Atlas Academy – informal concerts
with traditional music >

Tue 23 – Wed 31 August 2011 Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam 8.30 pm:

Tue 23 August – Gevorg Dabaghian duduk (Armenia)
Wed 24 August – Elshan Mansurov kamancha,
Elchin Nagijev tar (Azerbaijan)
Thur 25 August – Neva Özgen kemençe (Turkey),
Bassem Alkhouri qanun (Syria)
Fri 26 August – Kiya Tabassian setar (Iran)
Mon 29 August – Dhruba Ghosh sarangi (India)
Tue 30 August – Naomi Sato sho, Harrie Starreveld shakuhachi,
Naoko Kikuchi koto (Japan)
Wed 31 August – Wu Wei sheng, Lan Weiwei pipa,
Ji Wei zheng, Xing Lu erhu (China)

Atlas Ensemble – Uitmarkt >

Sat 27 August 2011 Amsterdam Concertgebouw grote zaal 4.30 pm

Atlas Academy – Open House >

Fri 2 September 2011 Conservatorium van Amsterdam 2 pm

Sat 3 September 2011 Conservatorium van Amsterdam 2 pm

Gaudeamus Music Week >

Fri 9 September 2011 Utrecht Vredenburg Leeuwenbergh 8.15 pm

Eurekafoon! >

Sun 18 September 2011 Amsterdam Paradiso 1.30 pm

4th Shanghai New Music Week >

Mon 26 September 2011 Shanghai Conservatory 3.30 pm

Tue 27 September 2011 Shanghai Conservatory 7.15 pm

Wed 28 September 2011 Shanghai Conservatory 7.15 pm

Thur 29 September 2011 Shanghai Conservatory 3.30 pm

Igor Stravinsky & Edgard Varèse >

Wed 12 October 2011 Leuven 8.30 pm
Festival van Vlaanderen

Thur 13 October 2011 Bruges Concertgebouw 8 pm

Fri 14 October 2011 Arnhem Musis Sacrum 8.15 pm

Wed 26 October 2011 The Hague Dr Anton Philipszaal 8.15 pm

Thur 27 October 2011 Amsterdam Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ 8.15 pm

Tue 8 November 2011 Enschede Muziekcentrum 8 pm

Wed 9 November 2011 Den Bosch Verkadefabriek 8.30 pm

November Music

Made in Brazil >

Sat 22 October 2011 Amsterdam Concertgebouw kleine zaal 8.15 pm

Sun 23 October 2011 The Hague Korzo Theater 4 pm

Masters of the 20th Century >

Thur 3 November 2011 Den Bosch De Toonzaal 8.30 pm

Fri 4 November 2011 Amsterdam Concertgebouw kleine zaal 8.15 pm

Thur 17 November 2011 Utrecht Leeuwenbergh 8 pm

Context 2011 – Premieres Matthew Shlomowitz & Bernhard Lang >

Tue 22 November 2011 Huddersfield St Paul’s Hall 7.30 pm

Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival

Thur 24 November 2011 Amsterdam Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ 8.15 pm

European Composers’ Professional Development Programme >

Wed 23 November 2011 Huddersfield St Paul’s Hall 1 pm

Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival

Mayke Nas in Berlin >
Wed 30 November 2011 Villa Elisabeth Berlin 8 pm

DAAD

Anton Webern & György Kurtág >

Tue 21 February 2012 Enschede Muziekkwartier 8 pm

Thur 23 February 2012 Amsterdam Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ 8.15 pm

