(Un)heard Music Festival
When is a piece of music finished? When the composer has drawn the double bar after the last note? Or can a piece also have an 'open ending'? In the UMF edition of 2021, the focus was not on a composer, but on the works that composers were unable or unwilling to finish; ‘(Un)finished’. For centuries, compositions have been left unfinished by 'big' and 'minor' composers. This is often attributed to the premature death of the creative artist, but that is certainly not always the case. Sometimes it seems to be a conscious choice. Perhaps the composer doesn't know how to proceed? Is he or she dissatisfied with what has been composed and is it beacuase of this that the piece is put aside?
The (Un)heard Music Festival has become a warm memory for Matangi. It started on Friday 23 October with our 'Matangi Moments' series in the Nieuwe Kerk, where we performed the famous String Quintet in C with young talent Benjamin Kruithof. We were also allowed to play part of the slow part at Podium Witteman. This fragment can be seen and heard here.
The festival really started on October 30 in the atmospheric Korzo in The Hague. Lex Bohlmeijer opened 'Unfinished' with a conversation with composer Kate Moore and choreographer Thom Stewart in which the question was discussed; when is something finished?
This was followed by the Double Dutch concert, in which, in addition to the fantastic The Hague String Trio, the young Viride Quartet played a starring role, which, in addition to unfinished compositions by Dutch composers, also performed the world premiere of Kate Moore's new work 'Transcendance'. The reviews in the newspaper were very positive.
On October 31, Matangi appeared together with the talented pianist Nikola Meeuwsen, two members of the Viride quartet and top cellist Lidy Blijdorp. It was a real festival day with two concerts, a nice lunch and a pub quiz. Together with Lidy, Matangi closed the festival with the impressive work 'Schubert Quintet Unfinished' by Vladimir Martynov. The intense harmonies and alternately exuberant and tender sounds not only entranced the audience, but also touched the musicians on stage. We can look back on a pleasant and musically inspiring festival.
The (Un)heard Music Festival has become a warm memory for Matangi. It started on Friday 23 October with our 'Matangi Moments' series in the Nieuwe Kerk, where we performed the famous String Quintet in C with young talent Benjamin Kruithof. We were also allowed to play part of the slow part at Podium Witteman. This fragment can be seen and heard here.
The festival really started on October 30 in the atmospheric Korzo in The Hague. Lex Bohlmeijer opened 'Unfinished' with a conversation with composer Kate Moore and choreographer Thom Stewart in which the question was discussed; when is something finished?
This was followed by the Double Dutch concert, in which, in addition to the fantastic The Hague String Trio, the young Viride Quartet played a starring role, which, in addition to unfinished compositions by Dutch composers, also performed the world premiere of Kate Moore's new work 'Transcendance'. The reviews in the newspaper were very positive.
On October 31, Matangi appeared together with the talented pianist Nikola Meeuwsen, two members of the Viride quartet and top cellist Lidy Blijdorp. It was a real festival day with two concerts, a nice lunch and a pub quiz. Together with Lidy, Matangi closed the festival with the impressive work 'Schubert Quintet Unfinished' by Vladimir Martynov. The intense harmonies and alternately exuberant and tender sounds not only entranced the audience, but also touched the musicians on stage. We can look back on a pleasant and musically inspiring festival.
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