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At 150 years old, HKU Utrechts Conservatorium is one of the oldest conservatories in the Netherlands. 150 years of Utrechts Conservatorium represent a century and a half of musical development. Various styles and genres have been explored, from early and classical music, through jazz and pop, to avant-garde. The common thread throughout all these years has been the combination of musical imagination and professional development.
FREE TICKETSA concert in the 19th-century tradition with contemporary compositions
The program of 150 Years of Musical Imagination showcases the breadth and scope of a century and a half of musical development at the conservatory. The program is inspired by concerts common in the second half of the 19th century in the Building for Arts and Sciences. When it opened in 1844, this building was the first public concert hall in the Netherlands. Concerts in these 19th-century programs often combined diverse styles, genres, and ensembles. It was very common for a symphonic work to be followed by a composition for chamber music or a work for voice and piano.Diverse repertoire from 1880 to the present
This tradition from the second half of the 19th century of presenting styles and disciplines together is reflected in the program of 150 Years of Musical Imagination. The concert features symphonic works performed by the HKU Utrecht Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Mikhail Zemtsov, as well as works performed by chamber ensembles and soloists. Various styles will be explored, from romantic music and avant-garde music from the 1970s to the many forms of musical imagination today. The earliest composition dates from 1880, the most recent from 2023.Composers
150 Years of Musical Imagination includes compositions by various (former) teachers at the HKU Utrecht Conservatory. The program includes works by Caroline Ansink (born 1959) and Anne-Maartje Lemereis (born 1989), both currently composition teachers at the conservatory. Two compositions by former teacher Tristan Keuris (1946-1996) are also on the program. Johan Wagenaar (1862-1941), teacher and former director of the Utrecht Conservatory, is included in the program with a hymn for chamber choir.Composers who enjoyed visiting Utrecht, the Utrecht Conservatory, or the concert hall of the Building for Arts and Sciences will also be featured. First up is Johannes Brahms (1833-1897). He enjoyed hosting friends in the city and introduced his second piano concerto to the Dutch public in 1881 at the Building for Arts and Sciences. A work by Louis Andriessen (1939-2021), the renowned Dutch composer and Utrecht native, is also included in this concert. We also honor his father, Hendrik Andriessen, who was director of the Utrecht Conservatory in the 1930s. Finally, a composition by Ton de Leeuw (1926-1996) will be performed. De Leeuw was a frequent visitor to the Utrecht Conservatory.
Program
- Johannes Brahms: Academic Festival Overture Op. 80 (1880)
- Anne-Maartje Lemereis: Piano Concerto (2023)
- Caroline Ansink: Strernenwalzer (classical) (1993)
- Tristian Keuris: La ricordanza, first part of L'infinito (1990)
- Tristian Keuris: Saxophone Quartet (1970)
- Louis Andriessen: Un beau baiser (1983)
- Ton de Leeuw: Agnus Dei from Missa Brevis (1996)
- Johan Wagenaar: Hymnus de ascensione Domini (1935)
Performers
HKU Utrecht Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Mikhail ZemtsovSoloists
Piano: Pablo Esteban Gutierrez, Daniel Juberias del Castillo
Singers: Larriane Chan, Anne Broers, Neline Adams, Joshua Lau, Coen Krimpenfort
About the Compositions
Johannes Brahms: Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80 (1880)Johannes Brahms (1883-1897) opens the evening with his Academic Festival Overture; a witty, brilliantly orchestrated tribute to student culture. Behind its solemn facade, Brahms conceals a series of playful student songs, which he forges with monumental seriousness—and a touch of irony—into a festive orchestral work.
Anne-Maartje Lemereis: Piano Concerto (2023)
The focus then shifts to the present with the Piano Concerto (2023) by Anne-Maartje Lemereis (born 1989), former Composer of the Netherlands and Composition professor and alumnus of the HKU Utrecht Conservatory. Lemereis is a composer who approaches the boundaries between tradition and experiment with remarkable subtlety. Her music is rich in color, clear in form, and layered in texture, with a solo part that seeks dialogue rather than virtuosity for virtuosity's sake.
Caroline Ansink: Sterrnenwalzer (1993)
Next, Stertenwaltzer by Caroline Ansink (born 1959) plays, a miniature full of floating lyricism and clarity. Ansink—conductor, composer, orchestra builder, and Composition professor at the HKU Utrecht Conservatory—works this waltz with a typically Dutch transparency in sound and harmony, as if the music itself sketches a rotating night sky.
Tristian Keuris: La ricordanza, first movement of L’infinito (1990)
The work of Tristan Keuris (1946-1996), former professor at the HKU Utrecht Conservatory, forms the heart of the program. The first movement of his L’infinito, inspired by Giacomo Leopardi's poem of the same name, exudes an almost cosmic tranquility: broad lines, rounded harmonies, and a transparent buildup of tension.
Tristian Keuris: Saxophone Quartet (1970)
This is followed by Saxophone Quartet, here in a solo version by Andreas Mader, professor of Classical Saxophone at the HKU Utrecht Conservatory. Keuris's affinity for warm melody and rhythmic clarity is clearly audible here. It is music that sounds simultaneously lyrical, dreamy, and powerfully earthy.
Louis Andriessen: Un beau baiser (1983)
Louis Andriessen (1939-2001) is one of the most influential Dutch composers of the twentieth century. His innovative musical language significantly influenced Dutch conservatory education, including that of the HKU Utrecht Conservatory. Un beau baiser reveals a tranquil, lyrical side of his oeuvre. Its intimate character and clear soundscape give the work a poetic and almost meditative atmosphere, in which sound and simplicity are central.
Ton de Leeuw: Agnus Dei from Missa Brevis (1996)
Ton de Leeuw (1926-1996) was a composer and educator of great significance to Dutch musical life and higher music education. Although primarily affiliated with the Conservatory of Amsterdam, his influence is also felt within the HKU Utrecht Conservatory, particularly through his focus on spirituality, modality, and non-Western music. The Agnus Dei forms the contemplative conclusion of the Missa Brevis and is characterized by tranquility, flowing melody lines, and a timeless, contemplative quality.
Johan Wagenaar: Hymnus de ascensione Domini (1935)
Johan Wagenaar (1862-1941) has a direct and historical connection to the Utrecht Conservatory: from 1919 to 1937, he was the institute's director and guided the development of music education in Utrecht. In Hymnus de ascensione Domini, his late-Romantic style is clearly evident. The work is solemn and celebratory in character and captures the sublimity of the Ascension Feast with rich harmonies and expressive choral passages.