Katherine Dain - soprano Marine Fribourg - mezzo-soprano Guy Cutting - tenor Drew Santini - baritone ntb - piano
Damask is an old weaving technique for luxury cloths, often resulting in a glossy pattern. The subtext is clear: vocal quartet Damask not only weaves together its four members’ voices to create an artful whole, but also combines music from different centuries to create lush patterns. Sounds pretty good, so sign us up for some vocal fabric!
Wonhee Bae - violin Yoona Ha - violin Jiwon Kim - viola Ye-eun Heo - cello
Since starting in 2016, the Esmé Quartet has taken off like a rocket: the quartet won the first prize at the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition, and are HSBC Laureate of the Académie du Festival d’Aix. The four ladies will play Der Tod und das Mädchen. When Schubert wrote this string quartet, his death from syphilis was imminent. The piece oozes despair, especially in the second part, which is an adaptation of the song from which this piece borrows its name.
Peter Moore’s incredibly quiet tone is his secret weapon that can disarm both juries and audiences alike. In 2008 he was the youngest BBC Young Musician of the Year, age 12. In 2015 he was the youngest member of the London Symphony Orchestra, age 18. This year he is a member of Rising Stars, the excellent young musicians selected by Europe’s best stages. Need we say Moore?
Benjamin Herman - saxophone Ernst Glerum - double bass Peter Beets - piano Han Bennink - drums
No more than two years after his passing away, the musical inheritance left by pianist and improviser Misha Mengelberg has already joined the ranks of jazz standards. The jazz giants of The Quartet bring his typical compositions back to life with panache, and turn them into an exciting, swinging show. A tribute like a tribute is meant to be.
Andre Heuvelman - trumpet Johan van der Linden - saxes Santiago Cimadevilla - bandoneon Mike del Ferro - synths Henry Kelder - piano
Trumpeter Andre Heuvelman is a man of the moment. His unpredictable program will start and end with Sting. There will be candle light. But what else? “Imagine… imagine that you would accept desire… Our music touches that… Don’t knock… And then… there will be space for fire. Your fire will ignite! If you dare, of course...” Be ready for unexpected encounters...
Beethoven, Schubert & Bruch's Double Concerto for clarinet and viola
led by Johannes Leertouwer
Iteke Wijbenga - viola Lars Wouters van den Oudenwater - clarinet
Upon its release, Max Bruch’s Double Concerto received scathing criticisms: it was deemed “weak, unexciting, first and foremost too restrained, and unoriginal.” But the piece, written for clarinet, viola, and a chamber orchestra that slowly grows to a symphony orchestra, is anything but boring. Perhaps the piece was too romantic for the quoted reviewer, back in 1912, but it is incomparably well-suited for daydreaming while lying in the grass – in between the classical gems of Beethoven's Prometheus overture and Schubert's Symphony no.6.
“Finding a beautiful balance between trust and doubt and practicing an equality of awareness between sending sound out and listening deeply,” is how Eliza McCarthy describes her musical ambitions. In 2013 she won the British Contemporary Piano competition, and since then she’s devoted herself completely to new and experimental music. Her latest single is Curved Form (No. 4) by Alex Groves, for solo piano, which includes remixes by Benjamin Tassie and Matt Huxley. At Wonderfeel she will be performing works by John Adams and Mica Levi.
Luciana Cueto - voice Manuel Vilas Rodríguez - gothic harp Catelina Vicens - organetto
The alba, the song of daybreak, was very popular among troubadours in the 12th, 13th and 14th century. Originating from Southern-French Occitania, the genre quickly spread to the Iberian peninsula as well. The Argentinian-Chilean-Spanish Romanza Trio will explore some of these traditional pieces in Luz y día. Centuries old, of course, but so is the pain of lovers leaving each other at the break of day.
Between trees, among the audience – Slagwerk Den Haag is always in a unique location here at Wonderfeel. For Xenakis’ Pléïades, they will surround the audience on the meadow of the Ongehoord stage. Why? Greek mythology describes how Atlas and Pleione have seven daughters, who are inconsolable when Atlas is tasked with carrying the world on his shoulders. Zeus then changes them into stars, the Pleiades, so they can forever surround their father as they twinkle in the night skies.
