Because of his friendship with Anton Stadler, a famous clarinetttist at the imperial court of Vienna, Mozart gave the clarinet an increasingly important role in his compositions. Wolfgang’s superb clarinet quintet, written for clarinet and string quartet, is the first work for this combination in music history. A century later Brahms matched this gem with a romantic reply. 

Chamber music to make you daydream, particularly in the hands of German violinist Isabelle Faust. With her exceptional technique and her unusual interpretations she is considered one of the leading violinists of her generation. The clarinet part will be taken care of by Lorenzo Coppola, who will amaze you with his natural and flexible handling of a period instrument.

22 January, 2015 21:00 -- AMUZ

At the beginning of the 20th century the arts scene in Europe was teeming with lively modernism as never before. Writers, painters, sculptors and composers pioneered with new and innovative forms at the cutting edge. The enormous diversity and abundance that this creativity yielded inspired French pianist Alain Planès to a sensitive recital. 

“What I am trying to do, is something different – an effect of reality, but some imbeciles label that as impressionism …” Claude Debussy wrote in a letter in 1908. In the same period Arnold Schönberg was the first one to break away from traditional tonality. His trailblazing music met with booing, just like Ravel’s daring Valses nobles et sentimentales. Leoš Janáček and Béla Bartók, for their part, liked to play with folk tunes. This selection of piano literature around 1910 lets you sample all those inspiring experiments.

Uitvoerder
Alain Planès, piano

Programme
Music by C. Debussy, L. Janáček, B. Bartók, e.a.

23 January, 2015 20:00 -- AMUZ

At the beginning of the 20th century the arts scene in Europe was teeming with lively modernism as never before. Writers, painters, sculptors and composers pioneered with new and innovative forms at the cutting edge. The enormous diversity and abundance that this creativity yielded inspired French pianist Alain Planès to a sensitive recital. 

“What I am trying to do, is something different – an effect of reality, but some imbeciles label that as impressionism …” Claude Debussy wrote in a letter in 1908. In the same period Arnold Schönberg was the first one to break away from traditional tonality. His trailblazing music met with booing, just like Ravel’s daring Valses nobles et sentimentales. Leoš Janáček and Béla Bartók, for their part, liked to play with folk tunes. This selection of piano literature around 1910 lets you sample all those inspiring experiments.

23 January, 2015 21:00 -- AMUZ

A princess in distress, a young hero and a dreadful sea monster: the age-old myth of Perseus and Andromeda contains all ingredients to fascinate young and old. Ensemble L’Aura Rilucente and Martin Butler adapted the baroque opera Persée by Jean Baptiste Lully to children’s size.

A poetic shadow play draws the children into the story, while concurrently the baroque music swirls and enchants. A storyteller invites the audience to enter a world where gods, nymphs and monsters exist, a world that will keep shimmering for a while … L’Aura Rilucente was already acclaimed in 2012 during the international Young Artist’s Presentation for promising young ensembles. With Perseus & Andromeda they carry on with great zest.

Performers
L’Aura Rilucente: Vera Milani, soprano | Myriam Arbouz, mezzo soprano | Andrés Montilla-Acurero, tenor | Yannis François, baritone | Heriberto Delgado Gutierrez, violin | Sara Bagnati, violin | Silvia Serrano Monesterolo, cello | Maximilian Ehrhardt, harp | Hélène Diot, harpsichord | I-Chen Zuffellato, dance | Andrea Fagarazzi, dance | Lene Stenseth, dance | Martin Butler, dance | Alejandra Theus, narrator | Martin Butler, direction

This performance was made possible by: Statens Kunstfond, Nordic Network for Early Opera, Jeanne D’art Kunststiftung, Dansmakers, Centre Culturel de Rencontre d’Ambronay & REMA

25 January, 2015 14:00 -- AMUZ

A princess in distress, a young hero and a dreadful sea monster: the age-old myth of Perseus and Andromeda contains all ingredients to fascinate young and old. Ensemble L’Aura Rilucente and Martin Butler adapted the baroque opera Persée by Jean Baptiste Lully to children’s size. 

A poetic shadow play draws the children into the story, while concurrently the baroque music swirls and enchants. A storyteller invites the audience to enter a world where gods, nymphs and monsters exist, a world that will keep shimmering for a while … L’Aura Rilucente was already acclaimed in 2012 during the international Young Artist’s Presentation for promising young ensembles. With Perseus & Andromeda they carry on with great zest.

25 January, 2015 15:00 -- AMUZ

Artist in residence Andreas Staier brings along a top-notch violinist to Antwerp. Petra Müllejans serves as leader of the Freiburger Barockorchester and counts among the very best specialists of historically informed performances! Staier and Müllejans offer baroque from their own area: music by Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Kuhnau, Georg Philipp Telemann and Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber.
Kuhnau — Bach’s immediate predecessor as Thomas cantor — was among the first to compose sonatas for keyboard instruments. His Biblische Historien can be regarded as an early example of programme music. Von Biber earned his fame by and large with his violin sonatas, especially those that use scordatura, an abnormal tuning of the violin strings in order to obtain special chordal effects. The Mystery (or Rosary) sonatas perfectly illustrate this.

01 February, 2015 14:00 -- AMUZ