MUTED PREMIERES AT ORANJEWOUD FESTIVAL
I am thrilled to announce the premiere of MUTED, a collective work by 4 composers for violin, voice, whisperviolin, frame violin, a multitude of mutes, and light.
Premiere & tickets: 8 June at 20.00 & 22.00 & 9 June at 20.00 & 22.00
Try-out performances on 7 June
Oranjewoud Festival, Museum Belvedere, Oranjewoud, NL
Composers: Michael Gordon, David Lang, Julia Wolfe, Louis Andriessen
Stage design & lighting: Floriaan Ganzevoort, Theatermachine
Text: excerpts from Archy and Mehitabel by Don Marquis
MUTED on TV: watch live broadcast of Podium Witteman here
Quick link to excerpt by Louis Andriessen here
|
|
|
|
monica & mutes. photo Anne Reinke
|
|
A note about MUTED
MUTED has its roots in the reaction from composers to my high sensitivity to sound and having to cut down the amount of decibels pouring into my ears. Many of you know that I used to play some fairly hard-hitting music, much of it newly commissioned. And as Mehitabel* would say, “I have no regrets!” For those who want to know everything: read more about the inside story here.
It’s new territory for me, there’s an uncharted development process ahead, and a completely new sound world to figure out. My work has always been composer driven, and I am extremely moved by the active role composers are taking in this enforced, bewildering, and somehow increasingly exciting development in my creative path as a musician. There is an enormously talented and resourceful pool of people involved, including stage and light designer Floriaan Ganzevoort, executive producer Neil Wallace & de Doelen, numerous mute creators, filmmakers, audiologists, commissioners, colleagues, as well as a swath of venues and festivals. The list** is long and heartwarming.
Special thanks to luthier Bas Maas and designer Marcel Wanders, who are making an entirely new, lower-decibel instrument, a ‘whisperviolin,’ inspired by and loosely modeled on the ‘pochette,’ created to explore the world of quieter sounds. Besides unmatched creativity and unparalleled skill, both bring a sense of adventure and a palpable excitement to the process.
*parts of MUTED borrow from the masterpiece Archy & Mehitabel by Don Marquis
**See the credits below and here
|
|
|
|
pictured here: the frame violin, also known as a mute violin, ca. 1870. It has a beautiful, intimate, overtone-rich sound. Surprisingly little is known about these striking instruments. One resource is the National Music Museum at the University of South Dakota, whose collection houses what could be this frame violin's sister...
Pop-up artist-in-residence at Red Sofa's Spring Loaded festival
Those who took part in the de Doelen's Red Sofa city cycle tour were treated to an amazing array of concerts, including a season highlight for me: the premiere of Knowing Rose, by Vanessa Lann, together with Michaela Riener and Saskia Lankhoorn.
In the press:
NRC Handelsblad: Red Sofa celebrates 10 years, opens 6-day festival with Monica Germino’s quiet violin
Complete article here (in Dutch), by Joep Stapel
"...As the pop-up artist, Monica Germino will decide what she will actually play in the moment. It will certainly be soft... Playing quietly opens up a whole new dimension; and apart from a reflection on silence and listening it can also be "an antidote to the relentless noise of our world." She has amassed a huge collection of mutes (sourdines) and plays a rare 'frame violin' from ca. 1870... Germino: "Neil Wallace wants me to play the frame violin in the Main Hall without any amplification; for me that's a thrill, an adventure." Wallace: "You will be able to hear a pin drop.”
Read more: translated excerpts here (in English)
|
|
MUTED on tour
MUTED will travel to De Doelen (on location) in Rotterdam, National Sawdust in NYC, HCMF in Huddersfield, November Music in Den Bosch, Music on Main in Vancouver, & more.
Watch this space!
|
|
|
**Cast of credits, MUTED
Commissioners
De Doelen, Rotterdam (Neil Wallace, Executive Producer)
Oranjewoud Festival, Oranjewoud
New York Philharmonic Orchestra, New York
Music on Main, Vancouver
Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival
Partners and presenters
Wonderfeel Festival
Korzo, Den Haag
Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, Amsterdam
November Music, Den Bosch
|
|
With thanks to
Michael Gordon, Julia Wolfe, David Lang, Louis Andriessen
MassMoCA, Massachusetts, USA
Kenny Savelson, Bang on a Can All-Stars
Phillipa Thompson, Bang on a Can Summer Festival
Vera Kuiper, Dutch Consulate, New York
Neil Wallace, Programme Director, de Doelen
Bas Maas, luthier
Marcel Wanders, designer
Niek Versfeld and Jaap Peter Kronemeijer, Audiologisch Centrum Hilversum
Stijn Hoogeboom, Oorwerk, Hilversum
Jacqueline & Serge Stam, Stam Vioolbouw
photos Anne Reinke
|
|
|
GDPR Update
By now, you have probably heard about the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), that came into effect May 25, 2018.
You are on this mailing list because you have subscribed in the past, or you have indicated that you want to be kept up to date. I do not share your contact information with anyone and only use your name and email address to send occasional newsletters with updates about new projects and performances.
If you want to continue to receive my mailings you do not have to do anything. If you want to unsubscribe, you can click ‘Unsubscribe from this list’ at the bottom of this email. Click on ‘Update preferences’ to see what data about you is stored, and change it if necessary.
|
|
|
|
|
|