Concert archive

The meantone tuning in which the Fokker organ is tuned is undergoing an important revival in our time. Not only as an authentic tuning for historically informed performance, but also as a creative tool for contemporary composers. The Belgrade-born composer Ivan Vukosavljević, now based in The Hague, composed between 2019 and 2022 eight works for solo organ in quarter-comma meantone tuning. All the pieces were recorded in 2022 on five different historical organs in medieval churches scattered across the countryside of the northern Netherlands: Kantens (1661), Krewerd (1531), Midwolde (1630/1660), Oosthuizen (1521) and Zeerijp (1651/1971). This resulted in the album Slow Roads (Elsewhere, 2023), on which the seasoned organist/harpsichordist Tineke Steenbrink performs all the pieces, with guest appearances by Francesca Ajossa, Jan Hage and the South African organist and composer Lise Morrison, each performing one piece.
The eight pieces of Slow Roads have also been performed earlier on historical 16th- and 17th-century organs, where the meantone tuning produced a beautifully pure sound. Especially in the context of early music, the result is considerably more beautiful and truly an experience. With Slow Roads, Vukosavljević evokes in a 21st-century way the sound world of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance — a world in which the performing organist Tineke Steenbrink feels completely at home.
Vukosavljević, who studied composition at the University of the Arts in Belgrade before moving to the Netherlands in 2014 to continue his studies at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague, explores the tunings and peculiarities of meantone tuning, as well as a meditative and contemplative aspect of music during this concert. The hypnotic works are partly inspired by the sensibilities of late medieval and Renaissance keyboard music in which Vukosavljević seeks out new paths. Meantone tuning also offers surprisingly new tone colours in contemporary music, which Vukosavljević employs in an original way. Organist Tineke Steenbrink, best known as artistic director of the baroque ensemble Holland Baroque, performs these works today on the Fokker organ, offering the listener an extraordinary sonic experience with the unequal semitones of meantone tuning. Thanks to the 31 rather than 12 tones of the Fokker organ, the additional micro-intervals make it possible to take slightly different decisions within meantone tuning, which may make this performance of Slow Roads yet another new experience.
In his compositions, Vukosavljević brings together a wide range of sound worlds — from electric guitars and electronics to Western and non-Western traditional instruments, and also the organ. His debut album The Burning, created in collaboration with Ensemble Klang from The Hague, was released in March 2023. His music is performed by, among others, HIIIT/Slagwerk Den Haag, Tatiana Koleva, Orkest de Ereprijs and many others, both in the Netherlands and internationally. His work can be heard at adventurous and progressive festivals such as Rewire, Le Guess Who?, Gaudeamus Muziekweek, but also at classical festivals such as the Lucerne Festival and Music In PyeongChang.

The concert “Spectacular Automatic Instruments” is entirely dedicated to the intriguing interaction between humans, machines and music. At the centre are two exceptional instruments: the microtonal Fokker organ and the Yamaha Disklavier, a self-playing grand piano controllable by computer. This unique combination of acoustic tradition and digital control offers composers a wide range of possibilities to shape musical ideas that lie beyond the scope of conventional performance practice. In this concert, several composers present new works written especially for these instruments, some of which are partly controlled live by the composers via laptop, blurring the line between performance and programming.
This morning opens with Study No. 21 (“Canon X”) by Conlon Nancarrow (1912–1997), a pioneer in the field of automated piano music through his use of prepared player pianos. In this brilliant tempo canon, part of his revolutionary series Studies for Player Piano, two voices move in opposite directions, accelerate and decelerate until they cross and exchange roles—a form of counterpoint that can only be realised with a mechanically perfectly functioning instrument. This work emphasises Nancarrow’s fascination with counterpoint and forms a fitting start to a morning in which technology, composition and sound come together in a spectacular celebration of automatic instruments and their musical potential.
A collaboration of the Conlon Collective—consisting of Boris Bezemer, Christina Viola Oorebeek and Daniel Schorno—results in a new work entitled Far Fly Sparkle!. This piece combines the Fokker organ and the Yamaha Disklavier in an intriguing fusion of sound worlds, through the use of live performance, live electronics and fixed media. By combining the strings and pipes of these instruments in various combinations and fragments, ‘sound clouds’ arise that vary from dense and solidified to transparent and fleeting.
This morning includes a new work (Witches Road) by Boyan Montero and Boris Bezemer, who themselves provide the control of the instruments. In this composition, the characteristic properties of both the Fokker organ and the Disklavier are highlighted, with the two instruments alternating and complementing one another in terms of sound in an intimate, almost playful dialogue.
Next follows the new work Koraal for solo Fokker organ by Janco Verduin, in which an engaging fusion of human and programmed performances arises. A short but impressive piece for solo Disklavier is Manifesto by Diogo Carrico. In this work, which originates from Carrico’s first encounter with the Disklavier during an artistic residency in 2023, familiar sounds are distorted and transformed into unprecedented musical landscapes. The piece makes use of sensors to transmit the pianist’s hand movements immediately to the computer.
This is followed by a selection from Fossils I–VII by Arnold Marinissen, a work in which the Disklavier, in combination with live electronics, processes the sounds of the Disklavier in real time in ways that evoke processes of fossilisation, although they do not literally imitate them. Each part sketches a fascinating image: from crumbling fossils that disappear into the sea or are picked up by a beachcomber, to mysterious footprints and objects that have fossilised in amber. The duo Off<>zz—consisting of pianist Anne Veinberg and live coder Felipe Ignacio Noriega Alcaraz—presents the new work Dance of the Klaviers, in which the Carrillo piano, the Fokker organ and the Disklavier are brought (into sound) together. Veinberg, since 2013 the regular performer of the Carrillo piano, adds a distinctive timbre to the spectrum of sound with her playing, while Noriega controls the other instruments in real time through live coding, thereby shaping the course of the music.

Immerse yourself in ‘The Rich Sounds of Persia’, a remarkable musical journey in which centuries-old Persian traditions meet the innovative Dutch 31-tone system. In this concert, the melancholy tones of Persian folk and Sufi music merge with the refined nuances of Western microtonal music, performed by three outstanding musicians: Ere Lievonen and the brothers Sayed Ali Jaberi and Pouriya Jaberi. The combination of Iranian and Western instruments opens up a world of sonic possibilities in which culture, spirituality and musical innovation go hand in hand. At the heart of the programme are works rooted in the rich language, poetry and history of Persia, including the inspired Lost in the Silk Road by Sayed Ali Jaberi, the delicate melodies of Prelude No.5 by Javad Maroufi, and the swinging composition Persian Method by Rasoul Yari. But there are also sounds from neighbouring countries of Persia, such as the contemporary Ode to a Dove by the ethnically Armenian Turk Ardashes Agoshian. The musicians also present a unique joint improvisation in which the boundaries between tradition and innovation fade.Persian music is characterised by refined melodies, modal structures and a strong role for improvisation. Central to it is often the dastgah system, a collection of musical modes that together form a framework for both composition and performance. The music is frequently played on traditional instruments such as the tar, setar, santur, kamancheh, ney, tombak, tanbur and daf, and encompasses both a classical and a diverse folk tradition. Persian music reflects a profound cultural heritage in which spirituality, poetry and expressiveness come together.
Sayed Ali Jaberi, an internationally recognised composer and tanbur player, conveys like no other the spiritual power of this sacred string instrument. His expressive playing is supported by his brother, percussion virtuoso Pouriya Jaberi, who brings Persian music to life with rhythmic depth and subtle dynamics. Ere Lievonen, a specialist in microtonal music and the regular performer on the Fokker organ in Amsterdam’s Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, adds a Western dimension to this sonic palette. The unique Fokker organ, with its 31 tones per octave, enables him to explore nuances and intervals beyond the reach of traditional Western systems. It is interesting that in his three short pieces from 1948 Adriaan Fokker used rhythmic patterns that are also common in Persian music, while the composer Joke Kegel with her new work EastWest Grooves quite literally enters into a dialogue between East and West, in which sound and culture enrich one another.

Organist and pianist Laurens de Man creates a cultural exchange between the Dutch city of Haarlem and the American district of Harlem. Haarlem, the city where the Fokker organ brought the musical 31-tone movement to life from the 1950s onwards, and Harlem, the New York neighbourhood that took its name from Haarlem and was a cradle of intellectual jazz. For this reason, the guest of the classically trained but boundlessly curious De Man is a rising star of the Dutch jazz world, singer and Edison award winner Anna Serierse. Dutch Music Prize laureate De Man, himself a teacher of classical piano for jazz pianists at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and from September 2025 also professor of organ there, shares with Serierse a fascination with the emerging jazz music of the early twentieth century. Together they make the musical crossing from Haarlem to Harlem.
The Haarlem section of the programme naturally includes a work from the repertoire of the Fokker organ, which stood for nearly 50 years in the Teylers Museum in the Spaarnestad. In addition, the rich Haarlem tradition of organ music is expressed in works by, among others, Cornelis Helmbreecker, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Albert de Klerk, all of whom played on the famous Christian Müller organ in the Sint-Bavokerk on the Grote Markt. Helmbreecker and De Klerk as city organists, and Mozart as a 10-year-old boy during a journey through Western Europe.
From Harlem, the programme comes to life in the music of Duke Ellington, George Gershwin and Thelonious Monk. Ellington was one of the most important figures in the jazz world of the 1920s and 30s. He performed regularly at the famous Cotton Club and other venues in Harlem. George Gershwin, an important composer of the time, frequently visited clubs and theatres in Harlem, such as the Cotton Club and the Apollo Theater, to meet jazz musicians and learn from their music. Gershwin and Ellington knew each other and had mutual respect for each other’s work. Thelonious Monk also performed frequently in Harlem in the 1940s, but that was after Gershwin’s time. Thanks to the Fokker organ, the music of these American musicians gains a unique Haarlem cloak of ‘meantones’, with a starring role for vocalist Anna Serierse. In this way, two revolutionary musical centres are united not only in name but also in sound.

