Not long before the Dutch composer Simeon ten Holt died he spoke with the Matangi’s about a new string quartet to be composed. He felt himself too old to write one, but he advised the members of the quartet to dive into his rich oeuvre for piano and transcribe them for string quartet themselves. In doing so, all the possibilities of the string instruments had to be used in particular; from ponticello to pizzicato and from sul tasto to battuto. And so they did!

The arrangements have been developed by Marijn van Prooijen. “With this adaptation of Canto Ostinato, in our eyes, Beethoven’s opus 131, perhaps the greatest work for string quartet, has gained a strong competitor,” says Matangi cellist Arno van der Vuurst.

On the occasion of their 20-year anniversary, the new Matangi Quartet album: Canto Ostinato Strings Attached will be released on January 10, 2020. Never before has a string quartet released this masterpiece by Simeon ten Holt on CD. The presentation and anniversary concert will take place on Sunday, January 19, 2020 in Korzo in The Hague.

Marijn van Prooijen wrote these arrangements.

Concert info

Website Matangi Quartet

There is a special bond between Childs and Introdans: Introdans is the only Dutch company allowed to perform her work. In addition to existing top-level dance pieces the group has now also produced three world premieres of her work. In June 2020 Childs will be celebrating her 80th birthday. So that’s a great opportunity for Introdans to turn the spotlight on her exceptional work in the tribute programme ICON (Dutch-ICOON), featuring some of the finest jewels in her wide-ranging oeuvre. A unique show highlighting a unique dance personality!

Kilar is the first work that Lucinda Childs made specially for Introdans, in 2013. This choreography features an ingenious interaction with the Piano Concerto by (film) composer Wojciech Kilar. Childs’ movement language captivates the audience with her trademark sparkling, abstract and pure dance patterns. In this work she has challenged herself in a way new for herself by having the dancers perform in crinolines and with cubes of steel wire. This not only results in many fine images but also gives her work a more romantic touch.

Following on from Kilar the next work that Childs created for Introdans was Canto Ostinato, which proved a major hit at its premiere in 2015. “Simple, pure and wonderful,” said one reviewer. When making this work Childs took her inspiration from sections of the famous composition of the same name by Simeon ten Holt. The choreography displays an apparent simplicity: simple walking steps, low jumps, tight formations. But appearances are deceptive. The constantly shifting patterns, directions and rhythms reveal brilliant inventiveness and demand the utmost from the dancers.

Concert info and tickets

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Now it is possible to buy or rent digital sheet music from the Donemus catalogue and receive it directly in the Newzik library. Already in April 2018 Newzik, Asko|Schönberg and Donemus had a successful pilot with a work of Yannis Kyriakides (see the short movie on YouTube). Since then technology has improved and more and more ensembles use the services of Newzik.

This new integration of Newzik in the Donemus webshop makes it very easy to use the digital content of over 14,000 titles at the Donemus catalogue within the sophisticated Newzik app.

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You are welcome to join us from 16-19h at the suites on the 40th floor. Enjoy the view, meet your music friends and let us share some visions and plans for 2020.

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