#mayke-nas — Public Fediverse posts

Happy 100th birthday, György Kurtág! Muziekgebouw honours Hungarian grandmaster of incisive aphorisms.
https://theaderks.wordpress.com/2026/02/09/happy-100th-birthday-gyorgy-kurtag/ #DieStechardin, #GyörgyKurtág, #GyörgyLigeti, #HubaDeGraaff, #MaykeNas, #UnsukChin

Happy 100th birthday, György Kurtág!

On 19 February, György Kurtág hopes to celebrate his 100th birthday. That very day the Muziekgebouw aan het IJ will organise the concert Happy 100 György!, featuring music by Kurtág himself and kindred spirits, as well as three new pieces by Dutch composers. The day after, Die Stechardin, his second opera, will premiere in Budapest.

György Kurtág, the Hungarian grandmaster of incisive aphorisms (Budapest, 1926), is no stranger in the Netherlands. As early as the 1970s, pianist Geoffrey Madge and the Residentie Orkest championed his existentialist music. Yet he rose to true fame in the 1990s, when Reinbert de Leeuw started advocating his music, dedicating many memorable concerts to the amiable composer, with whom he forged a close bond.

In 2016, the Muziekgebouw honoured Kurtág on the occasion of his 90th birthday. During a festive portrait concert, De Leeuw conducted the Asko|Schönberg through works by Webern (a great inspiration for Kurtág), György Ligeti, his namesake and compatriot, and works by Kurtág himself. In the birthday concert on 19 February 2026 again a work by Ligeti will be played: his groundbreaking Poème Symphonique, whose music consists of the ticking of 100 metronomes wound to different tempos.

Kurtág and Reinbert de Leeuw

In 2016, Kurtág and his inseparable wife Márta were too frail to travel from Budapest to Amsterdam for the concert. However, they did appear in a preview of the documentary The Three Kurtágs, made by their niece Judit. This was unique: György and Márta Kurtág often performed as a piano duo, but they never became public figures like Ligeti; they lived a secluded life.

Sitting comfortably together on their sofa, the two discuss the progress of the CD recordings of a large part of Kurtág’s work, which Reinbert de Leeuw has been working on since 2013. They charmingly bounce off each other in a lively conversation, in which a sentence started by one is naturally finished by the other – as if they were literally speaking with one voice. Their love for each other and for De Leeuw is palpable.

They regret not being able to be physically present during the recordings, but because Reinbert plays these back over the phone after each session and also visits them regularly in person, they are still able to comment on them. The notoriously critical Kurtág, who sometimes calls out ‘Nein, nicht so!’ when Reinbert merely raises his arms to begin a piece, is now full of praise. ‘It’s as if they recorded the music in their mother tongue,’ he says with shining eyes.

Musical mother tongue

The three-disc CD box containing all of Kurtág’s conducted choral and ensemble works was released a year later. In the accompanying booklet Kurtág gratefully refers to it as “a royal gift”. That is no exaggeration, because on this release from the German label ECM, Reinbert de Leeuw once again surpassed himself. With his relentless determination to get to the heart of the matter, he leads Asko|Schönberg, Groot Omroepkoor, Cappella Amsterdam and a selection of soloists to intense performances, that allow Kurtág’s soul-piercing sounds to penetrate to the very core.

This unique historical document is still available for purchase for less than forty euros – a bargain. Kurtág’s suggestion that the musicians and singers perform his music as if it were their own mother tongue is no idle chatter. Language is extremely important to the sensitive Hungarian composer – in more ways than one.

He often refers to Béla Bartók as “my musical mother tongue”. But he has created his own unique grammar from poignant, aphoristic bursts of sound that spring from a deep inner necessity. He is a great lover of poetry and literature: of the eleven pieces on the compilation, seven are vocal. Kurtág even learned Russian so that he could read Dostoevsky; three cycles on the CD box set are in this language.

The best known of these is Messages from the Late Miss R.V. Trussova, with which he made his breakthrough in Western Europe in the 1980s. In 21 miniatures, a soprano sings of bitter experiences of love. The longest song lasts 3 minutes, the shortest 22 seconds. In that short span of time, Kurtág sketches an entire novel. Unfortunately none of the three vocal cycles will be performed in the concert Happy 100 György! on 19 February. Het Muziek, successor to Asko|Schönberg, will however perform Akrostichon – Wortspiel for soprano and ensemble by Unsuk Chin.

Kurtág’s first opera causes a sensation

In 2016 the 90-year-old Kurtág was still working on his first and so far only opera, Fin de Partie (Endgame), based on Samuel Beckett’s play of the same name. He had seen it in Paris in 1957 on Ligeti’s recommendation and called it “one of the most powerful experiences of my life”. The opera was commissioned by Teatro alla Scala Milan in 2010, and he had been working on it ever since. Together with Mártá, he significantly condensed the story; only sixty percent of the original text remained. On the other hand, they added Beckett’s poem Roundelay as a prologue.

This prologue premiered during a festival in honour of his 90th birthday at the Liszt Academy in Budapest, where he himself once studied. The world premiere of the complete opera took place in November 2018 at the Teatro alla Scala, directed by Pierre Audi, who died last year, with Markus Stenz conducting. Kurtág and his wife Mártá were again unable to attend; she died a year later.

This first work by the then 92-year-old composer caused a real sensation. The absurd libretto, which barely has any plot and revolves around four people waiting for an indeterminate ending, was immediately hailed as a classic by the international press. In March 2019, the opera was also performed at the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam, with the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and again Markus Stenz. Theaterkrant called it “a true musical masterpiece”, while de Volkskrant saw how “supreme aimlessness can lead to supreme beauty”. Unfortunately, I had to miss the performance due to illness. 

Ever-expanding piano series Jatékok (Games)

For Kurtág’s 95th birthday in 2021, the Muziekgebouw organised an ambitious three-day festival, which was unfortunately cancelled due to the Covid pandemic. Instead, pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard played excerpts from Jatékok (Games) via a live stream. In this ever-expanding series of miniatures for one and/or two pianos – which he himself calls “pedagogical performance pieces” – Kurtág explores a musical idea or portrays a friend.

He frequently played these with Mártá, and they recorded a number of them on CD. In 2021, Aimard presented several brand-new miniatures, because even at the age of 95, Kurtág was still composing every day. During the concert Happy 100 György! on 19 February, Het Muziek will play a selection from Jatékok in an arrangement by Olivier Cuendet. This organist and composer previously made an orchestral version of Zwiegespräch for string quartet and electronics, which Kurtág composed together with his son of the same name.

The icing on the cake is the rarely performed Lebenslauf for two pianos tuned a quarter-tone apart and two basset horns. Kurtág’s works are placed in context with Ligeti’s Poème symphonique mentioned above and works by Unsuk Chin and Thomas Adès. There are also three world premieres, inspired by the number one hundred. Mayke Nas wrote 100 seconds, Huba de Graaff composed 100 notes, and Jasper de Bock made 100 years (I, II, III, IV).

Kurtág finishes second opera at the age of 99

Kurtág completed his first opera when he was 92 years old, but he did not rest on his laurels afterwards. Commissioned by the Budapest Music Centre, he composed a new opera, Die Stechardin, which will premiere on 20 February 2026 during a birthday festival in Budapest.

The libretto is based on letters and writings by the German scientist Georg Christoph Lindberg, who had a relationship with his student Maria Dorothea Stechard, twenty years his junior. Although she died at the age of seventeen and he later remarried, she always remained his great love. ‘She reconciled me with all of humanity,’ Lindberg wrote to a friend.

The libretto poses recognisable questions about life. Is there an afterlife? Does our soul live on after our death? Is there love that transcends the grave? The action is set in another world – heaven, an alternative reality?  – where Maria waits for her beloved to rejoin her.

Kurtág completed this three-part monologue for soprano and orchestra in June 2025 and orchestrated it together with Zsolt Serei. Maria Husmann, who has been working with Kurtág for decades, sings the title role, accompanied by the Concerto Budapest Orchestra under András Keller.

Farewell

It is not surprising that Kurtág was drawn to this theme: in 2019, he lost Mártá, who had been his partner for 72 years and remained his inspiration throughout his life. While his opera Fin de partie can be viewed as an artistic testament, Die Stechardin may be considered a farewell, celebrating the beauty of life and love. It expresses reconciliation with death and Kurtág’s hope for a speedy reunion with his beloved.

May he be able to attend the world premiere on 20 February 2026 in Budapest, and then join Márta, wherever she may be.

On 19 February, I will moderate the introduction to the birthday concert Happy 100 György in the Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ. Starting at 7.15 p.m., admission free. I will speak with Fedor Teunisse, artistic director of Het Muziek, and the composers De Bock, De Graaff and Nas.

Happy 100th birthday, György Kurtág!

On 19 February, György Kurtág hopes to celebrate his 100th birthday. That very day the Muziekgebouw aan het IJ will organise the concert Happy 100 György!, featuring music by Kurtág himself and kindred spirits, as well as three new pieces by Dutch composers. The day after, Die Stechardin, his second opera, will premiere in Budapest.

György Kurtág, the Hungarian grandmaster of incisive aphorisms (Budapest, 1926), is no stranger in the Netherlands. As early as the 1970s, pianist Geoffrey Madge and the Residentie Orkest championed his existentialist music. Yet he rose to true fame in the 1990s, when Reinbert de Leeuw started advocating his music, dedicating many memorable concerts to the amiable composer, with whom he forged a close bond.

