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Podcast in times of Corona (11) - Asko|Schönberg suffers double blow: 'You can't go to a hall, not to a stage. Online is no substitute for that.' 

'It may sound very double, but somewhere a moment of peace, a moment of contemplation, is something you always long for. That the trigger now is that pandemic is not nice, of course, but still." Fedor Teunissen is artistic director of Asko|Schönberg, the world-class ensemble founded by the world-renowned conductor, composer and pianist Reinbert De Leeuw. Die... 

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Podcast in times of Corona (7). Willem-Jaap Zwart of Concordia in Enschede: 'The most positive thing is that FC Twente cannot lose this weekend.'

'Keep doing your daily routines as much as possible when disaster strikes' Willem Jaap Zwart is director of theatre, film house and arts centre Concordia in Enschede, and he knows what he is talking about. As a resident of Enschede, he experienced the fireworks disaster, and even then the motto was: show resilience, and stay close to yourself: 'On the day it... 

Read More "Podcast in times of Corona (7). Willem-Jaap Zwart of Concordia in Enschede: 'The most positive thing is that FC Twente cannot lose this weekend.'

Podcast in times of Corona (6): Madeleine Matzer on returning to factory settings.

Yesterday, I read this update from Madeleine Matzer on facebook: 'Two years ago, I chose this view. So beautiful. So quiet. So serene. And so well suited to the hectic and dynamic life I normally lead. Insanely meaningful work with wonderful and inspiring colleagues, a large and delightful social network, and then also all those opportunities for... 

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Mondoleone in times of Coronoa. Podcast episode 5. How Leon Giesen copes with the malaise.

Leon Giesen, also known as Mondo Leone, said goodbye to mainstream theatre some time ago. He played - until Coronoa struck - increasingly at meetings and seminars, where the audience is more massive and attentive. But now that market has fallen away, and Leon has come up with something new. Listen to this race storyteller's story in our podcast in... 

Read More "Mondoleone in times of Coronoa. Podcast episode 5. How Leon Giesen copes with the malaise.

What do we do with conferences? Two day speakers on their work in a contact-poor world. 

'Like asking after a play or a concert which seats they had in the auditorium.' According to Gerrit Heijkoop, it is not interesting to know what software you can use to share knowledge online, or organise video chats. 'You can go to Facebook, to YouTube, and then there are all kinds of programmes. If you want to communicate, it goes... 

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Comfort in times of corona. Or the other way around? A top five disaster books. (Why you should read Quarantine. Or not).

Need to escape from all the misery in reality? Of course, you can binge-watch endless feel-good movies or exciting series, but opening a good book about a disaster in the outside world is at least as effective - look, it's actually not that bad with us! You might also pick up a few valuable do's and dont's for emergencies; a warned person counts.... 

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Fred Goessens leaves ITA: 'In every group there is such a reliable lobster as me'

Fred Goessens has been dead, but is still alive. As uncompromising as ever. The Netherlands' most reliable actor makes an interim will after twenty-two years with Toneelgroep Amsterdam. 'I had shit on everything' This interview was published 10 years ago in TheaterMaker, the trade magazine for the theatre sector. As Fred Goessens is now leaving ITA, the company where he once... 

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Why this book is suddenly ominously reminiscent of the situation in Italy now: 'Everything I describe in my book does happen somewhere in this world.'

With northern Italy cut off from the outside world because of corona and looking increasingly desolate, we are reminded of an interview we had a few years ago with writer Davide Longo about his book The Vertical Man. A book à la The Road by Cormac McCarthy, in which Longo outlines a desolate world that has changed dramatically as a result of... 

Read More "Why this book is suddenly ominously reminiscent of the situation in Italy now: 'Everything I describe in my book does happen somewhere in this world.'

Paolo Cognetti: 'The mountains give me a lesson in humility every time.'

With his novel The Eight Mountains, Italian writer Paolo Cognetti (42) broke through internationally in 2017. Without Reaching the Top again takes place at great heights. 'The mountains give me a lesson in humility every time.' Without Reaching the Top is the travelogue of Cognetti's mountain trek in late 2017 through a high plateau in Nepal near the... 

