At the Cello Biennale Asko|Schönberg will perform the world premiere of a new work by Guus Janssen. In his Concertino for 4 Cellos and Ensemble, Guus Janssen stacks four cello concertos on top of each other, beginning with unison. From this starting point, deviations occur in various ways, creating forms of polyphony. This can arise from musicians playing around each other’s melodies through uneven or ‘wrong’ playing, to canons and beyond.
In the resulting music, the question becomes which soloist is ‘in front.’ A certain psychological dynamic of ‘who demands attention’ versus ‘who receives attention’ is inevitable—somewhat reminiscent of a Van Koot and De Bie sketch where alderman Hekking in the municipality of Ruinen tries to demand attention.
Gregory Charette conductor
Larissa Groeneveld cello
Sebastiaan van Halsema cello
Jeroen den Herder cello
Timora Rosler cello
Francesco Dillon cello
November 8th, at 17h in the Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ
Composers in the crosshairs of our attention