Together with the string quartets and the Muziekgebouw, we have prepared a number of alternative scenarios in recent weeks, hoping for the small chance that concerts could take place again by the end of January. These scenarios offered us new inspiration, but the current situation, only a few weeks from the festival, does not allow for much hope.
Our artistic director Yasmin Hilberdink about this decision: “With every measure from the government we lose a vital part of the whole — we can only cut away so much, until we are only left with something that has nothing to do with a festival anymore. For everyone involved, especially the musicians, we wanted to provide clarity well in advance. Because we don’t want to leave anyone in uncertainty for too long or have them prepare something in vain. We had the feeling that we could no longer wait and we feel there’s too little prospect for a live festival by the end of January. Therefore, we will now focus on an alternative programme in collaboration with the Dutch radio and on the 50 for the Future weekend in May 2023. And although it still sounds very far away, we are already looking forward to the next edition of the String Quartet Biennale, which will take place from January 27 to February 3, 2024.
It is our priority to compensate everyone who was part of the festival programme as best as possible. That is why a large part of the proceeds from donated tickets will go directly to the musicians and freelancers from the festival team. It is of course also possible to make a special one-time donation to the String Quartet Biennale. Please contact our business director Jaap Hülsmann to do so.
Nevertheless, the String Quartet Biennale Amsterdam 2022 will be visible and audible! Together with NTR and NPO Radio 4, we are currently working on themed broadcasts during the cancelled String Quartet Biennale, recorded in the Muziekgebouw. The programme will consist of a mix of quartets from the original festival line-up, who will come together for a number of unique (live) broadcasts during the cancelled festival. We will publish the exact details as soon as possible.
Two world premières of which we are particularly proud, by Osvaldo Golijov and Jonathan Dove, will still be heard in the Netherlands in the coming concert seasons. Most likely, these premières will take place in the 2023/2024 season in the Muziekgebouw, Musis Arnhem and the Stadsgehoorzaal in Leiden. The Belinfante Quartet will also tour the Netherlands this spring with Mathilde Wantenaar’s new string quartet, of which the world première would have taken place during the String Quartet Biennale.
In addition, the 50 for the Future weekend will take place on 6 and 7 May 2023, a mini-festival in collaboration with the Kronos Quartet, the Muziekgebouw and the Ragazze Quartet. All in all, between now and 2024, we can look forward to a solid dose of String Quartet Biennale!
The MERITA Platform has selected 44 new ensembles for MERITAcubed, the second edition of the European collaboration project that supports young chamber music ensembles in developing their international careers.
From 113 applications representing 39 different nationalities, the MERITA Artistic Committee made the final selection. The committee consists of Jonathan Aner, Simone Gramaglia, Viviane Hagner, Hila Karni, Bjørg Lewis and Alexander Pavlovsky.
At the String Quartet Biennale Amsterdam, we are particularly delighted about the selection of the Dutch Otilka Quartet.
Until 2029, the selected ensembles will develop new artistic projects, participate in residencies in historic European houses, perform internationally, and gain access to MERITA’s professional network. In this way, the programme supports a sustainable pathway for the artistic development and professional growth of talented young chamber music ensembles.
MERITA is a European platform coordinated by Le Dimore del Quartetto, bringing together 19 organisations from 16 countries to increase the visibility and international mobility of chamber music ensembles. At the same time, the platform connects Europe’s cultural heritage sites with contemporary chamber music practice.
Following a highly successful first edition (2022–2025), MERITA has once again received Creative Europe co-funding and is now expanding further with MERITAcubed (2025–2029).
On Sunday 30 January we will broadcast live from the Muziekgebouw during the NTR Evening Concert on NPO Radio 4. The program of this evening will be:
Belinfante Quartet
Preview of the world première of Mathilde Wantenaar’s new string quartet.
Quatuor Danel
Dmitri Shostakovich – String Quartet no. 11, op. 122
Johannes Brahms – String Quartet no. 2, op. 51/2
break
Borusan Quartet
Fanny Mendelssohn – String Quartet
Fazil Say – String Quartet, op. 29 ‘Divorce’
Karski Quartet
Grażyna Bacewicz – String Quartet no. 4 – I. Andante. Allegro Molto
🎧 Listen live to the radio broadcast via this link.
The broadcast on Sunday 6 February will be a unique meeting of the Muziekgebouw and New York and of stream and radio broadcast. From New York, the Attacca Quartet will stream their programme with works by Caroline Shaw and Haydns Sieben letzten worte (with video and sound). After this stream, the rest of the Evening Concert will be filled in as a radio broadcast with recordings from the Muziekgebouw. The program is as follows:
Attacca Quartet
Haydn & Shaw (stream from New York, approx. 75 minutes) – a program in which Caroline Shaw’s work flows seamlessly into Haydn’s Sieben letzten worte. For the detailed program, click here
pauze
Schumann Quartett + Adrien la Marca
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – String Quintet no. 1, K. 174
Quatuor Danel
Dmitri Sjostakovitsj – String Quartet no. 2, op. 68
🎧 📺 Listen and watch live via this link.
What drives a world-renowned composer, one who set new standards in all types of music, to dedicate the last three years of his life to writing nothing but string quartets? Between 7 May 1824, the day of the Ninth Symphony’s spectacularly successful premiere, and his death on 26 March 1827, Beethoven only composed music for string quartet, a body of work known as his ‘late’ quartets. Why? Why in this style? And what does this music mean to the musicians who play it?