In this concert, two archiorganos (organs based on 31 tones per octave) are brought together: the large 31-tone Fokker organ, built in 1950 by Pels in Haarlem, and the small arciorgano (in the Netherlands called ‘archiorgano’) with just one organ register, built in 2016 by Fleig Orgel- und Cembalobau in Basel, in collaboration with Studio31. Whereas the Fokker organ is based on the writings of Christiaan Huygens from 1691, the arciorgano is based on those of Nicola Vicentino from 1555. Both instruments are, however, archiorganos, and it is therefore very special that they will be brought together for the first time in this concert. During the concert, a shortened and adapted version of a project by composers and keyboard players Mauricio Silva Orendain and Ed Williams will be performed, entitled Uarietà around the arciorgano, combined with additional musical elements on the Fokker organ.
The term Uarietà is taken from Nicola Vicentino’s treatise Ancient Music Adapted to Modern Practice (1555), in which the author emphasises the importance of variation in music. This programme pays tribute to his vision through two extended works of about 45 minutes each. Central to this is the reconstruction of the microtonal instrument described in Vicentino’s treatise: the Arciorgano, a unique Renaissance organ that was rebuilt in 2016. The project explores the tension between decomposition and synthesis, with the Arciorgano serving not only as a musical but also as a pedagogical instrument.
In Decomposition Study by Ed Williams, structured music is dismantled through improvisation and extended techniques. Organists and other musicians collaborate to transform the organ into a sonic landscape resembling a compost heap, from which colourful new musical life emerges. The work is inspired by ideas of Donna Haraway and Joāo Fiadeiro concerning regeneration and real-time composition. The microtonal voices of the arciorgano, with its unique 36(!) keys per octave, create friction and resonance that invite the audience to savour every detail.
Mauricio Silva Orendain’s Echoscope investigates the fusion of the air columns of the organ pipes and the controlled tension of analogue synthesisers. The result is a refined sound world in which microtonal countervoices and sound synthesis come together. A hexagonal loudspeaker cube serves as a sound body in which sampled organ sounds and electronic tones merge, evoking a dialogue between the physical and the virtual instrument. This collaboration leads to a profound exploration of tension and release in tone colours and harmonic structures.
The extraordinary concert The Archiorganos, featuring Adriaan Fokker’s 31-tone organ and the reconstructed arciorgano of Nicola Vicentino, offers a unique opportunity for interested listeners to hear these two iconic instruments together.

From the moment Claude Debussy composed Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune (1894), French music changed forever. Floating tonality, dreamlike melodic lines – all designed to capture an impression of nature or an emotion in sound. How does this evocative impressionistic music sound when combined with the colourful, Renaissance-like tones of meantone tuning? Do the mystical sonorities become even more enchanting through the irregular distances of the semitones? During this extraordinary concert on the 31-tone organ, which is based on historical meantone tuning, organist Ere Lievonen and saxophonist Ties Mellema provide a musical answer to this intriguing question.
Claude Debussy disliked the term impressionism, yet he influenced an entire generation of French composers such as Maurice Ravel, Nadia Boulanger, Louis Vierne, André Caplet, Charles Tournemire, and even Henri Sauget. Their music does not seek clear answers or fixed structures, but moments of beauty, fleeting images, and emotions that appear and vanish. The programme includes Debussy’s Pagodes, reminiscent of the Indonesian gamelan music he first heard at the Paris Exposition of 1889. The music makes extensive use of pentatonic scales and imitates traditional Javanese melodies.
Also featured is Pavane pour une infante défunte by Maurice Ravel – another great master who composed, among other things, impressionistic music. After Bolero, this is one of his best-known works. From Louis Vierne, perhaps his most impressionistic composition will be performed: Clair de lune. Nadia Boulanger, who became especially renowned as the teacher of many famous composers, wrote three pieces with impressionistic elements for organ in her early twenties.Although Sauget cannot strictly be counted among the impressionists, this musical legacy still resonates faintly in his work, even in the 14-minute Oraisons for organ and saxophone from 1976, performed here by Ties Mellema, winner of the prestigious Dutch Music Prize 2010, on no fewer than four different saxophones. The saxophone also features in Impressions d’automne by André Caplet, another work strongly coloured by impressionism. The saxophone fits this musical language perfectly, since a large part of the classical saxophone repertoire originates from France, particularly from the period of impressionism and the decades that followed.
The music of the impressionist masters is often associated with the piano repertoire. The organ in meantone tuning, however, offers a fascinating new perspective on these subtle and intimate compositions. Meantone tuning emphasises the purity of the thirds and possesses a distinctive tone colour that evokes both nostalgia and renewal – as if an echo of the Renaissance merges with the refined sound world of the ‘fin de siècle’.

The iconic Fokker organ celebrates its 75th anniversary! We mark this occasion with a grand jubilee concert in which the history and repertoire of the 31-tone organ take centre stage. Not only will our regular organist Ere Lievonen be performing, but also the outstanding violinists Jellantsje de Vries and Natálie Kulina, as well as the dedicated keyboardist Anne Veinberg.
As early as 1691, the famous physicist Christiaan Huygens described a tone system in which the octave is divided into 31 tones instead of the usual twelve. Huygens’ search for a way to modulate between keys within the 16th- and 17th-century meantone tuning inspired Adriaan Fokker – also a physicist – more than 250 years later to have an organ of his own built by the firm Pels. In 1950 his revolutionary 31-tone organ became a reality, after which it stood for nearly 50 years in the auditorium of the Teylers Museum. Intimate concerts were held there every month until 1999, when it had to be removed due to renovation work. After a period of silence, the fully restored and modernised Fokker organ found a new home in the Kleine Zaal of the Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ. Since then, the instrument has flourished as never before, with many new works composed for it by both young and established composers. Especially for this jubilee concert, a colourful cross-section of its rich and distinctive repertoire will be performed.
The programme includes works by Henk Badings and Anton de Beer, both originally written for two violins and archiphone (an electronic 31-tone instrument), which will now be performed on the Fokker organ. These pieces represent the period in the Teylers Museum. De Beer served for many years as organist on the Fokker organ in Haarlem, and during that time Badings composed a considerable number of 31-tone works, including several sonatas for the illustrious violin duo Bouw Lemkes and Jeanne Vos, who performed numerous times in the museum. Jellantsje de Vries and Natálie Kulina follow in their footsteps and bring that era back to life.
In addition, brilliant chromatic early music in meantone tuning by Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck will be performed, alongside the witty and atmospheric Le Scale Ombrose for Fokker organ and laptop solo by Klaas de Vries, and the monumental Leo’s Observatorium by René Uijlenhoet for Fokker organ and electronics, performed entirely through laptop control. Keyboardist Anne Veinberg will join in for the short and harmonic Spring scram by Lauri Supponen for four hands on the organ. The concert will also feature the premiere of a commissioned work that Ere Lievonen has composed especially for this occasion. A festive and groundbreaking concert that reveals why, 75 years after its creation, the Fokker organ remains such a remarkable and extraordinary instrument.

