Atlas Festival
6 and 7 September 2014 Amsterdam
Peter Maxwell Davies - Vesalii Icones
22 September and 3 October 2014 Flanders
Benjamin Britten - Owen Wingrave
30 September until 10 October 2014 several Dutch cities
Het leven begint (Life starts)
4 December 2014 Amsterdam
Taiwan
12 and 13 December 2014 Taipei
Masterconcert
18 January 2015 Amsterdam
What about ChinAAA?!
28 January 2015 Amsterdam
An Evening of Today 3
12 February 2015 Amsterdam
Pierre Boulez 90
25 March 2015 Nijmegen
26 March 2015 Amsterdam
Wales
12, 13 and 14 May 2015 Vale of Glamorgan
Het Innerlijke Landschap (The Inner Landscape)
16 June 2015 Amsterdam
Atlas Festival
6 and 7 September 2014 Amsterdam Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ >
Peter Maxwell Davies Vesalii Icones
Mon 22 September 2014 Leuven Aula Pieter de Somer >
Fri 3 October 2014 AMUZ Antwerp International Music Center >
Festival van Vlaanderen Vlaams-Brabant >
Nieuw Ensemble
Jurjen Hempel conductor
Pieter Wispelwey cello
Peter Missotten video
Benjamin Britten Suite nr. 3 for cello solo
Peter Maxwell Davies Vesalii Icones (1969)
Benjamin Britten and Peter Maxwell Davies, two icons of British music, together in one single programme. Davies, sometimes dubbed the 'enfant terrible' of British 20th-century music, was not very fond of Britten's 'too traditional' music. But the latter's Suite Nr 3 for cello solo proves that composers can go wrong about their colleagues.
Davies traveled all over the world and absorbed the most diverse musical styles, like a sponge. In Vesalii Icones all those influences fuse into a marvellous total experience. Medieval and baroque elements perfectly merge into a foxtrot, while everything is kept together by fourteen scenes from the story of Christ's crucifixion. These scenes are combined with 16th-century anatomical drawings from De humani corporis fabrica by the 16th-century Brabant physician Andreas Vesalius.
Concert in Leuven (credit: Wilfried Rentmeesters)
Benjamin Britten - Owen Wingrave
Tue 30 September 2014 Lelystad Theater Agora >
Sun 5 October 2014 Wageningen Theater Junushoff >
Wed 8 October 2014 Hengelo Rabotheater >
Thu 9 October 2014 Delft Theater de Veste >
Fri 10 October 2014 Leiden Leidse Schouwburg >
Nieuw Ensemble & Opera Trionfo
Ed Spanjaard conductor
Floris Visser director
Gary McCann décor & costumes
Alex Brok light design
Alistair Shelton-Smith Owen Wingrave
Vitali Rozynko Spencer Coyle
Mark Omvlee Lechmere
Francis van Broekhuizen Miss Wingrave
Bauwien van der Meer Mrs. Coyle
Alexandra Schoeny Mrs. Julian
Anna Traub Kate Julian
Bernard Loonen General Sir Philip Wingrave
Bernard Loonen The Ghost of Colonel Wingrave
Sven Gee The Ghost of Young Wingrave
Nieuw Amsterdams Kinderkoor
Benjamin Britten Owen Wingrave
Opera in two acts reprise
Praised with favourable reviews Opera Trionfo's Owen Wingrave, in co-production with Nieuw Ensemble, premiered in 2013. A colourful masterpiece about protagonist Owen Wingrave who refuses to go to the battlefields, causing a clash with his family and their expectations.
5 stars in Trouw
4 stars in NRC, De Volkskrant and De Telegraaf
Het leven begint (Life starts)
Thu 4 December 2014 Amsterdam Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ 20.15
Donderdagavondserie >
Nieuw Ensemble
Ed Spanjaard conductor
Angel Gimeno violin (Campo)
Harrie Starreveld flute (Mochizuki)
Makiko Goto koto (Mochizuki)
Wiek Hijmans electric guitar (Vleggaar)
Mayke Nas (1972 Netherlands) La belle chocolatière (2003)
Helena Tulve (1972 Estonia) Ligne d'Horizon (2005)
Régis Campo (1968 France) Concert pour violon et ensemble (1997)
Misato Mochizuki (1969 Japan) Silent Circle (2006)
Sander Germanus (1972 Netherlands) Adamsarchipel (1997)
Giel Vleggaar (1974 Netherlands) Appalachia (2004)
4 stars in de Volkskrant >
Missed the concert? Listen here >
Taiwan
8-14 December 2014 Taipei
Nieuw Ensemble
Little Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra
Ed Spanjaard conductor
Chih-Sheng Chen conductor
The Nieuw Ensemble was invited to give two concerts, a lecture and a reading session for young composers.