Three string quartets whose members represent the young generation are taking on the late Beethovens during the Biennale week. Here are a few of their reflections:
Johannes Marmen, first violinist with the Marmen Quartet:
“This music stays with you for your whole life as a quartet, and part of it is the realisation that you may never really be ready for these quartets. And in a way, that’s also what it’s all about. With every step you take as a quartet, you realise that you’re getting a bit closer to the late Beethovens – the path to them is the most important. For me, opus 131 is about that, the essence of our existence: being on the journey. Opus 131 is a journey; the movements are not discrete parts, but are connected to each other, unlike in the other quartets. In the first breath, the first notes, you already feel the whole piece, everything that’s still to come. Brahms said that Bach’s famous Chaconne is a journey through all the emotions of human existence. So is opus 131. I find it an interesting observation that Beethoven didn’t feel compelled to write very many letters, that he felt less comfortable with that form. But his music, it’s so unbelievably subtle and associative, its structure is amazingly complex. This shows that music contains truths that really can’t be captured in words.
If you’re working on this music, you’re forced to delve down to the core of your own being. You’re confronted with your deepest emotions, your weaknesses, your power. That means that it’s very rewarding to work on it. You can’t hide yourself. You grow enormously by working with Beethoven’s late quartets. It’s also the best repertoire for finding out what it means to play in a quartet with your colleagues. When you learn a piece of music, you try to understand how it was written. It’s as if you’re trying to get to know another person, with all their complexities. You dig as deep as you can, and translate your findings for the listeners. With Beethoven you have to accept that getting to know that person will take an eternity. But the relationship you’re building with the music matures with every step.”
Why did Beethoven write his late string quartets? An initial explanation is the simple fact that they were commissioned by the Russian aristocrat Nikolai Galitzin. Beethoven also believed that works for chamber ensembles would tap into the new market created by the expanding amateur music scene. Perhaps more important, however, is the observation that with his ‘Symphony no. 9’, the late piano sonatas and the ‘Diabelli Variations’, Beethoven had rounded off his development in these genres. Fragments that he would ultimately use in the late quartets appear in his sketchbooks from as early as 1822. Apparently he still felt that the string quartet still offered him room to grow as a composer. It was a challenge he was happy to take on, and one which continued to obsess him for years.
Beethoven had a thorough knowledge of the string quartet in the form bequeathed by Haydn and Mozart, a style he had mastered down to the fine points. His last quartets up to then, the ‘Harp’ and ‘Serioso’ quartets opus 74 and 95, are perfectly in the First Viennese School mould, with the addition of some typically Beethovenian verve. But they are not genuinely innovative works. However emotionally profound their content may be, their form and language are classical. Formally, these pieces are akin to the late piano sonatas, while the late string quartets display the freedom and inventiveness that also characterise the ‘Diabelli Variations’.
Ivan Valentin Hollup Roald, cellist of the Simply Quartet:
“When you first work on Haydn and the early Beethoven quartets, you learn a lot about structure, language and rhetoric from that part of the classical repertoire. You plumb the meanings and the function of every phrase. This helps you to make your way through Beethoven’s late works. To speak this language freely, you have to feel that you’re free in approaching it yourself, and you have to be equipped with a good understanding of the musical language, besides complete mastery of your instrument. And of course you have to be able to read what’s there between the lines. You read the late Beethovens like a book that you always carry with you. They’re important literature that you learn to understand better and better. They open your mind and show you all sorts of possibilities, they tap into to your total power of imagination. This music is also a kind of mental training. As musicians, we all have our own images, and our own ideas about sound and colour. When we practice, we try to fathom the character and structure of a piece; these things are the key to finding the right timbre. We rehearse a lot, but sometimes we leave something undecided until during the concert, so that we can listen to the hall, to the energy of the audience. This way you make a performance along with the audience. If you can do that, you’re completely connected to the listeners. Beethoven is searching and developing, and he asks that we the players do that too. His art forces us to not sit back and be complacent. Maybe a few answers to the questions Beethoven asks in his music can be found here on earth. But most of them are somewhere out there in the universe. Who are we and where are we going, these big questions emerge when you play Beethoven’s late quartets.”
Beethoven’s use of the different instruments in the late string quartets is quite remarkable. His earlier quartets only rarely use another voice than the first violin for the melody (Razumovsky 1). The late quartets are characterised by a highly ingenious allocating of the various functions. For example, the bass line is not exclusively given to the cello. Also, the viola, cello and even the second violin are not limited to being subsidiary voices, and often have a share in playing the most important musical line.
All of Beethoven’s quartet compositions up to and including the ‘String Quartet no. 12’ (the first of the late quartets) have the classic four movements. His last, ‘String Quartet no. 16’, also has four movements, but with the Adagio as the third movement, an order used by Beethoven himself in ‘no. 9’, which was taken over later by Bruckner. The three quartets between them, ‘Thirteen’, ‘Fourteen’ and ‘Fifteen’, have six, seven and five movements respectively.
These are all formal criteria. The greatest miracle of these late string quartets is in the sounds you hear: music that was impossible to understand for Beethoven’s contemporaries, but that now, two hundred years on, is considered as one of the greatest human creations.
Mayu Konoe, violist with the Leonkoro Quartet:
“That this music exists is like a dream, and we realise that. And: we as the Leonkoro Quartet exist because the late Beethovens exist! Each of us knew it for ourselves before we even formed a quartet: ‘one day I want to play the late Beethovens.’ When I listen to the greats on earth, like the Alban Berg Quartet, I can barely imagine that we can ever get that far as a quartet, that we can achieve that colour, energy and depth. I have the feeling that these musicians play Beethoven in a way that the composer himself would have been happy with. It’s not the notes that are the problem, but the complexity, the multi-layeredness. We all studied with Günter Pichler, who played first violin with the Alban Berg Quartet. We were working on the ‘Cavatina’ from the String Quartet no. 13 – he said, ‘You have to feel this, not rehearse it. You have to feel the music!’ When we play the ‘Cavatina’ it can make me cry. You’re overcome by emotions. If I can bring even a tiny bit of this over to the audience I’ll be very happy.”
Regular visitors might have expected the Lloyd Hotel as our festival hotel, but unfortunately the Lloyd Hotel will be renovated during this period. Luckily we have partnered with the Mövenpick Hotel Amsterdam City Centre to ensure a comfortable and convenient experience.
