Author Archives: theaderks

About theaderks

I'm a Dutch music journalist, who studied musicology at Amsterdam University. I'm specialized in contemporary music and always have an eye open for women composers. In 2014 I wrote the biography of Reinbert de Leeuw and in 2018 I published 'Een os op het dak: moderne muziek na 1900 in vogelvlucht' in 2018.

Violinist Monica Germino plays MUTED: ‘I feel like the cat Mehitabel, on the threshold of a new career’

Posted on July 21, 2019

On Sunday 21 July Monica Germino will play MUTED in the festival Wonderfeel. This piece was composed for her by Louis Andriessen and the composers of Bang on a Can when she was diagnosed with hyperacusis, a hearing disorder that … Continue reading →

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Zomernieuwsbrief: Holland Festival en meer

Posted on July 1, 2019

Ook zo aan het genieten (of balen) van de aanhoudende hitte? Hierbij wat verstrooiend lees- en luistervoer. Enjoy! Op vrijdag 7 juni nam het Radio Filharmonisch Orkest afscheid van chef-dirigent Markus Stenz. Ik interviewde hem voor het Avondconcert op Radio … Continue reading →

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Four reasons to attend Pelléas et Mélisande at Dutch National Opera #HF19

Posted on June 13, 2019

Due to its wide range of events the Holland Festival is at times its own competitor. I missed Turan Dokht and the premiere of Pelléas et Mélisande because I attended aus LICHT. To visit a performance of Debussy’s first and … Continue reading →

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Conductor Markus Stenz: ‘Sometimes I feel: now it’s music’.

Posted on June 7, 2019

In 2012 Markus Stenz was appointed chief conductor of the Dutch Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, based in Hilversum. He conducted both classical masterworks, world premières and lesser known repertoire by Dutch composers, in NTRZaterdagMatinee in Concertgebouw Amsterdam and AVROTROSVrijdagconcert in TivoliVredenburg … Continue reading →

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15 Stunden aus Licht von Karlheinz Stockhausen im Holland Festival

Posted on May 30, 2019

Das Holland Festival, Koninklijk Conservatorium Den Haag, De Nationale Opera und die Stockhausenstiftung bringen vom 31. Mai bis 10. Juni ‘Aus LICHT’, 15 Stunden aus der wohl längsten Oper der Welt, LICHT, die sieben Tage der Woche von Karlheinz Stockhausen. … Continue reading →

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Claude Vivier created his own life history in music

Posted on May 19, 2019

In the series of bizarre composer’s lives, the name of Claude Vivier (1948-1983) cannot be missed. On Monday 20 May the Canadian National Arts Centre Orchestra and the soprano Erin Wall will perform his Lonely Child in TivoliVredenburg Utrecht. Vivier … Continue reading →

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Composer Tansy Davies explores her Dutch roots in Soul Canoe: ‘Music is a powerful carrier of messages’

Posted on May 14, 2019

Last autumn Tansy Davies lived in Amsterdam for three months, as composer in residence of the Concertgebouw. She soaked up the atmosphere and sought inspiration for a new composition for Asko|Schönberg, Soul Canoe, that will be premièred on 17 May. … Continue reading →

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Carola Bauckholt concocts music from sludge flakes and animal sounds

Posted on May 3, 2019

On May 18 NTRZaterdagMatinee presents an adventurous programme. The German Ensemble Musikfabrik will perform two world premières and a Dutch première by five composers of the same generation, four of whom are women. I earlier wrote about the pieces of … Continue reading →

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Rebecca Saunders composes music like a sculptor

Posted on April 29, 2019

Women composers invisible? Yes, they are still very much underrepresented in most concert series, though not in this season’s NTRZaterdagMatinee. Of the five compositions the German Ensemble Musikfabrik presents on 18 May, four were written by a woman. Among them … Continue reading →

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Unsuk Chin: grinning teeth and false magic in Gougalōn

Posted on April 22, 2019

Unsuk Chin (1961) is one of the most successful composers of our time. She won the Gaudeamus Award in 1985, the prestigious Grawemeyer Award in 2004, and was recently honoured with the Bach Prize 2019 of the city of Hamburg. … Continue reading →

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