Kate Moore, Calliope Tsoupaki, Rozalie Hirs, Renske Vrolijk, Annelies van Parys, Anda Kryeziu, Yiran Zhao, Aleksandra Bajde, Barbara Okma, Georgia Nicolaou
Bauwien van der Meer - voice Reinild Mees - piano
Humor, provocation and admiration are paramount in this personal monument for the self-made woman. Bauwien van der Meer and Reinild Mees use this deconstructed song recital to create a space for themselves, their ten song composers, and all women across the world. Following the footsteps of Maya Angelou, Sylvia Plath, Hannah Gadsby and Mathilde Wesendonck, this poetic stand-up is not an accusation of others, but a stage for the amazing woman.
Diamanda Dramm - violin, voice, kick drums, pedal board Ascon de Nijs - decor Maison the Faux - setting Marc Schots - sound
It’s not unlikely that the incomparable violinist Diamanda Dramm will use her bare feet to play drums and organ pedals. “I always want to explore how my body relates to sound,” she explains. In the literal sense, all the way from feet to eyes. Whether it’s in Smackgirl, the composition her father made for her, or Purcells Lamento from Dido and Aeneas: she is always fully expressive.
In co-production with: Mittelfest, Music on Main, Gaudeamus and November Music
Vincent van Amsterdam - accordion Pieternel Berkers - accordion Geneviève Murphy - composer
Self-destruction has many faces. In her piece The One I Feed composer Geneviève Murphy explores the inner conflict between the attraction and the repulsion of self-destruction. The result is an incisive process, audible and visible to the audience, a cross-pollination between performance art and contemporary music, performed by accordion duo TOEAC and the composer herself.
You may see a dancer and a musician, but is this dance set to music? In 3 x 3 minutes, young artists improvise on a dance floor measuring 3 m x 3 m, creating a work of Gesamtkunst well outside their comfort zone. To put it simply: you won’t believe your ears after being bombarded by these surprising images. Afterwards, the kids in the audience will be invited to put their experience into words.
Elisabeth Hetherington - soprano David Mackor - lute
The Canadian Elisabeth Hetherington, who graduated with honors from the old music department of the Amsterdam Conservatory, is gifted with a soprano that is both light as a feather and crystal clear. No surprise that she was selected for AVROTROS Klassiek presenteert! 2019, a talent show for young classical musicians. In this fascinating performance she will combine, supported by lutenist David Mackor, arias by Barbara Strozzi and Francesca Caccini with works by Berio and Gubaidulina.
Andreas Mader - saxophone Christos Papandreopoulos - piano
Mader & Papandreopoulos want more compositions for sax and piano! Earlier they played their fiery musical pleas at the Grachtenfestival and Festival Jong Talent Schiermonnikoog. Together with three other finalists of the Dutch Classical Talent 19/20, the duo is touring the large national stages. Hear the power of their sound in compositions by Gershwin, Alban Berg and Erwin Schulhoff.
Sponte Sua is rising to the top: during last year’s Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht, they played in the Fabulous Fringe, and this year they played at the Bach Academy in Bruges. The Spanish-Japanese duo (he plays flute, she plays theorbo) plays covers from across 18th-century Europe: hear the French elegance in Dornel, the Italian fire in Bitti and the German Gründlichkeit in Handel and Bach, and notice the similarities. The idea of European oneness is not as contemporary as you might think!
Slovenian has a very short word to indicate an accent in a rhythmic structure: Ikt. The full-stop is added for emphasis. Duo Ikt. uses a diverse range of instruments to play their own arrangements and work written specifically for them. Their mission is to make good contemporary music accessible to a large audience. And that’s impossible without the word “groovy”. Full-stop.
Bas Duister and Ferdi Seelbach - trumpet Harry Stens - horn Alejandro Luque Belmonte - trombone Stefan Knuijt - tuba
Scurvy, homesickness, affairs… After setting sail from Rotterdam, the crew of the Mayflower suffered many plagues before reaching the New World and becoming the Pilgrim Fathers. Pelgrim Brass – from Rotterdam, of course – takes you on a journey and revives John Carver, first governor of Plymouth Colony, to deliver a compelling report of the trip’s many hardships. The Pilgrim Expedition features brand new arrangements of Dvořák’s New World Symphony, among others.
Alide Verheij, Susanna Borsch, Marjan Banis and Bert Honig - recorders
Who cares about copyright? It’s a compliment when others copy your composition! That refreshing conviction was at least held true in the Renaissance, which is why we can still enjoy timeless hits like J’ay pris amours, Susanne un jour , Anchor che col partire and Doulce Mémoire in their many incarnations. Leave it to the specialists of BRISK to turn these classic pieces into the soundtrack for a big party.
