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World War II

Less is more: het kan!

Yes, het kan! Less is more! De laatste verzuchting slaakte ik woensdag 13 mei naar aanleiding van de productie Benvenuto Cellini van Hector Berlioz, die Monty Python-regisseur Terry Gilliam maakte voor de Nationale Opera. Meteen dezelfde avond werd ik op mijn wenken bediend tijdens de première van De perzik van onsterfelijkheid van Rieks Swarte in de Toneelschuur in Haarlem. Het betreft een… 

#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... 

Safely out of hiding, but then?

The opera Poland in Plan Zuid will premiere at the Liberal Jewish Community in Amsterdam on Sunday 19 April. Composer Caroline Ansink and librettist Olaf Mulder based their work on Daniël Vermeulen's (pseudonym) memories of going into hiding in Brabant and his subsequent reunion with his mother in Amsterdam in 1945. Three questions for Caroline Ansink. Why... 

Waarom je naar Snorder moet (nu het nog kan)

Het theaterproject ‘Snorder‘ begon ooit als de soap waarmee de lange avonden op het festival Hollandse Nieuwe werden afgesloten. Een festival voor nieuwe toneelschrijvers, eerst in theater Cosmic, later in MC. Beide Amsterdamse theaters bestaan intussen niet meer, Hollandse Nieuwe ook niet. Maar regisseur John Leerdam en zijn crew hebben nu de ruimte gekregen voor een revival in de Balie… 

'All-rounder' Boy Edgar staggeringly portrayed

Boy Edgar was the most famous big band leader of his time, but at the same time a busy doctor and an alcoholic. A biography on this ADHD'ing all-rounder was published for the first time. An impressive, sometimes disconcerting book marred only occasionally by factual inaccuracies. By day he was, among other things, a renowned neurologist, a revolutionary abortionist and the first general practitioner in the Bijlmermeer. 's... 

tefaf

World art trade grows 7% to 51 billion euros

The crisis is over. Especially if you are in the fine art business. In 2014, the global art market grew by 7% from the peak year of 2013. In total, the art trade turned over a value of 51 billion euros last year, making that market almost as big as the economy of Uzbekistan. The internationally authoritative website artnet reports that today 

It's the tone, idiot! 4 Reasons why 'Heart' is a show you should go see

The play 'Heart' is one for your bucket list. In other words, the play 'Heart', created by Matzer Theatre Productions as an adaptation of Lisette Lewin's book 'Heart of Barbed Wire', is a play you really must have seen. Why? I'll give you 4 reasons why. 1: The book is no longer on sale Lisette Lewin wrote a book in 1992 that... 

Carrots, potatoes and a dash of lard on Writers Unlimited

How do you get back home mentally after a war? David van Reybrouck in conversation with Stefan Hertmans and Ian Buruma Carrots, potatoes, maybe some celery and a dash of lard, this was the monotonous winter diet of the underclass in rural Flanders in the late nineteenth century. But, outlines professor and guest speaker Louise O. Fresco in her opening column, these days it is the... 

Gaudeamus organises seminar on music criticism

Tonight begins the international Gaudeamus Music Week, in which five composers under 30 compete for the coveted Gaudeamus Music Prize. The jury, consisting of Vanessa Lann, Oscar Bianchi and Wim Henderickx selected them from eighty entrants from all over the world. It is the fourth edition in Utrecht of the competition, which started in 1951 in Bilthoven; the new TivoliVredenburg serves as the festival centre.... 

Melle Daamen op @cultuurpers: 6 redenen waarom het kunstdebat in Nederland zo moeizaam is.

Twee artikelen publiceerde ik vorig jaar in NRC Handelsblad. Het eerste (6 juli 2013) was kritisch over het overheidsbeleid. Daar kwam weinig reactie op. Het tweede artikel (7 december 2013) was kritisch over de kunstensector: die moet zelf scherpe keuzes maken. Dat zorgde wel voor veel beroering, hoewel ik ervan overtuigd ben dat veel collega’s het met de inhoud grotendeels eens… 

World premiere of deceased Ten Holt

Tonight, Feb 14 honours the North Netherlands Orchestra at the Oosterpoort in Groningen Simeon ten Holt, who died in 2012, with the world premiere of his orchestral work Centri-fuga, which he completed in 1979. It has never been performed to this day and will be christened tonight by conductor David Porcelijn. After the interval, Ten Holt's magnum opus will also be heard Canto ostinato for four pianos, performed by Sandra and Jeroen van Veen, Fred Oldenburg and Irene Russo. Earlier this week, other pianists also performed it at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. 

'The Dutch themselves do not realise what has been built up in this country.'

De bezuinigingen op kunst zijn voor veel mensen aanleiding geweest te benadrukken dat kunst maatschappelijk en politiek relevant moet zijn. Voor Samuel Wuersten, artistiek directeur van het Holland Dance Festival, is maatschappelijke en politieke relevantie een breed begrip.