Fri 24 February 2012 The Hague Dr Anton Philipszaal 8.15 pm

Quest >

Fri 9 March 2012 Maastricht Theater aan het Vrijthof 8.30 pm

Thur 15 March 2012 Den Bosch De Toonzaal 8.30 pm

Fri 16 March 2012 Amsterdam Concertgebouw kleine zaal 8.15 pm  

Paris and Vienna – impression and expression >

Sat 7 April 2012 Utrecht Vredenburg Leeuwenbergh 8 pm

Tue 10 April 2012 Amsterdam Concertgebouw kleine zaal 8.15 pm

Thur 12 April 2012 Den Bosch De Toonzaal 8.30 pm

Fri 13 April 2012 Enschede Nationaal Muziekkwartier 8 pm

Sun 15 April 2012 The Hague Nieuwe Kerk 8.15 pm

Fri 20 April 2012 Arnhem De Bazel 8.15 pm

Gérard Grisey & Unsuk Chin >

Thur 26 April 2012 Amsterdam Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ 8.15 pm

Nieuw Ensemble’s Turkish Composers’ Competition >

Thur 17 May 2012 Amsterdam  Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ 8.15 pm
Turkey Now! Festival 2012

Sat 19 May 2012 The Hague Korzo Theater 8.30 pm

NE Composers' Practicum: Alles kan! – kan alles? >

June 2012 Amsterdam Conservatorium
Composers’ Festival

Atlas Academy 2011
Mon 22 August – Sat 3 September 2011 Conservatorium van Amsterdam

workshops with musicians and composers from the Atlas Ensemble

Tue 23 August – Wed 31 August 2011
Openbare Bibliotheek van Amsterdam (fourth floor) 8.30 pm

seven concerts with traditional music free admission

Tue 23 August – Gevorg Dabaghian duduk (Armenia)
Wed 24 August – Elshan Mansurov kamancha,
Elchin Nagijev tar (Azerbaijan)
Thur 25 August – Neva Özgen kemençe (Turkey),
Bassem Alkhouri qanun (Syria)
Fri 26 August – Kiya Tabassian setar
Mon 29 August – Dhruba Ghosh sarangi (India)
Tue 30 August – Naomi Sato sho, Harrie Starreveld shakuhachi,
Naoko Kikuchi koto (Japan)
Wed 31 August – Wu Wei sheng, Lan Weiwei pipa,
Ji Wei zheng, Xing Lu erhu (China)

Sat 27 August 2011 Amsterdam Concertgebouw grote zaal 4 pm

Uitmarkt concert given by musicians of the Atlas Ensemble

Fri 2 en Sat 3 September 2011 Conservatorium van Amsterdam 2 pm
Open House free admission

The Atlas Ensemble is made up of musicians from the Far East, Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe. The ensemble sets itself apart with its unique sound palette featuring Eastern and Western instruments. The group also focuses equally on the various musical cultures. At the summer Atlas Academy, composers and musicians from all over the world come together to explore different cultures, learn from one another and build a completely new repertoire. For detailed information, audio excerpts, photos and videos, log on to www.atlasensemble.nl >

Atlas Academy

(photo Joël Bons)

Gaudeamus Music Week
Fri 9 September 2011 Utrecht Vredenburg Leeuwenbergh 8.15 pm >

video clips on Youtube >

conductor

Abel Paúl
Yoshiaki Onishi
Luciano Leite Barbosa
Emre Kaleli
Noriko Koide

Bas Wiegers

Linea de vacio (2009)
Départ dans… for five players (2010)
Resonant Choirs (2011)
“I hear the fragile beauty of mortal earth” (2011)
Kohaku (2011)

The International Gaudeamus Music Week showcases music by young composers from all over the world. This programme introduces five new faces: the Basque composer Abel Paúl (b. 1984) and the Japanese composer Yoshiaki Onishi (b. 1981) were chosen by the professional jury to compete for the Gaudeamus Prize, while the Turkish composer Emre Sihan Kaleli (b. 1987) and the Japanese composer Noriko Koide (b. 1982) attracted attention during the NE composers’ practicum. The Brazilian composer Luciano Leite Barbosa (b. 1982) is one of the winners of the Nieuw Ensemble’s Second Brazilian Composers’ Competition.