Concert in the National Concert Hall, Taipei
Fri 12 December 2014 Taipei National Concert Hall 19:30
Worlds Apart, Dream Together >
Pierre Boulez Derive 1 (1984) (NE)
Pan Hwang-Long East and West IV (2008) (NE+GCO)
Joël Bons Green Dragon (2012) (NE+GCO)
Chao Ching-Wen Slow Rain (2012) (GCO)
intermission
Jonathan Harvey Scena (1992) (NE)
Shih-Wei Lo Things Hoped for, Things Unseen (2012; First Prize 2014 Dutch Harp Composition Competition) (NE)
Cecilia Kim new work (2014, commission) (GCO)
Guo Wenjing She Huo (1991) (NE+GCO)
Sat 13 December 2014 Taipei National Recital Hall 19:30
Sonic Portraits >
Brian Ferneyhough In nomine a 3 (2001) (NE)
Dong Lan (Hopefully) Happily Ever After (GCO)
Zhang Jin No Rush (GCO+NE)
Cho Chiu-Yu Jadeite Sprout (2014 commission, First Prize ISCM young composers competition) (GCO+NE)
intermission
Wang Erqing Paradise Drowned (2014) (NE)
Lee Chun-Wei Sonic Portraits (2014 version; First Prize 2012 Luxembourg Sinfonietta Composition Competition) (NE+GCO)
Tristan Murail Garrigue (2008) (NE)
Franco Donatoni Arpège (1986) (NE)
Masterconcert
Sun 18 January 2015 Amsterdam Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ 20.15
Ars Lunga >
Nieuw Ensemble
Konradin Herzog conductor
Florieke Beelen soprano
Mischa Käser Etudes
Luigi Dallapiccola Sex Carmina Alcaei - Liriche Greche III
Otto Ketting De overtocht
Giuliano Bracci Sempre hai occhi segreti
Arnold Schönberg Kammersymphonie op. 9
This concert is enabled by the Ars Lunga foundation.
Konradin Herzog
What about ChinAAA?!
Wed 28 January 2015 Amsterdam Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ 20.15
AAA series >
Nieuw Ensemble
Ed Spanjaard conductor
Katharine Dain soprano
Romain Bischoff baritone
Ralph van Raat piano
Tan Dun (1957) Concerto for Pizzicato Piano and Ten Instruments (1995)
Wang Erqing (1998) Paradise Drowned (first prize Shanghai 2014; European première)
Qu Xiaosong (1952) Mist (1992)
intermission
Li Chenyao (1992) The Dance of the Shadow Puppetry (second prize Shanghai 2014; European première)
Chen Qigang (1955) Poème Lyrique II (1991)
Guo Wenjing (1956) She Huo (1991)
Afterwards there will be a late night concert by Van Raat with the complete pianoworks of Tan Dun.
Amsterdam 1991: Mo Wuping, Tan Dun, He Xuntian,
Qu Xiaosong and Guo Wenjing (photo Chris de Jongh)
An Evening of Today 2015
Thu 12 February 2015 Amsterdam Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ 20.15
Donderdagavondserie >
Nieuw Ensemble
Gregory Charette conductor
Gunnar Gunnsteinsson lecturer
Aljaž Šon magician
Vinny Jones light design
Gunnar Gunnsteinsson (Iceland) Lecture on Jón Leifur Gunnarsson with special attention to his Piece Nr. 3
Manuel Sánchez García (Spain) aRPHe
Michalis Paraskakis (Greece) Skostok
Luke Deane (England) Melt Me Down
Genevieve Murphy (Scotland) Fine.
Petra Strahovnik (Slovenia) Percept
An Evening of Today is a collective creative event in which six young professional composers collaborate with the musicians of the Nieuw Ensemble to offer an evening of musical diversity using the main auditorium of Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ Amsterdam. Through musical and visual means, lighting, magic and theatrical elements, the composers and production team are currently working together to present an evening of live and immersive contemporary music, offering to the audience an exciting glimpse of 2015’s new music scene.
