The signature of the young Ukrainian composer Maxim Shalygin has been dipped in the soil of the troublemaker and freethinker Alfred Schnittke, with ramifications to spirituality and philosophy. His artistic language is completely in line with the world of Maya Fridman. In Shalygin’s new work, the intuitive and emotional folklore of the East meets the rational view of art from the West. In the midst of the phenomenal Cello Octet Amsterdam, Fridman plays and sings on instruments partly specially developed for this concert by Rob van den Broek. This is where those elements come together that make Fridman who she is: Russia, spirituality, Europe, the experiment, her expressive singing voice and, above all, the collaboration with dear friends.