at Cannes. The new film by
Revolt against art partly caused by museum-less era?
More than a decade without national pride does a lot to a country. Could it be true that the simultaneous closure of Stedelijk Museum and Rijksmuseum helped lead to the