Being the direct neighbours of the Muziekgebouw, the Mövenpick is by far the closest to the festival you can be. Stay among the festival performers and enjoy having breakfast with them before experiencing them on stage.
“Speciaal festival voor strijkkwartet; gevestigde namen komen begin 2018 naar Amsterdam”
Volkskrant, 1 March 2017
“Eerste editie Strijkkwartet Biënnale Amsterdam”
RD, 3 March 2017
“Strijkkwartetten aan ‘t IJ”
Klassieke Zaken, 14 November 2017
“Eilanden die nader tot elkaar komen”
Luister, 30 November 2017
“Primeur voor Nederland: ‘s werelds allereerste Strijkkwartet Biënnale!”
Reporters Online, 10 January 2018
“Van deze muziek gaat je hart open”
Telegraaf, 16 January 2018
“Alfred Brendel te gast op Biënnale”
Parool, 17 January 2018
“Veeleisende minnares / Tijdens de Strijkkwartet Biënnale staat de vorm centraal die al eeuwen tot de verbeelding spreekt […]”
Elsevier, 18 January 2018
“Doe eens gek, het mag losser”
ND, 22 January 2018
“Handleiding: hoe te houden van het strijkkwartet”
NRC, 24 January 2018
“Kwartetten in het kwadraat”
VPRO Gids, January 2018
“Eerste Strijkkwartet Biënnale opent opwindend” ●●●●◦
NRC, 28 January 2018
“Hoogtepunt na hoogtepunt op biënnale”
Parool, 29 January 2018
“De eerste editie van de Strijkkwartet Biënnale in Amsterdam is bomvol en staat als een huis” ●●●●◦
Volkskrant, 29 January 2018
“Avontuurlijke opening Strijkkwartet Biënnale smaakt naar meer” ●●●●◦
Trouw, 29 January 2018
“Het strijkkwartet als laboratorium voor componisten”
Trouw, 31 January 2018
“[…] de Strijkkwartet Biënnale, de Champions League van de strijkkwartetten […]”
Telegraaf, 2 February 2018
“String Quartet Biennale Amsterdam opens with charisma and color”
Violinist.com, 3 February 2018
“De eerste Strijkkwartet Biënnale is een groot succes. Het strijkkwartet lééft!”
Parool, 3 February 2018
“Strijkkwartetfestival trekt 11.000 bezoekers”
AT5, 4 February 2018
“Eerste editie Strijkkwartet Biënnale trekt elfduizend bezoekers”
NU.nl, 4 February 2018
“Festival voor Strijkkwartetten groot succes”
Trouw, 5 February 2018
“Strijkkwartet Biënnale Amsterdam krijgt herhaling”
Parool, 5 February 2018
“Can string quartets save the world?”
Elbowmusic.org, 9 February 2018
“Glansrijke ode aan de schoonheid van het strijkkwartet”
Klassiek Centraal, 11 February 2018
“Maar zoals het doorslaande succes van de eerste Strijkkwartet Biënnale in Amsterdam pas bewees: er zijn wel talrijke actieve én potentiële luisteraars […]”
NRC, 22 February 2018
International press
“Streichquartett Biennale Amsterdam 2020 (Artistiek Directeur Yasmin Hilberdink)” WDR 3 22 January 2020
“String Quartet Biennale Amsterdam 2020 in a blaze of glory” Violinist.com, 29 January 2020
“Borusan Quartet ‘Türk bestecileriyle’ Amsterdam’ın gözdesi oldu” Andante, 31 January 2020
Dutch press
“27 cultuurtips om het nieuwe jaar mee te beginnen” Volkskrant, 6 January 2020
“2020: Het Beethovenjaar” De Wereld Draait Door, 8 January 2020, Het Dudok Quartet speelt vanaf minuut 13.33
“Strijkkwartetten: korte opera’s gespeeld op 16 snaren” NRC, 8 January 2020
“Dostojevski Kwartet speelt van Henriëtte Bosmans: Strijkkwartet (1927) – Deel III, “Allegro Molto”” Muziekfabriek, Npo Radio 4, 11 January 2020
“Pauls Jonge Helden: Het Belinfante Quartet” Podium Witteman, 12 January 2020
“Strijkkwartetten” Hollands Glorie, January 2020
“Streichquartett Biennale Amsterdam 2020” Tonart (WDR 3), 22 January 2020
“De strijkkwartetten top-10 van Jean Paul Ditmarsch” NRC, 22 January 2020
“Strijkkwartet Biënnale acht dagen in Amsterdam” Haarlems Dagblad, 22 January 2020
“In contact met het nu” Gooi- en Eemlander, Haarlems Dagblad, Noord-Hollands Dagblad, Leids Dagblad, 23 January 2020
“Dudok Quartet & Het Leerorkest” Tijd voor Max, 23 January 2020, Het Dudok Quartet en het Leerorkest spelen vanaf minuut 34:22.
