A unique concert performance with readings from the novels Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter by Ali Smith, one of the greatest Scottish authors of our time. Every year, Smith wrote a new novel, highlighting contemporary themes such as ecology, migration, Brexit and more. NEuE has commissioned four female composers to create new ensemble works inspired by the novels. This unique mix of music and literature is presented in collaboration with the National Theater, where a matching theater performance will premiere with director Eric de Vroedt.
Programma
Kate Moore – Fall Falling (world premiere)
Anna Thorvaldsdottir – Spectra
Alice Yeung – Winter (world premiere)
Peter Maxwell Davies – A Sad Paven for These Distracted Tymes
Seung Won Oh – In Spring: Echoes of a Silent Cry (world premiere)
Kinan Azmeh – Essays on Solitude
Sara Zamboni – Hymn to timeless melancholy, Hymn to an English Summer (world premiere)
In Otemba – Daring Women, Cornelia steps out of the painting and engages in a conversation with the restorer about colonial relations, the female perspective, and autonomy.
The restoration of the 17th-century painting depicting a colonial scene culminates in a nighttime encounter between the Indonesian restorer and the woman portrayed: Cornelia van Nijenrode, a Japanese-Dutch woman and the wife of Pieter Cnoll, a wealthy senior merchant in Batavia. After his death, she remarries and becomes the first woman in the Netherlands to file a lawsuit for financial self-determination when seeking to divorce her second husband.
The libretto of Otemba – Daring Women is written by Janine Brogt, and the performance is directed by Jan van den Berg. The lead roles are performed by soloists Ryoko Aoki, Bernadeta Astari, and Michael Wilmering. Misato Mochizuki was previously featured at the Holland Festival with L’heure bleue in 2013.
“Otemba” (untamable) is not only the title of the performance but also one of the more than 160 words that Japanese has borrowed from Dutch. It refers to rebellious women who refuse to conform and choose their own path.
In Otemba, characters from different eras come together, advocating for a new perspective on history. Restoration is often described as “management of change,” and this restoration offers a renewed, decolonizing view of the past. Otemba comes to life.
Compositie: Misato Mochizuki
Libretto: Janine Brogt
Dirigent: Kanako Abe
Ensemble: New European Ensemble
Artistieke leiding & regie: Jan van den BergCornelia van Nijenrode: Ryoko Aoki
Kirana Diah: Bernadeta Astari
Miro: Michael Wilmering
Lichtontwerp: Gé Wegman
Kostuums: Lisa Konno
VLAD MAISTOROVICI conductor, violin
Vlad Maistorovici Metamorphosis after M. C. Escher
Michel van der Aa Shades of Red
Dan Dediu Hyperkardia II Op. 139
Mark-Anthony Turnage Romanian Rhapsody
George Enescu Chamber Symphony for 12 Solo Instruments Op. 33
Meriç Artaç is composing a brand-new Bosch Requiem commissioned by November Music for NEuE and Capella Amsterdam. It will premiere on November 7 at Theater aan de Parade, Den Bosch, and during Opera Forward 2026.
With his iconic composition “4’33”,” John Cage invited listeners in 1952 to attentively listen to their surroundings and the subtle sounds of their own heartbeat and breathing. Since then, new music has consistently challenged us to listen to the world anew. Swiss composer Jürg Frey creates works that explore the boundaries of the audible. His compositions utilize sparse sound materials and silences, making silence the subject of the music. The result is an invitation to reflection and a renewed experience of sound.
Program
John Cage – Seven
John Cage – In a Landscape
John Cage – 4’33
Jürg Frey – world premiere (commissioned by NEuE)
Watch the ensemble working with Jürg Frey:
What does hope sound like when you’ve fled your country, when pain and sorrow live in your heart? What does music sound like when it expresses those feelings? Is it a scream, a lament, or an intimate murmur?
Step into the world of composers and musicians who left everything behind to start anew elsewhere.
This evening is all about music that resonates with the soul of migration. Not as a story of victimhood, but as a powerful testament to resilience, courage, and creativity.
The New European Ensemble – made up of musicians from diverse backgrounds – performs works by Hawar Tawfiq, Kinan Azmeh, and Kinan Abu Afach, composers who (un)willingly left their homelands behind.
No frills, no clichés – just honest music that moves you, inspires you, and might even challenge the way you see the world.
Are you ready to take this musical journey?
Dare to listen. Dare to discover.
New European Ensemble.