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Markus Stenz

Camilla de Rossi in NTRZaturdayMatinee: three centuries late premiere

by Thea Derks
9 October 201830 March 2022
5 min read
For members only, MUSIC, PODIUM ART, APPRECIATE & DONATE!

After years, my ranting about the invisibility of female composers is beginning to bear fruit. Thanks in part to the #MeToo movement, composing ladies are also finally being taken seriously and performed. The NTRZaturdayMatinee is even making them a spearhead of its programming this season. Last Saturday, it performed the world premiere of Salto di Saffo by Calliope Tsoupaki (1963). She composed this double concerto for pan flute, recorder...

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Opera 'The Rise of Spinoza' by Theo Loevendie deserves permanent place in repertoire

by Thea Derks
2 July 201830 March 2022
4 min read
For members only, OPERA, PODIUM ART, APPRECIATE & DONATE!

In 2014, the world premiere of The Rise of Spinoza by Theo Loevendie received an enthusiastic reception at the NTRZaterdagMatinee. Rightly so, as Markus Stenz steered the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Groot Omroepkoor, vocal soloists and recorder player Erik Bosgraaf through the colourful one-act aptly. The live recording was recently released on CD, allowing the opera to reach an international audience as well. The now 87-year-old Loevendie...

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Wolfgang Rihm links suffering Christ to Holocaust in 'Deus Passus' - podcast

by Thea Derks
13 April 201714 May 2018
2 min read
MUSIC, PODCAST, PODIUM ART

In this period before Easter, Johann Sebastian Bach's Passions seem almost inescapable. But the alternatives are on the rise. Last week, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Groot Omroepkoor presented two highly successful new Passions. Alternative passion Tomorrow bring the AVROTROS Friday Concert Deus Passus by German composer Wolfgang Rihm. It will be performed by the Groot Omroepkoor and the Radio Philharmonic ...

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Programmer to talk: Astrid in 't Veld's dream season

by Ewa Maria Wagner
29 August 201629 March 2022
7 min read
ACTUAL, For members only, MUSIC, OPERA

When you go to a concert, you think about the music, the ensemble, the soloist and/or the conductor. Maybe you look up something about the composer but you never think about the programmer who made the concert possible. Astrid in 't Veld is someone who thinks about the range of concerts on offer years in advance in order to help you with...

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Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928-2016): Finnish icon of contemporary music

by Thea Derks
28 July 201630 March 2022
3 min read
For members only, MUSIC, OPERA, PODIUM ART

Last Wednesday night, 27 July, Einojuhani Rautavaara died at his home in Helsinki, following complications during an operation. Aged 87, he was widely regarded as the uncrowned heir apparent to Jean Sibelius (1865-1957), who wrote his last notes around 1930.

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Giya Kantsheli: 'I never wanted to compose Georgian music'

by Thea Derks
16 January 201530 March 2022
5 min read
For members only, MUSIC

Georgian composer Giya Kantsjeli (Tbilisi, 1935) composes archaic-sounding, expressive works with slow progression, tremendous tension and heartbreaking melancholy. Characterised by fierce dynamic contrasts, his music often suddenly switches from an almost inaudible pianissimo to an oorsplitting fortissimo. On 23 February, Vredenburg's broadcasting series The Friday presents his monumental Styx for viola, choir and orchestra....

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World premieres by MacMillan and Roukens at Vredenburg's Friday

by Thea Derks
27 October 201430 November 2016
6 min read
ACTUAL, MUSIC

After years of concerts in the 'Red Box' on the A2, AVROTROS' De Vrijdag van Vredenburg on Radio 4 returned to the centre of Utrecht last summer. The new TivoliVredenburg was built entirely around Vredenburg's former Great Hall, renowned worldwide for its fabulous acoustics. Many a tear was shed at the reopening. To a new hall belongs...

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Einojuhani Rautavaara makes flute dance on the wind

by Thea Derks
22 November 201329 March 2022
2 min read
For members only, MUSIC

Tonight at Vredenburg Leidsche Rijn, the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra plays the Flute Concerto Dances with the Winds by Einojuhani Rautavaara. Originally Peter Schat's Spring Concert was scheduled, but soloist Jacques Zoon chose to swap it for the Finnish composer's piece.

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John Adams' other Gospel of Mary @HollandFestival: masterpiece just too long

by Henri Drost
9 June 201330 March 2022
3 min read
For members only, Holland Festival, MUSIC, OPERA, SPECIALS

Holland Festival

Mary is arrested at a demonstration and thrown into a cell next to a heroin addict, while her sister Martha has just started a shelter for the homeless. And Lazarus, yes, Jesus brings him back to life here too, with downright breathtaking sounds. And we are not even halfway through.

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Vredenburg Friday in 'Red Box' for one more season

by Thea Derks
19 March 201330 March 2022
4 min read
ACTUAL, For members only, MUSIC

When Muziekcentrum Vredenburg closed its doors in 2007 for an ambitious renovation, symphonic concerts were moved from the centre of Utrecht to the emergency location Vredenburg Leidsche Rijn on the A2 motorway. The broadcasting series 'Vredenburg Friday'

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