On this very rainy Saturday in November, I ended up at the Rockit Festival at Groningen’s Oosterpoort. The first performance this day came from alto and baritone saxophonist Linda Fredriksson’s surprisingly subtle-sounding Finnish quartet making music based on natural sounds. I hadn’t expected intimate chamber jazz in a hall where people were not able to […]
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Apocalypse in Amsterdam
Prophets of doom abound in Amsterdam. However, British composer and conductor James Wood (1953) goes a step further. His oratorio Apokalypsis, based on John’s Revelation, premiered last week at the Amsterdam Muziekgebouw. When seven soprano saxophones blast the tattoo signal in unison from the balconies of the Muziekgebouw, everyone is immediately alert. Not all visitors […]
What makes ‘neoclassical’ music so popular?
What makes ‘neoclassical’ music so popular? Do lovers of kind-meditative piano sounds have no patience for complicated or confrontational passages? Do they regard listening to music not as an adventure but as a refuge? Joep Beving is a good example of a musician who practices the neoclassical style. After the Dutch pianist gave up his […]
Recognition for Alma Mahler’s music
When Alma Schindler (1879 – 1964) married Gustav Mahler (1860 – 1911), he imposed a huge restriction on her: in their marriage would only be room for one composer. It went without saying that he was that one; Gustav did not even bother to consider her work. Elise Caluwaerts is the first singer to record […]
Fountains in Friesland
The shortest and nicest route to Stavoren is by water. Not far from the Enkhuizen train station, you can board the ‘Bep Glasius’ three times a day, a slender white ferry that cuts through the waves of the IJsselmeer. On the other side of the lake, we see the Ice Age-created Red Cliff where the […]
Jopie Huisman’s Frisian Paradise
Upon entering the Jopie Huisman museum, I can see his rags immortalised in oil paint on the walls. My patience is tested by the lady behind the counter who first wants to tell me about a podcast following three disappeared paintings, the functioning of the audio tour, the possibility to vote for the promotion of […]