Tap Dance online

The recording of Tap Dance is online at Radio 4.

Asko|Schönberg en VocaalLAB o.l.v. Reinbert de Leeuw
Colin Currie percussion
Gerard Bouwhuis piano
Pauline Post piano

Namavar - Versnelheijdsbinderh (wereldpremière)
Reich - Eight Lines
Andriessen - Tapdance (opdrachtwerk NTR ZaterdagMatinee, Tromp Percussion Eindhoven, Asko|Schönberg en Southbank Centre - wereldpremière)
Adams - Grand Pianola Music

Live vanuit het Concertgebouw Amsterdam

Tap Dance World Premiere

Today Colin Currie gives the world premiere of Louis Andriessen’s percussion concerto, Tapdance. He performs with the Asko|Schoenberg Ensemble under the baton of Reinbert de Leeuw at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam as part of their ZaterdagMatinee series. “The large ensemble has 18 players plus strings and produces a ghostly recollection of the slow jazz blues from the 1950s and ’60s, with particular reference to the music of Horace Silver. The trajectory of the piece is the opposite to what you might expect: it moves from energy to melancholy, and is something of a homage to the Percussion Concerto by Milhaud, where positive vigour is increasingly supplanted by sadness and desperation – a very intriguing approach.” More info about the piece here.

"La Girò" Dutch Premiere

"La Girò"(2010-11), violin concerto for violinist who plays, but also sings and talks, will have its Dutch première on 12th January 2012 in Amsterdam, at Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ. It will be performed by Monica Germino (violin, voice), Asko|Schönberg ensemble and conductor Reinbert de Leeuw.

Here, Monica Germino to whom "La Girò" is dedicated, talks about it, and plays some of its parts.

Carnegie Hall Residency Program

Nine Programs include the New York premiere of Andriessen’s film opera "La Commedia" performed in concert version in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage. Featured performers include John Adams, American Composers Orchestra, Asko Schoenberg and Reinbert de Leeuw, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Iva Bittová, Greetje Bijma, Maurice Chestnut, Ensemble ACJW, Evan Parker, Ernst Reijseger, Dawn Upshaw, and Cristina Zavalloni.

Friday, April 9 at 7:30 p.m.
Zankel Hall
AMERICAN COMPOSERS ORCHESTRA
Jeffrey Milarsky, Conductor
William Anderson, Electric Guitar
John Korsrud, Trumpet
LOUIS & THE YOUNG AMERICANS

LOUIS ANDRIESSEN Symphony for Open Strings (NY Premiere)
MISSY MAZZOLI These Worlds in Us (World Premiere, new orchestration)
MICHAEL FIDAY Gonzo Variations - Hunter S. Thompson in memoriam (World Premiere)
JOHN KORSRUD Come to the Dark Side (World Premiere)

Wednesday, April 14 at 9:30 p.m.
Weill Recital Hall
MAURICE CHESTNUT, Tap Dancer
IVA BITTOVÁ, Violin/Vocals
Three Naughty Boys and Three Crazy Girls
Programmed by Louis Andriessen this double bill offers high-voltage tapping and singing—all improvised, first by star American tap dancer Maurice Chestnut, followed by Czech singer-violinist Iva Bittová, whose unique vocal and instrumental technique have gained her international recognition.

Thursday, April 15 at 8:00 p.m.
Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage
ASKO
SCHOENBERG
Reinbert de Leeuw, Conductor
Claron McFadden, Voice
Jeroen Willems, Voice
Marcel Beekman, Voice
Cristina Zavalloni, Voice
Synergy Vocals
The Brooklyn Youth Chorus
Dianne Berkun, Director

LOUIS ANDRIESSEN La Commedia (concert version, NY Premiere)
Pre-concert talk starts at 7:00 p.m. in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage with Louis Andriessen in conversation with Jeremy Geffen, Director of Artistic Planning, Carnegie Hall.

