Six premieres

highlighted in De Groene Amsterdammer

September 2024

Want to know more about the new compositions premiering with us in season 24-25? Read below six articles from De Groene Amsterdammer (in Dutch), written by music journalists Jacqueline Oskamp, Bas van Putten, Leon Verdonschot and others.

Composers, performers and connoisseurs have their say. About their background, their starting points, motives and the creative process. ‘Great art is magic’.

The concerts

  • Opening concert Saariaho Festival

    Asko|Schönberg, Verneri Pohjola + Joseph Puglia

    Kaija Saariaho’s swan song
    Saariaho

    Thu 13 Mar 2025

    Kaija Saariaho’s swan song

    Asko|Schönberg establishes both the alpha and omega in the opening concert of the Saariaho Festival. Graal théâtre for violin and ensemble from 1994 was one of Saariaho’s first successful works, and the trumpet concerto HUSH from 2023 is her swan song. The concerto written for jazz trumpeter Verneri Pohjola takes the listener on a journey through her life. A haunting work that is even more impressive in this ensemble version. 

    ‘Each concerto is in a way a portrait of the soloist for whom it was written’, Kaija Saariaho said of HUSH. Graal théâtre, her first concerto, written for Gidon Kremer, is such a portrait. Asko|Schönberg and violinist Joseph Puglia have played the piece so many times that they’ve truly made it their own. Nice to know: the important trumpet part in Graal théâtre returns in HUSH, her last concert. 

  • Tanaka's Piano Concerto

    Philzuid + Ralph van Raat

    World premiere by a tireless ambassador of new music
    Tanaka, Tchaikovsky, Borodin

    Thu 10 Oct 2024

    World premiere by a tireless ambassador of new music

    Japanese composer Karen Tanaka has written a piano concerto for master pianist Ralph van Raat, and the world premiere is tonight – need we say more? Don’t miss your chance to be a part of history. It comes as no surprise that Ralph van Raat will be performing the work: not only is he a tireless ambassador of new music, but Tanaka also dedicated the second set of her popular Techno Etudes to him. The orchestra is Philzuid, which previously performed the world premiere of Hawar Tafiq’s Bosch Requiem in the Muziekgebouw. 

    Tanaka, a student of the great Luciano Berio and Tristan Murail, is writing her first piano concerto at the behest of the Muziekgebouw and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Her music is often inspired by her love of nature and her concern for the climate. The programme concludes with two Russian classics: Borodin’s symphonic poem In the Steppes of Central Asia and Tchaikovsky’s First Symphony – his best, according to the composer himself.

    Tip! Also visit the public rehearsal of Tanaka's new work, at 4.30pm on October 10.

    This concert will be broadcast live by NTR on NPO Klassiek



    Programme booklet (Dutch)

  • Public rehearsal: premiere Techno Etudes IV

    Philzuid + Ralph van Raat

    First work for piano and orchestra by Japanese composer Karen Tanaka
    Tanaka

    Thu 10 Oct 2024

    First work for piano and orchestra by Japanese composer Karen Tanaka

    Openbare repetitie voor het nieuwe werk Techno Etudes IV van de Japanse componiste Karen Tanaka. Techno Etudes IV is een compositieopdracht van Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ en Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, met steun van Ammodo. 

    Al eerder schreef de Japanse componiste Karen Tanaka haar virtuoze Techno Etudes II voor meesterpianist Ralph van Raat. Haar eerste werk voor piano en orkest draagt ze ook aan hem op. Philzuid staat onder leiding van de jonge Belgische maestro Martijn Dendievel.

    Wereldpremière
    Het opdrachtwerk Techno Etudes IV beleeft vanavond om 20.15 uur de wereldpremière tijdens het concert door Philzuid en Ralph van Raat. Frederike Berntsen verzorgt om 19.15 uur op Foyerdeck 1 de inleiding.

  • Amandante

    Nova Opera

    Ukrainian music theatre about the emotion of love
    Shalygin

    Wed 2 Oct 2024

    Ukrainian music theatre about the emotion of love

    Amandante is the first opera by Dutch-Ukrainian composer Maxim Shalygin. Shalygin’s music is adventurously omnivorous, yet rooted in tradition. A spiritual undertone, common in Eastern European music, frequently permeates his work. Amandante is a chamber opera inspired by the ancient Symposium, Plato’s dialogue exploring lust, love, and desire. Staged as a series of tableaux vivants and through a chiaroscuro of emotions, the opera unveils both the radiant beauty of love and its darker, more destructive facets.

    Despite the war in their homeland, Ukrainian Nova Opera is creating new productions that reflect the progressive artistic climate in Kyiv. Nova Opera’s unique music theatre blends elements of Gregorian chant, trip hop, avant-garde rock, baroque, and folk music. Their work encompasses a wide range of forms, from traditional theatre to video installations. Their productions, often premiering internationally, have earned widespread critical acclaim.

    This is a production of Muziekgebouw Productiehuis in collaboration with Nova Opera, the Greek National Opera and Stichting Ensemble Shapeshift. 

     


    Thanks to:
    Many thanks to het Cultuurfonds, Eleonora van Heusden Fund and Anna H. Toonen Fund

  • Song of the Earth

    Stargaze + Dirty Projectors

    Unconventional song cycle unites classical and indie rock
    Longstreth

    Wed 18 Sep 2024

    Unconventional song cycle unites classical and indie rock

    What connects Mahler and The Beach Boys? Contemporary ensemble Stargaze and American band Dirty Projectors answer that question with Song of the Earth. This kaleidoscopic song cycle reflects on the cyclical nature of life and death. Composer and Dirty Projectors leader David Longstreth drew inspiration from Mahler’s classic Das Lied von der Erde and Brian Wilson’s ingenious Beach Boys songs.

    Dirty Projectors’ unique blend of dazzling, unconventional guitar work and layered vocal harmonies has kept the band on the indie rock map for the past twenty years. They have collaborated with stars such as Solange, Björk, and David Byrne. Dirty Projectors is now teaming up with Stargaze, an ensemble that has previously wowed the Muziekgebouw with ground-breaking collaborations with musicians like Terry Riley, Mica Levi, and Lee Ranaldo.

    This is a production of Muziekgebouw Productiehuis