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'I have become a freer writer.' Esther Verhoef on the new dimension in her work

Short stories have been written by Esther Verhoef (51) for as long as she has been writing fiction - since she was seven. Whether they are 10 or 100 pages long, her stories are as dear to Verhoef as her novels and thrillers. 'Look,' says Esther Verhoef, unfolding the flaps of the cover of Labyrinth - the stories. On the inside are old, on... 

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Serge van Veggel performs Opera Melancholica: 'Depression is a big social problem - a million people are on pills'

'My love for opera is rooted in my youth. Emotions you feel as a young person become almost tangible in opera. While listening, I often experienced a catharsis.' Director Serge van Veggel zooms in on depression and delusion with the production Opera Melancholica. Starting point is Philip Glass's The Fall of the House of Usher, presented as a form of 'anatomical... 

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Ekaterina Levental: 'I come from the very bottom of society, didn't even have the right to be here, was even less than a junkie.'

Singer, harpist and theatre-maker Ekaterina Levental (Tashkent, 1977) came to the Netherlands as a refugee in 1993, where she built a successful career. Together with her partner Chris Koolmees, she made the triptych De Weg, De Grens and Schoppenvrouw, in which she sings of her own difficult road to happiness. With her pocket performances, she holds up a mirror to us: 'We are quick to judge a... 

Read More "Ekaterina Levental: 'I come from the very bottom of society, didn't even have the right to be here, was even less than a junkie.'

Writing with your voice - Thea Beckman Prize winner Bianca Mastenbroek is not deterred by her disability

Becoming a writer without being able to use your fingers to type - Bianca Mastenbroek (44) no longer turns her hand to it. Last year, she won the Thea Beckman Prize for her historical novel Hendrick, the Dutch Indian. Looking back on a jubilee year: 'This prize is the crowning glory of my work'. For anyone who has yet to read your book Hendrick, de Hollandsche Indiaan,... 

Read More "Writing with your voice - Thea Beckman Prize winner Bianca Mastenbroek is not deterred by her disability

Kersjes Prize winner Lodewijk van der Ree: 'Language strongly determines the sound of a choir'

'An inspired conductor, with an intelligent approach to the score, a clear stroke and the ability to draw a choir into his vision. So says the jury of the Kersjes Prize about Lodewijk van der Ree (1986), who received this year's conducting prize. I have worked with him many times before and can wholeheartedly endorse this statement. Carte... 

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Deelder is Dead. Nadeche Pyka lives. Why People Say Things is the best literary festival in the Netherlands.

Jules Deelder instilled in me a love of poetry. He was there when I was in need of something other than the big-people poems that weren't about me, as a would-be punk. That was almost forty years ago now. He's just died, and heaven is also going jazz-ish. Last night, while the night mayor of Rotterdam... 

Read More "Deelder is Dead. Nadeche Pyka lives. Why People Say Things is the best literary festival in the Netherlands.

Threatened theatre directors speaking: 'It literally hurts me when I hear that something like this is going to be abolished.'

'I didn't know you could also be digitised away in this sector, but so you can.' Susanne Visser and Annemiek Lely sounded the alarm on Saturday 7 December. Their jobs as ushers at theatre performances are in jeopardy. Companies would rather keep people engaged through podcasts, and such an usher only costs money. On Monday, December 9, we obtained... 

Read More "Threatened theatre directors speaking: 'It literally hurts me when I hear that something like this is going to be abolished.'

Promotion critical interview with Amersfoort alderman hampered by Facebook

In the ongoing series of interviews with leading figures from Amersfoort's cultural sector, I interviewed D66 alderman Fatma Koser Kaya. It turned into an animated conversation. Strangely enough, De Stadsbron, Amersfoort's local journalism site, is not allowed to promote the interview from Facebook, the editors announced yesterday. It is unclear why. Here is an excerpt, the whole story of course on De Stadsbron: 'I believe... 