Yoshiaki Onishi was awarded the 2011 Gaudeamus Prize for Départ dans…

Eurekafoon!
Sun 18 September 2011 Amsterdam Paradiso 1.30 pm >

conductor

luchtpiano, windysizer

drum xylophone

tuptophone

film
a

a

a

Franco Donatoni
Wilbert Bulsink
Tan Dun

Eurekafoon!
Gijsbrecht Roijé
Trevor Grahl
Guus Janssen

Micha Hamel
Wilbert Bulsink

Herman Halewijn

Guus Janssen

Nelleke Koop

a

a

a

Refrain II (1991)
Op/weg ... geblazen (2009)
Circle with Four Trio’s, Conductor
and Audience (1992)
film on how the instruments were built
los for drum xyolophone and ensemble
Speelfiets for windysizer and ensemble
Kabaal (2011) for tuptophone and ensemble

Design a new musical instrument taking inspiration from nature. That was the assignment given to secondary school pupils throughout the Netherlands as part of the Eurekaphone! project. The competition produced some very inventive designs, three of which have been nominated for the Eurekaphone Prize: the tuptophone, the windysizer and the drum xylophone. All aged seventeen, the pupils built their instruments themselves at the Delft University of Technology. Three composers have written new works to showcase these new instruments for the very first time. The curtain-raiser features two of the Nieuw Ensemble’s classic repertoire pieces and a repeat performance of the work for the instrument that won the first Eurekaphone! Competition.

4th Shanghai New Music Week >
Nieuw Ensemble ensemble in residence – concerts,

lectures and workshops

Portrait concert of Gérard Grisey

Mon 26 September 2011 Shanghai Conservatory 3.30 pm >

Portrait concert of Tan Dun

Tue 27 September 2011 Shanghai Conservatory 7.15 pm >

Portrait Concert of Brian Ferneyhough

Wed 28 September 2011 Shanghai Conservatory 7.15 pm >

New Music from China, Japan and The Netherlands

Thur 29 September 2011 Shanghai Conservatory 3.30 pm >

a

conductor

Gérard Grisey

conductors
piano

mezzo-soprano

Tan Dun

conductor
oboe
(bass) clarinet
piano

Brian Ferneyhough







conductor

Xu Shuya
Mo Wuping
Mayke Nas
Noriko Koide
Zhang Yi
Shichao Zhang

Igor Stravinsky & Edgard Varèse
Wed 12 October 2011 Leuven Schouwburg 8.30 pm Festival van Vlaanderen >
Thur 13 October 2011 Bruges Concertgebouw 8 pm >
Fri 14 October 2011 Arnhem Musis Sacrum 8.15 pm >
Wed 26 October 2011 The Hague Dr Anton Philipszaal 8.15 pm >
Thur 27 October 2011 Amsterdam Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ 8.15 pm >
Donderdagavondserie/Proms pre-concert talk 7.15 pm
Tue 8 November 2011 Enschede Nationaal Muziekkwartier 8 pm >
Wed 9 November 2011 Den Bosch Verkadefabriek November Music 8.30 pm >

conductor
flute

Edgard Varèse

Igor Stravinsky

Guo Wenjing

Edgard Varèse

Edgard Varèse

Claude Debussy

Ed Spanjaard
Harrie Starreveld

Density 21.5 (1936/46)

Octet (1923)

Parade (2004)

Octandre (1923)

Déserts (1950-54) met video van Bill Viola

Syrinx (1913)

Ed Spanjaard conducts two very lucid pieces for winds written in 1923: Stravinsky’s Octet and Varèse’s Octandre. As if chiselled out of granite, the acoustic and electronic sounds of Déserts are combined with hallucinatory film images by Bill Viola. Guo Wenjing’s Parade, scored for six Chinese gongs, is a miracle of ingenuity.

