Myrto Nizami
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Prima Materia: part I
Heather Pinkham
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Music for Empty Spaces
Kristia Michael, soprano / Ensemble Modelo62 / James Oesi, double bass / Pamela Smits, cello / Susanna Borsch, recorder, electronics / Saskia Lankhoorn, piano / Thorwald Jørgensen, theremin / Tammo Heikens, surbahar / Suzanne van Berkum, bassoon / Tatiana Koleva, percussion / Charlotte Houberg, soprano
In Korzo, Festival Dag in de Branding presents a double programme of brand-new music. In the Studio, Myrto Nizami presents a first scene from the chamber opera she is developing during her residency at the festival. She draws inspiration from Fernando Pessoa’s Sonnet VIII. Like that poem, her opera is about masks, shifting identities and stratification.
Next, in the Zaal, is the second edition of the successful Music for Empty Spaces project, featuring new solo pieces by nine composers: Bart Spaan, Orkun Ağır, Max Frimout, Maxim Shalygin, Jeff Hamburg, Sinta Wullur, Daan Manneke, Wilma Pistorius and Heather Pinkham.
What comes after death? The mystery of our final journey is as old as humanity itself. But unlike our ancestors, we prefer not to dwell on it. Which composer Heather Pinkham believes is regrettable. In this new edition of Music for Empty Spaces, Pinkham asks nine colleagues from diverse backgrounds to reflect on dying, death and mourning. Music as the language of the unspeakable, which can help us talk about the irrevocable end that is part and parcel of life.
Pinkham organised the first edition of Music for Empty Spaces during the corona crisis. Streamed live from Muziekgebouw aan ‘IJ, Amsterdam, the programme was a success, reaching audiences across the world. It was even followed up by a live performance in front of an audience. After life in isolation, the subject of the first edition, the second edition follows with reflections on death. Once again, nine composers provide new works to be performed by top Dutch musicians.
Bart Spaan – De Slak performed by James Oesi, double bass
Daan Manneke – Epitaaf by Suzanne van Berkum, bassoon
Jeff Hamburg – Afterlife by Thorwald Jørgensen, theremin
Sinta Wullur – Rindu by Tammo Heikens, surbahar
Max Frimout – Muziek voor Contrabasblokfluit by Susanna Borsch, doublebass recorder
Maxim Shalygin – To all alive by Saskia Lankhoorn, piano
Wilma Pistorius – Simultaneously byTatiana Koleva, percussion
Heather Pinkham – I am not there by Charlotte Houberg, soprano
Orkun Ağır – Impromptu nr 2 par violoncello solo by Pamela Smits, cello
Watch the first edition of Music for Empty Spaces in the video below.