“Hoe het burgerlijke strijkkwartet de revolutionaire 20ste eeuw overleefde” De Volkskrant, 23 January 2020
“Hoe verwerkt een strijkkwartet verlies terwijl het tegelijkertijd bezig is iets op te bouwen?” De Volkskrant, 23 January 2020
“Van Beethoven tot Roukens bij de Strijkkwartet Biënnale” Parool, 24 January 2020
“Strijkersfeest kan niet zonder zijn ‘founders'” Financieel Dagblad, 24 January 2020
“Yasmin Göker-Hilberdink: ‘Amsterdam schudde me wakker'” Parool, 25 January 2020
“Broertjes (11) uit Noord openen grootste strijkkwartetfestival ter wereld” AT5, 25 January 2020
“De kwartetten Jerusalem en Artemis kunnen wat van elkaar leren” Trouw, 27 January 2020
“De Strijkkwartet Biënnale is van een gekmakende rijkdom” Parool, 27 January 2020
“De Strijkkwartet Biënnale 2020: meer dan een museum voor oude meesterwerken” NRC, 27 January 2020
“Cellist Harriet Krijgh bewijst zich op Strijkkwartet Biënnale als een formidabel kwartetspeler” Volkskrant, 27 January 2020
“Strijkkwartet Biënnale is nu al een groot succes” De Nieuwe Muze, 27 January 2020
“Nederlands Kamerkoor zingt de de ultieme duivelsbezwering” NRC, 31 January 2020
“Strijkkwartet Biënnale – concert recensie” (Deel 1) (Deel 2) (Deel 3) (Deel 4) Nieuwe Noten, 30 January, 31 January & 1 February 2020
“Kan de Strijkkwartet Biënnale niet elke dag worden gehouden?” Parool, 1 February 2020
“Biënnale toont oude en nieuwe rijkdom van het strijkkwartet” NRC, 2 February 2020
“Het Nederlands Kamerkoor zingt subliem onder de alerte slag van Peter Dijkstra” Volkskrant, 3 February
“Heeft Beethoven iets met jazz en omstreken?” Trouw, 3 February
Are you planning to visit the upcoming String Quartet Biennale with a Day Pass? Attending one of the Late Beethoven concerts? Or making your visit to the Biennale a multi-day experience? Take advantage of our special hotel deals now!
We’ve partnered with three beautiful Amsterdam hotels to offer you an exclusive 10% discount. Book your stay in advance and enjoy the comfort of these excellent locations at a reduced rate:
Sign up for our newsletter or send an email to info@sqba.nl and we’ll mail you the discount code.
Radio
NPO Klassiek, Evening concert broadcast – Saturday May 6th & Sunday May 7th 2023
NPO Klassiek, NTR Podium, May 5th 2023, David Harrington interview and music by Ragazze Quartet
NPO Klassiek, NTR Podium, week 1 to May 5th 2023: a piece by Kronos Quartet every day and focus on Fifty for the Future
Newspaper’s/Magazines
NRC, May 4th 2023, The Kronos Quartet Presents Fifty New Works in One Weekend, by Joep Stapel
De Nieuwe Muze, April/May 2023th: Interview with David Harrington, by Wenneke Savenije.
Villa D’Arte, March/April 2023: String Quartet Biennale Amsterdam: 50 for the Future – Announcement.
Luister, January 9th 2023: 50-for-the-Future Weekend, Fifty New String Quartets in Two Days.
Online Reports
De Nieuwe Muze – Wenneke Savenije
Internal Announcements
https://sqba.nl/50-for-the-future-2/
Youtube SQBA, trailer SQBA presents: 50 for the Future weekend 6 & 7 May 2023 – short trailer
https://www.linkedin.com/company/strijkkwartet-biënnale-amsterdam/?originalSubdomain=nl
https://50ftf.kronosquartet.org
https://50ftf.kronosquartet.org/news/may-6-7-kronos-50-for-the-future-weekend
https://kronosquartet.org/50ftf-weekend-amsterdam/
https://www.muziekgebouw.nl/agenda/themas/584/50_for_the_Future
https://www.facebook.com/sqbamsterdam/
https://www.instagram.com/sqbamsterdam/?hl=nl
https://www.bimhuis.nl/agenda/fifty-for-the-future/
https://www.bimhuis.nl/en/calendar/fifty-for-the-future-3/
https://www.matangi.nl/nl/blogs/news/50-ftf
https://www.publiquartet.com/events/2023/5/6/biennale-amsterdam-50-for-the-future
https://ragazzequartet.nl/en/kronos-50-for-the-future-weekend/
https://ragazzequartet.nl/en/programme/kronos-50-for-the-future-weekend/
https://twitter.com/ragazzequartet
https://www.instagram.com/ragazze_quartet/
https://www.belinfantequartet.com/biography/
https://www.adamquartet.com/adam-50-for-the-future/
https://www.facebook.com/animatokwartet/?locale=pt_BR
https://leerorkest.nl/99201-2/
Radio
NPO Klassiek, Evening concert broadcast – Saturday May 6th & Sunday May 7th 2023
NPO Klassiek, NTR Podium, May 5th 2023, David Harrington interview and music by Ragazze Quartet
NPO Klassiek, NTR Podium, week 1 to May 5th 2023: a piece by Kronos Quartet every day and focus on Fifty for the Future
Newspaper’s/Magazines
NRC, May 4th 2023, The Kronos Quartet Presents Fifty New Works in One Weekend, by Joep Stapel
De Nieuwe Muze, April/May 2023th: Interview with David Harrington, by Wenneke Savenije.
Villa D’Arte, March/April 2023: String Quartet Biennale Amsterdam: 50 for the Future – Announcement.
Luister, January 9th 2023: 50-for-the-Future Weekend, Fifty New String Quartets in Two Days.