Made in Brazil
Sat 22 October 2011 Amsterdam Concertgebouw kleine zaal 8.15 pm >
joint concert with Camerata Aberta Brasil Festival Amsterdam
Sun 23 October 2011 The Hague Korzo Theater 4 pm >

conductor

Paulo Rios Filho
Aurélio Edler-Côpes
Rodolfo Valente
Luiz Gonçalves
Roberto Victorio

Arie van Beek

Música Peba Nº 2 (2011)
nieuw werk (2011)
vigília II (2011)
Passarim (2011) *
Aroe Jari (2010) *

* winners of the Second Brazilian

Composers’ Competition

Taking the road less travelled, the NE organized a competition for Brazilian composers in 2009. The response was overwhelming. Scores poured in from every corner of this vast country, with ninety submissions in total, most of which had been specially written for the ensemble. This resulted in two varied premiere programmes. On the occasion of the Brasil Festival Amsterdam, a second competition is being launched. The winning works will be premiered, along with three new pieces by the most outstanding talents having taken part in the first competition.

Masters of the 20th Century
Thur 3 November 2011 Den Bosch De Toonzaal 8.30 pm >
Fri 4 November 2011 Amsterdam Concertgebouw kleine zaal 8.15 pm >
NE/Kam-serie 1
Thur 17 November 2011 Utrecht Vredenburg Leeuwenbergh 8 pm >

a

a

Maurice Ravel

Ton de Leeuw

Franco Donatoni

Béla Bartók

Helmut Lachenmann

György Kurtág

soloists Nieuw Ensemble

Sonate pour violon et violoncello (1922)

Hommage à Henri (1989)

Ronda (1984)

Im Freien (1926)

Pression voor cello solo (1968)
Hommage à R. Sch., opus 15d (1990)

Standing on the shoulders of giants like Debussy and Ravel, Bartók would become one of the great innovators of the twentieth century. Inspired by folk music, his rhythms and melodic material had an enormous influence on the young Ton de Leeuw and Franco Donatoni just after the Second World War. Both would subsequently develop their own styles, fine examples of which can be heard on this programme: de Leeuw’s moving, folk-like lyricism and Donatoni’s colourful, whimsical playfulness. Bartók’s night music continues to echo in the musical innovations of Helmut Lachenmann.

Context 2011 –
premieres Matthew Shlomowitz & Bernhard Lang
Tue 22 November 2011 Huddersfield St Paul’s Hall 7.30 pm >
Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival
Thur 24 November 2011 Amsterdam Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ 8.15 pm >
Donderdagavondserie/Proms pre-concert talk 7.15 pm

conductor

Matthew Shlomowitz

Mayke Nas

Bernhard Lang

Bas Wiegers

Popular Contexts, Volume 3:
The Music of Theatre Making
for NE and sampler keyboard 2011
Pentatone Alphabet March
The Beautiful Game
Weird Tour Guide
Full of Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing
Kitchen Interlude
Five Monuments for Our Time

Plons (2009-11)

La Chocolatière Brûlée (2005-11)

Monadology XIVb : Puccini-Variationwb:
‘Im weiten Weltall fühlt sich der Yankee
heimisch’ (2011)

Today’s world offers incredible opportunities to creative minds, as is evidenced by Matthew Shlomowitz’s fresh, vibrant music. His new six-part Popular Contexts, Volume 3: The Music of Theatre Making places the ensemble in an everyday sound decor – from roller coasters to photocopiers and from phone sex to football matches. Mayke Nas’s work is as unfettered as it is original. Her work Plons (Splash), which she began in 2008, needed several years to reach maturity, but the work is now complete. The programme features a brand new version of La Chocolatière Brûlée as well.The acclaimed Austrian composer Bernhard Lang has expanded his Monadology series with a set of Puccini variations, commissioned by the NE and the Huddersfield Festival. Interview with Bernhard Lang >

Of his new work, Lang says, ‘The basic idea of this new work is the so-called Virtual Remix, which means transferring the techniques of turntablism and of contemporary live electronics (looping, scratching) into a musical score. The technique in itself was inspired by the cutting techniques of experimental video artists as Raphael Montañez Ortiz and Martin Arnold.’

