With the programme << Rewind | Forward >> , Ensemble SCALA rewinds almost ten years back to the post-minimalist work Two Minimals, which Renske Vrolijk composed for the ensemble in 2015 as part of that year’s Minimal Festival. Fast-forwarding to 2017, we arrive at Rapprochement by Arnold Marinissen, a refined work in which the 96-tone Carrillo piano plays a leading role. Moving further forward to 2022, we reach Distorted Reality by Danny de Graan, a piece with a chillingly intense build-up that the composer describes as a ‘note-bending sonic adventure’. From there, the ensemble moves forward into the future with music that has never before been heard, in the form of two world premieres: first, Variation on Dufay’s Nuper Rosarum Flores by the American composer oriented towards minimal music, Bill Alves, followed by Wind Horizon by the American microtonal composer Jed Shura. If we fast-forward a little further, we arrive at the brand-new work pink bursting in the failing spring for Ensemble SCALA by the young, talented London-based composer Jago Thornton, who effortlessly combines abstract spectral sounds (sounds with overtones) with techno vibes. Thornton previously made a strong impression during the Fokker organ concert Pimp my Organ V in the 2022–2023 season with his work Hypervortex for computer-controlled 31-tone organ.

The seven-piece ensemble was founded in 2010 to bring a wide range of new microtonal sounds to audiences. Notably, the famous Fokker organ is part of this ensemble, alongside flute, clarinet, viola, microtonal guitar, keyboards, Carrillo piano, and percussion. All the musicians are experts in microtonal music. Over the past fourteen years, Ensemble SCALA has built a broad repertoire of works composed specifically for them by composers from both the Netherlands and abroad, employing stylistically very diverse compositional approaches.