Dear Professor

Composer Mathilde Wantenaar is writing an evening-spanning, monumental new work. Fascinating figures such as Aristotle, Alexander von Humboldt, Charles Darwin, Marie Curie and Albert Einstein take us on a journey through time. Central is humanity’s unstoppable scientific curiosity, with all its magnificent and terrible consequences. Because science brings about progress, but also destruction.

Koios from the title of Wantenaar’s work is a figure from Greek mythology. He is the Titan of intelligence and knowledge, and his name means ‘to ask questions’. Through images, words, and music, the Netherlands Chamber Choir with an ensemble portray humanity’s quest for knowledge and meaning. A performance for young and old: an adventurous journey of discovery into the secrets of creation, from the very beginning to perhaps the very last moment, the unknown end.