Triple trills, impossible pedal runs and large stretches: anyone who wishes to perform Mozart’s organ works faces a considerable challenge. They were not written for humans at all, but for a curious technical marvel of the time: highly advanced automatic organs. The Fokker organ offers the unique possibility of reliving this magical experience, thanks to the modern technology of MIDI, which allows the instrument to be controlled by a computer. Laurens de Man will present his interpretation of the programmed works not only live, but also via music files created by himself, which can be played automatically by the Fokker organ.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the brilliant Austrian composer of the 18th century, was one of the first well-known composers to write music for automatic organs, specifically the so-called “flute clocks.” These flute clocks were self-playing organs popular at the time, often used as entertainment in wealthy households.
The refinement of clock mechanisms in the 18th century led to the development of the flute clocks, in which a flute mechanism was incorporated alongside the clockwork. The weights of the clock served as the driving force. With the improvement of the pin drums and scanning mechanisms, the melodies could be reproduced ever more precisely. This resulted in even famous composers such as Haydn, Handel, Beethoven and Mozart writing music specifically for flute clocks.
Mozart composed three works for this mechanical instrument: Fantasie in F minor, K. 608, Adagio and Allegro in F minor, K. 594, and again a Fantasie in F minor, K. 594. These pieces reflect Mozart’s genius and his ability to adapt to the technological innovations of his time.
The music for flute clocks posed specific challenges, given the limitations of the instrument. Mozart, however, succeeded in creating lively and expressive compositions that made use of the possibilities of the flute clocks. These works demonstrate Mozart’s ability to adapt his creative mind to different musical contexts, including the emerging world of self-playing organs.
Another famous Austrian composer, Joseph Haydn, also wrote for automatic organ. With his Drei Flötenuhrstücke he presented the charm and amusement in music that was appreciated in aristocratic circles of the time.
The early and relatively lesser-known work Zwei Präludien durch alle Tonarten, op. 39 by Ludwig van Beethoven consists of two preludes, each traversing all keys, which is a striking feature. It illustrates Beethoven’s remarkable experimentation with chromatic and harmonic structures and his search for unique expressive possibilities.
On the programme, alongside works by Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven, are also characteristic 31-tone works by Jan van Dijk and Anthon van der Horst, composed especially for the Fokker organ. Both composers held great respect for classical masters such as Mozart.

In 2025 the Huygens-Fokker Foundation will once again organise a one-day festival for microtonal music in the capital, entitled MicroFest Amsterdam 2025. With this festival the needs are met of many enthusiastic listeners who are interested in microtones, alternative tuning systems or fresh new sounds. Through the broad programming, the concerts also appeal to a wider audience and provide an intriguing representation of the diversity of styles within microtonal music. Music which, as the famous American composer Charles Ives once described it, consists of “the notes between the keys of the piano.” These microtones lead to entirely new tonal possibilities that broaden the listener’s ear and permanently change the way we think about music.
During this edition of MicroFest there will once again be plenty of music with microtones to enjoy. Thus, in the morning concert two perfectly matched microtonal instruments can be heard, namely the 31-tone guitar and the 31-tone organ, featuring among others new compositions by René Uijlenhoet and Aart Strootman. In the afternoon concert an ode will be paid to the Mexican composer/violinist and microtonal thinker Julián Carrillo, born 150 years ago, who divided the octave into 96 small pitch intervals, likewise with perfectly matched instruments: the 96-tone Carrillo piano and Carrillo harp. Finally, the evening concert presents a sparkling performance by the 8-piece ensemble The Hallucinating Harmonists, in which jazz and fusion elements can be heard in a new and pleasantly disorientating way.
Between these three concerts there will be two freely accessible lecture-performances. In short, a convivial musical day for everyone who enjoys a different sound.

As The Priest, the Joker and the Herald, pianist/composer Rembrandt Frerichs, drum whisperer Vinsent Planjer, and oboist Maripepa Contreras take on the challenge of making music with the 31-tone Fokker organ as their starting point. During this concert, specially commissioned new works for 31-tone organ, percussion, and wind instruments will be performed, with titles such as The Priest’s Paradox and 31 is the Limit. The organ is met with the delicate, whisper-soft sounds of Planjer’s whisper kit, his Persian tombak (drum), and the melancholic Armenian duduk (reed instrument) of Contreras, capable of expressing profound sorrow through the microtones of the rich melodies from the ancient Middle East.
Frerichs’ grandfather was an organist, so musical talent clearly runs in the family. Both Frerichs and Contreras perform in classical and jazz traditions, while Contreras and Planjer share a love for the colours of ancient Arab and Persian music. Together, the three musicians have an enormous dynamic range. In this concert, they play almost inaudibly when Frerichs exchanges the organ for the clavichord, yet they can also fill the space with the grand organ registrations of the Fokker organ. Together, they perform a mix of Frerichs’ compositions, ancient Armenian melodies, Persian sounds, and more.

The German saxophonist Philipp Gerschlauer and the Austrian keyboardist Georg Vogel, both currently based in Vienna, have been brought together at the 31-tone organ to give a spectacular bebop concert full of microtones. Both musicians are among the most prominent jazz artists in Europe and beyond who specialise in microtonal music. They add an extra dimension to their free jazz by colouring their improvisations with microtonal intervals (Miꓘrojazz). Think of heart-wrenching blue notes, but taken a step further.
With Birds, this duo pays tribute to the legendary saxophonist Charlie “Bird” Parker, who, 75 years ago, already experimented with exotic scales that do not fit the equal-tempered system. They do this in their own distinctive way, using more tones in the octave than the twelve commonly used. Philipp Gerschlauer is the only musician in the world able to divide the octave on his alto saxophone into a dizzying 128 microtonal steps, while Georg Vogel has developed a unique 31-tone keyboard, the claviton, on which he can virtuoso-play fifths. This keyboard can also be connected to the Fokker organ. Both musicians are therefore as colourful as singing birds. Hence the title: Birds!
The programme includes their own works, featuring two world premieres, as well as several well-known jazz standards by Charlie Parker—such as Blues for Alice and Donna Lee—and the classic Body and Soul by Johnny Green, all presented in new microtonal arrangements. The concert concludes with a joint composition by both musicians. Unlike Gerschlauer, Vogel has previously performed twice in the Kleine Zaal of the Muziekgebouw and is considered a guest artist who returns to Amsterdam every few years to perform on the Fokker organ. Bringing him together with Philipp Gerschlauer fulfils a long-cherished wish of the Huygens-Fokker Foundation to unite these two microtonal jazz icons at the Fokker organ.
Following the concert, at 12:30 pm, there will be a free lecture-performance on the use of microtones in bebop.

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.

This concert is dedicated to important international composers, as well as those who have written for the 31-tone organ and who will celebrate milestone anniversaries in 2024. The result is a colourful memorial programme. In 2024, it will be exactly 100 years since the death of Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924). The illustrious Italian composer is one of the best-known figures in opera. The way he used sound to build atmosphere laid the foundations for later film music. Less well known is that he began his career as a church organist. Puccini’s Crisantemi fits the theme of this concert perfectly. The piece is itself an elegy in memory of a deceased friend. Originally composed for string quartet, it will be performed in an arrangement by Ere Lievonen on organ.
In 2024, it is also 200 years since the birth of Anton Bruckner (1824–1896) and 150 years since Arnold Schönberg (1874–1951), Gustav Holst (1874–1934) and Charles Ives (1874–1954) were born. The Austrian composer Bruckner is best known for his symphonies and sacred music. Although a phenomenal organist, few organ compositions by him exist. The impressive work to be performed is an arrangement of his Symphony No. 3. Austrian Arnold Schönberg, regarded as the founder of twelve-tone music, is considered one of the most influential composers of the twentieth century. Despite having little knowledge of the organ, in 1941 he composed his only two organ works, the perfectly rounded Rezitativ für Orgel and the unfinished Sonata for Organ, fragments of which are included in the programme.
British composer Gustav Holst also earned a living as a church organist. From his famous orchestral suite The Planets (1914–1916), the intriguing movement Saturn will be performed in a special arrangement featuring guest musician Melle Weijters on guitar. This movement is characterised by its slow tempo and contemplative, somber atmosphere. Holst captures the essence of Saturn, the astrological symbol of time and ageing, through a stately pace and rich orchestration. The music reflects a sense of the inevitability of time passing and the weight of the years. It begins with a mysterious, almost ominous atmosphere, gradually building to a powerful climax before withdrawing into a calm, reflective ending.
American composer and organist Charles Ives (1874–1954) was a true pioneer, embracing innovations before any other composer. He often experimented with microtones and sometimes placed melodies in unusual harmonic contexts, as in Adeste Fidelis in an Organ Prelude, which is on the programme. This famous Christmas carol, seemingly adrift, becomes a beautiful homage to Charles Ives.
Among composers who have written for the 31-tone organ is the relatively little-known violinist and microtonal thinker Leo de Vries (1924–2018). He encountered the 31-tone system as a student and composed, among other works, eight pieces for the 31-tone organ. As a loyal attendee of this concert series, he cannot be absent from today’s programme. Another milestone anniversary in 2024 is the 100th birthday of Anton de Beer (1924–2000), the former organist of the Fokker organ. Over his productive career, he wrote around 17 works in the 31-tone system, all playable on the Fokker organ. From him, Music for the Archiphone will be performed, originally written for the archiphone, an analogue electronic 31-tone instrument built in 1970 at the request of Adriaan Fokker and Anton de Beer. Thanks to the addition of digital organ stops, the Fokker organ can, where needed, be transformed into a grand romantic instrument, for example for Bruckner’s work.
The concert concludes with In a Sentimental Mood, with Melle Weijters again joining on organ. This timeless jazz classic was composed by the jazz legend Duke Ellington. The first version of the piece was purely instrumental. Later, Irving Mills, a music publisher, added lyrics written by Manny Kurtz. With the addition of lyrics, the instrumental composition became a vocal jazz standard. It was first recorded by Duke Ellington and His Orchestra in 1935, featuring the vocals of Ivie Anderson. Over the years, In a Sentimental Mood has been recorded and performed by countless artists, securing its place as one of the enduring classics of jazz music.