In 2016, the Muziekgebouw honoured Kurtág on the occasion of his 90th birthday. During a festive portrait concert, De Leeuw conducted the Asko|Schönberg through works by Webern (a great inspiration for Kurtág), György Ligeti, his namesake and compatriot, and works by Kurtág himself. In the birthday concert on 19 February 2026 again a work by Ligeti will be played: his groundbreaking Poème Symphonique, whose music consists of the ticking of 100 metronomes wound to different tempos.

Kurtág and Reinbert de Leeuw

In 2016, Kurtág and his inseparable wife Márta were too frail to travel from Budapest to Amsterdam for the concert. However, they did appear in a preview of the documentary The Three Kurtágs, made by their niece Judit. This was unique: György and Márta Kurtág often performed as a piano duo, but they never became public figures like Ligeti; they lived a secluded life.

Sitting comfortably together on their sofa, the two discuss the progress of the CD recordings of a large part of Kurtág’s work, which Reinbert de Leeuw has been working on since 2013. They charmingly bounce off each other in a lively conversation, in which a sentence started by one is naturally finished by the other – as if they were literally speaking with one voice. Their love for each other and for De Leeuw is palpable.

They regret not being able to be physically present during the recordings, but because Reinbert plays these back over the phone after each session and also visits them regularly in person, they are still able to comment on them. The notoriously critical Kurtág, who sometimes calls out ‘Nein, nicht so!’ when Reinbert merely raises his arms to begin a piece, is now full of praise. ‘It’s as if they recorded the music in their mother tongue,’ he says with shining eyes.

Musical mother tongue

The three-disc CD box containing all of Kurtág’s conducted choral and ensemble works was released a year later. In the accompanying booklet Kurtág gratefully refers to it as “a royal gift”. That is no exaggeration, because on this release from the German label ECM, Reinbert de Leeuw once again surpassed himself. With his relentless determination to get to the heart of the matter, he leads Asko|Schönberg, Groot Omroepkoor, Cappella Amsterdam and a selection of soloists to intense performances, that allow Kurtág’s soul-piercing sounds to penetrate to the very core.

This unique historical document is still available for purchase for less than forty euros – a bargain. Kurtág’s suggestion that the musicians and singers perform his music as if it were their own mother tongue is no idle chatter. Language is extremely important to the sensitive Hungarian composer – in more ways than one.

He often refers to Béla Bartók as “my musical mother tongue”. But he has created his own unique grammar from poignant, aphoristic bursts of sound that spring from a deep inner necessity. He is a great lover of poetry and literature: of the eleven pieces on the compilation, seven are vocal. Kurtág even learned Russian so that he could read Dostoevsky; three cycles on the CD box set are in this language.

The best known of these is Messages from the Late Miss R.V. Trussova, with which he made his breakthrough in Western Europe in the 1980s. In 21 miniatures, a soprano sings of bitter experiences of love. The longest song lasts 3 minutes, the shortest 22 seconds. In that short span of time, Kurtág sketches an entire novel. Unfortunately none of the three vocal cycles will be performed in the concert Happy 100 György! on 19 February. Het Muziek, successor to Asko|Schönberg, will however perform Akrostichon – Wortspiel for soprano and ensemble by Unsuk Chin.

Kurtág’s first opera causes a sensation

In 2016 the 90-year-old Kurtág was still working on his first and so far only opera, Fin de Partie (Endgame), based on Samuel Beckett’s play of the same name. He had seen it in Paris in 1957 on Ligeti’s recommendation and called it “one of the most powerful experiences of my life”. The opera was commissioned by Teatro alla Scala Milan in 2010, and he had been working on it ever since. Together with Mártá, he significantly condensed the story; only sixty percent of the original text remained. On the other hand, they added Beckett’s poem Roundelay as a prologue.

This prologue premiered during a festival in honour of his 90th birthday at the Liszt Academy in Budapest, where he himself once studied. The world premiere of the complete opera took place in November 2018 at the Teatro alla Scala, directed by Pierre Audi, who died last year, with Markus Stenz conducting. Kurtág and his wife Mártá were again unable to attend; she died a year later.

This first work by the then 92-year-old composer caused a real sensation. The absurd libretto, which barely has any plot and revolves around four people waiting for an indeterminate ending, was immediately hailed as a classic by the international press. In March 2019, the opera was also performed at the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam, with the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and again Markus Stenz. Theaterkrant called it “a true musical masterpiece”, while de Volkskrant saw how “supreme aimlessness can lead to supreme beauty”. Unfortunately, I had to miss the performance due to illness. 

Ever-expanding piano series Jatékok (Games)

For Kurtág’s 95th birthday in 2021, the Muziekgebouw organised an ambitious three-day festival, which was unfortunately cancelled due to the Covid pandemic. Instead, pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard played excerpts from Jatékok (Games) via a live stream. In this ever-expanding series of miniatures for one and/or two pianos – which he himself calls “pedagogical performance pieces” – Kurtág explores a musical idea or portrays a friend.

He frequently played these with Mártá, and they recorded a number of them on CD. In 2021, Aimard presented several brand-new miniatures, because even at the age of 95, Kurtág was still composing every day. During the concert Happy 100 György! on 19 February, Het Muziek will play a selection from Jatékok in an arrangement by Olivier Cuendet. This organist and composer previously made an orchestral version of Zwiegespräch for string quartet and electronics, which Kurtág composed together with his son of the same name.

The icing on the cake is the rarely performed Lebenslauf for two pianos tuned a quarter-tone apart and two basset horns. Kurtág’s works are placed in context with Ligeti’s Poème symphonique mentioned above and works by Unsuk Chin and Thomas Adès. There are also three world premieres, inspired by the number one hundred. Mayke Nas wrote 100 seconds, Huba de Graaff composed 100 notes, and Jasper de Bock made 100 years (I, II, III, IV).

Kurtág finishes second opera at the age of 99

Kurtág completed his first opera when he was 92 years old, but he did not rest on his laurels afterwards. Commissioned by the Budapest Music Centre, he composed a new opera, Die Stechardin, which will premiere on 20 February 2026 during a birthday festival in Budapest.

The libretto is based on letters and writings by the German scientist Georg Christoph Lindberg, who had a relationship with his student Maria Dorothea Stechard, twenty years his junior. Although she died at the age of seventeen and he later remarried, she always remained his great love. ‘She reconciled me with all of humanity,’ Lindberg wrote to a friend.

The libretto poses recognisable questions about life. Is there an afterlife? Does our soul live on after our death? Is there love that transcends the grave? The action is set in another world – heaven, an alternative reality?  – where Maria waits for her beloved to rejoin her.

Kurtág completed this three-part monologue for soprano and orchestra in June 2025 and orchestrated it together with Zsolt Serei. Maria Husmann, who has been working with Kurtág for decades, sings the title role, accompanied by the Concerto Budapest Orchestra under András Keller.

Farewell

It is not surprising that Kurtág was drawn to this theme: in 2019, he lost Mártá, who had been his partner for 72 years and remained his inspiration throughout his life. While his opera Fin de partie can be viewed as an artistic testament, Die Stechardin may be considered a farewell, celebrating the beauty of life and love. It expresses reconciliation with death and Kurtág’s hope for a speedy reunion with his beloved.

May he be able to attend the world premiere on 20 February 2026 in Budapest, and then join Márta, wherever she may be.

On 19 February, I will moderate the introduction to the birthday concert Happy 100 György in the Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ. Starting at 7.15 p.m., admission free. I will speak with Fedor Teunisse, artistic director of Het Muziek, and the composers De Bock, De Graaff and Nas.

Happy 100th birthday, György Kurtág!

On 19 February, György Kurtág hopes to celebrate his 100th birthday. That very day the Muziekgebouw aan het IJ will organise the concert Happy 100 György!, featuring music by Kurtág himself and kindred spirits, as well as three new pieces by Dutch composers. The day after, Die Stechardin, his second opera, will premiere in Budapest.

György Kurtág, the Hungarian grandmaster of incisive aphorisms (Budapest, 1926), is no stranger in the Netherlands. As early as the 1970s, pianist Geoffrey Madge and the Residentie Orkest championed his existentialist music. Yet he rose to true fame in the 1990s, when Reinbert de Leeuw started advocating his music, dedicating many memorable concerts to the amiable composer, with whom he forged a close bond.

In 2016, the Muziekgebouw honoured Kurtág on the occasion of his 90th birthday. During a festive portrait concert, De Leeuw conducted the Asko|Schönberg through works by Webern (a great inspiration for Kurtág), György Ligeti, his namesake and compatriot, and works by Kurtág himself. In the birthday concert on 19 February 2026 again a work by Ligeti will be played: his groundbreaking Poème Symphonique, whose music consists of the ticking of 100 metronomes wound to different tempos.

Kurtág and Reinbert de Leeuw

In 2016, Kurtág and his inseparable wife Márta were too frail to travel from Budapest to Amsterdam for the concert. However, they did appear in a preview of the documentary The Three Kurtágs, made by their niece Judit. This was unique: György and Márta Kurtág often performed as a piano duo, but they never became public figures like Ligeti; they lived a secluded life.

