Friday, February 7, 2014

Andriessen 75 Festival in Washington

April 6-13 (from the festival web page) Andriessen 75 is a week long festival celebrating the life and work of the iconoclastic Dutch composer, Louis Andriessen, on the occasion of his 75th birthday in 2014. Developed and curated by Armando Bayolo, founder of Great Noise Ensemble and new music curator at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, Andriessen 75 features a host of premieres and defining works by the honored composer, alongside pieces and performances by some of his most noted collaborators, students and friends. Highlights include the U.S. premieres of Andriessen's The Family Revisited, Monument to Graettinger and Image de Moreau (Andriessen's career-spanning collection of solo piano works, performed in its entirety); the East Coast premiere of his violin concerto, La Girò, written expressly for internationally renowned performer and Andriessen interpreter, Monica Germino; and the Washington, D.C. premiere of Andriessen's Grawmeyer Award-winning opera, La Commedia in a concert version featuring Great Noise Ensemble, Third Practice, Lindsay Kesselman, Andrew Sauvageau and the renowned Andriessen interpreter, Cristina Zavalloni. The Bang on a Can All Stars present the Washington, D.C. premiere of Life, composed for the ensemble, on a program with pieces by leading American composers (and Andriessen protégés) David Lang, Michael Gordon, Julia Wolfe and Steve Martland (in memoriam). The Aeolus Quartet closes the festival powerfully with a performance of Andriessen's complete string quartets. The whole festival program could be seen here.