Musical Utopias Sunday Walden with Heiner Goebbels, Ensemble Klang, Solistenensemble Kaleidoskop, Keir Neuringer, Pavla Beranova

20.15 Conservatoriumzaal, Amare

Composer Heiner Goebbels’ Walden revolves around texts by 19th-century essayist and naturalist Henry David Thoreau, a pioneer in both modern environmental activism and civil disobedience. In his work Walden (1854), he describes his attempt to live simply in harmony with nature for two years, secluded in a cottage near Walden Pond, located near Concord, Massachusetts. During this concert, music, text and a special lighting design bring Walden to life.

Eighteen years after writing the first ensemble version of Walden for Ensemble Klang, Goebbels has now created a new version. This time, the regular line-up of Ensemble Klang is complemented by Germany’s finest string ensemble, Solistenensemble Kaleidoskop, and the voice and saxophone of Keir Neuringer (Irreversible Entanglements).

A number of specially constructed instruments, including the “steel cello” and “bow chimes” designed by American painter, sculptor and musician Bob Rutman, to whom the work is dedicated, enrich the unique and lively soundscape.

“wonderful textures: an ever-changing mix of the notated and the improvised” The Guardian
“Schitterend.” Het Parool