On May 10th, 2026, Jan-Peter de Graaff will be featured in the ‘Composer Portrait’ series at the Orgelpark in Amsterdam. During this concert, De Graaff will present 9 highlights from his recent chamber music oeuvre and the world premiere of ‘La Bestia’: a brand-new work for the French-Romantic “Verschueren” Organ, exploring and demonstrating the many colourful combinations this instrument has to offer. The programme will be performed by a dream line up of absolute specialists in contemporary music and musicians De Graaff has frequently worked with in the past and will be a curated and ‘composed’ programme, forming a journey through De Graaff’s recent oeuvre.
The following pieces will be performed:
Enivrez-Vous, version for organ (2023/2026), performed by Geerten van de Wetering
Jutters (2019), performed by Pieter van Loenen
Oranges and Lemons (2021), Performed by Konstantyn Napolov, Pieter van Loenen Laura Sandee
Meccanica (2019), Performed by Felicia van den End and Laura Sandee
Intermezzo (from Effugium) (2024), Performed by Konstantyn Napolov
Battleground (2025), Performed by Pieter van Loenen, Dick de Graaff, Joël Waterman, Hans Woudenberg
Pascal (2020), Performed by Felicia van den End, Arjan Woudenberg, Konstantyn Napolov, Laura Sandee, Pieter van Loenen, Joël Waterman, Hans Woudenberg, conducted by Jan-Peter de Graaff
La Bestia (2026), performed by Geerten van de Wetering
LA BESTIA is inspired by the train with the same nickname that runs between the inlands of Mexico and the border of the United States, carrying multiple goods within and people on top, in search for a better life in the US, after traveling through the Darien Gap, one of the most dangerous migration routes in the world. The piece is a tribute to all who risk their life in search for a better life for their family, risking their own life on a daily basis. The work consists of one ongoing harmonic movement shifting through many rhythmical ‘episodes’, reminiscent of the minimalist works of Steve Reich, the tragic chord progressions of Leos Janacek and the surrealist sound world of Olivier Messiaen, ending in a gigantic D-Major+A-Sharp Major. Hope and fear combined within the merciless movement of a slow Diesel locomotive pulling a train of at least 2 kilometers in length at a slow pace through jungles, deserts and urban wasteland.
Composers in the crosshairs of our attention