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Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

Season 2018-19: Concertgebouw picks up women's hand that Concertgebouw Orchestra leaves behind

Joel Fried, artistic director of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra visibly startled for a moment. I asked him if there is really only one female composer scheduled in the 2018-19 season. Indeed, during the presentation on Monday 26 February at the Concertgebouw, I only heard the name of Lotta Wennäkoski. Indeed the Finn appears to be the only one to defend the honour of composing women.... 

Rozalie Hirs: "'parallel world [breathing]' is dreamlike musical landscape"

For centuries, scientists have seen connections between music and the ordering of the universe. The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra took this as the starting point for its concert on 19 October in the Horizon series. A 'polyphonic cosmos' is being realised in collaboration with the University of Amsterdam. Peter Eötvös composed the organ concerto Multiversum for this, Rozalie Hirs wrote 'parallel world [breathing]'. Eötvös' piece is experiencing... 

String theory inspires organ concert: Peter Eötvös conducts KCO in Multiverse

On Thursday 19 October, Peter Eötvös conducts the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in the Dutch premiere of his organ concerto Multiversum, which he commissioned for the company. His brand new composition is flanked by works by György Ligeti and Claude Vivier. Transylvania's rich musical tradition Hungarian composer and conductor Peter Eötvös (Székelyudvarhely, 1944) grew up in Transylvania. Towards the end of... 

Holland Festival presents scorching Salome #HF17

Herod has not yet uttered his cry "Kill this woman!" or his soldiers roughly lift Salome onto their shoulders and hurl her into hell. - The fancy drawing room, which had been turned into a ruin, was visible through a see-through hatch for almost the entire opera. Salome's blood-soaked dress seems to flare up for a moment, but then - pats! - the... 

Concertgebouw Orchestra & Concertgebouw 2017-18: searching for connection

Both the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the also Royal Concertgebouw seem to be focusing on connection next season. Between young and old, between east and west, between left and right, between culture and press. 'Great that you all came,' says Jan Raes after the presentation of the 2017-18 season. 'The press is under pressure, as is culture,' continues 

Conductor Alan Gilbert makes Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra shine

Alan Gilbert conducted the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra for the fifth time on Wednesday 8 February. Until the end of this season, he is chief of the New York Philharmonic, exuberantly expressing his love for contemporary music. He proved to be the ideal conductor to premiere Joey Roukens' new work, aptly leading the musicians through the exhilarating... 

Criss-crossing America with Richard Rijnvos

Richard Rijnvos (1964) has been house composer of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra since 2011. This has so far resulted in two new pieces: Antarctique, the final movement of his cycle Grand Atlas (2011) and fuoco e fumo from the series la Serenissima (2013). On Thursday 2 and Friday 3 February, conductor Gustavo Gimeno leads the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in its third commissioned work, Amérique du Nord. The... 

Choir and orchestra are the true stars in Pique Dame #HF16

The biggest applause at the end of Tchaikovsky's opera Pique Dame went to the choir of the National Opera and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra on Wednesday 15 June. And rightly so: choristers and orchestral musicians brought the highly varied score to sound flawlessly, without once getting out of sync with each other. Dynamics, rhythm, phrasing, empathy, everything was solid. A performance of stature rarely seen in the Stopera. The vocal soloists were somewhat pale in comparison.

Mayke Nas wins composition prize: 'I don't want fear, I want adventure'

Grandfather Louis Toebosch was a famous organist and composer. His daughter - her aunt - Moniek an equally famous artist and performer; mother recorder teacher, father Mozart-crazy: 'When I left home I couldn't hear a recorder or Mozart anymore!' Mayke Nas (Voorschoten, 1972) is no stranger to making music and composing. In doing so, she likes to avoid the beaten track and... 

With George Pieterson, music life loses another coryphée

Last Sunday, 24 April, clarinetist George Pieterson died at his home in Amsterdam, aged 74. 'George was an iconic player with a big musical heart,' says his former student Frank van den Brink. 'He invariably went full steam ahead and whichever recording you listen to, his playing is always remarkable. You didn't necessarily have to put up with his... 

Violinist Vadim Repin: 'The score is our bible!'

At five, he started playing the violin, and after only six months he gave his first performance. At 17, he was the youngest participant ever to win the prestigious Queen Elisabeth Competition. In 2002, Vadim Repin, born in Novosibirsk in 1971, played at Willem-Alexander and Máxima's wedding concert, together with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Three years ago, Repin started his own... 

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra 2016-17: Amsterdam meets Daniele Gatti

'The most important thing is to bring music to the audience,' says Daniele Gatti on Thursday 25 February during the presentation of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra's new season. 'Amsterdam meets Gatti' we read on large posters behind him. This does not appear to be a word too many: the brand-new principal conductor will be involved in all the series, travels on the tour RCO meets Europe,... 

Composer Joey Roukens: 'In my new Violin Concerto, I explore my lyrical side'

Joey Roukens (Schiedam, 1982) studied composition at Rotterdam Conservatory and took private piano lessons with Ton Hartsuiker. Since graduating in 2006, he has been able to reach a large audience with his energetic, infectious music. Commissions are pouring in, from no small number of clients. He has already written two pieces for the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra: Out of Control (2011) and Chase... 