Online Reports
De Nieuwe Muze – Wenneke Savenije
Internal Announcements
https://sqba.nl/50-for-the-future-2/
Youtube SQBA, trailer SQBA presents: 50 for the Future weekend 6 & 7 May 2023 – short trailer
https://www.linkedin.com/company/strijkkwartet-biënnale-amsterdam/?originalSubdomain=nl
https://50ftf.kronosquartet.org
https://50ftf.kronosquartet.org/news/may-6-7-kronos-50-for-the-future-weekend
https://kronosquartet.org/50ftf-weekend-amsterdam/
https://www.muziekgebouw.nl/agenda/themas/584/50_for_the_Future
https://www.facebook.com/sqbamsterdam/
https://www.instagram.com/sqbamsterdam/?hl=nl
https://www.bimhuis.nl/agenda/fifty-for-the-future/
https://www.bimhuis.nl/en/calendar/fifty-for-the-future-3/
https://www.matangi.nl/nl/blogs/news/50-ftf
https://www.publiquartet.com/events/2023/5/6/biennale-amsterdam-50-for-the-future
https://ragazzequartet.nl/en/kronos-50-for-the-future-weekend/
https://ragazzequartet.nl/en/programme/kronos-50-for-the-future-weekend/
https://twitter.com/ragazzequartet
https://www.instagram.com/ragazze_quartet/
https://www.belinfantequartet.com/biography/
https://www.adamquartet.com/adam-50-for-the-future/
https://www.facebook.com/animatokwartet/?locale=pt_BR
https://leerorkest.nl/99201-2/
Radio
NPO Klassiek, Evening concert broadcast – Saturday May 6th & Sunday May 7th 2023
NPO Klassiek, NTR Podium, May 5th 2023, David Harrington interview and music by Ragazze Quartet
NPO Klassiek, NTR Podium, week 1 to May 5th 2023: a piece by Kronos Quartet every day and focus on Fifty for the Future
Newspaper’s/Magazines
NRC, May 4th 2023, The Kronos Quartet Presents Fifty New Works in One Weekend, by Joep Stapel
De Nieuwe Muze, April/May 2023th: Interview with David Harrington, by Wenneke Savenije.
Villa D’Arte, March/April 2023: String Quartet Biennale Amsterdam: 50 for the Future – Announcement.
Luister, January 9th 2023: 50-for-the-Future Weekend, Fifty New String Quartets in Two Days.
Online Reports
De Nieuwe Muze – Wenneke Savenije
Internal Announcements
https://sqba.nl/50-for-the-future-2/
Youtube SQBA, trailer SQBA presents: 50 for the Future weekend 6 & 7 May 2023 – short trailer
https://www.linkedin.com/company/strijkkwartet-biënnale-amsterdam/?originalSubdomain=nl
https://50ftf.kronosquartet.org
https://50ftf.kronosquartet.org/news/may-6-7-kronos-50-for-the-future-weekend
https://kronosquartet.org/50ftf-weekend-amsterdam/
https://www.muziekgebouw.nl/agenda/themas/584/50_for_the_Future
https://www.facebook.com/sqbamsterdam/
https://www.instagram.com/sqbamsterdam/?hl=nl
https://www.bimhuis.nl/agenda/fifty-for-the-future/
https://www.bimhuis.nl/en/calendar/fifty-for-the-future-3/
https://www.matangi.nl/nl/blogs/news/50-ftf
https://www.publiquartet.com/events/2023/5/6/biennale-amsterdam-50-for-the-future
https://ragazzequartet.nl/en/kronos-50-for-the-future-weekend/
https://ragazzequartet.nl/en/programme/kronos-50-for-the-future-weekend/
https://twitter.com/ragazzequartet
https://www.instagram.com/ragazze_quartet/
https://www.belinfantequartet.com/biography/
https://www.adamquartet.com/adam-50-for-the-future/
https://www.facebook.com/animatokwartet/?locale=pt_BR
https://leerorkest.nl/99201-2/
Curious about the up-and-coming string quartets?
Meet the three 1st prize winners at our GRASS ROOTS programme on 30 January: Poiesis Quartet (Banff International String Quartet Competition), Opus13 Quartet (Wigmore Hall String Quartet Competition) and Erinys Quartet (Trondheim String Quartet Competition).
In 2015, the Kronos Performing Arts Association launched 50 for the Future: The Kronos Learning Repertoire, an education and legacy project that has commissioned—and distributed for free—the first learning library of contemporary repertoire for string quartet. Designed expressly for the training of students and emerging professionals, fifty new works have been commissioned, and scores and parts, as well as supplemental learning materials that include recordings, videos, performance notes, and composer interviews, are available on the projects’ website. Lead partner Carnegie Hall and an adventurous group of partners, including String Quartet Biennale Amsterdam, have joined forces with KPAA to support this exciting program.
In collaboration with the Muziekgebouw and the Ragazze Quartet and Kronos Performing Arts Association, the String Quartet Biennale Amsterdam proudly presents Kronos’ 50 for the Future Weekend on May 6 & 7 2023. An entire weekend dedicated to the embodiment of Kronos’ 50 for the Future in Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ and BIMHUIS. Ten extraordinary quartets will perform all fifty new pieces in one weekend, a unique experience only available in Amsterdam.
‘Each piece is a real piece, a real investment in making a future in music possible’
– David Harrington, primarius Kronos Quartet
Radio
NPO Klassiek, Evening concert broadcast – Saturday May 6th & Sunday May 7th 2023
NPO Klassiek, NTR Podium, May 5th 2023, David Harrington interview and music by Ragazze Quartet
NPO Klassiek, NTR Podium, week 1 to May 5th 2023: a piece by Kronos Quartet every day and focus on Fifty for the Future
Newspaper’s/Magazines
NRC, May 4th 2023, The Kronos Quartet Presents Fifty New Works in One Weekend, by Joep Stapel
De Nieuwe Muze, April/May 2023th: Interview with David Harrington, by Wenneke Savenije.
Villa D’Arte, March/April 2023: String Quartet Biennale Amsterdam: 50 for the Future – Announcement.
Luister, January 9th 2023: 50-for-the-Future Weekend, Fifty New String Quartets in Two Days.