Not only the Fokker organ, but also the Dutch composer takes centre stage in this final concert of the 2023-2024 season. How do celebrated contemporary Dutch composers deal with the possibilities of the Fokker organ? Several leading figures in Dutch music, including Klaas de Vries, Peter-Jan Wagemans, and earlier Guus Janssen, took up the challenge for this concert. They each spent several days behind the 31-tone manual in order to write a composition for this unique instrument, starting from improvisation. Within their own artistic signatures, they allow the Fokker organ to come fully into its own.
In his new composition, Peter-Jan Wagemans has the organ controlled entirely by a computer. He recorded the spectacular work himself, which through post-minimalist movements in roughly four parts constantly leads to new sonic worlds. Guus Janssen’s somewhat older work Fok was also recorded by the composer himself. Here, the listener is playfully tossed back and forth by his characteristic free improvisation style. By contrast, Klaas de Vries’s new piece is fully notated and will be performed by the highly experienced organist Ere Lievonen. The title Le Scale Ombrose refers to the scales and their shadows from which the work is constructed. Christina Viola Oorebeek revised her work Serpentine for this occasion, which requires virtuosic footwork from the organist. The music is based on rapid dance rhythms and many short, high notes, with the pedal providing support through bass themes, beats, and in the solo cadenza a single ascending, winding melodic line.
In addition to these works, ‘classics’ by other Dutch masters can also be heard today, namely Peter Schat and Hans Kox. Whereas Kox approached his music for the 31-tone organ in 1960 in a fairly classicist manner, Schat wrote radically different music just two years later, full of clusters and abstract lines. With these six Dutch masters, more than sixty years of Dutch musical history is brought to life on the Fokker organ, by composers born between 1930 and 1952, performed by the highly experienced Fokker organist Ere Lievonen.

Bach’s Art of Fugue is a pinnacle of music history. On the basis of a single theme, the famous German composer created a marvellous cycle of polyphonic music in which he captures, in a compelling way, an encyclopaedia of contrapuntal techniques. The monumental work, lasting over an hour, is rarely heard in its entirety. It will now be performed for the first time on the Fokker organ by the brilliant organist Laurens de Man, recent winner of the Dutch Music Prize 2024, and thus for the first time in modulating meantone tuning, the tuning that was standard during the Renaissance. This gives the harmonies an archaic purity, while the chromaticism gains in tension.
The Art of Fugue has not survived complete and breaks off abruptly in bar 239 of the final fugue. It remains uncertain whether Bach was unable to complete it before his death, or whether the missing section has been lost. Over the centuries, musicians have made numerous attempts to bring this famous work to a logical conclusion. Today, De Man – for whom Bach’s oeuvre plays a central role in his activities – provides the work with an automated magical-realist ending by Sander Germanus, in which all 31 notes of the 31-tone tuning honour both Bach and the Fokker organ.

NB. As the concert on 14 April is already sold out, there will be an additional concert on Sunday 12 May. Make sure you don’t miss it!

Not an organist, but a guitarist who controls the Fokker organ with his guitar. Bram Stadhouders creates an entirely his own three-dimensional sound world with his guitar and electronics: ambient, exhilarating, and layered, with the Fokker organ as an unshakable foundation. Meanwhile, three dancers provide a hypnotic visual component. Bram Stadhouders, one of the most versatile and adventurous guitarists of the moment, does not offer a concert but an immersive experience that casts the organ in a new musical light, with his new work SUPERNATET at the heart of the programme.

Jazz guitarist Bram Stadhouders (Tilburg, 1987) is among the most versatile and adventurous guitarists of today. He studied Music and Technology at the Utrecht School of the Arts before completing his Master’s in Composition at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague. His playing is influenced by (natural) landscapes, visual art, ambient music, and world music, always exploring the boundary between improvisation and composition. In addition to being a guitarist and improviser, Stadhouders is a composer and initiator of boundary-pushing projects that expand the world of the guitar. In his Big Barrel project, for example, he used his electric guitar to control a (rotary) organ, and he developed the ‘surround guitar’, where each string projects its sound in a different direction, enveloping the listener in a sphere of sound. He has collaborated with the Netherlands Chamber Choir, Eric Vloeimans, Spinvis, and Baroque Orchestration X, performing on more than 800 stages, including major (jazz) festivals in over sixty countries.

Sonic Acts explores, contextualises, and presents the most exciting new work by both established and emerging visual and sound artists. Expect an audiovisual rollercoaster: adventurous, experimental, innovative, and overwhelming.
During Sonic Acts, the festival for cutting-edge art, science, and technology, the Fokker organ becomes the canvas for Marcin Pietruszewski’s generative installation Distortion Product Lattice (Fokker QDTS Wavepackets). By combining a computer-controlled microtonal organ, digital sound synthesis, pluriphonic sound, and a choreography of light, the work produces both formal and auditory modulations. At 19:30, Marcin Pietruszewski will give a lecture-performance, activating the installation, which will remain accessible until midnight.

An Evening of Today is a showcase for young new-music ensembles and composers, offering a highly diverse view of contemporary music. Imagination takes centre stage: in previous editions, composers surprised audiences with unusual setups, balloons, table tennis, video, new playing techniques, frayed nightclub atmospheres, electronics, fake news, a rock band, and ‘visual music’ without sound.
From 2013 to 2018, the Nieuw Ensemble presented An Evening of Today each spring. Young composers were given free rein to write a new work. This created a true tradition, which has continued in the same spirit following the disbanding of the Nieuw Ensemble. A rotating team of composers, musicians, and artists now runs the project.

A Midwinter Day’s Dream
We welcome the Latvian-born organist Una Cintiņa as a guest performer on the Fokker organ. She plays surprising compositions that hold a special significance for her. She also ventures into pieces written in the 31-tone tuning.
Cintiņa opens the morning with a dynamic, folk dance-inspired work by the Austrian composer Peter Planyavsky. She then pays tribute to the Dutch composer and organist Albert de Klerk, who knew the Fokker organ well through his teacher Anthon van der Horst. His Variations on the Sequentia “Laudes Organi” take listeners through a variety of musical landscapes, from the contemplative Moderato to the lively Allegro giocoso. With works by her compatriot Imants Zemzaris, blending contemporary minimalism, polyphony, and romantic lyricism, Cintiņa evokes the warmth of summer on this winter day. She also performs Renaissance music by William Byrd, particularly suited to the Fokker organ, as it was composed in meantone tuning, which is embedded in the 31-tone organ. This is followed by Suite of Small Pieces for 31-tone organ by Henk Badings, marking Cintiņa’s first adventurous exploration of the 31-tone tuning. She concludes the programme with the Toccata for 31-tone Fokker organ by the Dutch composer Martin Lo-A-Njoe, showcasing the full potential of the Fokker organ. Through this varied programme, Cintiņa presents her personal perspective on the versatility of this unique instrument.

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.

Seven years after the last edition, ‘Pimp My Organ’ returns. The focus is entirely on musically ‘pimping’ and expanding the Fokker organ in order to make it sound different in an original way. Since the overhaul of the Fokker organ in 2009, when the acoustic organ was equipped with the latest computer technology, the instrument can also be controlled via a laptop. Later, loudspeakers were installed close to the organ pipes, allowing additional sound sources—such as other electronic instruments or pre-recorded sounds—to be added to the sound of the organ. This makes the Fokker organ an almost unlimited sound machine.
More than in the other concerts in the series, this season finale is centred around experimentation. For ‘Pimp My Organ V’, young and more established composers from various countries will exploit the endless possibilities of the Fokker organ to elicit the most fantastic sounds from it. The instrument will be both controlled via laptop, complemented by live electronics, and played by organist Ere Lievonen. Fie Schouten and Giuseppe Doronzo will support and expand the sound of the organ with their bass clarinet and baritone saxophone.
Marc Sabat (DE/CA) and Steffen Krebber (DE) use the laptop as a modern variant of the player piano; a player piano that does not suffer from the physical limitations of a human performer, such as having only ten fingers and limited dexterity. But that is the only similarity between their distinctive pieces. For as strictly as Sabat’s work is composed—he generates an overwhelming accumulation of note avalanches through computer algorithms—so intuitive is Krebber’s piece zimzum: a short, unsettling work in 31-tone tuning. Prepare yourself for a surprising morning full of premieres.