Sitting comfortably together on their sofa, the two discuss the progress of the CD recordings of a large part of Kurtág’s work, which Reinbert de Leeuw has been working on since 2013. They charmingly bounce off each other in a lively conversation, in which a sentence started by one is naturally finished by the other – as if they were literally speaking with one voice. Their love for each other and for De Leeuw is palpable.

They regret not being able to be physically present during the recordings, but because Reinbert plays these back over the phone after each session and also visits them regularly in person, they are still able to comment on them. The notoriously critical Kurtág, who sometimes calls out ‘Nein, nicht so!’ when Reinbert merely raises his arms to begin a piece, is now full of praise. ‘It’s as if they recorded the music in their mother tongue,’ he says with shining eyes.

Musical mother tongue

The three-disc CD box containing all of Kurtág’s conducted choral and ensemble works was released a year later. In the accompanying booklet Kurtág gratefully refers to it as “a royal gift”. That is no exaggeration, because on this release from the German label ECM, Reinbert de Leeuw once again surpassed himself. With his relentless determination to get to the heart of the matter, he leads Asko|Schönberg, Groot Omroepkoor, Cappella Amsterdam and a selection of soloists to intense performances, that allow Kurtág’s soul-piercing sounds to penetrate to the very core.

This unique historical document is still available for purchase for less than forty euros – a bargain. Kurtág’s suggestion that the musicians and singers perform his music as if it were their own mother tongue is no idle chatter. Language is extremely important to the sensitive Hungarian composer – in more ways than one.

He often refers to Béla Bartók as “my musical mother tongue”. But he has created his own unique grammar from poignant, aphoristic bursts of sound that spring from a deep inner necessity. He is a great lover of poetry and literature: of the eleven pieces on the compilation, seven are vocal. Kurtág even learned Russian so that he could read Dostoevsky; three cycles on the CD box set are in this language.

The best known of these is Messages from the Late Miss R.V. Trussova, with which he made his breakthrough in Western Europe in the 1980s. In 21 miniatures, a soprano sings of bitter experiences of love. The longest song lasts 3 minutes, the shortest 22 seconds. In that short span of time, Kurtág sketches an entire novel. Unfortunately none of the three vocal cycles will be performed in the concert Happy 100 György! on 19 February. Het Muziek, successor to Asko|Schönberg, will however perform Akrostichon – Wortspiel for soprano and ensemble by Unsuk Chin.

Kurtág’s first opera causes a sensation

In 2016 the 90-year-old Kurtág was still working on his first and so far only opera, Fin de Partie (Endgame), based on Samuel Beckett’s play of the same name. He had seen it in Paris in 1957 on Ligeti’s recommendation and called it “one of the most powerful experiences of my life”. The opera was commissioned by Teatro alla Scala Milan in 2010, and he had been working on it ever since. Together with Mártá, he significantly condensed the story; only sixty percent of the original text remained. On the other hand, they added Beckett’s poem Roundelay as a prologue.

This prologue premiered during a festival in honour of his 90th birthday at the Liszt Academy in Budapest, where he himself once studied. The world premiere of the complete opera took place in November 2018 at the Teatro alla Scala, directed by Pierre Audi, who died last year, with Markus Stenz conducting. Kurtág and his wife Mártá were again unable to attend; she died a year later.

This first work by the then 92-year-old composer caused a real sensation. The absurd libretto, which barely has any plot and revolves around four people waiting for an indeterminate ending, was immediately hailed as a classic by the international press. In March 2019, the opera was also performed at the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam, with the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and again Markus Stenz. Theaterkrant called it “a true musical masterpiece”, while de Volkskrant saw how “supreme aimlessness can lead to supreme beauty”. Unfortunately, I had to miss the performance due to illness. 

Ever-expanding piano series Jatékok (Games)

For Kurtág’s 95th birthday in 2021, the Muziekgebouw organised an ambitious three-day festival, which was unfortunately cancelled due to the Covid pandemic. Instead, pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard played excerpts from Jatékok (Games) via a live stream. In this ever-expanding series of miniatures for one and/or two pianos – which he himself calls “pedagogical performance pieces” – Kurtág explores a musical idea or portrays a friend.

He frequently played these with Mártá, and they recorded a number of them on CD. In 2021, Aimard presented several brand-new miniatures, because even at the age of 95, Kurtág was still composing every day. During the concert Happy 100 György! on 19 February, Het Muziek will play a selection from Jatékok in an arrangement by Olivier Cuendet. This organist and composer previously made an orchestral version of Zwiegespräch for string quartet and electronics, which Kurtág composed together with his son of the same name.

The icing on the cake is the rarely performed Lebenslauf for two pianos tuned a quarter-tone apart and two basset horns. Kurtág’s works are placed in context with Ligeti’s Poème symphonique mentioned above and works by Unsuk Chin and Thomas Adès. There are also three world premieres, inspired by the number one hundred. Mayke Nas wrote 100 seconds, Huba de Graaff composed 100 notes, and Jasper de Bock made 100 years (I, II, III, IV).

Kurtág finishes second opera at the age of 99

Kurtág completed his first opera when he was 92 years old, but he did not rest on his laurels afterwards. Commissioned by the Budapest Music Centre, he composed a new opera, Die Stechardin, which will premiere on 20 February 2026 during a birthday festival in Budapest.

The libretto is based on letters and writings by the German scientist Georg Christoph Lindberg, who had a relationship with his student Maria Dorothea Stechard, twenty years his junior. Although she died at the age of seventeen and he later remarried, she always remained his great love. ‘She reconciled me with all of humanity,’ Lindberg wrote to a friend.

The libretto poses recognisable questions about life. Is there an afterlife? Does our soul live on after our death? Is there love that transcends the grave? The action is set in another world – heaven, an alternative reality?  – where Maria waits for her beloved to rejoin her.

Kurtág completed this three-part monologue for soprano and orchestra in June 2025 and orchestrated it together with Zsolt Serei. Maria Husmann, who has been working with Kurtág for decades, sings the title role, accompanied by the Concerto Budapest Orchestra under András Keller.

Farewell

It is not surprising that Kurtág was drawn to this theme: in 2019, he lost Mártá, who had been his partner for 72 years and remained his inspiration throughout his life. While his opera Fin de partie can be viewed as an artistic testament, Die Stechardin may be considered a farewell, celebrating the beauty of life and love. It expresses reconciliation with death and Kurtág’s hope for a speedy reunion with his beloved.

May he be able to attend the world premiere on 20 February 2026 in Budapest, and then join Márta, wherever she may be.

On 19 February, I will moderate the introduction to the birthday concert Happy 100 György in the Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ. Starting at 7.15 p.m., admission free. I will speak with Fedor Teunisse, artistic director of Het Muziek, and the composers De Bock, De Graaff and Nas.

Happy 100th birthday, György Kurtág!

On 19 February, György Kurtág hopes to celebrate his 100th birthday. That very day the Muziekgebouw aan het IJ will organise the concert Happy 100 György!, featuring music by Kurtág himself and kindred spirits, as well as three new pieces by Dutch composers. The day after, Die Stechardin, his second opera, will premiere in Budapest.

György Kurtág, the Hungarian grandmaster of incisive aphorisms (Budapest, 1926), is no stranger in the Netherlands. As early as the 1970s, pianist Geoffrey Madge and the Residentie Orkest championed his existentialist music. Yet he rose to true fame in the 1990s, when Reinbert de Leeuw started advocating his music, dedicating many memorable concerts to the amiable composer, with whom he forged a close bond.

In 2016, the Muziekgebouw honoured Kurtág on the occasion of his 90th birthday. During a festive portrait concert, De Leeuw conducted the Asko|Schönberg through works by Webern (a great inspiration for Kurtág), György Ligeti, his namesake and compatriot, and works by Kurtág himself. In the birthday concert on 19 February 2026 again a work by Ligeti will be played: his groundbreaking Poème Symphonique, whose music consists of the ticking of 100 metronomes wound to different tempos.

Kurtág and Reinbert de Leeuw

In 2016, Kurtág and his inseparable wife Márta were too frail to travel from Budapest to Amsterdam for the concert. However, they did appear in a preview of the documentary The Three Kurtágs, made by their niece Judit. This was unique: György and Márta Kurtág often performed as a piano duo, but they never became public figures like Ligeti; they lived a secluded life.

Sitting comfortably together on their sofa, the two discuss the progress of the CD recordings of a large part of Kurtág’s work, which Reinbert de Leeuw has been working on since 2013. They charmingly bounce off each other in a lively conversation, in which a sentence started by one is naturally finished by the other – as if they were literally speaking with one voice. Their love for each other and for De Leeuw is palpable.

They regret not being able to be physically present during the recordings, but because Reinbert plays these back over the phone after each session and also visits them regularly in person, they are still able to comment on them. The notoriously critical Kurtág, who sometimes calls out ‘Nein, nicht so!’ when Reinbert merely raises his arms to begin a piece, is now full of praise. ‘It’s as if they recorded the music in their mother tongue,’ he says with shining eyes.

Musical mother tongue

The three-disc CD box containing all of Kurtág’s conducted choral and ensemble works was released a year later. In the accompanying booklet Kurtág gratefully refers to it as “a royal gift”. That is no exaggeration, because on this release from the German label ECM, Reinbert de Leeuw once again surpassed himself. With his relentless determination to get to the heart of the matter, he leads Asko|Schönberg, Groot Omroepkoor, Cappella Amsterdam and a selection of soloists to intense performances, that allow Kurtág’s soul-piercing sounds to penetrate to the very core.

