An ox on the roof 29: The Ox in times of Corona #16
Today is the twenyninth episode of An ox on the roof by Thea Derks, inspired by her book Een os op het dak: moderne muziek na 1900 in vogelvlucht. The second print was released in December 2020.
It seemed that the end of the pandemic was finally in sight, but suddenly the Delta variant emerges and the relaxations around nightlife cause a new wave of infections. So, once again, we have been saddled with restrictive measures, and even our holidays are in danger of being ruined.
The past period also brought a series of job announcements from the frontline of new music. On 21 June, Ad van ’t Veer died. He was a tireless promoter of contemporary composers and founder of the Festival Nieuwe Muziek in Middelburg. Five days later, the American, politically engaged composer Frederic Rzewski died, and on 1 July, we also lost his kindred spirit Louis Andriessen, the last of the ‘Nutcrackers’.
Today’s episode is a tribute to Louis Andriessen, in the form of several scenes from his opera Theatre of the World, his fifth and last full-length opera. He completed it in 2016, and his lifelong fellow ‘Nutcracker’ Reinbert de Leeuw conducted the world premiere with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and the Dutch premiere with the Asko|Schönberg in Theater Carré.
In an interview with Thea Derks, Andriessen dryly observed: ‘I have never found a new sound. Sounds is a thing for pop musicians’.
The live recording of the world premiere appeared on CD in 2017. Six scenes from it can be seen today.
The first edition of An Ox on the Roof has been sold out, but you can get a copy of the second edition on boekenbestellen.nl.
Louis Andriessen.
Theatre of the World scene 1-6.
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and soloists
conducted by Reinbert de Leeuw
Compilation, presentation and techniques by Thea Derks