Two of the Netherlands’ most talented young musicians, organist Laurens de Man and violinist Ruña ’t Hart, set out to explore the boundaries of meantone tuning. In this unequal tuning, which was common during the Renaissance and early Baroque periods, music sounds more colourful and purer than we may ever have heard before. Unfortunately, meantone tuning also has its limits. That is the price paid for the perfectly pure thirds it contains. The purity of the fifths is slightly sacrificed in favour of the thirds. As a result, it is not possible to modulate freely from one key to another without unpleasant dissonances arising. In keys with more than three sharps or two flats, one encounters the wolf fifth and wolf thirds, which are so out of tune that they ‘howl like a wolf’.
The musicians explore various solutions that have been devised over the years to tame the ‘organ wolf’. One of these is the 31-tone system, first conceived in 1555 by the Italian music theorist and composer Nicola Vicentino. Another solution consisted of compositions in which more than twelve tones could be heard, such as the violin sonata by Georg Muffat, which employs a total of seventeen tones, and the Composizione di tre Generi by the Italian musicologist Giovanni Battista Doni. The musicologist Martin Kirnbauer refers to this as ‘Vieltönige Musik’ (multi-tone music). It was originally performed on a keyboard with extra keys in order to avoid the wolf fifth at certain points and to allow for somewhat wider modulation. In this way, the boundaries could be stretched a little further.
The Fokker organ is the ultimate solution to overcoming the limitations of meantone tuning. The tuning of this instrument is based on meantone tuning, but it contains additional tones, making it possible to modulate to all keys. Thus, there are no longer any boundaries. The 31-tone organ is therefore an ideal vehicle for exploring the marvellous world of meantone tuning—and especially its limits. Laurens de Man will provide commentary on the music, guiding the listener along the way. He will not only be heard on the Fokker organ but will also perform on his own meantone clavichord. This is one of Europe’s oldest stringed keyboard instruments and played an important role in chamber music of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Its sound is relatively soft and somewhat reminiscent of a lute.

Music and meditation – that is what this programme is all about. The music of Rutger Muller (Geleen, 1984) fits perfectly with the idea of a meditative concert featuring the Fokker organ. The electroacoustic composer creates calmly shifting soundscapes from elements of classical music, ambient, techno and free improvisation. He composes intuitively, listening almost like a DJ to whether sounds work together or not. Since his focus lies more on the colour and inner motion of sound than on melody or harmony, his music invites a meditative state of listening. Muller’s work unfolds like a slowly changing film, a theatrical ritual of experience imbued with the mystical tranquillity of a moment in nature.
In addition to being an experience, Muller’s music is also music to truly listen to. It allows for a certain form of meditation, but through its evolving movements the listener may suddenly lose their sense of direction – truly becoming ‘Lost in meditation‘. While the overall sound remains within the mystical, it can at times become grippingly tense with moments of dissonance.
The subtle microtonal possibilities of the 31-tone organ are perfectly suited to Muller’s meditative, ambient sound sculptures. He has therefore written a new work especially for the Fokker organ, which will receive its premiere this morning. Muller will be joined by recorder player Dodó Kis and cellist Wen Chin Fu, who will contribute live improvisations. For those in the audience who wish to immerse themselves fully in meditation, cushions and rugs will be placed in front of the rows of chairs, allowing them to experience the concert in a truly contemplative way.

From 8 to 11 March 2023, Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ pays tribute to the venerable Hungarian composer György Kurtág (Lugoj, 1926) with an extensive festival. During this multi-day Kurtág Festival, organist Ere Lievonen performs works by György Kurtág and several other Hungarian composers, such as György Ligeti, on the 31-tone organ and piano.
In György Kurtág’s oeuvre, the organ plays only a minor role. This is rather remarkable for a composer who adores Bach and has written no fewer than nine books of Játékok (“Games”) for piano. Nevertheless, with this adventurous programme, organist Ere Lievonen demonstrates that the historic Fokker organ can offer a unique and valuable perspective on Kurtág’s music. Lievonen also places Kurtág in the context of his compatriots, creating a rare and stimulating survey of contemporary Hungarian keyboard music.
From Kurtág’s friend and colleague György Ligeti, two works will be performed that were originally written for harpsichord: the hypnotic Passacaglia ungherese and the oddly limping Hungarian Rock, which sounds like a steaming jazz-rock improvisation. László Vidovszky paid tribute to Kurtág’s seventieth birthday with nine short chorales, after Kurtág had earlier composed a Hommage à Vidovszky in the second book of Játékok. The Fokker organ in the Small Hall of the Muziekgebouw is tuned in an unusual 31-tone tuning – the pitches that lie between the keys of an ordinary piano can be played on this instrument. This allows its regular performer Lievonen to present microtonal music, as well as extraordinary arrangements of other works. The result is a rare and stimulating overview of contemporary Hungarian keyboard music.

For guitarist Melle Weijters, it has long been a cherished wish to present a concert centred on the work of Christiaan Huygens (1629–1695). Huygens’ most relevant work in relation to music, Le Cycle Harmonique (1691), is a concise mathematical treatise in which he names the 31-tone system as the most excellent of all tunings. He does not support this claim with musical examples, but with a logarithmic table he had already compiled in 1661. In his final work, Cosmotheoros, which Huygens completed in early 1695, he speculated, among other things, about life on other planets. According to Huygens, a form of life similar to that on Earth existed there. His Cosmotheoros could thus be considered an early form of science fiction.
In this work—a pair of philosophical writings addressed to his brother Constantijn on the structure of the universe and the potential habitability of celestial bodies (posthumously published in 1698)—Christiaan Huygens presents his musical discoveries in a very different way: the 31-tone tuning is so universal that it undoubtedly exists elsewhere in the cosmos. His gaze is not only upward; he also contemplates the world around him. The combination of science and imagination inspired Weijters to create this theatrical programme.
Melle Weijters studied jazz guitar at the Conservatorium Maastricht and has devoted himself for many years to fretless and microtonal guitars. He has already used his guitar to control the Fokker organ in both 2014 and 2016, including improvisations on additive chords by Adriaan Fokker, which will also feature in this concert. In addition to being a guitarist, Melle has served for many years as artistic coordinator of the Huygens-Fokker Foundation. During this performance he will be joined by regular Fokker organist Ere Lievonen and a special mystery guest.

During this atmospheric concert, regular Fokker organist Ere Lievonen embarks on a musical adventure with Lenneke van Staalen (Indian violin) and Heiko Dijker (tabla). Both are among the foremost performers of Indian music, highly regarded even in India itself. After intensive studies with leading masters in India, they each graduated with top marks from their master’s programmes at the Rotterdam Conservatory. Worldwide, they are praised for their fiery virtuosity and emotional depth.
Indian classical music is performed in harmony with the time of day. This is reflected in the choice of notes, the mood, and the tempo of the largely improvised music. On this Sunday morning, the concert begins with a classical North Indian morning raga for tabla (double drum) and violin. ‘Raga’ comes from the Sanskrit word for ‘colour,’ which in music translates as ‘that which colours the mind.’
Next, Ere Lievonen performs three captivating movements from Ludus Ragalis by Clarence Barlow on the Fokker organ. These are short preludes and fugues based on scales and themes drawn from various Hindustani ragas.
From the well-known Dutch composer Jacob ter Veldhuis (JacobTV) comes Serendipity. The title means a ‘happy accident’ or ‘pleasant surprise’ and is derived from ‘Serendip,’ an old name for Sri Lanka (Ceylon). The piece is an ingenious blend of notated music and improvisation, giving the musicians considerable freedom.
The programme also features a work by Claude Debussy, performed on violin and Fokker organ. The French composer was interested in music from Asia; in May 1913, he spent an evening with a veena player (a plucked lute) and mystic Inayat Khan.
The Indian raga Hindoli and Indonesian court music converge in the slow, almost timeless composition Royal Hindoli by Dutch composer Sinta Wullur, which culminates in a fast, Chopin-like improvisation. Wullur specialises in bridging Eastern and Western musical cultures and studied Indian singing for many years to integrate raga and tala (rhythmic cycles of a set number of beats) into her compositions.
This is followed by a tabla improvisation by Heiko Dijker in the poetically mathematical Tablataal, in a 5¼ beat cycle. The Fokker organ plays a repeating melody to mark the cycle.
Afterwards, Ere Lievonen and Lenneke van Staalen perform an improvisation based on Across the Lake of the Ancient World by American minimalist Terry Riley, from his masterful album Shri Camel.
The concert concludes with an exhilarating trio improvisation under the playful title Huygens-Fokker goes India, in which the three musicians merge North Indian musical traditions with Western avant-garde sounds.
In short, a concert not to be missed!

Distorted Reality is a constant phenomenon in the microtonal world of Ensemble SCALA. The music in this programme varies enormously: from post-minimal (Bill Alves), through uncompromisingly Oriental (Giacinto Scelsi), to angular and precise (Joke Kegel). And, of course, not to be forgotten are the gliding spectral sounds in the new work Distorted Reality by Danny de Graan, after which the concert takes its title. What unites all these works is that they hover within microscopically small intervals, far removed from the familiar classical keys. Every melody and every harmony is transformed under the pressure of the prism of microtonality into a delicate rainbow of colour and sound that invites a new way of listening.
Ensemble SCALA was founded on the initiative of the Huygens-Fokker Foundation, which also owns the 31-tone organ in the Kleine Zaal. This microtonal organ forms part of the ensemble’s instrumentation, which further includes flute, clarinet, viola, 31-tone guitar, percussion, and keyboards – including the Carrillo piano in its mysteriously resonant 96-tone tuning.