This unique historical document is still available for purchase for less than forty euros – a bargain. Kurtág’s suggestion that the musicians and singers perform his music as if it were their own mother tongue is no idle chatter. Language is extremely important to the sensitive Hungarian composer – in more ways than one.

He often refers to Béla Bartók as “my musical mother tongue”. But he has created his own unique grammar from poignant, aphoristic bursts of sound that spring from a deep inner necessity. He is a great lover of poetry and literature: of the eleven pieces on the compilation, seven are vocal. Kurtág even learned Russian so that he could read Dostoevsky; three cycles on the CD box set are in this language.

The best known of these is Messages from the Late Miss R.V. Trussova, with which he made his breakthrough in Western Europe in the 1980s. In 21 miniatures, a soprano sings of bitter experiences of love. The longest song lasts 3 minutes, the shortest 22 seconds. In that short span of time, Kurtág sketches an entire novel. Unfortunately none of the three vocal cycles will be performed in the concert Happy 100 György! on 19 February. Het Muziek, successor to Asko|Schönberg, will however perform Akrostichon – Wortspiel for soprano and ensemble by Unsuk Chin.

Kurtág’s first opera causes a sensation

In 2016 the 90-year-old Kurtág was still working on his first and so far only opera, Fin de Partie (Endgame), based on Samuel Beckett’s play of the same name. He had seen it in Paris in 1957 on Ligeti’s recommendation and called it “one of the most powerful experiences of my life”. The opera was commissioned by Teatro alla Scala Milan in 2010, and he had been working on it ever since. Together with Mártá, he significantly condensed the story; only sixty percent of the original text remained. On the other hand, they added Beckett’s poem Roundelay as a prologue.

This prologue premiered during a festival in honour of his 90th birthday at the Liszt Academy in Budapest, where he himself once studied. The world premiere of the complete opera took place in November 2018 at the Teatro alla Scala, directed by Pierre Audi, who died last year, with Markus Stenz conducting. Kurtág and his wife Mártá were again unable to attend; she died a year later.

This first work by the then 92-year-old composer caused a real sensation. The absurd libretto, which barely has any plot and revolves around four people waiting for an indeterminate ending, was immediately hailed as a classic by the international press. In March 2019, the opera was also performed at the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam, with the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and again Markus Stenz. Theaterkrant called it “a true musical masterpiece”, while de Volkskrant saw how “supreme aimlessness can lead to supreme beauty”. Unfortunately, I had to miss the performance due to illness. 

Ever-expanding piano series Jatékok (Games)

For Kurtág’s 95th birthday in 2021, the Muziekgebouw organised an ambitious three-day festival, which was unfortunately cancelled due to the Covid pandemic. Instead, pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard played excerpts from Jatékok (Games) via a live stream. In this ever-expanding series of miniatures for one and/or two pianos – which he himself calls “pedagogical performance pieces” – Kurtág explores a musical idea or portrays a friend.

He frequently played these with Mártá, and they recorded a number of them on CD. In 2021, Aimard presented several brand-new miniatures, because even at the age of 95, Kurtág was still composing every day. During the concert Happy 100 György! on 19 February, Het Muziek will play a selection from Jatékok in an arrangement by Olivier Cuendet. This organist and composer previously made an orchestral version of Zwiegespräch for string quartet and electronics, which Kurtág composed together with his son of the same name.

The icing on the cake is the rarely performed Lebenslauf for two pianos tuned a quarter-tone apart and two basset horns. Kurtág’s works are placed in context with Ligeti’s Poème symphonique mentioned above and works by Unsuk Chin and Thomas Adès. There are also three world premieres, inspired by the number one hundred. Mayke Nas wrote 100 seconds, Huba de Graaff composed 100 notes, and Jasper de Bock made 100 years (I, II, III, IV).

Kurtág finishes second opera at the age of 99

Kurtág completed his first opera when he was 92 years old, but he did not rest on his laurels afterwards. Commissioned by the Budapest Music Centre, he composed a new opera, Die Stechardin, which will premiere on 20 February 2026 during a birthday festival in Budapest.

The libretto is based on letters and writings by the German scientist Georg Christoph Lindberg, who had a relationship with his student Maria Dorothea Stechard, twenty years his junior. Although she died at the age of seventeen and he later remarried, she always remained his great love. ‘She reconciled me with all of humanity,’ Lindberg wrote to a friend.

The libretto poses recognisable questions about life. Is there an afterlife? Does our soul live on after our death? Is there love that transcends the grave? The action is set in another world – heaven, an alternative reality?  – where Maria waits for her beloved to rejoin her.

Kurtág completed this three-part monologue for soprano and orchestra in June 2025 and orchestrated it together with Zsolt Serei. Maria Husmann, who has been working with Kurtág for decades, sings the title role, accompanied by the Concerto Budapest Orchestra under András Keller.

Farewell

It is not surprising that Kurtág was drawn to this theme: in 2019, he lost Mártá, who had been his partner for 72 years and remained his inspiration throughout his life. While his opera Fin de partie can be viewed as an artistic testament, Die Stechardin may be considered a farewell, celebrating the beauty of life and love. It expresses reconciliation with death and Kurtág’s hope for a speedy reunion with his beloved.

May he be able to attend the world premiere on 20 February 2026 in Budapest, and then join Márta, wherever she may be.

On 19 February, I will moderate the introduction to the birthday concert Happy 100 György in the Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ. Starting at 7.15 p.m., admission free. I will speak with Fedor Teunisse, artistic director of Het Muziek, and the composers De Bock, De Graaff and Nas.

Happy 100th birthday, György Kurtág!

On 19 February, György Kurtág hopes to celebrate his 100th birthday. That very day the Muziekgebouw aan het IJ will organise the concert Happy 100 György!, featuring music by Kurtág himself and kindred spirits, as well as three new pieces by Dutch composers. The day after, Die Stechardin, his second opera, will premiere in Budapest.

György Kurtág, the Hungarian grandmaster of incisive aphorisms (Budapest, 1926), is no stranger in the Netherlands. As early as the 1970s, pianist Geoffrey Madge and the Residentie Orkest championed his existentialist music. Yet he rose to true fame in the 1990s, when Reinbert de Leeuw started advocating his music, dedicating many memorable concerts to the amiable composer, with whom he forged a close bond.

In 2016, the Muziekgebouw honoured Kurtág on the occasion of his 90th birthday. During a festive portrait concert, De Leeuw conducted the Asko|Schönberg through works by Webern (a great inspiration for Kurtág), György Ligeti, his namesake and compatriot, and works by Kurtág himself. In the birthday concert on 19 February 2026 again a work by Ligeti will be played: his groundbreaking Poème Symphonique, whose music consists of the ticking of 100 metronomes wound to different tempos.

Kurtág and Reinbert de Leeuw

In 2016, Kurtág and his inseparable wife Márta were too frail to travel from Budapest to Amsterdam for the concert. However, they did appear in a preview of the documentary The Three Kurtágs, made by their niece Judit. This was unique: György and Márta Kurtág often performed as a piano duo, but they never became public figures like Ligeti; they lived a secluded life.

Sitting comfortably together on their sofa, the two discuss the progress of the CD recordings of a large part of Kurtág’s work, which Reinbert de Leeuw has been working on since 2013. They charmingly bounce off each other in a lively conversation, in which a sentence started by one is naturally finished by the other – as if they were literally speaking with one voice. Their love for each other and for De Leeuw is palpable.

They regret not being able to be physically present during the recordings, but because Reinbert plays these back over the phone after each session and also visits them regularly in person, they are still able to comment on them. The notoriously critical Kurtág, who sometimes calls out ‘Nein, nicht so!’ when Reinbert merely raises his arms to begin a piece, is now full of praise. ‘It’s as if they recorded the music in their mother tongue,’ he says with shining eyes.

Musical mother tongue

The three-disc CD box containing all of Kurtág’s conducted choral and ensemble works was released a year later. In the accompanying booklet Kurtág gratefully refers to it as “a royal gift”. That is no exaggeration, because on this release from the German label ECM, Reinbert de Leeuw once again surpassed himself. With his relentless determination to get to the heart of the matter, he leads Asko|Schönberg, Groot Omroepkoor, Cappella Amsterdam and a selection of soloists to intense performances, that allow Kurtág’s soul-piercing sounds to penetrate to the very core.

This unique historical document is still available for purchase for less than forty euros – a bargain. Kurtág’s suggestion that the musicians and singers perform his music as if it were their own mother tongue is no idle chatter. Language is extremely important to the sensitive Hungarian composer – in more ways than one.

He often refers to Béla Bartók as “my musical mother tongue”. But he has created his own unique grammar from poignant, aphoristic bursts of sound that spring from a deep inner necessity. He is a great lover of poetry and literature: of the eleven pieces on the compilation, seven are vocal. Kurtág even learned Russian so that he could read Dostoevsky; three cycles on the CD box set are in this language.

