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Celebration Simeon ten Holt 100

Sunday, 29 January 2023   |   13:00 - 22:30

Celebration Simeon ten Holt 100

On Tuesday January 24, 2023, Simeon ten Holt would have turned 100. A good reason to organize a festival day around one of the Netherlands’ most special composers, his music and his world-famous composition Canto Ostinato. During the afternoon program you will hear Simeon ten Holt’s chamber music and listen to lectures about his work.

  • Composer(s) Simeon ten Holt
  • Title(s) of the Work(s)

    Canto Ostinato and more
  • Performer, Ensemble or Orchestra Matangi Quartet, Jeroen van Veen, Quink

Date

Jan 29 2023
Expired!

Time

13:00 - 22:30

More Info

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Location

Utrecht, TivoliVredenburg
Utrecht, TivoliVredenburg
Vredenburgkade 11, 3511 WC Utrecht
Website
https://www.tivolivredenburg.nl

Celebration Simeon ten Holt 100 on Spotify

Celebration Simeon ten Holt 100 on SoundCloud
Simeon ten Holt Foundation and music publisher Donemus would like to draw your attention to the fact that 2023 will be the 100s anniversary of Simeon ten Holt’s birth…   
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Composer

Simeon ten Holt

Simeon ten Holt was born in Bergen on January 24, 1923. He studied piano and theory with Jakob van Domselaer (1890-1960). In 1949 he moved to Paris where he received lessons at the École Normale with Arthur Honegger and Darius Milhaud. From 1970 to 1987 he taught contemporary music at the Academy of Visual Arts in Arnhem.
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The ‘Canto Ostinato’ by Simeon Ten Holt, say the Dutch Wim Mertens, is more than a piece of music, it is a hypnotic experience. The work composed between 1973 and 1979 is the Netherlands’ most celebrated contribution to minimal music.
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Just before his death, composer Simeon Ten Holt whispered to the Matangi Quartet that his works could easily be adapted for a string quartet. The Matangis took that hint enthusiastically; they had Marijn van Prooijen make an adaptation of Ten Holt’s most famous work. The quartet is joined on stage by artist Gerard de Bruyne.
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Just before his death, composer Simeon Ten Holt whispered to the Matangi Quartet that his works could easily be adapted for a string quartet. The Matangis took that hint enthusiastically; they had Marijn van Prooijen make an adaptation of Ten Holt’s most famous work. The quartet is joined on stage by artist Gerard de Bruyne.
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What feels closer than the sound and expression of the human voice? Simeon Ten Holt’s famous Canto Ostinato will have its choir premiere in TivoliVredenburg! PA’dam, conducted by Maria van Nieukerken, sings (!) the Canto in an arrangement for choir and instrumental ensemble.
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Just before his death, composer Simeon Ten Holt whispered to the Matangi Quartet that his works could easily be adapted for a string quartet. The Matangis took that hint enthusiastically; they had Marijn van Prooijen make an adaptation of Ten Holt’s most famous work. The quartet is joined on stage by artist Gerard de Bruyne.
Read more
On Sunday, January 27th, during the celebration of Simeon 100 in TivoliVredenburg, the original manuscript of Simeon ten Holt’s Opus 1 will be on auction. A unique opportunity to obtain this document, written in 1942! ‘PROPAEDEUTICA, COMPOSITION NO. 1’ is the first work by Simeon ten Holt.
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Upcoming events

Tuesday, 30 September 2025. 19:30 - 22:30

Simeon ten Holt: Canto Ostinato (Introdans)

Fascinating, meditative, and minimalist dance programme Less is More is a subtle yet uplifting dance programme, embodying simplicity, stillness, and momentum. An evening of dance heritage in motion, featuring works by leading choreographers Hans van Manen, Lucinda Childs, and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui.

Location

Amsterdam, Internationaal Theater Amsterdam
Amsterdam, Internationaal Theater Amsterdam
Leidseplein 26, 1017 PT Amsterdam
Website
https://ita.nl/nl/

Wednesday, 1 October 2025. 20:00 - 22:00

Krists Auznieks: Phaedra in vlammen

Phaedra in vlammen (Phaedra in Flames is a modern take on the classic love drama, written by Nino Haratischwili (who also wrote The Eighth Life (for Brilka)). Starring Malou Gorter as Queen Phaedra, Yela de Koning as her forbidden love Persea, and featuring live music by the New European Ensemble.

Location

Den Haag, Koninklijke Schouwburg
Den Haag, Koninklijke Schouwburg
Korte Voorhout 3, 2511 CW Den Haag
Website
https://www.hnt.nl

Wednesday, 1 October 2025. 19:30 - 22:30

Simeon ten Holt: Canto Ostinato (Introdans)

Fascinating, meditative, and minimalist dance programme Less is More is a subtle yet uplifting dance programme, embodying simplicity, stillness, and momentum. An evening of dance heritage in motion, featuring works by leading choreographers Hans van Manen, Lucinda Childs, and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui.

Location

Amsterdam, Internationaal Theater Amsterdam
Amsterdam, Internationaal Theater Amsterdam
Leidseplein 26, 1017 PT Amsterdam
Website
https://ita.nl/nl/

Our Team’s Picks

Composers in the crosshairs of our attention
Composer

Jan-Peter de Graaff

Netherlands, 1992,
"De Graaff is een alleskunner en een echte en helder opflitsende komeet aan het muzikale firmament die aan niemand ongemerkt voorbij kan gaan." - Maarten Brandt, Opus Klassiek
"De Graaff is een tovenaar met orkestkleuren in een taal die weliswaar van nu is, maar harmonisch ook vaak vertrouwd klinkt." - Paul Herruer, Dagblad van het Noorden
"De Graaffs grootste kracht schuilt in een paradox: stilstand die zindert van spanning." - Guido van Oorschot, De Volkskrant 
 
"Zijn muziek is in essentie atonaal, maar doordat ze niet is doodgesystematiseerd en De Graaff in de contouren en het verloop van zijn melodieën nog steeds romantisch durft te zijn, wordt de luisteraar met zachte, maar dwingende hand meegevoerd in het abstracte verhaal dat hij wil vertellen. Een grote troef is hierbij zijn orkestratiekunst. De muziek is kleurrijk, blijft altijd helder en verrassend." - Erik Voermans, Het Parool
 
"Had iemand mij van te voren voorspeld dat in een programma van Bach, Bartók en Jan-Peter de Graaff het stuk van de laatste mij het meest zou boeien, dan had ik dat niet geloofd. - Dingeman van Wijnen, Friesch Dagblad
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Composer

Michael Fine

Education Michael has a degree in English Literature from the State University of New York. Despite having no formal music education, he has an active international career in several aspects of the music business.
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Composer

Maxim Shalygin

January 30, 1985

"Creativity is an unconscious act of insanity, in a burst of which the truth is born. No matter how beautiful or disgusting it may seem to people far from madness, its value is beyond doubt, both for the author and for those able to sense its invisible beauty. After all, gratitude for endless trials and suffering brings joy and blissful emptiness… Being shocked by music is about pain turning into beauty and getting under your skin, taking away your breath; about everything stopping to move. I want to be scratched inside by sound and experience the fleeting, invisible beauty." - Maxim Shalygin

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Composer

Celia Swart

Celia Swart (1994, NL) is a new music composer, saxophone player and visual artist. Growing up playing saxophone and piano, she found her love for composing.
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