Online Reports
De Nieuwe Muze – Wenneke Savenije
Internal Announcements
https://sqba.nl/50-for-the-future-2/
Youtube SQBA, trailer SQBA presents: 50 for the Future weekend 6 & 7 May 2023 – short trailer
https://www.linkedin.com/company/strijkkwartet-biënnale-amsterdam/?originalSubdomain=nl
https://50ftf.kronosquartet.org
https://50ftf.kronosquartet.org/news/may-6-7-kronos-50-for-the-future-weekend
https://kronosquartet.org/50ftf-weekend-amsterdam/
https://www.muziekgebouw.nl/agenda/themas/584/50_for_the_Future
https://www.facebook.com/sqbamsterdam/
https://www.instagram.com/sqbamsterdam/?hl=nl
https://www.bimhuis.nl/agenda/fifty-for-the-future/
https://www.bimhuis.nl/en/calendar/fifty-for-the-future-3/
https://www.matangi.nl/nl/blogs/news/50-ftf
https://www.publiquartet.com/events/2023/5/6/biennale-amsterdam-50-for-the-future
https://ragazzequartet.nl/en/kronos-50-for-the-future-weekend/
https://ragazzequartet.nl/en/programme/kronos-50-for-the-future-weekend/
https://twitter.com/ragazzequartet
https://www.instagram.com/ragazze_quartet/
https://www.belinfantequartet.com/biography/
https://www.adamquartet.com/adam-50-for-the-future/
https://www.facebook.com/animatokwartet/?locale=pt_BR
https://leerorkest.nl/99201-2/
In 2022, the largest string quartet festival in the world took place in its smallest form.
With live radio broadcasts, a live stream from New York and a last minute live concert, the third edition of the String Quartet Biennale Amsterdam – The Pandemic Edition – will have its place in history as the most memorable. With warm feelings we look back at all the things that did happen.
The SQBA Residency is part of a partnership called MERITA, supported by the European Union and initiated by Le Dimore del Quartetto. MERITA is an online and offline platform that increases the visibility and circulation of emerging European string quartets while promoting European cultural heritage.
The four objectives of Merita:
In September, we were guests at the festive conclusion of the MUSA project: a European talent development programme for young string quartets aimed at developing business knowledge and skills that are essential for their professional careers but are often lacking in their general curriculum. It is a programme that we at the String Quartet Biennale Amsterdam fully support!
As a major festival, we are mindful of our ecological footprint. That is why we do not give flowers to musicians after the concerts. Instead, we invest in a lasting gesture by taking part in the European Festivals Forest. Together with other European festivals, we contribute to the planting of new forests. For this initiative, we work in collaboration with Land og Skógur, the Icelandic forest service. A sustainable alternative to the traditional moment of applause — with long-term impact and positive effects on climate and biodiversity.
Yasmin Hilberdink (artistiek directeur) & Robin de Bruijn (programmeur)
De eerste podcast van het nieuwe jaar is tevens de laatste in deze reeks. Lex Bohlmeijer sprak met artistiek directeur Yasmin Hilberdink en programmeur Robin de Bruijn – een kijkje in de ziel van de Biënnale.
Margot Kolodziej, Renée Timmer (ADAM Quartet) & Julia Kleinsmann (Dostojevski Kwartet)
In de vijfde aflevering van deze reeks podcasts spreekt Lex met drie jonge kwartetspelers: Margot Kolodziej en Renée Timmer van het ADAM Quartet en Julia Kleinsmann van het Dostojevski Kwartet. Wat beweegt hen om strijkkwartet te gaan spelen en zijn ze bereid om hun leven aan dit genre te wijden?
Cibrán Sierra (Cuarteto Quiroga) – Deel II
In deze vierde aflevering van ‘Op zoek naar het ongekende’ het tweede deel van het gesprek tussen Lex Bohlmeijer en Cibrán Sierra (Cuarteto Quiroga). In de derde aflevering schetste hij de band tussen de Europese Verlichting en het strijkkwartet, nu trekt hij die relatie door naar het heden: wat is er nodig om strijkkwartet weer terug in contact te brengen met de maatschappij?
Cibrán Sierra (Cuarteto Quiroga) – Deel I
De derde aflevering van Op zoek naar het ongekende; het eerste deel van een tweeluik met Cibrán Sierra, tweede violist van Cuarteto Quiroga. Sierra plaatst het strijkkwartet in een maatschappelijke en politieke context – een product van de Verlichtingsidealen. Hoe nauw is het strijkkwartet verbonden met historische ontwikkelingen van onze samenleving?
Hélène Clément (Doric String Quartet)
De tweede aflevering van Op zoek naar het ongekende met Hélène Clément, altvioliste van het Doric String Quartet. Een openhartige kijk op het persoonlijke en psychologische aspect van het spelen in een strijkkwartet.
Florian Donderer & Xandi van Dijk (Signum Quartett)
In de eerste aflevering van de nieuwe serie podcasts van de Strijkkwartet Biënnale Amsterdam en Lex Bohlmeijer zijn Xandi van Dijk en Florian Donderer van het Signum Quartett te gast.
The String Quartet Biennale offers a pre-sale for those who really cannot wait and want to be assured of a seat in the hall. During the presale, you will already be able to order tickets for the festival a week before the official start of ticket sales in September. This way you are ensured of a seat at the concerts you definitely do not want to miss. Registration for the pre-sale has now closed.
Want to be sure you don’t miss the start of the ticket sales in September? Subscribe to our newsletter via our homepage.
The Signum Quartet is very excited to present works from both our South African projects in this very personal concert at the SQBA next January. I was born in Cape Town and have deep ties to the South African music scene, including a composer father and composer brother. I have spent the past 25 years premiering and performing countless South African works and therefore I am really happy that my Signum friends have grown to love these pieces as I do. Our first South African project has culminated in the release of “A Dark Flaring” on ECM, and from this album we will be performing the magnificent works by Ivy Priaulx Rainier and Arnold van Wyk, both written in London at the beginning of the Second World War. These are works we love and which we have spent the last decade playing all over the world, from Cape Town to Carnegie Hall. Shirley Apthorp writes in her booklet notes for our CD:
“The complicated historical and in the same breath cultural backdrop that goes hand in hand with musical repertory composed over this specific period, in the South African context, is not only impossible to ignore but moreover serves as catalyst, canvas and disrupter – sometimes all at once – for most of the music presented here. The country after all didn’t become united until 1910, when South Africa was declared a self-governed country under the Commonwealth in the aftermath of the Anglo-Boer Wars. Apartheid ensued following the World Wars – racist segregational policies that lasted until 1990 and continue to be worked through, digested and dealt with today.”