The best known of these is Messages from the Late Miss R.V. Trussova, with which he made his breakthrough in Western Europe in the 1980s. In 21 miniatures, a soprano sings of bitter experiences of love. The longest song lasts 3 minutes, the shortest 22 seconds. In that short span of time, Kurtág sketches an entire novel. Unfortunately none of the three vocal cycles will be performed in the concert Happy 100 György! on 19 February. Het Muziek, successor to Asko|Schönberg, will however perform Akrostichon – Wortspiel for soprano and ensemble by Unsuk Chin.

Kurtág’s first opera causes a sensation

In 2016 the 90-year-old Kurtág was still working on his first and so far only opera, Fin de Partie (Endgame), based on Samuel Beckett’s play of the same name. He had seen it in Paris in 1957 on Ligeti’s recommendation and called it “one of the most powerful experiences of my life”. The opera was commissioned by Teatro alla Scala Milan in 2010, and he had been working on it ever since. Together with Mártá, he significantly condensed the story; only sixty percent of the original text remained. On the other hand, they added Beckett’s poem Roundelay as a prologue.

This prologue premiered during a festival in honour of his 90th birthday at the Liszt Academy in Budapest, where he himself once studied. The world premiere of the complete opera took place in November 2018 at the Teatro alla Scala, directed by Pierre Audi, who died last year, with Markus Stenz conducting. Kurtág and his wife Mártá were again unable to attend; she died a year later.

This first work by the then 92-year-old composer caused a real sensation. The absurd libretto, which barely has any plot and revolves around four people waiting for an indeterminate ending, was immediately hailed as a classic by the international press. In March 2019, the opera was also performed at the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam, with the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and again Markus Stenz. Theaterkrant called it “a true musical masterpiece”, while de Volkskrant saw how “supreme aimlessness can lead to supreme beauty”. Unfortunately, I had to miss the performance due to illness. 

Ever-expanding piano series Jatékok (Games)

For Kurtág’s 95th birthday in 2021, the Muziekgebouw organised an ambitious three-day festival, which was unfortunately cancelled due to the Covid pandemic. Instead, pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard played excerpts from Jatékok (Games) via a live stream. In this ever-expanding series of miniatures for one and/or two pianos – which he himself calls “pedagogical performance pieces” – Kurtág explores a musical idea or portrays a friend.

He frequently played these with Mártá, and they recorded a number of them on CD. In 2021, Aimard presented several brand-new miniatures, because even at the age of 95, Kurtág was still composing every day. During the concert Happy 100 György! on 19 February, Het Muziek will play a selection from Jatékok in an arrangement by Olivier Cuendet. This organist and composer previously made an orchestral version of Zwiegespräch for string quartet and electronics, which Kurtág composed together with his son of the same name.

The icing on the cake is the rarely performed Lebenslauf for two pianos tuned a quarter-tone apart and two basset horns. Kurtág’s works are placed in context with Ligeti’s Poème symphonique mentioned above and works by Unsuk Chin and Thomas Adès. There are also three world premieres, inspired by the number one hundred. Mayke Nas wrote 100 seconds, Huba de Graaff composed 100 notes, and Jasper de Bock made 100 years (I, II, III, IV).

Kurtág finishes second opera at the age of 99

Kurtág completed his first opera when he was 92 years old, but he did not rest on his laurels afterwards. Commissioned by the Budapest Music Centre, he composed a new opera, Die Stechardin, which will premiere on 20 February 2026 during a birthday festival in Budapest.

The libretto is based on letters and writings by the German scientist Georg Christoph Lindberg, who had a relationship with his student Maria Dorothea Stechard, twenty years his junior. Although she died at the age of seventeen and he later remarried, she always remained his great love. ‘She reconciled me with all of humanity,’ Lindberg wrote to a friend.

The libretto poses recognisable questions about life. Is there an afterlife? Does our soul live on after our death? Is there love that transcends the grave? The action is set in another world – heaven, an alternative reality?  – where Maria waits for her beloved to rejoin her.

Kurtág completed this three-part monologue for soprano and orchestra in June 2025 and orchestrated it together with Zsolt Serei. Maria Husmann, who has been working with Kurtág for decades, sings the title role, accompanied by the Concerto Budapest Orchestra under András Keller.

Farewell

It is not surprising that Kurtág was drawn to this theme: in 2019, he lost Mártá, who had been his partner for 72 years and remained his inspiration throughout his life. While his opera Fin de partie can be viewed as an artistic testament, Die Stechardin may be considered a farewell, celebrating the beauty of life and love. It expresses reconciliation with death and Kurtág’s hope for a speedy reunion with his beloved.

May he be able to attend the world premiere on 20 February 2026 in Budapest, and then join Márta, wherever she may be.

On 19 February, I will moderate the introduction to the birthday concert Happy 100 György in the Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ. Starting at 7.15 p.m., admission free. I will speak with Fedor Teunisse, artistic director of Het Muziek, and the composers De Bock, De Graaff and Nas.

Mayke Nas: ‘Je omgeving beïnvloedt je manier van componeren’

Mayke Nas (c) Maurice Haak

De immer avontuurlijke Mayke Nas, Componist des Vaderlands van 2016-18, presenteert donderdag 3 mei haar nieuwste project in Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, Radio Rusland. Ze ontwikkelde dit theatrale concert samen met de vier dames van het Ragazze Quartet, voor wie ze in 2012 ook al het strijkkwartet In & Out componeerde. Ze gaan op zoek naar de betekenis van artistieke vrijheid, op teksten van Ilja Leonard Pfeiffer en bijgestaan door acteur Noël Keulen. Hiertoe wordt de Grote Zaal van muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ omgebouwd tot radiostudio. Na afloop spreek ik op Foyerdeck 1 met Nas en de uitvoerenden.

‘Ik wilde al langere tijd weer eens werken met het Ragazze Quartet, liefst in een avondvullend theaterproject’, vertelt Mayke Nas. Daartoe haakte ze aan bij een van hun programma’s, met kwartetten van Sjostakovitsj, Goebaidoelina en Rachmaninov. ‘Wij vroegen ons af waarom Rusland nog altijd zoveel grote talenten heeft die het land verlaten. Ik ben vervolgens gaan lezen over die drie componisten, die allemaal in een beknellende situatie moesten componeren.’

Knellend korset

Rachmaninov vluchtte uit Rusland toen de communisten in 1917 de macht overnamen. Sjostakovitsj zuchtte onder het Sovjetbewind, en werd door Stalin gedwongen in de Verenigde Staten een voorgekauwde speech voor te dragen. Goebaidoelina verliet de Sovjet-Unie pas nadat de Berlijnse muur in 1989 gevallen was. ‘Zouden ze andere muziek geschreven hebben als ze elders gewoond hadden, vroeg ik mij af. Ik ben ervan overtuigd dat elke componist beïnvloed wordt door zijn of haar omgeving.’

In haar hoedanigheid als Componist des Vaderlands kijkt zij met een kritische blik naar maatschappelijke ontwikkelingen en werpt zij zich op als ambassadeur van haar collega’s. ‘Ook in het moderne Nederland zitten wij als kunstenaars in een steeds benauwender korset. Er zijn veel knelpunten, waarvan het gebrek aan financiële mogelijkheden er maar één is. Een misschien nog wel belangrijker probleem is het dédain waarmee kunstenaars tegenwoordig vaak worden bejegend.’

Kratje bier voor nieuwe compositie

Zelf werd Nas hier op pijnlijke wijze mee geconfronteerd toen ze in 2017 een nieuw belsignaal componeerde voor de Tweede Kamer. Zij maakte haar compositie geheel onbezoldigd, als geschenk aan onze volksvertegenwoordigers. In plaats van haar te bedanken maakte Klaas Dijkhoff, fractievoorzitter van de VVD, haar stuk op zijn Facebookpagina met de grond gelijk.

‘Tweede Kamer doet onderzoek naar nieuwe Kamerbel. De nieuwe variant vind ik niks & kost bovendien veel geld. Heb jij een beter geluid? Mail je eigen compositie naar [email protected] Beste inzending krijgt van mij een kratje bier.’

Met dit alles in het achterhoofd maakte Nas Radio Rusland met het Ragazze Quartet, een ‘geënsceneerde, getheatraliseerde radio-uitzending’, waarvoor Pfeiffer de tekst leverde. De voorstelling speelt zich af in de ether.  Centrale gast is een componist die via de telefoon live wordt geïnterviewd in een radioprogramma. Hij komt terecht in een absurde situatie waarin hij probeert zich te verdedigen tegen niet expliciet geuite verwijten. Wat hij als componist wil zeggen en wat van hem verwacht wordt lopen mijlenver uiteen, twee werelden botsen op elkaar.

Tussendoor klinken opnames van onder anderen Stalin, Poetin en Klaas Dijkhoff, maar ook een fragment waarin Goebaidoelina vertelt hoe belangrijk Sjostakovitsj voor haar is geweest. Die drukte haar immers bij haar diplomering op het hart haar eigen ‘foute weg’ te blijven volgen. Het Ragazze Quartet speelt haar Tweede Strijkkwartet en het Tiende Strijkkwartet van Sjostakovitsj, naast enkele delen uit Rachmaninovs Eerste Strijkkwartet.

Speciaal voor de gelegenheid componeerde Mayke Nas haar Etherkwartet nr.9. Het cijfer in de titel is een schalkse knipoog naar Revolution No.9 van The Beatles – dit is pas haar derde strijkkwartet. Nas: ‘Ik ben een groot fan van The Beatles. In hun song lopen heel veel stemmen door elkaar, net als in Radio Rusland. Dus ik vond die verwijzing wel terecht.’