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'It is crucial that people who mature here - also as artists - can stay connected to Amersfoort'

For De Stadsbron, Amersfoort's journalistic background site, I chart the cultural sector of the Keistad. On that site now, an interview with Friederike Weisner, director of Theatre De Lieve Vrouw. 'According to Weisner, the lack of a university or college ensures that the need for knowledge is visible: 'You will always have to be innovative as a city. There ... 

Read More "'It is crucial that people who mature here - also as artists - can stay connected to Amersfoort'

'Once you become suspicious, you develop more and more anxiety' - Meriç Artaç addresses fear and mistrust in her chamber opera Madam Koo

'A new piece is usually only heard once, then it disappears into a drawer forever.' Such a sigh I often hear, in all tones. Not only from composers, but also from ensembles, concert organisers, musicians and even subsidy providers. Good news, then, that Meriç Artaç's opera Madam Koo will be repeated twice this month, Wednesday 11 December in CC... 

Read More "'Once you become suspicious, you develop more and more anxiety' - Meriç Artaç addresses fear and mistrust in her chamber opera Madam Koo

How the miracle doctor fell into oblivion - and why writer Rinus Spruit hopes for rehabilitation

He brought hypnosis and psychotherapy as treatment methods to the Netherlands and had a thriving practice with the well-known writer Frederik van Eeden. But mention the name Albert Willem van Renterghem, and (almost) nobody will ring a bell. With his book De wonderdokter, compiler Rinus Spruit hopes to restore honour. Albert Willem van Renterghem (1845-1939) was once considered "the miracle doctor... 

Read More "How the miracle doctor fell into oblivion - and why writer Rinus Spruit hopes for rehabilitation

'Don't be too quick to think you know someone.' Six life insights from writer Rosita Steenbeek

She survived a brain haemorrhage and a serious car accident. As a result, writer Rosita Steenbeek (62) no longer has a fear of death, but an enormous zest for life. It has enriched her. By looking death in the eye, I understood that love is the most important thing in life'. 1. You can also be happy without a relationship 'I've been alone for a number of years and... 

Read More "'Don't be too quick to think you know someone.' Six life insights from writer Rosita Steenbeek

'Wikileaks has never been caught at a single fault' - Iris ter Schiphorst writes Assange: Fragmente einer Unzeit

'There is an information war going on right now, which shows how important data is. The Assange case is the most poignant example of this.' Dutch-German composer Iris Ter Schiphorst wrote a piece about Julian Assange, the now controversially declared founder of Wikileaks. She is on a mission with this: 'Although Wikileaks has never been caught at a single fault, Assange has been accused of... 

Read More "'Wikileaks has never been caught at a single fault' - Iris ter Schiphorst writes Assange: Fragmente einer Unzeit

'High time for an end to segregated religions!' - Joost Kleppe composes Spirit of Mustafa for Groot Omroepkoor and Radio Philharmonic Orchestra

'Everything I make stems from feeling, from being touched', Joost Kleppe (1963) once said about his music. That sensibility is often triggered by poetry and his oeuvre therefore includes many vocal works. His lyrical, rhythmically varied pieces regularly appear on the desks of both professional and amateur choirs. With his appealing style, Kleppe follows in the footsteps of illustrious composers,... 

Read More "'High time for an end to segregated religions!' - Joost Kleppe composes Spirit of Mustafa for Groot Omroepkoor and Radio Philharmonic Orchestra

The masked truth in HBO's Watchmen

At a time when comic book movies, superheroes and alternative dystopian realities reign supreme, I feared the worst when HBO announced Damon Lindelof's Watchmen. Not having extensive knowledge of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' comic book Watchmen myself, I found the 2009 film a disappointment. Lindelof is the man behind the infamous series Lost. Where with Lost, the viewer... 

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'I decided to make an unabashedly grand romantic gesture and blow people away' - Mathilde Wantenaar writes new piece for Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra

Being creative on demand? That's impossible, you would think. Yet it is the reality for composers and artists who work on commission. Mathilde Wantenaar (1993) therefore got acute choice stress when the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra asked her for a new piece. She was just working on a commission from De Nationale Opera. 'I felt like a rabbit in the... 

Read More "'I decided to make an unabashedly grand romantic gesture and blow people away' - Mathilde Wantenaar writes new piece for Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra

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