The Mallet Collective’s CD “Views from Dutch Trains” will be released on Saturday, September 20, 2025, and will be presented in a concert at the Kunstkerk in Dordrecht. All the pieces on the album are inspired by or can be associated with train travel. Think of passing landscapes, crowded platforms, unexpected encounters, moments of reflection, or a carriage full of bawling children. Composers Anastas Paev and Jannum Kruidhof offer their own perspectives on this theme in works written especially for this album. Composer Jacob ter Veldhuis wrote his “Views from a Dutch Train,” which forms the basis of the album, back in 1992. Works by Anthony Fiumara and Jo, Antal, and Misha Sporck, who also appear on the CD, will also be performed. The Mallet Collective performs in varying formations, and for this project, the band consists of marimba players Ramon Lormans and Georgi Tsenov.

Train journeys spark the imagination. You meet strangers, see ever-changing landscapes, and have time to reflect. But the train is more than just beautiful views. Sometimes you meet someone unexpectedly in the carriage. Sometimes you find yourself with a crowd of people on a packed platform. And sometimes you just board the last train home, as the evening grows quiet.

With this music, the Mallet Collective wants to convey what train travel sounds like: peaceful and dreamy, yet also busy and full of life. It reminds us how special train travel is, and at the same time, that it’s a better choice for the planet.