22-07-2018 ‘s-Graveland, Wonderfeel
28-10-2018 Asten, In de Gloria kerk
23-11-2018 Groningen, Oosterpoort
05-03-2019 Zaandam, Zaantheater

#IljaLeonardPfeiffer #Kamerbel #KlaasDijkhoff #MaykeNas #MuziekgebouwAanHetIJ #NoëlKeulen #RadioRusland #RagazzeQuartet #SofiaGoebaidoelina

Componerende dames in Festival Oude Muziek: eendagsvliegen of blijvers?

Vandaag de vierde herpublicatie van een column over de onzichtbaarheid van vrouwelijke componisten op de muziekpodia. In 2006 leek er even een sprankje hoop, toen het Festival Oude Muziek grootheden als Barbara Strozzi, Francesca Caccini en Isabella Leonarda programmeerde. Daarna zakte de aandacht voor de dames helaas weer snel weg.

Maar na mijn column over hoe Henriëtte Bosmans in eigen naam het zwijgen werd opgelegd, beterde de organisatie haar leven en engageerde twee vrouwelijke juryleden. Mayke Nas drong zelfs door tot de finale. Helaas won zij niet, maar in 2016 werd zij uitgeroepen tot Componist des Vaderlands.

Componist m/v (3)
Verschenen in tijdschrift Luister, april 2006

Ik hoor u zuchten: ‘Begint ze nou wéér over die vrouwen?’ Maar ik kan u geruststellen, want begin januari heb ik een felroze bril op mijn neus geplant. Ik registreer dan ook verschillende stapjes in de goede richting. Neem de Nederlandse Muziekdagen van afgelopen februari.

Op een totaal van 22 composities waren er vier geschreven door een vrouw. Toegegeven, nog niet direct een jubelpercentage, maar toch. En het moet gezegd: tijdens de openingsavond was het stuwende Derde Pianconcert van Hanna Kulenty verreweg de interessantste compositie. De tweede avond betoonden Sumire Nukina en Selma Beuger zich uiterst originele toondichters.

Tijdens deze Muziekdagen werd ook de Henriëtte Bosmansprijs uitgereikt. Anderhalf jaar geleden hekelde ik hier het feit dat deze naar een vrouw vernoemde prijs nog nooit aan een dame was uitgereikt, en dat zowel jury als genomineerden steevast uit mannen bestonden. Welnu, men had zijn leven gebeterd en twee vrouwelijke juryleden aangesteld. En ziedaar: de immer speelse Mayke Nas behoorde tot de genomineerden! Jammer genoeg won ze niet, maar een mens kan niet alles hebben.

Al even hartverwarmend is dat het Festival Oude Muziek na jaren van veronachtzaming de componerende dames in de armen sluit. Directeur Jan van den Bossche heeft voor de komende aflevering niet alleen muziek geprogrammeerd van de briljante Barbara Strozzi, Francesca Caccini en Isabella Leonarda, maar ook van hun minder bekende collega’s, die actief waren in nonnenkloosters. Nu maar hopen dat het geen ééndagsvlieg betreft en dat de vrouwen bij dit gerenommeerde evenement definitief uit de schaduw van de geschiedvervalsing treden.

Maar zelfs mijn uiterst rooskleurige bril kan niet verhullen dat nog altijd veel programmeurs – man én vrouw – de goede noten van vrouwen als vanzelfsprekend links laten liggen. Zolang die toestand voortduurt, zal ik blijven getuigen, wetende dat één druppel water uiteindelijk zelfs de hardste steen uitholt…

#BarbaraStrozzi #FestivalOudeMuziek #HannaKulenty #HenriëtteBosmans #IsabellaLeonarda #MaykeNas

Henriëtte Bosmans in eigen naam het zwijgen opgelegd

Vandaag is het internationale vrouwendag, met veel aandacht voor vrouwelijke componisten op de Concertzender, BBC3 en het internetstation Second Inversion. Onze eigen klassieke zender Radio 4 laat de dames helaas grotendeels links liggen.

Jammer dat mijn programma Componist van de week niet meer bestaat en dat ook de aanvullende programmering van het Vrijdagavondconcert is geschrapt. Daarin had ik immers veel ruimte om werk van vrouwelijke componisten onder de aandacht te brengen.

Deze maand herpubliceer ik een reeks columns die ik een decennium geleden over de veronachtzaming van vrouwen schreef.

Componist m/v (2)
Verschenen in tijdschrift Luister december 2004

Wees niet bang, ik ga u niet wéér vragen welke namen u te binnen schieten bij het woord componist. Ik weet immers dat u als oplettende lezer onmiddellijk op de proppen komt met Hildegard von Bingen, Josina van Boetzelaer en Henriëtte Bosmans. Jammer genoeg lezen concertorganisatoren en artistiek managers de Luister kennelijk minder goed, want ook dit seizoen is het aandeel van vrouwelijke componisten op onze vaderlandse podia bedroevend klein.

Neem de Nederlandse Muziekdagen, die in december weer drie dagen lang in Muziekcentrum Vredenburg in Utrecht plaatsvinden. Sinds jaar en dag klinkt hier muziek van mannen, een enkele excuus-Calliope of -Caroline uitgezonderd. De huidige aflevering vormt hierop geen uitzondering, daarom noem ik het festival steevast de ‘Nederlandse Mannendagen’.

Dit keer tref ik echter één hoopgevend onderdeel: op zondag 12 december wordt de Henriëtte Bosmansprijs uitgereikt, vernoemd naar een van de kleurrijkste Nederlandse componisten van voor de oorlog. Zij studeerde bij Willem Pijper, maar liet diens droogkloterige kiemceltechniek voor wat hij was en schreef aansprekende muziek met een impressionistische flair, verwant aan het werk van Lili Boulanger en Claude Debussy.

Maar wie zijn de finalisten? Niet de avontuurlijke dames Mayke Nas; Astrid Kruisselbrink of Rozalie Hirs, maar drie heren: Lars Skoglund, Edward Top en Jeroen Roffel. Van een naar een vrouw vernoemde prijs had ik een iets evenwichtigere man/vrouw-verhouding verwacht. Op zoek dus naar de samenstelling van de jury – en warempel, ook die bestaat geheel uit mannen.

Ik vraag de lijst met winnaars op. Sinds 1994 is de Henriëtte Bosmansprijs zes keer uitgereikt. Niet één keer aan een vrouw! Terwijl juist in het afgelopen decennium een hele generatie boeiende vrouwelijke toondichters is opgestaan, die het verdient gehoord en onderscheiden te worden.

En welke muziek klinkt er tijdens de feestelijke prijsuitreiking? Juist, geen noot van vrouwen, zelfs niet van de naamgeefster van de prijs. Zo wordt Henriëtte Bosmans in haar eigen naam het zwijgen opgelegd.

#AstridKruisselbrink #CalliopeTsoupaki #Concertzender #HenriëtteBosmans #HildegardVonBingen #LiliBoulanger #MaykeNas #RozalieHirs

Jean-Guihen Queyras: ‘Cello Concerto Gilbert Amy is very expressive’

From 20-29 October the Amsterdam Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ hosts the 6th edition of the Cello Biennale. As always the programme is packed from morning till night with concerts, masterclasses, a market for cello builders and music publishers, and a competition for young cellists.

The opening concert on Friday 21 presents Unraveled, a new work by Composer Laureate Mayke Nas, for the four cellists of the Biennale Cello Band, Slagwerk Den Haag and the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra.

On Wednesday 26 October Jean-Guihen Queyras will play the Dutch première of the Cello Concerto by Gilbert Amy (1936), with the Symphony Orchestra of the Amsterdam Conservatoire. The French cellist is a great champion of Amy, who is little known in Holland. Queyras was kind enough to answer five questions after his concert in Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ on 13 October.

Thea Derks & Jean-Guihen Queyras Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ 11-2-2016

What attracts you in Amy’s Cello Concerto?

I love this concerto first of all because it’s very expressive. He composed it in 2000 when he was already a mature person, and I find that in his later works he is very free. Particularly in this piece: it sings, tells a story and has a strong rhetoric, though the form is rhapsodic.

Sometimes this is a bit puzzling, for it’s more or less divided into eight short parts which are all related, however freely. The overall quality has an absolute French flair: in the orchestration you can hear that there is a kind of inspiration, a parenthood of composers such as Ravel and Messiaen.

Amy studied with Messiaen, but also with Stockhausen, and worked together with Boulez. Do you hear their influence, too?

Yes, you can definitely hear Gilbert’s background, and again, this is what I find particularly interesting in this concerto. You can see that he worked with quite rational persons – in a time when ‘brain’ was the thing, at least in France. Directly after World War II the serialism of Boulez and Stockhausen was paramount, so there is that aspect.

But take Stockhausen: he was very rational, and yet had a very mystical side. Gilbert doesn’t have that, he is not mystical at all, but apart from the rational concept, there is a sort of quality where you may even hear some Dutilleux.

Sometimes it is almost like a solo cello piece, with mewing gulls, or softly caressing sounds. How do you see the relation between your instrument and the orchestra?

