Category Archives: background

Rebecca Clarke, celebrated viola player, forgotten composer

Posted on March 8, 2023 by Thea Derks

This spring, the Italian pianist Gioia Giusti is dedicating the music show Ha avuto un padre anch’io to Rebecca Clarke, at the Teatro della Pergola in Florence (12 March) and the Teatro Giuglielmi in Massa (30 March). It is named … Continue reading →

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Sofia Gubaidulina makes the earth tremble in ‘Der Zorn Gottes’

Posted on May 11, 2022 by Thea Derks

For Sofia Gubaidulina (b. 1931), composing is anything but a frivolous affair: every note stems from a deep-rooted belief in man’s connection with the universe. This must be cherished, to protect mankind from degeneration. On Friday 13 May, the Radio … Continue reading →

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Alma Quartet joins forces with Dominique Vleeshouwers for an exciting musical adventure

Posted on April 21, 2022 by Thea Derks

The Amsterdam-based Alma Quartet fosters varied audiences and adventurous collaborations. They play in packed night clubs with top DJs, premiere daring new works by experimental composers, or simply perform the standard repertoire at top notch level. On 28 April they … Continue reading →

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Composer of the Year 2022 Missy Mazzoli: ‘Being a woman in a male-dominated world is one of my big themes’

Posted on March 25, 2022 by Thea Derks

The New York Times called her ‘one of the most inventive, surprising composers’, Time Out New York dubbed Missy Mazzoli the ‘Mozart of the new millennium’. The magazine Musical America proclaimed her Composer of the Year 2022. In September her … Continue reading →

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Olga Neuwirth wins both Grawemeyer Award and Ernst von Siemenspreis 2022

Posted on March 18, 2022 by Thea Derks

The Austrian politician Jörg Haider once labelled her work as Weltkatzenmusik (‘cat’s wailing music’). When his extreme right Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs joined the government in 2000, this led to mass protests. At one such meeting, Olga Neuwirth (Graz, 1968), denounced … Continue reading →

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Paris Mozart Orchestra plays Piano Concerto Clara Schumann – from which she cleared Robert’s ‘improvements’

Posted on March 10, 2022 by Thea Derks

In March 2022 the Paris Mozart Orchestra tours Europe with ‘Diversita #3’, a programme featuring works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Igor Stravinsky, Clara Schumann and Silvia Colasanti. Isata Kanneh-Mason will play the solo part in the Piano Concerto Clara Schumann … Continue reading →

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Paris Mozart Orchestra plays Silvia Colasanti – fiery ostinati versus sweet lyricism

Posted on March 8, 2022 by Thea Derks

In March 2022 the Paris Mozart Orchestra tours Europe with ‘Diversita #3’, a programme featuring works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Igor Stravinsky, Clara Schumann and Silvia Colasanti. She is the only living composer on the roster. The orchestra will present … Continue reading →

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Odessa festival 1998: music as a means for emancipation – 2022: democracy Ukraine under attack

Posted on February 28, 2022 by Thea Derks

In 2014 the Ukrainians ousted their autocratic, Russian oriented president Viktor Yanukovych. Now their hard-won freedom is under attack from Vladimir Putin. In 1998 people I met at the festival Two Days & Two Nights of New Music in Odessa … Continue reading →

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Manfred Trojahn on his opera Eurydice – Die Liebenden, blind: ‘Eurydice is a vague person’

Posted on February 26, 2022 by Thea Derks

In 2011, Dutch National Opera presented the world premiere of Orest, directed by Katie Mitchell. Eleven years later, the Opera Forward Festival stages Eurydice – Die Liebenden, blind, for which Manfred Trojahn also wrote the libretto himself. The premiere is … Continue reading →

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Let me tell you Hans Abrahamsen – Ophelia resumes control

Posted on February 3, 2022 by Thea Derks

Hans Abrahamsen hopes to celebrate his 70th birthday in December 2022, but is already a central composer in NTR ZaterdagMatinee. On 29 January his Horn Concerto received its belated Dutch premiere; in May Asko|Schönberg will perform his trilogy Winternacht / … Continue reading →

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