John Adams Scheherazade.2 disappoints - despite phenomenal Leila Josefowicz

For a moment on Friday, 16 October, it looked like Leila Josefowicz would give an encore, but it did not happen. The audience in the sold-out Concertgebouw had cheered her for minutes for her phenomenal rendition of Scheherazade.2, the second violin concerto (or third, if you include Dharma at Big Sur for six-string electric violin and orchestra) by John Adams, who himself led the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra... 

Lulu and Kentridge's clothes

Lulu, the opera that Alban Berg left unfinished on his death in 1935, is considered an undisputed masterpiece, which is frequently performed. The opera is at the Muziektheater for the third time this millennium, but for the first time with the third act completed by Friedrich Cerha. South African artist William Kentridge will direct. He and the performers were honoured after the... 

#Reinbertbio one year on: biographer looks back

There once was a celebrity (pianist, composer and conductor Reinbert de Leeuw), a biographer (Thea Derks) and a riot. De Leeuw was against the publication of his biography Reinbert de Leeuw: man or melody and made no secret of it. In the TV programme Zomergasten (Summer guests), he even dismissed the dissertation-like standard work as an almost endearing puff piece. Meanwhile... 

Koefnoentheater by Mugmetdegoudentand needs more than just current affairs

Topicality is back in the Dutch acting scene for a while, and that is quite nice. De Verleiders, once started as a one-off play about fraudulent bosses by George van Houts, is now growing into a voluminous series. On TV, we have the series De Fractie, which manages to recreate the news of the day every episode in... 

For the Concertgebouw Orchestra, Germany begins just beyond the A10 ring road

There is a world outside Amsterdam. There is culture there too. High-quality even. And of course, Amsterdammers know that too. After all, that whole world comes to Amsterdam every year for the Holland Festival, and if it were up to the director of the Amsterdam Stadsschouwburg Melle Daamen, a lot more would come from abroad. Ballet, for example. Our national... 

Six stars for Falstaff National Opera

Na deels of zelfs volkomen mislukte producties van Falstaff doet De Nationale Opera nu alles goed. Twintig jaar na de vorige poging in het Holland Festival krijgt Verdi’s laatste opera een gedroomde uitvoering die maar zo publiekslieveling van het hele festival kan worden.

 
En dat bij een dramatische komedie, een genre dat notoir lastig ten tonele te voeren is. Maar al te vaak wordt de opera  over de oude, dikke ridder Sir John Falstaff, voor wie het leven draait om eten, drinken en vrouw...

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Dutch National Ballet - First soloists - photo Erwin Olaf

Reality The Dutch National Ballet in AVRO's Blood, Sweat and Blisters

Het Nationale Ballet zit niet stil. Voortbordurend op het 50-jarig jubileum verschijnt komend voorjaar van de AVRO een realityserie over 's lands grootste dansgezelschap. Dit als vervolg op Bloed, zweet, en snaren over het Concertgebouworkest.
Het zijn de mensen die bij Het Nationale Ballet werken die de sleutel vormen tot het al decennia durende succes van het gezelschap. Dat zijn natuurlijk de dansers, maar ook bijvoorbeeld de artistieke staf, de persafdeling evenals de mensen van de kostuumaf...

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Twelve-tone horror at KCO

Vanavond en morgenavond trapt het Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest het vierde seizoen af van de AAA-serie, met filmmuziek onder de titel ‘Suspense’. Maar niet iedereen zal componisten als Bartók, Lutyens en Schönberg onmiddellijk associëren met de cinema. Hun werken staan naast filmscores van Bernard Herrmann bij Vertigo en Psycho van Alfred Hitchcock en wereldpremières van Joey Roukens, Vincent van Warmerdam en Fons Merkies, die muziek schreven bij een door hen zelf gekozen filmfragment. Het mees...

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Art for all: €3 per person, per month

De discussie was en is oeverloos, maar inmiddels hebben we cijfers. Dankzij de nieuwe 'kengetallen' van het Ministerie van OCW weten we nu hoeveel het Rijk (wij met zijn allen) over hebben voor de mogelijkheid om kunst mee te maken: per inwoner geeft de staat 38,90 per jaar uit aan subsidies voor dans, toneel, musea, jeugdtheater, opera en orkesten. Dat is dus iets meer 3 euro per maand. Inderdaad wel iets om elkaar over in de haren te vliegen, vinden we.
In dit klimaat, waarin deze 3 euro per N...

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#HF11 Thomas Adès sails his own ship and steers across familiar waters with new compositions

The ark as the earth, as a spaceship carrying us through the chaos of the universe to a safe haven. The pole star as the apparent magnetic centre of the universe around which all the stars revolve. No, this is not woolly new age chatter, these are the starting points for Tevot and Polaris, two major orchestral works by Thomas Adès, which had their Dutch premiere under the direction of the composer himself.

Rutteleaks 4 on orchestras: 'Mergers Brabants Orkest and Limburg Symphony Orchestra, Gelders Orkest and Orkest v.h. Oosten, Residentie Orkest and RphO'

Of course we are being horribly abused. By the coughing chain-smoker with his trench coat in that Hague car park. Is there a bigger plan behind it. Which again we know nothing about, but which will become clear on 23 May. So be it. Until then, we can do nothing but slavishly write down what the coughing oracle coughs at us. Well: We already knew that... 

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