2015-04-26

Hilbert’s Hotel

This morning will feature the special and long-awaited premiere of Hilbert’s Hotel by the Dutch composer Rozalie Hirs, a spectral work in which the 31-tone organ is driven via laptop. This does not, however, mean that performing musicians will be absent from the concert. Guest musician Raymond Honing (flute/traverso) and the resident Fokker-organist Ere Lievonen will perform a striking 18th-century work by Charles Delusse, and later in the programme they will together perform Réflexions Sonores by the Dutch composer Henri Carf (1899–1984), a piece he composed in 1980 for flute and 31-tone organ. Additionally, Ere Lievonen will perform a tried-and-tested work based on Mozarabic music for the Fokker organ by Miranda Driessen. Later in the programme, a new 31-tone work by the French composer Charles van Hemelryck (b. 1981) will be presented, alongside a previously unperformed composition for flute by the Rotterdam-based violinist, composer, and microtonal thinker Leo de Vries (1924). As a prelude to King’s Day, which may already begin that evening, the programme will include the seven variations on “Willem van Nassau” KV 25 (1766) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, performed, of course, in meantone tuning.

Programme

Miranda Driessen (1969) – Canticum trium puerorum (transcr. 11th century Mozarabic singing, 2013)
for Fokker organ

Charles Delusse (ca.1720-ca.1774) – Air à la grecque
for flute and organ

Charles van Hemelryck (1981) – Lamentations (2014) première
for Fokker organ

Rozalie Hirs (1965) – Hilbert’s Hotel (2015) premiere
for Fokker organ (controlled by laptop) & electronics

Leo de Vries (1924) – Duetto I (1997) premiere
for flute and Fokkern organ

Henri Carf (Henk van Kempen) (1899-1984) – Reflexions sonores (1977) for flute & 31-tone organ
I. Entrée
II. Intermède
III. Inauguration

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) – 7 variations on “Willem van Nassau” KV 25 (1766)

Toelichting bij Hilbert’s Hotel van Rozalie Hirs

Hilbert’s Hotel (2015), for computer-controlled Fokker organ and electronic sounds, takes its name from Hilbert spaces, a concept from mathematics derived from a generalised notion of Euclidean space. In Hilbert’s Hotel, the character Hilbert moves through various multidimensional spaces. These spaces arise when we compare different overtone series and only allow the overtones common to both sets to sound. In this way, we metaphorically walk with Hilbert through—or temporarily inhabit—the resulting harmonic spaces, each with its own identity, timbre, dimension, and colour.

The calculations were performed in OpenMusic, and the sound synthesis was realised in SuperCollider. The Fokker organ is controlled using Pro Tools.

For the creation of this work, the composer received a grant from the Fonds Podiumkunsten. Special thanks to Casper Schipper for assistance with the sound synthesis.

Support

This programme was made possible with the support of: Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst, Gemeente Amsterdam (stadsdeel Oost), Het Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds (Petronella Andriessen Fonds) en Dr. Hofstee Stichting.

Also the SNS REAAL Fonds – renamed Fonds 21 (renovation Fokker organ), Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds (renovation Fokker organ), Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ and Huygens-Fokker Foundation.

Fokker organ concert

Sunday 26 April 2015, 11:00 a.m.
Admission fee €12.50 (€10.00 reduced price)

Small Hall, Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ
Piet Heinkade 1, 1019 BR Amsterdam

Performers

Ere Lievonen, Fokker organ
Raymond Honing, flute/traverso