Gaudeamus has been supporting young composers since 1945, and the organization was consequently closely involved in the first experiments with electronics in the 1950s and 1960s. In collaboration with record label Moving Furniture and composer Jos Smolders, we are paying tribute this year to two Dutch pioneers of electronic music: Ton de Leeuw and Luctor Ponse.
Luctor Ponse and Ton de Leeuw both belong to the early generation of composers who, after World War II, were inspired by the sounds from the electronic studios of Paris and Cologne. Their groundbreaking tape works have been restored and will be presented tonight in a quadrophonic setup—the setup for which many of the works were originally composed, but in which they have not been heard for 60 years. It promises to be a historic evening!