For the most convenient overview of our art, visit Schiedam

I see a lot, but an exhibition that gives access to that contemporary art for outsiders is rarely among them. You have the Rijksmuseum with a nice overview of culture through the ages, but from 1900 onwards, the space for it becomes very small. So you don't know what's going on now. For that, you can go to the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, which shows the world's best. If, however, you want a handy overview of what Dutch artists have created, the best place to go is Schiedam.

Tristan und Isolde at Reisopera, something special happens here

A Brünhilde who does not burst into flames but endures the Götterdämmerung with a baby in her arms, a Senta who does not jump off a cliff but is shot by Erik together with the Holländer. No one really looks surprised anymore. And Isoldes who do not die in the Liebestod are no exception, but Tristan who rises from the dead, as it were, by Isolde's notes reaching into heaven, stands diagonally behind her and sings along soundlessly?

Photo: Anne Bonthuis

Exhibit B confronteert met indringende blikken @hollandfestival

Holland Festival Holland Festival

Een gezellig groepje dames dat lachend en kletsend binnenkwam, verlaat beduusd en betraand de zaal. Van slag, beschaamd, zo zie ik alle bezoekers naar buiten komen. Wat met woorden moeilijk te omschrijven is, staat op hun gezicht geschreven. Exhibit B van Brett Bailey is meer dan indrukwekkend. Het is een expositie die confronteert en raakt.

Community art of 'Hidden War' forges bond between Dutch and Guatemalans

Treaty of Utrecht
It is cold, chilly and dark. But also quiet, green and spacious. Visitors were not tolerated here until recently. And now Fort Nieuwersluis, near Breukelen, is opening its doors. From 20 to 23 June, the performance 'Hidden War' can be seen there. In it, Guatemalan players show what it is like to live in a violent country. And Dutch actors add their experiences of what it is like to go from a free country to a country like Guatemala.

Chilean IK generation seeks revolutionary art at @hollandfestival

Holland Festival Holland Festival

Six actors, four years in a bunker. One is dead. Those are the details we have to make do with in Tratando de hacer una obra que cambie el mundo. According to this title, the actors are trying to create a play that will change the world. The characters have locked themselves away in an underground bunker and receive occasional provisions via a packet.

Column: Staat van Verwenning door Patrick van der Hijden, de opening van het debat Burger King & Burgerschap

In het debat Burger King & Burgerschap geven Patrick van der HijdenDavid van Reybrouck, Chris Keulemans and Samuel Vriezen hun visie op de staat van de burger. Publiek mag, maar hoeft niet, meedoen. Hieronder de column Staat van Verwenning, voorgedragen door Patrick van der Hijden – als aftrap voor het debat.

“Ons leven is in de achttiende eeuw uitgevonden.

De leden van de hogere klassen – de elite – hadden een eigen huis, vaak met tuin. Ze stuurden hun kinderen naar school en die begonnen daarna een vervolgopleiding. Ze hadden vrije tijd en kwamen over het algemeen op tijd op hun afspraken, door de horloges die ze droegen en de trekschuiten die op tijd vertrokken (ze klaagden bij vertraging). Burgers die buiten de stad woonden, forensden – met de koets, dat wel. Ze dronken koffie om wakker te blijven. Ze bezochten restaurants met menukaarten. Ze werden ingeënt tegen de pokken en hadden huisdieren. Een geweldige bron over dat leven vormt het dagboek van Otto van Eck, die daar op tienjarige leeftijd onder druk van zijn door de Verlichting bezielde ouders aan begon, in 1791. Daar ontleen ik bovenstaande voorbeelden aan.

Dit leven wordt aan het begin van de eenentwintigste eeuw niet door een kleine minderheid geleefd, maar door een groot deel van de Nederlanders. Die moeten het wel zonder personeel doen. Dat is namelijk vervangen door technologie.

Exhibition Sketches of Beauty sheds new light on metre-long sketch designs for 'Gouda Glasses'

The stained-glass windows of the Sint-Janskerk in Gouda, known as the Gouda Glasses for short, are famous abroad. Domestically, the colourful splendour and artistic value of the sometimes 20-metre-high windows is less well known. Even less known are the paper sketches for these windows, which have recently been restored. The exhibition 'Sketches of beauty', opened by Queen Beatrix, closes... 

According to US film magazine, our Oscar entry does not stand a chance

It is not very often that Dutch films attract the attention of the film trade magazine Screen International. Now that the web edition ScreenDaily happens to publish two reviews in a row, it is nice to quote something from them. Screen editor-in-chief Mike Goodridge saw Dutch Oscar contender Sonny Boy and Marco van Geffen's debut film Onder ons (international title Among Us) and came to the... 

Gergiev comes to Rotterdam with a top orchestra and top repertoire, but audiences are used to that from him

Russian conductor Valeri Gergjev was back in Rotterdam for a while, for one concert. He conducted his own orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), in de Doelen. The famous orchestra played repertoire that we in our country know inside out: Gustav Mahler's 1st symphony and Dmitri Shostakowich's 1st piano concerto. A now historic combination: because the Netherlands has become fused... 

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