Concerts from around the country, recorded by Concertzender
This year we celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Concertzender, which resulted in a series of wonderful concerts. Yesterday, we played you a first selection from these concerts, to be continued today. So, this time no Concertzender Live Archive on Friday.
In today’s programme we will listen to three concerts. The first was recorded in Zaal 100 in Amsterdam. 1984 turned out to be an important and productive year, as the venue also celebrated their 40th anniversary this year! This concert represents our crosslinks genre – a mish-mash of alternative pop and crossover in all possible and impossible ways – so the enormous variety of musicians performing is not surprising. We selected two for you: the Eastern European freak folk of OMFO and the Dutch alternative duo Polar Twins.
The second concert might feel a lot closer to home: a classical performance of a violinist and pianist. The two play music from Balkan composers; neo-classical folklore of Enescu is alternated with more modern music of, for example, Isidora Žebaljan.
Influences of Eastern European folk music can also be found in Western Europe’s art music – music that is composed and is not from an oral tradition. You can hear this in the third concert, which feels a bit more anarchistic. Ensemble Oorkaan (from the Dutch word for hurricane, which gives you a clue about its music) mixes contemporary music with Eastern European folk. They use traditional instruments like the bayan (a type of Russian accordion) and clarinet, and combine them with harp and percussion. Something that can only work if it derails entirely … which you can rely upon with this foursome.
These two concerts were the closing performances during the Amsterdam festival Muze van Zuid, concluding the celebration of our 40th anniversary.
Playlist
1. OMFO – 5 numbers
2. Polar Twins – Im Hohlraum
3. Polar Twins – Soft pioneers
4. Polar Twins – Web comb queen/Environmental twist
5. Polar Twins – Meeting point
6. Polar Twins – Suite jumeaux polaires: Prelude
7. Isidora Žebaljan – Dark velvet
8. Isidora Žebaljan – O die, my love
9. Georges Enescu – Piano sonata no. 3
10. Veljko Nenadić – Diptych
11. Margareth Bonds – Troubled water
12. Michele Mazzini – Due nasi: II. Secondo naso
13. Steven Kamperman – Black Sea suite
14. Ayuo Takahashi – Eurasian tango
Performers
OMFO: unknown
Polar Twins: Mark Ritsema (vocals), Dick Polak (accordion)
Joelija Hartig (violin; 7-10)
Reineke Broekmans (piano; 7-10)
Ensemble Oorkaan: Michele Mazzini (bass clarinet / clarinet), Robbrecht Van Cauwenberghe (bayan), Michela Zanoni (harp) and Veysel Dzhesur (percussion) (11-14)
