Basklarinet Festijn

The Basklarinet Festijn is a biennial travelling mini-festival (now also embedded in Gaudeamus Festival) in which everything revolves around the bass clarinet and new music. Bass clarinetist Fie Schouten (founder of the Basklarinet Festijn together with Tobias Klein) and Chris Watt, along with cellist Katharina Gross, play four diverse and largely brand new pieces by young composers.

In the compositions of both Peter Jakober and Philip Przybylo, the (bass) clarinets, the cello and electronics meet in a so-called acousmatic space, in which audible sound and the visual experience of its production become separated from each other. What do we hear? Where does the sound come from? A new, intensive way of listening slowly emerges, that relies entirely on surrender to sound and the moment.

Peter Jakober’s piece was created with financial support from Ernst von Siemens Stiftung.
Philip Przybylo’s piece was created with financial support from the Tera de Marez Oyens Foundation. Przybylo wrote the piece at the foundation’s request after winning the 2024 Tera de Marez Oyens Award