This brings us to our second South African project, “bridge the chasms that divide”, the title of which is a quote from President Nelson Mandela’s inaugural speech in 1994*. In this project, we wanted to commemorate 30 years since the end of Apartheid and asked some leading South African composers of different generations to reflect on this. We are thrilled to be sharing the stage in Amsterdam with two of them: Rising star Denise Onen will be joining us for her “Demockracy”, in which she interweaves the string quartet texture with electronics and sound collages of important South African voices, and musical legend Dizu Plaatjies will perform with us on musical bows known as uhadi and mhrube in the quintet version of his “21:30”, co-written with his regular collaborator Matthijs van Dijk. Finally, superstar Abel Selaocoe (together with Benjamin Woodgates) wrote “Umthwalo” for Signum. Abel writes: “Umthwalo means ‘a heavy load to carry’ – ‘umthwalo uya sinda’. It is a piece about understanding that the South African nation carries a heavy burden of history and that it will need time to heal,” therewith echoing Mandela’s words:
*The time for the healing of the wounds has come.
The moment to bridge the chasms that divide us has come. The time to build is upon us.
Radio
NPO Klassiek, Evening concert broadcast – Saturday May 6th & Sunday May 7th 2023
NPO Klassiek, NTR Podium, May 5th 2023, David Harrington interview and music by Ragazze Quartet
NPO Klassiek, NTR Podium, week 1 to May 5th 2023: a piece by Kronos Quartet every day and focus on Fifty for the Future
Newspaper’s/Magazines
NRC, May 4th 2023, The Kronos Quartet Presents Fifty New Works in One Weekend, by Joep Stapel
De Nieuwe Muze, April/May 2023th: Interview with David Harrington, by Wenneke Savenije.
Villa D’Arte, March/April 2023: String Quartet Biennale Amsterdam: 50 for the Future – Announcement.
Luister, January 9th 2023: 50-for-the-Future Weekend, Fifty New String Quartets in Two Days.
Online Reports
De Nieuwe Muze – Wenneke Savenije
Internal Announcements
https://sqba.nl/50-for-the-future-2/
Youtube SQBA, trailer SQBA presents: 50 for the Future weekend 6 & 7 May 2023 – short trailer
https://www.linkedin.com/company/strijkkwartet-biënnale-amsterdam/?originalSubdomain=nl
https://50ftf.kronosquartet.org
https://50ftf.kronosquartet.org/news/may-6-7-kronos-50-for-the-future-weekend
https://kronosquartet.org/50ftf-weekend-amsterdam/
https://www.muziekgebouw.nl/agenda/themas/584/50_for_the_Future
https://www.facebook.com/sqbamsterdam/
https://www.instagram.com/sqbamsterdam/?hl=nl
https://www.bimhuis.nl/agenda/fifty-for-the-future/
https://www.bimhuis.nl/en/calendar/fifty-for-the-future-3/
https://www.matangi.nl/nl/blogs/news/50-ftf
https://www.publiquartet.com/events/2023/5/6/biennale-amsterdam-50-for-the-future
https://ragazzequartet.nl/en/kronos-50-for-the-future-weekend/
https://ragazzequartet.nl/en/programme/kronos-50-for-the-future-weekend/
https://twitter.com/ragazzequartet
https://www.instagram.com/ragazze_quartet/
https://www.belinfantequartet.com/biography/
https://www.adamquartet.com/adam-50-for-the-future/
https://www.facebook.com/animatokwartet/?locale=pt_BR
https://leerorkest.nl/99201-2/
A sunny, crisp November day, trees glowing in autumn colours, a city centre bustling with shoppers, and a café tucked into the side of a concert hall: this is where we meet violinist Olivia Scheepers, founder of the Belinfante Quartet. After nearly ten years of carving out their musical path, this quartet — with members from all corners of Europe — has become an indispensable part of Dutch musical life. Their hallmark: concerts built around a theme that touches the listener’s soul. Alongside works by composers from the traditional quartet canon, they always cherish attention for “forgotten” composers — often women, and sometimes from unexpected corners of the world where one would not immediately expect the inventor of a string quartet, such as Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
Olivia appears energetic and relaxed — nothing like a musician who will resume rehearsals tomorrow for a concert tour with their new programme. This programme, titled Music and the Spheres, begins in Almere, where the quartet is this year’s Artist in Residence at the concert hall De Goede Rede. Olivia’s musical personality has, as described by the other members on the quartet’s website, “a playful and mischievous side — with the ability to shift between humour and drama.” These qualities also shine through in her own personality as she talks about her life as a musician and string quartet player.
From girls’ choir ‘Giocoso’ in Weert to the Royal College of Music in London
“I don’t come from a musical family. But my parents did think it was very important that my sister and I took music lessons. They saw that I simply enjoyed music and singing — I was always singing from a young age. So I joined ‘Giocoso’, a three-part women’s choir in Weert. It was a choir for girls only, and we had a very inspired conductor. We sang at a fairly high amateur level and took part in choir festivals. I sang there until I left for London to continue my studies (Olivia studied at the Royal College of Music from 2009–2014, ed.). We sang a wide repertoire of what was then called ‘world music’: songs from, for example, Japan and Hungary. Looking back now, I think this broad view of the world’s musical traditions may well have sown the seeds for my later interest in global music and for our Belinfante Quartet project Parallel 40, in which we search worldwide for new string-quartet compositions inspired by traditional music.”
Days from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the preparatory course
“Alongside the choir, I discovered the violin. I was five and a half when I started at the music school. As a teenager I went through a difficult phase. School and social life demanded a lot from me. But then, from the age of 16 to 18, I joined the preparatory course at the conservatoire with Chris Duindam. I travelled to Tilburg twice a week and went to school in Eindhoven. Every morning I left home at 7 a.m., and if I had to go to Tilburg after school, I often returned home around 8 or 9 p.m. So it was hard work. Looking back, I think: ‘How did I manage that?’ But as a 16-year-old, you just do it.