Gregory Oakes presents his new quarter-tone extended clarinet, which was recently built especially for him. The polymicrotonal sounds that arise between his quarter-tone clarinet and the fifth-tones of the Fokker organ form the basis of this extraordinary concert. Gregory Oakes is an American virtuoso and energetic clarinettist with a strong preference for performing music by living composers. He obtained his degrees from Michigan State University, DePaul University, and a doctorate from the University of Colorado. Oakes has performed in the United States, Brazil, Thailand, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands. He has held residencies at Princeton, Harvard, Dartmouth, Aspen, and STEIM (Amsterdam), and has given masterclasses at several conservatoires, including in Amsterdam. He is currently on the faculty of Iowa State University as a clarinet lecturer, and also serves as principal clarinettist of the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra. Gregory Oakes has released several CDs.
Together with the regular Fokker organist Ere Lievonen and the American-Dutch composer and flautist Ned McGowan – a long-standing figure in the Fokker organ series and for many years involved in the activities of the Huygens-Fokker Foundation – he performs a thrilling programme in which experimentation is not avoided. In addition to premieres by American composers Bill Alves and Stirling Rutty for clarinet and organ, three works by Ned McGowan will be heard in various instrumentations, including the premiere of Three Pieces for Quarter-tone Extended Clarinet. Alongside the intriguing The 31st Cloud for solo Fokker organ by the Finnish composer Miika Hyytiäinen, a new arrangement by Sebastian Dumitrescu will be performed of Ancient Wisdom, which he originally composed in 2019 with great craftsmanship for Ensemble SCALA. The three musicians will conclude the concert with a dazzling collective improvisation.

Fifty years ago, on 24 September 1972, Adriaan Fokker, professor of physics at Leiden University and the intellectual father of the organ with not the usual twelve but thirty-one tones per octave, passed away. His enthusiasm for the 31-tone tuning developed by Christiaan Huygens (1629–1695) inspired countless composers, music theorists, and scientists in the Netherlands and beyond during the 1950s. Ere Lievonen, the current principal organist of the Fokker organ, pays homage in this concert to Adriaan Fokker and the 31-tone movement he initiated.
The programme features 31-tone works by three Dutch composers from the 1950s. Anthon van der Horst had a keen interest in organ building and contemporary experiments in acoustics and the physics of music, which naturally drew him to the ideas of Adriaan Fokker and his 31-tone organ. In 1953 he composed the Suite for 31-tone organ, opus 60, which he dedicated to Fokker. Jan van Dijk followed Fokker’s fascination with the 31-tone system from the start and was one of the first composers to write works for the 31-tone organ. Paul Christiaan van Westering, the composer of Dikkertje Dap, was the first performer of the Fokker organ when it was still housed in the Teylers Museum in Haarlem. In 1960 he welcomed the young Pierre Boulez, who had travelled to Haarlem specifically for the organ. Even Nina Simone was astonished by the pure minor thirds she knew from the blues but could not play on the piano due to the limitations of equal temperament. Van Westering composed several pieces for the instrument and in 1952 wrote a method book.
The programme also naturally includes a work by Fokker himself, who as an amateur composer left behind a modest oeuvre to promote his instrument, namely Bagatelle “Chinees” (1951), which premiered in 1957 as Bagatella, Chineseria by organist Piet Halsema. Preceding this is a work inspired by Fokker’s composition, performed by Fokker organist Lievonen. Altogether, this concert offers a splendid tribute to the man to whom we owe the 31-tone organ.

During this private concert, the documentary created by the Huygens-Fokker Foundation, directed by Sharis Coppens and Sander Germanus, about violinist/composer/music theorist Leo de Vries (1924–2018) will be shown for the first time. This will be followed by performances of several works by Leo de Vries on Fokker organ, flute, 31-tone guitar, and violin—an ode to a great musical-theoretical thinker.

Leo de Vries (1924–2018) studied violin at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague with Joachim Röntgen. Through theory lessons with Henk Badings and Martin Lürsen, he was introduced to the 31-tone system. From 1956 to 1960, he studied composition with Jan van Dijk, during which he also met Professor Fokker. He participated in a twelve-tone technique course by Wolfgang Hufschmidt, composed a piece in the dodecaphonic system, and then refrained from composing between 1968 and 1976 out of dissatisfaction with the system. Until 1985, he worked consecutively as a violinist with the Groningen Orchestra Association and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra.
From 1977 onwards, he developed quarter-tone music based on the meantone tuning technique. To perform this music, he had a special guitar built, and in 1980 a harpsichord. Between 1980 and 1988, he published several articles on microtonality. In 1984, he became an active member of the worldwide Music Modernisation Association. He was also part of the Rotterdam microtonal group. In 1983, Leo de Vries described in an article in Mens en Melodie three types of scales in quarter-tone music in which, when transposing to the next key, only one note needs to be changed. Since then, he discovered that this transposing principle can be applied to all tonal systems.
“The seven pieces from For 31-tone Organ were composed in the 6/31 scale: the 6 refers to the sixth tone (the supra-second). The scale used is eleven-tone and consists of a sequence of major seconds and sharps. In such a scale, certain intervals and chords can be emphasised at will. In piece 1, this is the sequence of seconds, particularly in the lower voice; in piece 2, the harmonic sevenths; in piece 4, the ninths in the broken chords; in piece 5, the major and minor seconds; in piece 6, the thirds in the lower voice; and in piece 7, the harmonic sevenths. In piece 3, I applied my rhythmic system DuTri: a rhythm consisting of notes with 2 and 3 pulses, very randomly distributed. I have dedicated this challenging music to our incomparable Fokker organ player Joop van Goozen.”

At the request of Portuguese choral conductor Edgar Saramago, an extra inserted concert will take place on July 10. Together with a group of 14 Portuguese, he will come to hear and admire the Fokker organ, of which his former teacher Anton de Beer was once the organist for many years. Saramago lived in Amsterdam in the early 1980s and took lessons in choral conducting with De Beer through the FNZ (Federatie Nederlandse Zangersbonden) in Haarlem and then privately. This also introduced him to the 31-tone organ, at that time still located in the Teylers Museum. Some other Portuguese of this group, consisting of students, singers and colleagues, have in the past also received music lessons from De Beer during summer courses in Portugal and still cherish fond memories of this.

At 11 a.m., an introduction/presentation by Sander Germanus, the artistic director of the Huygens-Fokker Foundation, on the history of 31-tone tuning and of the 31-tone organ will begin in the Muziekgebouw’s Small Hall. Beginning at 10:45 a.m., the public may enter the hall. At the start, all attendees will receive a printed article on the 31-tone organ by Anton de Beer in English. This text can later also be found online on the website of the Huygens-Fokker Foundation. This will be followed by a short concert by Ere Lievonen on the Fokker organ lasting about half an hour, with works by Michelangelo Rossi, Henk Badings, Hans Kox, Danny de Graan, Fabio Costa and, of course, Anton de Beer, demonstrating the unique capabilities of this 31-tone organ. Following this, the occasional choir from the Portuguese town of Vila Franca de Xira will come forward to sing two a cappella works by Anton de Beer in conclusion. These two works concern his Pater Noster (dedicated to Saramago) and his Ave Maria, which is dedicated to two twin sisters who attended all the summer courses he taught in Portugal. By the way, Anton de Beer has also composed a piece entitled “Egidius” (on an old text about St. Egidius) especially for this course, but it is too complicated to rehearse in that short time. At the conclusion there will be a meeting with all those present, including the audience.

After the highly successful performance of microtonal jazz improviser Georg Vogel (Salzburg, 1988) during MicroFest Amsterdam 2019 at the Muziekgebouw, he is back this year with Austrian musicians David Dornig and Valentin Duit, with whom he has formed a musical trio for many years. What is special is that Vogel will now also play the Fokker organ. With this giddy jazz trio, called Dsilton, he performs energetic arrangements with microtones and modulating rhythms. The young, talented band members use an 8-string 31-tone electric guitar, drums, specially adapted electronic keyboards and the M-Claviton (a 31+5-tone keyboard built by Vogel himself). Because the M-Claviton is controlled via MIDI, the special instrument can be used for all possible sounds ánd connected to the Fokker organ! Vogel will therefore play the Fokker organ this morning via his M-Claviton. The Viennese trio will perform works from their new CD, among others, which will be released in late 2019/early 2020. Dsilton’s current program combines musical cycles by Georg Vogel and guitarist David Dornig. In terms of compositional techniques and improvisational frameworks, all pieces share complex grooves and the extended tonality of 31-tone tuning. The repertoire covers a huge range from jazz, progressive rock elements, traditional music from the Alps, Renaissance-inspired polyphony and serial 31-tone compositions to arrangements of field recordings from West Africa and other parts of the world. ‘Nothing sounds like what you are used to, but surrendering completely to this new world pays off,’ according to the Süddeutsche Zeitung. All these elements are combined by Dsilton, within which they find all sorts of interesting cross-connections. In short, a fascinating musical journey!