Friday, April 16 at 7:30 p.m.
Zankel Hall
ASKO
SCHOENBERG
Reinbert de Leeuw, Conductor
Barbara Sukowa, Voice

LOUIS ANDRIESSEN Zilver
MARTIJN PADDING First Harmonium Concerto
REINBERT DE LEEUW Im wunderschönen Monat Mai (In the Lovely Month of May)

Friday, April 16 at 9:30 p.m.
Weill Recital Hall
GREETJE BIJMA, Voice
LOUIS ANDRIESSEN
EVAN PARKER, Saxophone
Three Naughty Boys and Three Crazy Girls
A feast of surprises, as Louis Andriessen continues his series of unpredictable improvisatory concerts. This double bill features two striking performers who both exploit every possibility of their instruments: British saxophonist Evan Parker and Dutch singer Greetje Bijma, who performs with Andriessen on piano.

Saturday, April 17 at 7:30 p.m.
Zankel Hall
MAKING MUSIC: LOUIS ANDRIESSEN
Commentary by Louis Andriessen
Dawn Upshaw, Soprano
Heleen Hulst, Violin
Gerard Bouwhuis, Piano
Bang on a Can All-Stars
The Zankel Band
Anna Elashvili, Violin
Yonah Zur, Violin
Meena Bhasin, Viola
Claire Bryant, Cello
Kristoffer Saebo, Bass
Molly Morkoski, Piano
Bridget Kibbey, Harp
Eric Poland, Percussion
Alan Pierson, Conductor
Jeremy Geffen, Series Moderator

LOUIS ANDRIESSEN Dances
MARTIJN PADDING Mordants
LOUIS ANDRIESSEN Life (with video by Marijke van Warmerdam) (US Premiere)

Saturday, April 17 at 9:30 p.m.
Weill Recital Hall
ERNST REIJSEGER, Cello
CRISTINA ZAVALLONI, Voice
ANDREA REBAUDENGO, Piano
Three Naughty Boys and Three Crazy Girls
This double bill features a versatile cellist "who can play anything," according to director Werner Herzog, for whom Reijseger has composed four film scores. On the program’s second half, a wildly theatrical singer who is also featured in Louis Andriessen’s La Commedia at Carnegie Hall on April 15. It’s the last in a series of evenings of improvisation programmed by Andriessen.

Sunday, April 18 at 7:30 p.m.
(Le) Poisson Rouge
AMERICAN CONTEMPORARY MUSIC ENSEMBLE
ERIC HUEBNER, Pianist
THE MUSIC OF LOUIS ANDRIESSEN
ALL-LOUIS ANDRIESSEN PROGRAM
Program to include:
Facing Death
Trois Pieces
Trepidus

Monday, May 10 at 6:00 p.m.
Zankel Hall
ENSEMBLE ACJW
Featuring musicians of The Academy—a program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and The Weill Music Institute in partnership with the New York City Department of Education
John Adams, Conductor
Jeremy Denk, Piano

JOHN ADAMS Son of Chamber Symphony
IGOR STRAVINSKY Concerto for Piano and Winds
LOUIS ANDRIESSEN De Staat

More details about concerts here.

2009 in Review

(Photo of Amsterdam I made in March 2009)
This is a bit of Andriessen Year-in-Review:
Recordings:
"Garden of Eros" by Attacca Records
"La Passione" by BMOP/sound

Scores
Image de Moreau Box by MCN

Premieres:
The Hague Hacking
Christiaans Andriessens uitzicht op de Amstel

Festivals/Concerts:
Andriessen@70, Music on Main, March, Vancouver
Louis Andriessen - Jongensjaren, May, The Hague
Birthday concerts on June 6 (Nocturnen, The Hague Hacking, Vermeer Pictures, La Passione), Amsterdam

Looking forward:
Carnegie Hall Residency
Louis Andriessen has been appointed to hold the Richard and Barbara Debs Composer’s Chair at Carnegie Hall for the 2009-2010 season. Celebrating his 70th birthday in 2009, Andriessen will have works performed by longtime champions, including the Bang on a Can All-Stars, the Asko/Schoenberg ensemble, Reinbert de Leeuw, and John Adams, as well as protégés and recent muses such as Greetje Bijma, Martijn Padding, and Christina Zavalloni. Spring performances at Carnegie Hall will feature key Andriessen works in their New York premieres, other works by Andriessen as well as composers he has mentored, and a series of intimate late-night concerts devoted to improvisational music—a key influence on the composer himself.  Program details here.