Back to the Sixties

2023-10-08

A sonic portrait of an era. Whereas last season, during the concert In Memoriam Adriaan Fokker, we examined the 1950s, this season organist Ere Lievonen takes us back to the 1960s. This was the second decade of the Fokker organ, during which Adriaan Fokker, the organ’s designer, was still personally involved (he passed away in 1972). It was the era of flower power, the Provo movement, the first moon landing, modernist architecture, abstract art, and a wave of feminism.

How did these turbulent 1960s resonate in the works composed for the Fokker organ at the time? Compositions that have never before been performed in the Muziekgebouw sound alongside Peter Schat’s provocative Clusters. The colourful programme offers a glimpse into the concerts held during the 1960s in the auditorium of the Teylers Museum in Haarlem, where the Fokker organ remained until 2000.

Finnish-born harpsichordist, fortepianist, pianist, and organist Ere Lievonen has been the resident organist of the Fokker organ since 2009. He is regarded as a specialist in microtonal music and also performs extensively in early music. He is a member of contemporary music ensembles such as Hexnut and Ensemble SCALA, initiated by the Huygens-Fokker Foundation. In addition, he is one of the founders of Ensemble Ambrosius, a Finnish ensemble performing new music on historical instruments, with two recordings of Frank Zappa’s works.

Tickets

Programme

Anton de Beer (1924-2000) – Sonatine (1962-64)
– Alla Quinta – Serenata melanconica – Toccata

Richard Orton (1940-2013) – Mosaics (1965)

Alan Ridout (1934-1996) – Music for 31-tone organ (1960)
– Vivace – Espressivo – Giocoso – Con brio – Pesante
– Semplice – Delicamente – Maestoso

Frans van Doorn (1930-1995) – 4 Inventionen (1961)

Peter Schat (1935-2003) – Clusters, uit Collages voor 31-toonsorgel (1962)

Joel Mandelbaum (1932) – Ten Studies in 31-Tone Temperament (1963),
Variations on a Textural Theme by A. D. Fokker

Ere Lievonen (Oulu, 1972) has served as the resident organist of the Fokker organ since 2009. He studied piano and organ at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and completed his studies in the Netherlands, where he has lived since 1997. He also earned diplomas in harpsichord, historical keyboard instruments, early music, and contemporary music at the conservatories of Amsterdam, Utrecht, and The Hague. His teachers included Jacques van Oortmerssen, Bart van Oort, Jacques Ogg, Siebe Henstra, Annelie de Man, and Miklós Spányi.
Lievonen is a leading performer in microtonal music and a specialist in historical performance practice and historical keyboard instruments. He is an extremely experienced organist, capable of mastering the most intricate and complex scores. In 2011, he founded Salon Eusebius, an ensemble performing chamber music from the 18th and 19th centuries on historical instruments. He has performed as part of a fortepiano duo with Tullia Melandri and played harpsichord in various Baroque ensembles, such as ALGO and Beauty and the Beasts. He is also active in contemporary music ensembles Hexnut and the Huygens-Fokker Foundation’s Ensemble SCALA, performs as a keyboard duo with pianist/toy pianist Anne Veinberg, and regularly plays the historic organ in the Geertekerk in Utrecht.
Ere Lievonen (Oulu, 1972) is al sinds 2009 de vaste organist van het Fokker-orgel. Hij studeerde piano en orgel aan de Sibelius Academie in Helsinki en rondde deze studies af in Nederland, waar hij sinds 1997 woont. Daarnaast behaalde hij diploma’s in klavecimbelspel, historische piano’s, oude muziek en hedendaagse muziek aan de conservatoria van Amsterdam, Utrecht en Den Haag. Zijn docenten waren onder meer Jacques van Oortmerssen, Bart van Oort, Jacques Ogg, Siebe Henstra, Annelie de Man en Miklós Spányi.
Lievonen is een vooraanstaand uitvoerder op het gebied van microtonale muziek, en is gespecialiseerd in de historische uitvoeringspraktijk en historische toetsinstrumenten. Hij is een zeer ervaren organist die in staat is om de gekste en meest complexe partituren te doorgronden.
In 2011 richtte hij Salon Eusebius op, een ensemble dat kamermuziek uit de 18e en 19e eeuw speelt op historische instrumenten. Hij trad ook op als fortepianoduo met Tullia Melandri en speelde klavecimbel in verschillende barokensembles, zoals ALGO en ’Beauty and the Beasts’. Daarnaast maakt hij deel uit van de hedendaagse muziekensembles Hexnut en het door Stichting Huygens-Fokker geïnitieerde Ensemble SCALA. Ook treedt hij op als keyboard duo met pianist/toy pianist Anne Veinberg en speelt hij regelmatig op het historische orgel in de Geertekerk te Utrecht.

Support

This concert is made possible by: Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst, Gemeente Amsterdam (stadsdeel Oost).

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.

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