Verses for Ensembles

Score Collective, the Conservatorium van Amsterdam’s ensemble for new music, presents two works by Harrison Birtwistle. Birtwhistle was one of England’s most revolutionary and eloquent composers. He passed away in 2022. His work is characterised by deep roots in the history of music, and his thorough research into the interaction between musicians. In Verses for Ensembles, the various instrument groups operate as either a unit or soloistic. His Orpheus Elegies, centred around sonnets by Rilke, are like a set of postcards with encrypted text.

Alongside Birtwistle’s works, an early composition by his composition teacher Alexander Goehr (1932) will be performed. While Goehr’s later work increasingly harks back to earlier musical principles, his early Suite is written in the post-war post-serial tradition. Finally, in the tradition of Score Collective, a new work by a composition student from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam will be played. The ensemble is conducted by CvA professor of conducting Ed Spanjaard.