Travel through time, in your mind, guided by music. Beginning with anonymous dance music from the Middle Ages, we slowly journey through the centuries until we arrive in the present with an improvisation featuring live electronics.
In this programme, organist Laurens de Man, together with composer and performer Marnix Vinkenborg, connects the present with the past, creating a deeply atmospheric experience. On a time-travel journey through many centuries of organ literature, combined with improvisation and live electronics, the unique 31-tone organ comes to life in a truly special way. Laurens de Man and Marnix Vinkenborg previously collaborated in November 2019 for a concert at the Janskerk in Utrecht, where they mixed organ improvisations with soundscapes. Now, they take a step further by pairing the microtones of the Fokker organ with entrancing electronic sounds. An extraordinary experience with a surreal sound!
Laurens de Man (Den Bosch, 1993) is active as an organist, pianist, and harpsichordist. He studied piano and organ at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam with David Kuyken, Jacques van Oortmerssen, Pieter van Dijk, and Matthias Havinga, and also took harpsichord as a minor subject with Johan Hofmann. In 2016 he graduated cum laude with a master’s degree in organ, and a year later he earned his master’s degree in piano with distinction. In 2017 he continued his studies at the Universität der Künste in Berlin with Leo van Doeselaar. He has won several major music prizes, including first prize, the audience award, and the Jan Welmers Prize at the International Martini Organ Competition in Groningen in 2017, as well as the Sweelinck-Muller Prize in 2018. In September 2019 he won first prize at the Silbermann Organ Competition in Freiberg, earning the title of “Young ECHO Organist of the Year 2020,” which led to concert invitations across Europe. The oeuvre of J.S. Bach plays a special role in his work; he has performed at the Bachfestival Dordrecht and played Bach on the television programme De Wereld Draait Door. He has also appeared on Podium Witteman on NTR. Since January 2012, Laurens de Man has been chief organist of the Janskerk in Utrecht, and in 2014 he served as organ intern at the Oude Kerk congregation in Amsterdam. Since 2019, he has been the regular second organist of the Fokker organ in the Kleine Zaal of the Muziekgebouw.

A fascinating organ journey through Scandinavia and Finland – this is how this morning concert can be simply described. Who better to perform it on the Fokker organ than our resident organist Ere Lievonen? Lievonen, born and raised in Finland, explores folk music and composed organ works from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland. The transition from the tender Rukous by Sibelius’ contemporary Oskar Merikanto to the avant-garde works in the Livre d’orgue by the Swede Bengt Hambraeus feels like a cultural shock, yet under Lievonen’s hands a common thread might well emerge. The programme also includes compositions by Emil Sjögren (Sweden), Carl Nielsen (Denmark), Juhani Nuorvala (Finland), Geirr Tveitt (Norway), and folk music from the far north of Norway. Finland is not officially considered part of Scandinavia; it is more accurate to speak of the Nordic countries. Geographically, these countries form a unit, but does this also apply culturally and musically? With a cross-section of compositions from the North, drawn from various stylistic periods, Ere Lievonen attempts to provide an answer.
Harpsichordist, fortepianist, pianist, and organist Ere Lievonen (Finland, 1972) has specialised in both historical performance practice and contemporary music in Finland and the Netherlands (Utrecht, Amsterdam, and The Hague), studying with, among others, Jacques Ogg and Bart van Oort (fortepiano). He has performed at numerous festivals of early and new music across Europe and the United States. He studied piano and organ at several conservatoires and obtained his Master’s degree in fortepiano in 2011 at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague. In addition to solo performances, Lievonen is active as a composer and chamber musician, participating in ensembles such as the Finnish Ensemble Ambrosius, which performs contemporary music (including works by Frank Zappa) on Baroque instruments, Beauty and the Beasts, a fortepiano trio with Anna Ryu (violin) and Diederik van Dijk (cello), and Ensemble SCALA, the house ensemble of the Huygens-Fokker Foundation. Since 2009 he has been the resident organist of the unique microtonal Fokker organ in the Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ in Amsterdam. During this concert, Ere Lievonen will be musically accompanied by the outstanding violinist Jellantsje de Vries, who will take up the Norwegian Hardanger fiddle.

The outstanding organ talent Laurens de Man highlights a relatively little-known side of Arvo Pärt in this concert. In Pärt’s oeuvre, the organ primarily serves as an accompanying instrument for vocal music, but in the 1980s he also composed a series of solo organ works. Laurens de Man (1993), who has been the principal organist of the Janskerk in Utrecht since 2012, excels in works such as Trivium and Annum per annum.
For this concert, De Man is joined by two remarkable guests. Countertenor Maarten Engeltjes, this season a “Soulmate” of the Muziekgebouw, will perform the stunning song My Heart’s in the Highlands. Pärt adapted the original poem by the Scottish poet Robert Burns from 1789 into an inspired piece for countertenor and organ. The intoxicatingly beautiful Spiegel im Spiegel is presented in an arrangement for violin and organ, with De Man performing alongside violinist Tai Murray, who also performs the original version with Ralph van Raat the evening before. De Man will play the extraordinary Fokker organ in the Kleine Zaal, which features a 31-tone tuning that makes it possible to perform in meantone tuning.

Much non-Western music is microtonal, simply because it employs tuning systems different from the Western 12-tone system. For this reason, the Huygens-Fokker Foundation occasionally dedicates attention to “world music” in the Fokker organ series.

Following successful Fokker organ concerts featuring the Chinese erhu (Chinese violin), Indonesian gamelan, and Japanese shakuhachi flute, the spotlight now turns to Turkish music. For this special occasion, we invite the Istanbul-based Turkish classical guitarist, arranger, and designer of “adjustable” microtonal guitars, Tolgahan Çoğulu (1978, Ankara), to perform together with our unique 31-tone organ. The virtuosic Çoğulu has made it his life’s mission to render traditional Turkish music—which contains, among other influences, Arabic and Greek elements—on a Western instrument without losing its authenticity. To achieve this, in 2008 he designed a classical guitar with fully movable frets. Since then, he has been building a unique repertoire by arranging Anatolian folk music and traditional Ottoman makam music for his self-designed microtonal guitars. He also commissions established and emerging composers worldwide to create new works for him in various microtonal tunings; currently, more than forty composers are involved.

This morning, Çoğulu and Fokker organist Ere Lievonen face the challenging task of presenting various facets of Turkish music. Traditional Turkish music is monophonic and essentially melodic. It does not employ counterpoint or the extended harmonies developed in the West. Instead, emphasis is placed on playing with irregular rhythms (for example, in cycles of five or seven beats) and using dozens of different scales, each carrying its own expressive character. The programme includes traditional Turkish pieces as well as new works for guitar and Fokker organ by composers such as Ardashes Agoshian and Cengiz Arslanpay. The concert concludes with an improvisation (taksim), in which both musicians consecutively showcase their skills, with Çoğulu performing in the 31-tone system using his adjustable frets.

Composer and performer Jan-Bas Bollen is, by his own account, deeply fascinated by the Fokker organ. Thirty-five years ago, he bought a copy of Adriaan Fokker’s booklet Rekenkundige bespiegeling der muziek at a second-hand bookstore. It became, for a time, a sort of bible for him, especially when he began working with spectral sounds. All the more reason, then, to combine this long-standing fascination with his latest invention, the HyperTheremin: an electronic instrument of his own design that bears a strong resemblance in playing technique to the classical theremin. In this thrilling concert, Jan-Bas Bollen blends the microtonal sounds of the 31-tone organ with his own sonic universe, with the organ being controlled via a laptop, operated by Bollen through carefully coordinated hand movements in the air. It is a truly special experience, as Bollen not only generates an enormous range of sounds but also creates breathtaking abstract visuals.

“Born in Amsterdam in 1961, Bollen specialises in electronic music. A limitation of conventional—or so-called “traditional”—electronic instruments is that their interfaces almost always rely on a keyboard. The drawback is that your hands are occupied with playing, leaving no possibility to simultaneously manipulate the sound, which usually requires adjusting parameters via buttons. Of course, a mouse or joystick offers more possibilities, but for Bollen, that was still not ideal. What fascinated him were the “hands” of Michel Waisvisz—a device that converted hand movements into sound, but was still bound by plugs and wires.
A sensor that detects hand movements and can control a computer—simply available off the shelf in an electronics store—was the key breakthrough, and after several years of experimentation, Bollen was able to present his alternative interface, and, of course, its sounds. The system is no small feat: it reads 60 frames per second, and in each frame processes 330 streams of information, including the smallest finger movements, the position of the hands, the space between them, their angle relative to the audience, and much more. He has demonstrated this at the Uitmarkt and during concerts at the Amsterdam Orgelpark, among other venues, and in December 2020 in a duo concert with violist Oene van Geel at Splendor.”

Organist Laurens de Man brings a forgotten world to life in a remarkable way. Whereas last season he combined music by 20th-century Dutch composers with their Renaissance models, he now champions the Dutch composer Henk Badings and his contemporaries. In addition to works for the Fokker organ by Badings himself—who undoubtedly made the greatest and most important 20th-century contribution to Dutch 31-tone music—the programme features organ and piano works by Dutch composers such as Willem Pijper, Hendrik Andriessen, Jan Koetsier, and Rudolf Escher.

