Asko|Schönberg premières Rzewski

By Thea Derks, 06 March 2015

Loading, please wait...

See full listing

Reviewed at Muziekgebouw aan’t IJ: Main Hall, Amsterdam on 5 March 2015

Rzewski, Other (World première)

Zender, 33 Variations on 33 Variations

Het Muziek (formerly Asko|Schönberg)

Peter Rundel, Conductor

Daan Vandewalle, Piano

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

A portrait of Hans Abrahamsen at the Concertgebouw

Rose Dodd, 14th May

For a programme given by Asko|Schönberg at the Concertgebouw, Hans Abrahamsen’s choice of his own works spans an important and transitory period of creative stillness.

****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

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.

More reviews...

Thea Derks

Thea Derks studied English at Groningen University and musicology at Amsterdam University. She graduated with honours in 1996. She was singer/songwriter of the new-wave group Tess. She lectured on modern music in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw from 2003–12, gives pre-concert talks throughout the Netherlands, and is a reporter and programmer for Radio 4, the Dutch classical music station. She recently published a biography on Reinbert de Leeuw that has been well received. www.theaderks.wordpress.com

Asko|Schönberg premières Rzewski’s Second Piano Concerto