Monthly Archives: February 2020

Lera Auerbach: Lost Paradise Regained

Posted on February 24, 2020 by Thea Derks

The Russian Lera Auerbach (1973) does not shy away from major challenges. And that is an understatement. Recently she made a big impression with her cycle Goetia 72: in umbra lucis, a setting of the names of 72 demons for … Continue reading →

Posted in music, news, women composers | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Robert Adlington on Reinbert de Leeuw: ‘His “canon” was quite unlike anyone else’s’

Posted on February 22, 2020 by Thea Derks

Reinbert de Leeuw died on 14 February 2020, and was buried in Amsterdam exactly a week later, after a worthy tribute in  Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ. He had chosen the music for his farewell himself, with Asko|Schönberg performing Berceuse élégiaque … Continue reading →

Posted in music, news, personal | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Reinbert is dead, long live Reinbert!

Posted on February 15, 2020 by Thea Derks

‘I get up with you and go to bed with you’, I said jokingly. We were standing in his kitchen, where he was making coffee for himself and a cup of tea for me. Reinbert’s big frightened eyes told me … Continue reading →

Posted in music, news, personal | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Why I hope to meet the twenty-something members of a reading club at the Dutch premiere of Olga Neuwirth’s soundtrack to ‘Die Stadt ohne Juden’

Posted on February 13, 2020 by Thea Derks

‘If it happens once, it can happen again.’ These admonishing words from the Italian-Jewish concentration camp survivor Primo Levi are more topical than ever. Neo-Nazis in Germany shout Hitler’s slogans with impunity, in the Netherlands the largest political party (Forum … Continue reading →

Posted in music, news, women composers | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Tuneful melodies and subdued tragedy in Fête Galante Ethel Smyth

Posted on February 10, 2020 by Thea Derks

‘If I hadn’t had three things that have nothing to do with music, I would have gone to waste from loneliness and disillusionment at an early age’, wrote Ethel Smyth (1858-1944) when she was sixty. Those three things were: ‘A … Continue reading →

Posted in music, women composers | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

‘I dragged along Ravel’s scores for a whole year’ – Bart Visman orchestrates ‘Ondine’

Posted on February 5, 2020 by Thea Derks

The Dutch composer Bart Visman (1962) wrote some highly successful works, such as the song cycle Sables, Oxygène for philharmonie zuid and the soprano Barbara Hannigan, and Ces concerts, riches the cuivre for the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra. On 6 and … Continue reading →

Posted in music, news | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments