Thursday, December 6, 2012
Conversation
In 1941 American composers John Cage and Lou Harrison wrote together "Double Music". Fourteen composers, including Louis Andriessen took the same challenge and created seven pieces for one to twenty percussionists. The result was Double Music concert that took place last week at Muziekgebouw at Iij in Amsterdam. The concert included video interviews in which composers explain what Cage meant to them, among the others. Louis Andriessen and Martijn Padding's contribution to this initiative performed by Slagwerk Den Haag is "Gesprek" (Conversation).
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Rosa's Horses
Back to blogging.
"Rosa, the Death of a Composer", horse drama, got its orchestral reinvention. "Rosa's Horses" is an orchestral arrangement by Clark Rundell of this postopera originally made in 1993-1994 with Peter Greenaway. Louis Andriessen talks about the piece, and the role of the horses in it.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Hoketus Dancing
Robert Adlington sends the link to cheerful video of toddlers performing Hoketus dance.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
"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.
Here, Monica Germino to whom "La Girò" is dedicated, talks about it, and plays some of its parts.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Sunday, December 25, 2011
The Family Revisited, Review and Concert Video
Frits van der Waa sends the translation of his November Music concert review published in De Volkskrant on October 11th. What follows are fragments of Clazz ensemble playing live at the Dutch Classical Music Meeting - Muziekgebouw aan het IJ - Amsterdam - on October 17th 2011. "The Family Revisited"(1973-2011) and "That happens in Vietnam" are included.
Review:
Den Bosch is now the place to be for new music lovers. The annual festival November Music presents an overview of the latest developments in composed and improvised music. Incongruentially, the first evening of the festival focused on music from the past. The concert by the Clazz Ensemble, labeled His Master’s Choice, offered a concise overview of mostly older works by Louis Andriessen, at 72 still the foremost Dutch composer. The protagonist managed to slip in some new notes, though: only the evening before the concert he tossed off a new violin accompaniment for an Italian song singer Cristina Zavalloni had planned as an in-between. Typically, even a casual composition like this contains the poignant harmonies that are among Andriessens musical fingerprints. Zavalloni and Monica Germino, her peer on the violin, who did some lovely singing as well in Xenia Fragments, gave strong performances of several Andriessen compositions.
There was a real premiere as well, Monument for Graettinger, especially composed for the Clazz Ensemble. Robert Graettinger, arranger for the Stan Kentons Orchestra and composer of a few strikingly revolutionary pieces, is one of Andriessens long-standing idols. The new piece is a short but strong statement, full of gritty, complex harmonies, countrerbalanced with melancholy melodic lines. The Clazz musicians, operating on the boundaries between classical and jazz music (hence the name), had opportunity to add improvisations of their own.
One of the more substantial pieces in this program is The Family Revisited, a forceful new version of the music Andriessen wrote in 1973 for the movie The Family. Arranger Dick de Graaf took the position of the great saxophone player Piet Noordijk, deceased only a month ago, who played many solo parts in the original score. The performance was accompanied with scenes from the movie, which unfortunately turned out to be rather old hat and mainly distracted from the music.
The Family Revisited (1973-2011)
That happens in Vietnam (1972-2011)
Review:
Den Bosch is now the place to be for new music lovers. The annual festival November Music presents an overview of the latest developments in composed and improvised music. Incongruentially, the first evening of the festival focused on music from the past. The concert by the Clazz Ensemble, labeled His Master’s Choice, offered a concise overview of mostly older works by Louis Andriessen, at 72 still the foremost Dutch composer. The protagonist managed to slip in some new notes, though: only the evening before the concert he tossed off a new violin accompaniment for an Italian song singer Cristina Zavalloni had planned as an in-between. Typically, even a casual composition like this contains the poignant harmonies that are among Andriessens musical fingerprints. Zavalloni and Monica Germino, her peer on the violin, who did some lovely singing as well in Xenia Fragments, gave strong performances of several Andriessen compositions.
There was a real premiere as well, Monument for Graettinger, especially composed for the Clazz Ensemble. Robert Graettinger, arranger for the Stan Kentons Orchestra and composer of a few strikingly revolutionary pieces, is one of Andriessens long-standing idols. The new piece is a short but strong statement, full of gritty, complex harmonies, countrerbalanced with melancholy melodic lines. The Clazz musicians, operating on the boundaries between classical and jazz music (hence the name), had opportunity to add improvisations of their own.
One of the more substantial pieces in this program is The Family Revisited, a forceful new version of the music Andriessen wrote in 1973 for the movie The Family. Arranger Dick de Graaf took the position of the great saxophone player Piet Noordijk, deceased only a month ago, who played many solo parts in the original score. The performance was accompanied with scenes from the movie, which unfortunately turned out to be rather old hat and mainly distracted from the music.
The Family Revisited (1973-2011)
That happens in Vietnam (1972-2011)
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Y Después Video
The video of "Y Después" (1983) for voice and piano is now online.
Music: Louis Andriessen
Text: Federico García Lorca
Vocal: Astrid Seriese
Ensemble: De Volharding
Film/Dance: Betsy Torenbos
This is the original text in Spanish by Federico García Lorca (1898 - 1936), followed by English translation:
Sólo Queda el Desierto (Y Después)
Los laberintos
que crea el tiempo
se desvanecen.
(Sólo queda
el desierto)
El corazón
fuente del deseo,
se desvanece.
(Sólo queda
el desierto)
La ilusión de la aurora
y los besos
se desvanecen.
Sólo queda
el desierto.
Un ondulado
desierto.
Only the Desert Remains (And Then)
The labyrinths
that time creates
vanish.
(Only the desert
remains.)
The heart,
fountain of desire,
vanishes.
(Only the desert
remains.)
The illusion of dawn
and kisses
vanish.
Only the desert
remains.
Undulating
desert.
Translated by Cola Franzen
Music: Louis Andriessen
Text: Federico García Lorca
Vocal: Astrid Seriese
Ensemble: De Volharding
Film/Dance: Betsy Torenbos
This is the original text in Spanish by Federico García Lorca (1898 - 1936), followed by English translation:
Sólo Queda el Desierto (Y Después)
Los laberintos
que crea el tiempo
se desvanecen.
(Sólo queda
el desierto)
El corazón
fuente del deseo,
se desvanece.
(Sólo queda
el desierto)
La ilusión de la aurora
y los besos
se desvanecen.
Sólo queda
el desierto.
Un ondulado
desierto.
Only the Desert Remains (And Then)
The labyrinths
that time creates
vanish.
(Only the desert
remains.)
The heart,
fountain of desire,
vanishes.
(Only the desert
remains.)
The illusion of dawn
and kisses
vanish.
Only the desert
remains.
Undulating
desert.
Translated by Cola Franzen
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