A portrait of Hans Abrahamsen at the Concertgebouw

By Rose Dodd, 16 May 2022

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“breakthrough palette of exquisite instrumentation”

Reviewed at Concertgebouw: Main Hall, Amsterdam on 14 May 2022

Abrahamsen, Winternacht

Abrahamsen, Wald

Abrahamsen, Schnee (canons for nine instruments)

Het Muziek (formerly Asko|Schönberg)

Brad Lubman, Conductor

Immersive cinematic experience: Reich/Richter in Amsterdam

Clare Varney, 3rd April

British percussionist Colin Currie joins Asko|Schönberg at the Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ for performances of Reich/Richter, a visual and musical feast.

****1

Blinding ice: Finsterer's frozen Antarctica at the Sydney Festival

Jeremy Eccles, 5th January

Gorgeous music by Mary Finsterer and an evocative setting by Elizabeth Gadsby transport you to the ends of the earth.

****1

Pulsating new Andriessen at Holland Festival

Jenny Camilleri, 11th June

Louis Andriessen’s new opera is a masterly expedition into the grand and grotesque mind of Athanasius Kircher, polymath and fantastist, but it is hampered by a clumsy libretto.

***11

Noordegraaf musical theatre captivates

David Pinedo, 12th June

Arnoud Noordegraaf’s As Big as the Sky received more than the usual attention at the Holland Festival due to his collaboration with Ai Weiwei.

****1

Asko|Schönberg premières Rzewski

Thea Derks, 5th March

A Dog's Life – Frederic Rzewski's 2nd Piano Concerto – is full of playful detail, but a little too long.

***11

Martijn Padding's new opera Laika launched at the Holland Festival

Thea Derks, 3rd June

Martijn Padding's opera Laika is let down by its libretto, which illustrates that though authors may write successful novels, this doesn’t necessarily imply they can also produce good theatre texts.

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Rose Dodd

Amsterdam based composer Rose Dodd as well as writing for TEMPO (UK), seismograf (DK), Positionen (GER) also writes books about contemporary music, most recently on composers Christopher Fox and Louis Andriessen. Since being awarded a Mention at Prix Ars Electronica'99, her own work draws on inspiration found in the current Norwegian scene, combining ambient electronics with quiet focus on instrumental timbre.

Find more about Rose at Muck Rack and LinkedIn