Laura van der Heijden - cello Jâms Coleman - piano
Laura van der Heijden – although her name is quintessentially Dutch, she is in fact British. This cello prodigy won the BBC Young Musician prize, and her debut album, packed with Russian music, won an Edison. “Although she is only 21, we could not ignore her,” spoke the stunned jury. Do we want to get to know her better? Of course! Which is why we invited her to play at Wonderfeel, together with pianist Jâms Coleman.
You have to check your ears when the versatile and masterful Filip Jordens takes the stage. This is more than an homage to Brel. This is Brel. It started as a loving salute to the master, but now Jordens’ rendition has traveled the world and satisfied the desires of Brel-lovers across the world. Although Filip Jordens is a wonderful actor, we invited him for the music. Wonderfeel would not be complete without his Brel.
Put a ‘dream violinist’ (De Telegraaf) and a cellist with ‘staggering musicality’ (Cello Biënnale Concours) on stage together, add challenging music, and the result will be a concert you can’t afford to miss. Bach’s Inventionen for piano are breathlessly transparent when played on eight strings, whereas Ravel’s Duo gives the string instruments the opportunity to embrace one another – and that on the cello of Anner Bijlsma and the Stradivarius that Janine Jansen used to play.
with cooperation of Caravan: Julian Schneemann - piano Jeroen Batterink - percussion Jawa Manla - ʿūd Bart de Kater - clarinet
Thorwald Jørgenson - theremin Karel Brendenhorst - cello
Curated and presented by Floris Kortie
Saturday night means it’s time to let loose, so we asked Floris Kortie to create the perfect atmosphere. He invited Caravan, the ensemble let by pianist Julian Schneemann, and some of his musical friends from different corners of the globe. This variety night promises to be a party!
Mark Haanstra - electric bass and double bass Oene van Geel - violin and voice Raphael Vanoli - guitar and effects
Photographer Udo Prinsen installed pinhole cameras in Spitsbergen, which recorded the movement of light in the polar circle, showing months of coagulated movement and the passage of time in a single picture. Violist Oene van Geel, bassist Mark Haanstra and guitarist Raphael Vanoli then captured the surreal images in music. Let the infinite movement in Perpetuum Mobile slow you down, and drift away on the rolling waves of Sees.
Appropriately, Het Veld (‘The Field’) is an open-air venue and can accommodate most visitors. A cross-section of programmes is presented here, including musical performances for children.
White Label
In the White Label tent we investigate the elasticity of the term ‘classical’ music. From minimal to jazz, everything is considered, but in a slightly different way from what we’re used to.
Ongehoord
Fittingly, unknown works in all sorts of combinations are performed on this stage, whose name literally translates as ‘unheard’.
Solo
The name says it all: only soloists perform in this tent, playing the piano, cello, bassoon, violin or percussion instruments.
Weeshuis van de Hits
The name literally means ‘orphanage of the hits’, and this is where the ‘smash hits’ of the classical repertoire can be heard, from Vivaldi’s ‘The Four Seasons’ to Mozart’s ‘Turkish March’, from canto ostinato to operetta.
De Schuur
This schuur (‘shed’) is the location for a number of lectures. Variety, enthusiasm and freedom are the thread linking the speakers at the Wonderfeel festival.
Het Dorp
Het Dorp (‘The Village’), will host a busy children’s programme in collaboration with OERRR, the children’s nature programme run by Natuurmonumenten. Children can investigate owl pellets, catch water creatures with a scoop net, and test their sensitive toes on the barefoot path. Under the guidance of designer and furniture-maker Jorinde Verweij they can make their own musical instruments — and try them out, of course!
Dichter onder de Boom
(Dutch) Wat is poëzie? Goeie vraag! Neem nou hip hop. Is dat een vorm van poëzie? Een vorm van muziek? Of, misschien is het wel een fusion van die twee. Whatever, het woord en de ritmiek passen elkaar. Liefderijk, lastig, noodzakelijk, ontregelend, verwarrend, verzachtend. Poëzie is een must. De woordkunstenaar als musicus. Of omgekeerd. Hoe het zij, onvermijdelijk is het dat de dichtkunst ook dit jaar weer een loot aan de Wonderfeel-stam is.
Programmeur: Marieke Lucas Rijneveld
Extra
(Dutch) Overal op het terrein vinden diverse extra activiteiten plaats tijdens Wonderfeel: dansage, yoga, workshops, dans en anderen. Kijk voor meer informatie, tijden en plekken.