That’s again a very French thing. You have a main line, the solo line, which is quite continuous, I play almost all the time. The orchestra is very often used as a resonance body of the cello, like a prolongation of its sound. This working with resonance is really very French. It’s what Boulez does, and many other composers, I’d call this typical français.

The writing for my instrument is very classical, Gilbert doesn’t use extended techniques or other modernist playing instructions. When you see the score you’re not like: oh, my god, what’s this? The writing is absolutely ‘normal’, so in principle everyone can perform it. There is a lot of interaction with the percussion, and I love to connect with this and make my instrument sound unlike a cello. It’s a great compliment you should feel caressed by my playing.

Gilbert Amy (c) Alvaro Yanez

You just performed the Double Concerto for Piano, Cello and ensemble by György Kurtág, are there similarities with the way Amy treats your instrument?

I would say that in the melodic line itself, there are some common things between Kurtág and Amy. The main difference however is that Kurtág will never write a ‘concerto’ in the traditional sense. The Double Concerto we just played is one of my favourite pieces in the world, but it’s not really a concerto.

As the cello and piano, the two soloists, we are very often just part of this incredible universe that you can’t define. In the case of Gilbert we’re absolutely dealing with a classical concerto in the sense that you have one major character that just goes on and on. Nothing will stop him or her, and the orchestra comments and responds, so that’s quite different.

Gilbert Amy is hardly known in the Netherlands, how about France?

Gilbert is very well-known in the French musical world, though of course mainly in the scene of new music. Obviously he didn’t become as notorious and famous as Boulez, who was ten years older.

With some hesitation I’d say that being a French composer in that time – next to Boulez – was probably the most difficult task one can imagine. Taking this into account I think he was doing, and is doing, very well. He found his own voice and that’s the most important.

#Cellobiënnale #GilbertAmy #JeanGuihenQueyras #MaykeNas #TheaDerks

Mayke Nas Componist des vaderlands: Tien redenen om te componeren

Gisteren werd bekend dat Mayke Nas (1972) de nieuwe Componist des Vaderlands wordt, als opvolger van Willem Jeths. Een geweldige keuze, aangezien Nas een heel ander soort muziek schrijft dan Jeths en een ongekend frisse kijk heeft op het leven en op componeren.

Voor de opening van de komende Cellobiënnale componeerde ze een nieuw werk, Unraveled voor vier slagwerkers, vier cello’s en orkest, dat ook wordt uitgevoerd tijdens het festival November Music. Eerder dit jaar won ze de Kees van Baarenprijs met Down the Rabbit-Hole, dat zij componeerde voor het Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest. Ik sprak haar hierover voor Cultuurpers.

Als Componist des Vaderlands gaat Nas zich niet bezighouden met het schrijven van stukjes bij de geboorte van prinsesjes, maar wil zij zich opwerpen als ambassadeur voor de eigentijdse muziek. Met name ook de Nederlandse muziek, die volgens haar ‘te weinig gehoorde schatten’ kent, die zij onder de aandacht van het publiek wil brengen.

Geen piepknor

Moderne muziek wordt volgens Nas nog te vaak gezien als een akelige vorm van ‘piepknor’  en daar wil zij graag verandering in brengen. Zij is daartoe de aangewezen persoon, want niet alleen is zij een aanstekelijke verteller, maar ook straalt uit haar eigen werk  een enorme levenslust. Humor en ironie zijn nooit ver weg, ook al erkent ze vaak lang op een stuk te zwoegen.

Mayke Nas timmert al lang aan de weg. In 2003 interviewde ik haar voor het aan Nederlandse muziek gewijde tijdschrift Oorsprong. We spraken over haar 10 redenden om te componeren. De dertien jaar oude tekst is nog altijd actueel.

Haar muziek beweegt zich op de rand van klank en ruis, maar beukt er bij wijlen ook genadeloos op los; vaak valt er wat te lachen. Mayke Nas houdt niet van bloedige ernst, maar van speelvreugde en relativering. Ze verkent de grenzen van muziek met een tomeloze energie en verbeeldingskracht, die ook haar persoon kenmerken.

Mayke Nas (c) Maurice Haak

Bij wijze van biografie stuurt ze twee partituren, een cd-r en een link naar haar ‘weblog’. Daar treffen we bespiegelingen als Een puzzel waarvan de helft van de stukjes ontbreekt: dát is pas een puzzel en Sturgeon’s law: ‘90% of everything is crap’. Als illustratiemateriaal stuurt ze tien afbeeldingen van haar piano spelende handen, voorzien van even zo veel redenen om te componeren. – Die koppen we in.

1. Tijd rekken

‘Componeren gaat over het manipuleren van tijd: hoe structureer je die. Ik ben goed in tijd rekken, kom altijd te laat (ook op onze afspraak, waardoor we de repetitie van Calefax voor Entrez! mislopen – TD). Ik ben te optimistisch. Als mensen bellen: Waar blijft je stuk? roep ik enthousiast dat het over twee dagen klaar is. Dat geloof ik echt, maar vervolgens wordt het natuurlijk toch later. Meestal heb ik composities vlak voor de première af, maar ooit heb ik verstek laten gaan bij het Schönberg Ensemble. Dat achtervolgt me nog.’

1. Problemen zoeken

‘Ik heb collega’s gevraagd wat ze de leukste fase vinden van het componeren: het zoeken naar een idee; het vinden daarvan; het kiezen van het materiaal; de vraag hoe je dat behandelt; de crises die je doormaakt; het repetitieproces of de uiteindelijke uitvoering. Bijna iedereen noemde de initiërende fase. Ook voor mij is het zoekmoment het belangrijkste. Daan Manneke zei het zo: ‘Pas als je je probleem gevonden hebt, kun je een antwoord formuleren’.’

1. Getallenfetisjisme

‘Als ik structuren opzet kies ik bijvoorbeeld herhalingen van 7, 9, of 11 keer, nooit 6, 8, of 10. Dat vind ik afschuwelijke getallen. Geen idee waarom, dat is volkomen irrationeel. Je bent voortdurend bezig met getalsverhoudingen, tijdsverhoudingen. Sommige wiskundige verhoudingen zijn in theorie wonderschoon, maar slaan dood als je ze doortrekt naar muziek.

Dus als ik een strenge getalsmatige reeks ontwerp fungeert die slechts als leidraad; ik laat me altijd leiden door mijn oren.’

1. Krankzinnigheid

‘Je moet wel gek zijn om te willen componeren. Toen ik begon aan Enkele reis slaapkamer voor klavecimbel solo, dacht ik: Dat schrijf ik even. Maar ik heb er zes weken dag en nacht aan gewerkt. Dat is weer mijn optimisme. Ik denk: Kom, ik schrijf er wat tekstjes bij; ik vraag die om een filmpje, ik maak nog even een reeks interactieve geluiden… Een gezond mens zou op een gegeven moment stoppen, maar ik ga door.’

1. Belofte

‘Een belangrijk drijfveer bij het componeren is de belofte die ik iemand gedaan heb om een stuk te leveren. Het gaat niet om iets dat ik mezelf beloof. Natuurlijk maak ik soms iets op eigen initiatief, zoals Digit # 2 voor piano vierhandig, maar mijn output wordt grotendeels bepaald door de vraag. Ik vind het verschrikkelijk mensen teleur te stellen, want ik koester het persoonlijke contact dat zo’n compositieopdracht met zich meebrengt.’

1. Dwangneurose

‘Dat betreft die enorme scheppingsdrift. Dat je nachtenlang doorwerkt omdat je nu dat idee wilt uitwerken. Als ik niet creëer – dat hoeft niet per se een compositie te zijn, het kan ook film of tekst betreffen – voel ik me verloren. Soms vraag ik me af of het nuttig is wat ik doe, maar ik ben er tegelijkertijd van overtuigd dat kunst je beter maakt: zij helpt je verwachtingspatronen doorbreken. Dat werkt door op het sociale vlak.’

1. Seks, drank & gebakken ganzenlever

‘Ik doe niet aan drugs, wel aan drank en ik houd van lekker eten. Componeren is voor mij sterk gekoppeld aan lijfelijke lol: tijdens etentjes maak je afspraken met musici en na een concert hang je samen in de kroeg. Je krijgt een enorm sterke band, want je moet gezamenlijk allerlei problemen oplossen. Daarom moet er naast het harde werken ruimte zijn voor feestjes. Ik kook als afterparty vaak een driegangendiner.’

1. Nergens anders voor deugen

‘Een tijdlang vroeg ik me af of ik wel componist wilde worden. Het is zó zwaar! Het gaat gepaard met ontzettende onzekerheid en stress en bovendien is er al zoveel muziek. Toen vertelde een vriend dat hij ooit vanuit diezelfde twijfels overwoog vrachtwagenchauffeur te worden. De directrice van het conservatorium zei: “Dan neem je dus de plaats in van iemand die niets anders kan.” Als ik weer eens totaal vastzit, denk ik aan dat verhaal: je hebt een verplichting aan je talent.’

