No edition of Gaudeamus Muziekweek would be complete without ensemble Insomnio, based in Utrecht. In the Hertz hall, their ‘home base’, the ensemble opens the weekend.
In confluence/divergence by Sebastian Hilli, Gaudeamus Award nominee, the acoustic guitar is given a complex solo role. Lasting nearly half an hour, Hilli’s piece accounts for the lion’s share of the programme. In Dunn’s While we are both for soprano and tape are traces of lightness, even innocence. Dunn’s universe is a nice place to be, with enough room for amazement.
Thanks to her work Intaglio, the young South Korean Eun-Ji Anna Lee’s breakthrough came during the 2016 Wittener Tagen für neue Kammermusik. Greek composer Stylianos Dimou was nominated for the Gaudeamus Award in 2015. He wrote his new work especially for Insomnio’s first violinst Mieke Kanno. The programme ends with a work by Bart de Vrees that was commissioned by Gaudeamus. This work was written for a flexible set of instruments and will be tackled by the full ensemble.
Insomnio conducted by Ulrich Pöhl
Petri Kumela – guitar
Natasha Young – soprano
Mieko Kanno – violin
Sebastian Hilli - confluence/divergence
Eun-Ji Anna Lee - Intaglio
Stylianos Dimou - ...
Lawrence Dunn - While we are both
Bart de Vrees - For flute or piano or mandolin or percussion or bassoon or guitar or violin or harp or clarinet or..........