reviews

The secret lyrical life of the double bass

Viennese musician Dominik Wagner surprises with the CD Chapters, entirely dedicated to the giant among string instruments – the double bass. Together with pianist Lauma Skride, he presents a choice of 14 tantalising pieces, ranging from Schubert and Ravel, through Fauré and Boulanger to Richter, Glass and, yes, Charles Chaplin. In the symphony orchestra, the double bass is the largest …

The secret lyrical life of the double bass Read More »

Religious and poetic work by Stefaan Vanheertum

Ghent composer Stefaan Vanheertum has just released his new CD Suoni Celesti. The CD contains choral works he wrote between 2014 and 2021. The collection is the result of a concert that took place last September. Suoni Celesti (heavenly sounds) consists of religious and liturgical works and pieces based on poems by Rainer Maria Rilke, Peter Verhelst, Nadine Anne Hura, …

Religious and poetic work by Stefaan Vanheertum Read More »

American minimalists: the audience’s revenge

Last Saturday, deSingel’s stage in Antwerp was in the hands of BL!NDMAN, a collective group of strings, saxophones, percussion, keyboard, tubax and electronics with a programme based around three iconic American minimalists – Philip Glass, Terry Riley and Steve Reich. These three composers, all well into their eighties, have known each other since the late 1960s, when they played studio …

American minimalists: the audience’s revenge Read More »

Transit: new combinations but also modesty

Transit, the annual festival of contemporary classical music, was all about movement this year. Three different venues in Leuven offered an overview of new classical work, with highlights including a concerto for harpsichord and violin alongside new pieces by Daan Janssens and Annelies van Parys. Of the 14 pieces heard by this reviewer, 13 began in pianissimo. New modesty? An …

Transit: new combinations but also modesty Read More »

Pain and consolation in eleven centuries

Festival 20.21 in Leuven packed out last Thursday with Near the Cross, a largely vocal programme dedicated to the pain in Mary’s life. The Prague vocal ensemble Capella Mariana, specialising in polyphony and early Baroque, formed a duo with the Belgian Goeyvaerts String Trio dedicated to 20th- and 21st-century repertoire. A combination that was not very obvious but perhaps for …

Pain and consolation in eleven centuries Read More »

Jan Michiels plays sparkling timbres in concerto Annelies Van Parys

By Wynold Verweij Those who think that balancing exercises mainly belong in a gym are wrong since last Saturday. In Annelies Van Parys’ piano concerto, Jan Michiels (piano) and Martyn Brabbins (conductor) with the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra showed that a sophisticated tuning of timbre, nuance and tempo can lead to an intense listening experience. The 400-year history of the concerto …

Jan Michiels plays sparkling timbres in concerto Annelies Van Parys Read More »

Four Flemish composers of international stature

SPECTRA, ensemble for new music, focuses with its new CD a tension on four Flemish composers who got their inspiration from abroad. Karel Goeyvaerts (1923-1993), born and raised in Antwerp, went to Paris to learn from Olivier Messiaen that rhythm and timbre, as well as pitch, are equally important musical parameters. He later developed this in multiple series, i.e. serialism. …

Four Flemish composers of international stature Read More »

Philippe Boesmans (1936 – 2022)

Belgian composer, Philippe Boesmans died last night after a short illness. Born on 17 May 1936 in Tongeren, Belgium, he and studied piano at the conservatory in Liège, where he was also introduced to serial composing techniques by Pierre Froidebise. It was only after coming into contact with the “Liège Group” (Henri Pousseur, André Souris, and Célestin Deliège [fr]) in …

Philippe Boesmans (1936 – 2022) Read More »

Luc Brewaeys: a life of timbre, bells and exuberance

BREWAEYS UNFOLDING is the title of a project dedicated to the hyperkinetic Flemish composer Luc Brewaeys (1959 – 2015). With an exhibition, a catalogue and a webpage, the curators have succeeded in keeping the colourful beauty of his musical career up-to-date. MATRIX (Centre for New Music) in Leuven is the driving force behind this project, in collaboration with KU Leuven …

Luc Brewaeys: a life of timbre, bells and exuberance Read More »