1. Eine aussergewöhnlich lustige Idee (naar Stockhausen)

‘Karlheinz Stockhausen heeft boekenplanken volgeschreven over zijn doorwrochte compositietechnieken. Werkelijk alles klopt. Maar laatst speelde Alban Wesly in Orchesterfinalisten, waarin hij op bepaalde momenten zijn been moet optillen. Ik vroeg waarom, maar hij had geen idee en benaderde Stockhausen. Die antwoordde simpelweg: “Omdat ik dat buitengewoon grappig vind!” Dat vind ik prachtig: componeren gaat ook over intuïtie, gekke invallen en ideeën die niet verantwoord hoeven te worden.’

1. Om niet te hoeven slapen

‘Dat heeft een dubbele betekenis. Enerzijds haat ik het gebrek aan nachtrust als ik weer eens een stuk af moet krijgen, anderzijds geniet ik juist van dat nachtelijke werken. Overdag is er voortdurend onrust: je hoort het verkeer, je moet boodschappen doen, je wordt gebeld, er zijn brieven te beantwoorden. Als het duister wordt, komt de stad langzaam tot rust en kan ik me concentreren: er zijn geen uitvluchten meer. Slapen is ook een metafoor voor stilstand: ik wil het leven niet ongemerkt voorbij laten trekken.’

Dit artikel verscheen in juli 2003 in het tijdschrift ‘Oorsprong’ van Muziekgroep Nederland.

#ComponistDesVaderlands #DownTheRabbitHole #MaykeNas #TheaDerks #WillemJeths

George Pieterson in #PanoramadeLeeuw

George Pieterson (website KCO)

Op zondag 24 april overleed de klarinettist George Pieterson, die jarenlang de eerste stoel bezette in het Concertgebouworkest. Hij speelde ook graag kamermuziek en trok de wereld rond met het Rondom Ensemble, verder bestaande uit de violiste Vera Beths, de cellist Anner Bijlsma en de pianist Reinbert de Leeuw. Ik schreef een in memoriam voor Cultuurpers en draaide de klarinetsolo uit Quatuor pour la fin du temps van Messiaen in aflevering IXX van Panorama de Leeuw op de Concertzender. Terugluisteren via deze link.

Donderdag 17 maart ging het vioolconcert Roads to Everywhere van Joey Roukens in première in het Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ in Amsterdam. Ik sprak hem die middag tijdens een inleiding voor publiek en daarna tijdens een openbare repetitie met solist Joseph Puglia en het Asko|Schönberg o.l.v. Clark Rundell. Ik had eerder al een interview met Roukens gepubliceerd op Cultuurpers.

De volgende dag klonk op Südwest Rundfunk mijn reportage van het Opera Forward Festival. Hiervoor sprak ik onder anderen Kaija Saariaho en Peter Sellars, die de opera Only the Sound Remains ‘een paradijs op aarde’ noemde.

Diezelfde avond verzorgde ik opnieuw een inleiding, voor de vrienden van het Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ. Ik sprak met de pianist Cédric Tiberghien, de altviolist Antoine Tamestit en de slagwerker Colin Currie. Zij vertelden levendig over het programma, waarin Bartóks Sonate voor twee piano’s en slagwerk centraal stond.

Cédric Tiberghien – Thea Derks – Antoine Tamestit MGIJ 18-3-2016

Zondag 20 maart ging de opera Blank Out van Michel van der Aa in première, die eveneens onderdeel vormde van het Opera Forward Festival. Ik was zeer onder de indruk, zoals te lezen in mijn bespreking.

Vier dagen later interviewde ik voor Cultuurpers de Britse componiste Anna Meredith, die voor de Nederlandse blokfluitist Erik Bosgraaf de Origami Songs componeerde. Dit vijfdelige werk is geïnspireerd op de gelijknamige Japanse papiervouwtechniek en Meredith belicht in elk deel een ander aspect. Een concert wil ze het niet noemen, liever spreekt ze van vijf miniaturen, waarin de blokfluitist het orkest op sleeptouw neemt.

Thea Derks + Vadim Repin Schiphol 30-3-2016

Woensdag 30 maart trof ik op Schiphol de Russische violist Vadim Repin, die naar Nederland kwam voor drie concerten met het Noord Nederlands Orkest, waarbij hij soleerde in het Tweede Vioolconcert van Sergei Prokofjev. Ik sprak hem voor de live uitzending op 1 april in het AVROTROSVrijdagconcert en schreef ook een artikel voor Cultuurpers.

Een week later stond de Britse componist Thomas Adès centraal tijdens een concert van het Doelen Ensemble en de pianist Ralph van Raat in het Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ. Tijdens de inleiding sprak ik met de cellist Hans Woudenberg en met Van Raat. Adès kon wegens een repetitie helaas niet zelf aanwezig zijn.

Thea + Hans Woudenberg + Ralph van Raat MGIJ 13-4-2016

Op woensdag 20 april bezocht ik een voorstelling van Roméo et Juliette, een ‘dramatische symfonie’ van Hector Berlioz in een productie van choreograaf/regisseur Sascha Waltz bij De Nationale Opera en Ballet. De kritieken waren zeer wisselend, sommige collega’s waren zelfs uitgesproken negatief, maar ik was bijzonder enthousiast, zoals te lezen in mijn recensie.

De avond erna verzorgde ik een inleiding met de Amerikaanse componist Julia Wolfe, wier avondvullende Steel Hammer werd uitgevoerd door de Bang on a Can All-Stars en het Noorse vocale Trio Medieaval. Ik had Wolfe ook al gesproken voor Cultuurpers en kende het stuk van cd, maar live was het toch weer een heel andere beleving, deze mix van folkmuziek, rock, nieuw klassiek en minimal music. Het publiek was laaiend enthousiast.

Thea Derks + Julia Wolfe MGIJ 21-4-2016

De volgende ochtend sprak ik voor Radio4 met de Russische violiste Viktoria Mullova, die ‘s avonds het Vioolconcert van Sibelius uitvoerde met het Radio Filharmonisch Orkest in het AVROTROSVrijdagconcert. Een bedachtzame, aardige vrouw, die verklapte dat ze door een vingerblessure eigenlijk soepeler was gaan spelen.

Het was een lekker druk weekje, want meteen de volgende dag zat ik in het Zuiderstrandtheater in Den Haag, als lid van de persjury bij het Prinses Christina Concours. Zoals elk jaar was ook dit keer het niveau van de jonge musici ongekend hoog. Toch hadden we snel onze keuze gemaakt. Je leest hier mijn verslag.

persjury PCC 23-4-2016 Aad de Been, Makira Mual, Mark Brouwers, Maartje Stokkers, Thea Derks (voorzitter)

De maand april werd afgesloten in Almere, waar ik een #Reinbertlezing verzorgde bij Kunst in de Kamer. Een heerlijke avond, met een bijzonder hartelijk en aandachtig publiek. De jonge pianist Remon Holsbergen speelde in de pauze en na afloop muziek van Franz Liszt en Tristan Keuris en mijn trouwe partner Ger verzorgde de geluidsvoorbeelden van cd.

Dit leverde enkele hilarische momenten op – bijvoorbeeld toen ik dramatisch uitriep: “En toen hoorde Reinbert dit….!”, waarop het klonk: “Wat dan?” Ach, niet alles kan altijd perfect zijn, en de sfeer werd er alleen maar beter op.

Kunst in de Kamer Almere 30-4-2016

De maand mei is nog maar net begonnen, maar ook nu ben ik hard aan het werk. Zo schreef ik een voorbeschouwing over het Festival De Muze van Zuid, dat op 21 en 22 mei werk van componisten uitvoert naar wie begin twintigste eeuw een straat werd vernoemd. En ik sprak met Mayke Nas over haar voor het Koninklijk Concertgebouw gecomponeerde Down the Rabbit-Hole, waarmee ze de Kees van Baarenprijs 2015 won. Deze wordt 14 mei uitgereikt tijdens het Festival in de Branding in Den Haag.

#AnnerBijlsma #AntoineTamestit #AskoSchönberg #BlankOut #CédricTiberghien #ClarkRundell #ColinCurrie #Concertgebouworkest #Concertzender #Cultuurpers #DagInDeBranding #DeMuzeVanZuid #DeNationaleOperaEnBallet #DoelenKwartet #DownTheRabbitHole #GeorgePieterson #HansWoudenberg #JoePuglia #JoeyRoukens #JuliaWolfe #KaijaSaariaho #KeesVanBaarenprijs #KunstInDeKamerAlmere #MaykeNas #MichelVanDerAa #MuziekgebouwAanTIJ #OperaForwardFestival #PanoramaDeLeeuw #PeterSellars #PrinsesChristinaConcours #RadioFilharmonischOrkest #RalphVanRaat #ReinbertDeLeeuw #Reinbertlezing #RoadsToEverywhere #RoméoEtJuliette #SaschaWaltz #SteelHammer #ThomasAdès #VadimRepin #VeraBeths #ViktoriaMullova

Splinter en balk – column in ZingMagazine maart-april 2013

Amsterdam, 19-2-2013 – Zojuist lag de nieuwe aflevering van ZingMagazine in mijn brievenbus, met mijn column over de nog altijd schrikbarend achtergestelde positie van vrouwen in de muziekwereld. We verwijten moslims dat zij hun vrouwen zouden discrimineren, maar zien de balk in onze eigen ogen niet….

Column Thea Derks in ZingMagazine maart/april 2013

#anthologie #GrazynaBacewicz #KCO #KoninklijkConcertgebouworkest #MaykeNas #TheaDerks #vrouwelijkeComponisten #ZingMagazine