European Composers’
Professional Development Programme
Wed 23 November 2011 Huddersfield St Paul’s Hall 1 pm >
Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival in samenwerking met
Icarus Ensemble (Italië) en Ensemble 10/10 (Engeland)

conductor

Matthew Sergeant

Emily Wright

Giuseppe Califano

Bernardo Maria Sonnino

Bas Wiegers

new work

new work

new work

new work

The Nieuw Ensemble composers’ practicums have borne much fruit. The project has become so successful that a counterpart was launched at the European level in 2011: the European Composers’ Professional Development Programme. Based in the UK, the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival and the NE are teaming up with the 10/10 (Liverpool) and Icarus (Reggio Emilia) Ensembles to provide twelve composers studying in the UK, Italy and the Netherlands with the opportunity to present new works. Following two practicum weekends in March and June, the twelve new works will be premiered by the three ensembles as part of the Huddersfield Festival on 23 November. More information >

Twelve talented young composers are set to launch their international careers by collaborating with Europe’s most prestigious new music ensembles thanks to hcmf//’s new European Composers’ Professional Development Programme. The initiative aims to offer rising talents the chance to try out new ideas which are not normally possible in
time-pressured or public workshop contexts.

Mayke Nas in Berlin
Wed 30 November 2011 Villa Elisabeth Berlin 8 pm DAAD >

conductor

Mayke Nas

Ed Spanjaard

Entrez! (2002)
Douze Mains (2008-11)
DiGiT #2 (2002)
La Chocolatière Brûlée (2005)
Plons (2009-11)
La Belle Chocolatière (2003)
… ik mis alleen een belletje aan mijn hals waarmee ik boven je kan rinkelen wanneer je slaapt (1998)
Installation-­version of ‘I Delayed People’s Flights By Walking Slowly In Narrow Hallways’ (2008-10)

Anton Webern & György Kurtág
Tue 21 February 2012 Enschede Muziekkwartier 8 pm >
Thur 23 February 2012 Amsterdam Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ 8.15 pm >
Donderdagavondserie/Proms pre-concert talk 7.15 pm
Fri 24 February 2012 The Hague Dr Anton Philipszaal 8.15 pm >

conductor
soprano

Anton Webern

Niccolò Castiglioni

Anton Webern

György Kurtág

Olivier Cuendet
Natalia Zagorinskaya

Konzert op. 24 (1934)

Tropi (1959)

Symphonie op. 21 (1928)

Four songs on poems of Anna
Achmatova op. 41 (2009)

Messages of the Late Miss R.V. Troussova op. 17 (1975)

Webern’s Symphony and Concerto continue to astound with their concentrated expressionism and crystalline, compact structure. His music served as an inspiration to many Italian composers, including Niccolò Castiglioni, as well as the Hungarian composer György Kurtág. Kurtág studied Webern’s music in depth after a psychologist advised him to write miniature pieces to overcome the compositional crisis from which he was suffering. This attempt resulted in the colourful song cycle Messages of the Late Miss R.V. Troussova, twenty-one exquisitely cut gems full of intensity. Kurtág was still utterly unknown in the West when conductor–composer Pierre Boulez recognized the originality of his songs. He performed the cycle, thereby instantly establishing Kurtág’s name and reputation.

Quest
Fri 9 March 2012 Maastricht Theater aan het Vrijthof 8.30 pm Intro in situ >
Thur 15 March 2012 Den Bosch De Toonzaal 8.30 pm >
Fri 16 March 2012 Amsterdam Concertgebouw kleine zaal 8.15 pm >

NE/Kam-serie 2

a
conductor
guitar

Anton Webern

Yann Maresz

George Crumb

soloists from the Nieuw Ensemble
Ed Spanjaard
Helenus de Rijke

Quartett op. 22 (1930)

Sul Segno (2004)

Quest (1995)

George Crumb’s stunningly beautiful Quest makes exceptional use of the unusual setting of guitar, soprano saxophone, harp, two percussionists and double bass. The guitar mercurially claims a leading role for itself. Quest is succinct and almost classical in form: its musical building blocks return in different forms, always inspired and full of musical meaning. Works by Webern and Yan Maresz complement the programme.