Pierre Boulez 90
Wed 25 March 2015 Nijmegen Concertgebouw De Vereeniging 20.15 >
Thu 26 March 2015 Amsterdam Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ 20.15
Donderdagavondserie >
Nieuw Ensemble
Ed Spanjaard conductor
Cécile van de Sant mezzo-soprano
Harrie Starreveld flute
Pierre Boulez Eclat (1964/65)
Pierre Boulez Dérive I (1984)
Anton Webern Fünf Stücke für Orchester op.10 (1913)
Pierre Boulez Mémoriale (1985)
Pierre Boulez Eclat (1964/65)
intermission
Pierre Boulez Le Marteau sans maître (1952-54)
5 stars in NRC Handelsblad >, Het Parool > and de Volkskrant >
Pierre Boulez
Wales – Vale of Glamorgan Festival
13-23 May 2015 Festival
Nieuw Ensemble
Ed Spanjaard conductor
Romain Bischoff baritone
The Nieuw Ensemble is invited to give a workshop and two concerts at the Vale of Glamorgan Festival in Wales.
Tu 12 May 2015 Cardiff Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama 14:00 >
A pop in session where audiences can enjoy a sharing of works by Royal Welsh College composers in a workshop with the Nieuw Ensemble. Admission free.
Wed 13 May 2015 Penarth All Saints Church 19:30 >
Theo Loevendie (1930 Netherlands) Venus and Adonis Suite (1981)
Theo Loevendie Dance (1986)
Helena Tulve (1972 Estonia) Ligne d’horizon (2005)
Arvo Pärt (1935 Estonia) Scala cromatica (2007)
Toivo Tulev (1958 Estonia) Don’t Call Him too Early (2002)
Tan Dun (1957) Circle with four trios, conductor and audience (1992)
Wang Erqing (1998 China) Paradise Drowned (1st prize Shanghai Composition Competition 2014)
Chen Qigang (1955 China) Poème Lyrique II (1991)
The Nieuw Ensemble presents music from two countries that have become key players on the new music stage. From Estonia, composer Helena Tulve and Toivo Tulev offer music of sensuous richness with its roots in Gregorian chant; from China, Tan Dun’s Circle, steeped in ancient ritual and music by the 16yr old Wang Erqing, one of the country’s most hotly-tipped young composers. Post-concert discussion: Nicola Heywood Thomas in conversation with John Metcalf and Joël Bons.
Th 14 May 2015 Cardiff Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama 13:15 >
Mayke Nas (1972 The Netherlands) La belle chocolatière (2003)
Dobrinka Tabakova (1980 Bulgaria) Frozen River Flows (2005
Rodolfo Valente (1979 Brazil) Inutensilio II (2009)
Alexandre Lunsqui (1969 Brazil) Drawings from Ibere (2008/2009)
Joël Bons (1952 The Netherlands) Summer Dance (2014)
Richard Ayres (1965 England) No. 34b (2003)
Paintings and images lie at the centre of this concert of bite sized miniatures: a serving maid featured on the front of a famous cocoa tin, a flowing river with a frozen ‘crust’, the expressionist work of Brazilian artist Iberê Camargo and Alfred Wallis’s vivid landscapes of the Cornish coastline.
4 stars in the Guardian >, the Guardian Observer > and WalesOnline >
Wales Arts Review report #1 15-05-2015 >
Wales Arts Review report #2 18-05-2015 >
Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama
Het Innerlijke Landschap (The Inner Landscape)
16 June 2015 Amsterdam Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ 20.30
Holland Festival >
Nieuw Ensemble
Ed Spanjaard conductor
Shen Tiemei vocals
Frank Scheffer direction
Miranda Lakerveld drama direction
Jia Zhao set
Joël Bons/Frank Scheffer concept
Guo Wenjing Het Innerlijke Landschap (world première)
‘You need to know the past to be able to go into the future,’ is the motto of Guo Wenjing, one of China’s most famous contemporary composers. Especially for the Nieuw Ensemble, he composed a chamber opera which combines traditional opera from his native Sichuan with his own music. This is his ninth (!) work for the NE. His first opera, Wolf Cub Village, was also premiered by the Nieuw Ensemble and Ed Spanjaard at the Holland Festival, twenty-one years ago.
The performance starts with a documentary made by Dutch filmmaker Frank Scheffer about the creation of the composition and its context. When the famous opera diva Shen Tiemei walks on stage, the film literally shifts to the background and the performance continues as the opera Si Fan. While the singer in her traditional costume conveys the old story of a young nun hankering for the love of a man and a life outside the convent, the music pits the rapid changes in China against its ancient culture and traditions: the inner landscape of a fascinating country.
language: Mandarin with Dutch subtitles
duration: 75 minutes, no interval
4 stars in NRC and de Volkskrant >