I learned so much from Chris Duindam. He taught me things that stayed with me for the long term as a musician. Since September, I have been teaching at the same preparatory course myself, still in the same building in Tilburg. And sometimes I still hear his advice from 20 years ago.”
Haitink, Dvořák and ‘concerto competitions’ in England
“In 2009 I was allowed to audition for one of the best conservatoires in the world, the Royal College of Music in London. Because I entered in the second round, I had only two weeks before the start of the new academic year. I was accepted and raced back to the Netherlands, where I arranged everything in those two weeks. Fortunately, the school provides rooms for students, and one had just become available. It really felt ‘meant to be’. I started in 2009 and lived and studied in London for five years. London is fantastic! I remember thinking: ‘I’d really love to hear Dvořák’s 9th Symphony.’ And then it would turn out that it was being played that very evening in the Royal Festival Hall. The school offered us so many opportunities. For an orchestra project, Haitink or Jurowski would come to conduct. Those are experiences that stay with you for the rest of your life.
After I graduated, I played a lot of solo repertoire for a few years. In England you have many ‘concerto competitions’: you compete, and if you win, you get to perform the piece with an orchestra. I enjoyed that tremendously! These are usually amateur or semi-professional orchestras, often connected to a church. But the level of playing and sight-reading is very high in England, even among amateurs.”
Speaking in the ultimate language of music and understanding one another completely
“I also had a string quartet in England, and we played the ‘usual suspects’ from the quartet canon: Haydn, Smetana, and so on. I was always drawn to chamber music more than orchestral music, and the string quartet truly is my language. It simply suits my musical personality better — I function more naturally in a quartet than in larger groups. It’s like in a choir: a string quartet has a homogeneous sound, and you speak to one another in the ultimate language of music. And when a quartet works well, you understand each other completely.
In 2016 I was concertmaster of the orchestra for a conducting masterclass at the Utrecht Conservatory. For the orchestra, that is often exhausting, because you play the same passages over and over again. So the energy tends to drop over the course of the day. But there was one cellist who kept looking—really looking—at, for example, the second violins whenever they played something together. And I thought: ‘He must be a really good chamber musician.’ At the end of the day I went up to him, introduced myself, and said: ‘I’m looking for a cellist for my quartet — would you be interested?’ He said yes, and I said: ‘Great, then there are now two of us.’ That was the beginning of the Belinfante Quartet. We found the violist through the viola teacher at the Conservatory, and the second violinist was part of a piano trio with Pau, our cellist. And then we were a quartet.”
A ‘bad-ass’ woman and a cellist
“When we started as a new string quartet, we knew we didn’t want to play only the well-known works. But what would we add — from our own personalities? We always programmed at least one work by a female composer. Over time, these became more and more ‘forgotten composers’. They could be women, but also composers of colour or composers from far-off places.
Finding our quartet’s name was an entire process, because there was a lot we didn’t want. But then what? At the time, I was reading Frieda Belinfante’s biography A Splendid Forgotten Life, and I suggested naming the quartet after her. I think she is truly a ‘bad-ass’ woman, who under extreme circumstances (the Second World War, ed.) still made music and stood firmly for who she was. And that’s how our name came about. We could not have known how meaningful that name would become for us over the years. Apparently, as a quartet, you grow into your name.”
A top instrument propels you forward and helps you grow
“I play a violin on loan from the Netherlands Musical Instrument Foundation. The foundation is unique in the world and indispensable in the Dutch music scene. A high-quality instrument is simply unaffordable for many musicians. When you play such a top instrument, it propels you forward and helps you develop further in your playing. In England you do have private foundations where you can apply for funding for an instrument, but nowhere is it as well-organised as in the Netherlands. This violin is already the third instrument I’ve had on loan from the foundation. It’s wonderful that your instrument can truly grow with you — during your studies and beyond.
Two of our quartet members don’t live in the Netherlands, so they can’t have an instrument on loan from the foundation. But we once received bows on loan for the entire quartet. The cello bow we were allowed to borrow had actually belonged to our namesake, Frieda Belinfante. That was something truly special.”
Music is a universal language, and the emotions are the essence — wherever the music comes from
“Our concert at the String Quartet Biennale has — like all our concerts — a theme: ‘What does home mean?’ A very relevant question for a quartet whose four members all come from different countries and travel a lot for their work.
For me, the quartet is my musical home. I feel that whenever we are back together making music on stage or in the rehearsal room. As a listener, you will go on a journey in this concert: from the Irish folk-inspired music of Rhiannon Randle to the Venice where Benjamin Britten composed his final notes — ending in a question mark — and finally back to our own country, with a new string quartet by Mathilde Wantenaar. We played the first movement of this work at the festival two years ago; this time we’ll perform the complete piece.
In this concert we show that music is a universal language: wherever it comes from — even if the melody sounds different from Western melodies — the emotions are the essence. And those are universal. Frieda Belinfante expressed it beautifully: ‘Music contains everything in a sublimated form. All human feelings come to expression: love, joy, defeat and death. Everything can be expressed through music — the good, the bad, the frightening. It is of ourselves. We create it, we compose it, we perform it.’”
After the Belinfante Quartet’s concert, there will be an After Talk: How Instruments Clear the Way, in which Manon Veenendaal, director of the Netherlands Musical Instrument Foundation, will speak with Olivia Scheepers.
Located in the Atrium – upper floor of the Muziekgebouw – our festival catering partner Keukengeheimen prepares delicious, healthy dishes with love during the whole festival. Here, you’ll also meet all our quartet musicians, other music addicts and the festival team. The menu changes every day. Just drop in for a quick lunch, a relaxed dinner, or a shot of coffee from De Koffiekar with a slice of homemade cake.
Open daily from 10.30 – 20.30