Paris and Vienna – Impression and Expression
Sat 7 April 2012 Utrecht Vredenburg Leeuwenbergh 8 pm >
Tue 10 April 2012 Amsterdam Concertgebouw kleine zaal 8.15 pm >

NE/Kam-serie 3
Thur 12 April 2012 Den Bosch De Toonzaal 8.30 pm >
Fri 13 April 2012 Enschede Nationaal Muziekkwartier 8 pm >
Sun 15 April 2012 The Hague Nieuwe Kerk 8.15 pm >
Fri 20 April 2012 Arnhem De Bazel 8.15 pm >

a

Claude Debussy

Anton Webern

Toru Takemitsu

Arnold Schoenberg

soloists of the Nieuw Ensemble

Sonate pour flûte, harpe et alto (1915)

Streichtrio op. 20 (1927)

And then I knew ’twas Wind (1992)

Streichtrio op. 45 (1946)

Garten von Freuden und Traurigkeiten (1980)

Schoenberg’s String Trio is one of his most beautiful and expressive works. In sharp contrast, his pupil Webern’s own trio is ascetic and concentrated in character. Three interrelated works in pastel shades all scored for the superb combination of flute, harp and viola frame these two string trios. The Japanese composer Takemitsu and the Russian composer Gubaidulina have created works based on the model of Debussy’s poetic sound world.

Gérard Grisey & Unsuk Chin
Thur 26 April 2012 Amsterdam Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ 8.15 pm >
Donderdagavondserie/Proms pre-concert talk 7.15 pm

conductor

Gérard Grisey

Unsuk Chin

Celso Antunes

Vortex temporum

new work

The Korean composer Unsuk Chin is one of today’s most compelling composers. Her music stands out thanks to its playful ingenuity and power. Chin broke through on to the scene in 1991 with Akrostichon Wortspiel, performed by the NE. She is now composing a work commissioned specially for the distinctive combination of instruments making up the Nieuw Ensemble. In this captivating double portrait, Chin’s music is juxtaposed with that of French composer Gérard Grisey, who has put sound under a microscope, having positioned himself as one of the first proponents of spectral music. The long overarching climaxes in his brilliant Vortex temporum hold the listener in its grip, giving the musicians a chance to excel themselves in virtuosity.

Nieuw Ensemble’s Turkish Composers’ Competition
Thur 17 May 2012 Amsterdam Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ 8.15 pm
Turkey Now! Festival 2012
Fri 19 May 2012 The Hague Korzo Theater 8.30 pm

conductor

TBA

The Winning Compositions of the
Turkish Composers’ Competition

The Nieuw Ensemble is organizing a Turkish Composers’ Competition. Composers of Turkish nationality are invited to write a work scored for the combination of instruments making up the Nieuw Ensemble. Scores will be accepted until 1 March 2012. The winning works will be performed during the 2012 Turkey Now! Festival, which celebrates the 400-year-long relationship between Turkey and the Netherlands.

Based in Amsterdam, the Nieuw Ensemble is organizing a competition for Turkish composers. This event will take place as part of the 2012 Turkey – The Netherlands programme, which commemorates the 400-year-long relationship and cultural exchange between Turkey and the Netherlands. All composers with Turkish citizenship born after 1 January 1977 are invited to write a work for the Nieuw Ensemble and to submit their scores before 1 March 2012. All entries will be judged by an international jury. The selected works will be premiered by the Nieuw Ensemble in Amsterdam and in The Hague in May 2012. Composers of selected works will be invited to Amsterdam and hosted by the NE to attend rehearsals and the premiere.