welcome Language & barricade December 2019 marks the thirtieth anniversary of the death of Samuel Beckett, one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century. Many composers, including György Kurtág, have been influenced by this master. Indeed, his complete works can be found on Louis Andriessen’s own bookshelf. Beckett himself was rather ambivalent when it came to the combination of text and music, and he is known to have shown more than one composer the door. Only after much insistence was he prepared to make a single exception – for a composer who was just as idiosyncratic as Beckett himself. That man was Morton Feldman, who put the unwritten laws of musical logic to the test. The relationship between these two greats is the main focus of our new annual festival exploring the interconnection between Words & Music (11&12 Jan). In addition to existing compositions by Morton Feldman, new works by the Dutch composers Bart de Vrees, Jan van de Putte and Klaas de Vries are being performed, as well as the Dutch premiere of the piano version of György Kurtág’s What is the Word, with Reinbert de Leeuw at the piano. This season, Polish–Dutch composer Jerzy Bielski will be presenting his multidisciplinary production Zamenhof Project (#3) , in which Esperanto plays a central role as an ideal for European unification. And in collaboration with De Tekstsmederij (#8), young composers and writers are being brought together to break down barriers. In Keen Minds (Scherpdenkers) (#6), Lucas de Man (director, presenter and theatre maker) is using music to investigate whether democracy has any future, and the politically engaged composer Mauricio Kagel is the focus of our Treasure Trove (Schatkamer) (#10). In short, there’s plenty to hear and see at Asko|Schönberg, and we hope to see you soon at one of our exciting concerts or other performances. Let the music speak for itself. On behalf of all the Asko|Schönberg musicians and team, warm regards, Fedor Teunisse Artistic manager Asko|Schönberg
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