Author Archives: theaderks

Hilda Paredes immortalises Afro-American freedom fighter in her opera ‘Harriet’.

Posted on October 16, 2018

On Friday 9 November Harriet by Hilda Paredes will be performed in November Music, in a production by Muziektheater Transparant. The opera is dedicated to the legendary Afro-American freedom fighter Harriet Tubman (c. 1822-1913), who escaped from slavery in the … Continue reading →

Posted in music, news, women composers | Tagged Claron McFadden, Harriet Tubman, Hilda Paredes, Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, Muziektheater Transparant, November Music | 2 Comments

Nederlandse Reisopera: Tosca als reality-soap

Posted on October 14, 2018

De thematiek van Puccini’s opera Tosca uit 1900 is van alle tijden. Een cocktail van hartstochtelijke liefde, politieke rebellie, wellust en verraad is geconcentreerd rond de persoon van Floria Tosca. Regisseur Harry Fehr presenteert dit verhaal als een reality-soap, met … Continue reading →

Posted in music, news | Tagged Concensus Vocalis, David Parry, Kari Postma, Noah Stewart, Orkest van het Oosten, Philip Rhodes, Puccini, Tosca | Leave a comment

Met de Os in vogelvlucht naar Muziekbiënnale Venetië

Posted on October 5, 2018

Vrijdag 28 september 2018 stap ik, samen met ‘mijn Os’ op het vliegtuig naar Venetië. – Welke Os? Nou, die van mijn nieuwste boekje, Een os op het dak: moderne muziek na 1900 in vogelvlucht. Ik schreef deze beknopte introductie … Continue reading →

Posted in music, personal | Tagged Een os op het dak: moderne muziek in vogelvlucht, Frank Zappa, La Biennale di Musica Venezia, PMCE, The Yellow Shark, Tonino Battista | Leave a comment

Liza Lim extends double-bass technique

Posted on September 30, 2018

On Saturday 29 September the French double-bass player Florentin Ginot gave the Italian premiere of Table of Knowledge that Liza Lim composed for him. It was one of four pieces in his theatrical concert Not Here, the other composers on … Continue reading →

Posted in music, news, women composers | Tagged Florentin Ginot, La Biennale di Musica Venezia, Liza Lim, Table of Knowledge, Teatro alle Tese | Leave a comment

Een os op het dak: “Een must voor muziekliefhebber en onderwijs”

Posted on September 10, 2018

Donderdag 13 september werd Een os op het dak: moderne muziek na 1900 in vogelvlucht gelanceerd in Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ. Ik overhandigde het officiële eerste exemplaar aan componist Richard Ayres, wiens muziektheatrale werk The Garden zijn Amsterdamse première beleefde in een uitvoering door … Continue reading →

Posted in music, news, personal | Tagged Een os op het dak, Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, Richard Ayres, Thea Derks | 1 Comment

Me, Peer Gynt: What does it mean to be oneself?

Posted on August 16, 2018

Pianist Tomoko Mukaiyama descends to the lowest registers of her instrument with some powerful bangs, then keeps the keys pressed down. She attentively watches Maya Fridman, whose fingers slowly creep up the A-string close to the bridge of her cello. … Continue reading →

Posted in music, women composers | Tagged Alfred Schnittke, Gaudeamus Music Week, Grachtenfestival, Henrik Ibsen, Maya Fridman, Me Peer Gynt, Tomoko Mukaiyama | Leave a comment

Monique Krüs: ‘The story always comes first’

Posted on August 13, 2018

Monique Krüs (1959) gathered fame as a soprano excelling in ultra-modern repertoire, then started composing and has since taken up conducting as well. ‘Everything I do is about communication, I want to move people, tell a story.’ This summer she … Continue reading →

Posted in news | Tagged Anne & Zef, Corto Maltese, Gloria ad Iside, God's Videotheque, her Lover and his Head, his Wife, Monique Krüs, Opera Spanga, The Tsar | Leave a comment

Lessons in Love and Violence: smouldering music fails to animate icy drama

Posted on June 29, 2018

‘Love is poison’, Mortimer tells the king in the first scene of Lessons in Love and Violence. The military adviser denounces his relationship with Gaveston, on whom he heaps favours while his subjects are starving. ‘Don’t bore me with the … Continue reading →

Posted in music, review | Tagged Barbara Hannigan, George Benjamin, Gyula Orendt, Lessons in Love and Violenc, Martin Crimp, Peter Hoare, Samuel Boden, Stéphane Degout | Leave a comment

George Benjamin on Lessons in Love & Violence: ‘Martin Crimp wrings music from me’ #HF18

Posted on June 16, 2018

The world premiere of George Benjamin’s opera Lessons in Love & Violence unleashed a true flood of 4 and 5 star reviews. Martin Crimp wrote the libretto, as he had done for Benjamin’s earlier operas Into the Little Hill and … Continue reading →

Posted in music, news | Tagged Dutch National Opera, George Benjamin, Katie Mitchell, Lessons in Love and Violence, Martin Crimp | 1 Comment

Maya Fridman: Prokofiev’s Fiery Angel with hardrock attitude

Posted on June 12, 2018

The Russian-Dutch Maya Fridman (Moscow, 1989) plays classical and contemporary music as well as rock, jazz, folk and flamenco. Communication with the audience is her most important goal, so why limit herself to a particular style or genre? The website … Continue reading →

Posted in music, review | Tagged Artem Belogurov, Gaudeamus Music Week, Maxim Shalygin, Maya Fridman, Sergei Prokofiev, The Fiery Angel, Tomoko Mukaiyama | 1 Comment