Any reason is good to draw attention to the oeuvre of Karel Goeyvaerts. This occasion gives another perfect opportunity: the Antwerp composer would have turned 100 in 2023. Unknown to the general public, Goeyvaerts pioneered the development of both serialism and electronic music in the 1950s. But there is much more to discover than his pioneering experiments. He has been initiating less since the 1960s, yet he continues to closely follow the latest developments from a distance.

Conducted by Filip Rathé, I SOLISTI presents a number of highlights from the no less surprising late oeuvre of Goeyvaerts. Litanie I is a wonderful example of Goeyvaerts’ idiosyncratic take on minimalism. The last ten years of his life were dominated by the large-scale opera Aquarius, from which two excerpts are presented here. Creations by Benjamin Van Esser and Tim Mulleman complete this more than appropriate homage to an underappreciated artist.