But how do the works of these composers, who wrote music at a time when the first fixed repertoire for the Fokker organ was emerging, actually sound today? Together with the outstanding oboist Inge Ariesen, multiple award-winner Laurens de Man sketches during this concert a picture of the stylistic differences and similarities between the tone poets who were musically active around the mid-20th century. All the music during this morning’s concert will be performed in meantone tuning, a system common in the Renaissance. This fact alone makes the concert special.

Laurens de Man, the young principal organist of the Janskerk in Utrecht, made his Fokker organ debut at the Muziekgebouw early last year. He is particularly enchanted by the instrument’s ability to play in meantone tuning. The beautifully pure intervals not only enhance the works of Henk Badings but also provide a distinctive and refreshing encounter with the music of Dutch composers from around the mid-20th century.

Ensemble SCALA, specialised in microtonal music, normally consists of seven musicians. For this concert, the ensemble’s microtonal instrumental trio is brought into focus, namely the 31-tone guitar, the 96-tone piano (Carrillo piano), and the 31-tone organ (Fokker organ). Guitarist Stefan Gerritsen, pianist Anne Veinberg, and organist Ere Lievonen perform both trios and solo works, offering the audience a unique opportunity to become better acquainted with these remarkable instruments.
This ‘core’ of Ensemble SCALA consists of microtonal instruments capable of producing much smaller intervals than the usual twelve found on a standard piano. The result is both a collision of different microtonal worlds and a fusion—a captivating, kaleidoscopic journey through sound. For this special occasion, several composers were commissioned to write new works for this unusual ensemble, including Nicola Visalli (Italy), Bill Alves (United States), Joachim F.W. Schneider (Germany), Stirling Rutty (United States), and Sebastian Dumitrescu (Finland). In addition to these premieres, a new work for solo 31-tone organ by Kris Oelbrandt (Belgium) will be performed. This concert presents contemporary music and exceptional instruments, with experimentation at its core.

The Fokker organ in the Kleine Zaal of the Muziekgebouw is tuned in an unusual way: there are not 12 but 31 tones per octave. This means that notes can be played that lie in between the keys of a piano. This allows the organist not only to perform microtonal music but also to emulate the historical tuning used in Sweelinck’s time. The Fokker organ is in fact tuned in meantone tuning, a system common in Europe during that period and the one in which Sweelinck composed. Sweelinck was not only a composer but also an organist and harpsichordist. At a young age, he became the principal organist of the Oude Kerk. The small organ he played also had meantone tuning (the Vater-Müller organ was only built after 1724).
Organist Laurens de Man (1993) takes the listener on a 45-minute journey in this programme. From Sweelinck to Bach along the line of teacher and pupil, then further back in time to Nicola Vicentino, the founder of the 31-tone system. De Man then makes a detour to several 20th-century Dutch composers who exploited the specific possibilities of the organ. Finally, the route from Sweelinck to Bach is traced in reverse. Laurens de Man has been principal organist of the Janskerk in Utrecht since January 2012 and was in 2014 an organist-in-residence at the Oude Kerk community in Amsterdam. Since 2019, he has been the second permanent organist of the Fokker organ in the Kleine Zaal of the Muziekgebouw.
This concert is part of the Sweelinck Festival, which takes place at various locations in Amsterdam from 16 to 25 October 2021, in honour of the 400th anniversary of the death of the great Dutch composer who lived in the Koestraat in Amsterdam. Through concerts, a symposium, and many other activities, Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562–1621) is commemorated and his significance for Dutch culture is brought vividly to life once more. Other organisations collaborating on this major festival for a broad audience include Organisatie Oude Muziek, the Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Amsterdam City Archives, and the Rijksmuseum.

Organist and composer Jacob Lekkerkerker returns after four years to the Kleine Zaal of the Muziekgebouw to perform once again on the Fokker organ. This time he is joined by violist and musical polymath Oene van Geel, with whom he has regularly collaborated since their meeting at the Bimhuis in 2011. The highlight of the morning is the premiere of Lekkerkerker’s composition encompassing five hundred years of sound history from Amsterdam’s organs and bells. During the first lockdown, he recorded samples of the sounds of organs and bells from all districts of Amsterdam and processed them in the studio into the electronic composition Inside Outside II. The instruments sampled include the 500-year-old bell (1516) from the village of Sloten, the renowned organ of the Oude Kerk (1724), the Vrijheid carillon (1952) in Nieuw-West, the new hyper-organ in the Orgelpark, amounting to a total of eleven organs and bells. The twelfth instrument featured in the performance is the 31-tone organ (1950) of the Huygens-Fokker Foundation, which will be played live during the concert. The programme also includes music by the 16th-century Dutch composer Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, who died exactly 400 years ago, an improvisation by Lekkerkerker and Van Geel on Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings, and a work by Hans Eugen Frischknecht from the distinctive Fokker organ repertoire, composed following his visit to Amsterdam and Haarlem in the 1960s.
Jacob Lekkerkerker (1975) studied organ and improvisation in The Hague and Lyon, and continued his composition studies at Goldsmiths, University of London. He specialises in studio and online compositions created from samples of historical instruments such as organs and bells, in collaboration with sound engineer Nick Powell at Goldsmiths Music Studios. Since 2016, as director of music and titular organist of the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam, Lekkerkerker has developed a tradition of spatial music with the famous Vater-Müller organ. He has won the National Organ Improvisation Competition, the Sweelinck-Müller Prize, the Prix Special Englert-Marchal (Biarritz, France), and the Jur Naessens Music Prize.
Violist and composer Oene van Geel (1972) is a musical adventurer inspired by jazz, Indian music, chamber music, and free improvisation. He performs in ensembles such as Zapp 4, Estafest, The Nordanians, and OOOO, and regularly appears as a guest soloist. Van Geel has composed dozens of works for a wide range of ensembles. In addition to works for his own groups, he has written for the David Kweksilber Big Band, Amstel Quartet, Amsterdam Sinfonietta, Matangi Quartet, Calefax, Tetzepi Bigtet, Ricciotti Ensemble, Duo Eva Tebbe and Merel Junge (harp and violin), and music theatre companies including Schweigman&, Theater Sonnevanck (youth theatre), and Orkest Max Tak. As a composer and performer, he is also involved in theatre productions by Theun Mosk, Saartje van Camp, Herman van Baar, and Marcel Sijm. In 2013, he won the prestigious VPRO/Boy Edgar Prize.

The fourth edition of the Laboratonium will once again focus on the experiment with (micro)tones. The programme features new works by both emerging and established composers, with the Fokker organ controlled by a computer. This is also the case for an improvised composition by the renowned Dutch composer Guus Janssen. His remarkable piece Fok consists of multiple fragments improvised by him, which are expertly woven together into a cohesive composition. The world premiere of the young and talented composer Boris Bezemer will also be presented. Anne Veinberg returns with an exciting improvisation on the Carrillo piano, recently fitted with a moderator that allows for extremely soft playing. The programme also includes the imaginative improvisations of Bart van Dongen in the Euler-Fokker tunings, with the composer and improviser himself at the exceptional console of the Fokker organ.
Additionally, a new work by the now very experienced Romanian/Finnish microtonal composer Sebastian Dumitrescu will receive its premiere for a laptop-controlled 31-tone organ, alongside a glissando-filled improvisation by composer Wouter Snoei and cellist Katharina Gross. Finally, a new composition, which is also an ode to Leo de Vries (former violist of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, microtonal thinker, and one of the most loyal attendees of the Fokker organ series, who passed away in 2018 at the age of 93), will be performed by Dutch composer René Uijlenhoet for Fokker organ with electronics.
Watch the concert here on YouTube.

First organist of the Fokker organ, Ere Lievonen, presents this morning the musical outcome of a multi-year research project by the Huygens-Fokker Foundation aimed at performing romantic organ repertoire in meantone temperament. Romantic music is typically characterised by complex harmonic structures and frequent modulations. In meantone temperament, however, it is not possible to modulate freely through all keys. Gradually, it has become increasingly recognised that the 31-tone system, in which this tuning is embedded, provides a solution to this problem. Nevertheless, the Fokker organ remains the only instrument in the world on which, for example, romantic music can be performed realistically in this tuning.
Using subtle digital organ stops via Hauptwerk, tuned in the 31-tone system, a large hybrid organ is created, capable of convincingly simulating the romantic organ, which in large churches could have thirty to sixty stops. The four-part speaker system, installed a few years ago just above the pipes of the Fokker organ, creates the illusion that the added sounds emanate from the acoustic organ itself, producing the impression of a full-scale instrument.
The fascinating idea of bringing romantic organ music to life in meantone temperament has long been a cherished ambition of the Huygens-Fokker Foundation, since Christiaan Huygens (the inventor of, among other things, the 31-tone tuning) envisioned in 1691 a form of future music in which modulation through all keys would indeed be possible in meantone temperament. It is the noble task of the versatile Ere Lievonen to realise this vision in sound. The programme features works by renowned nineteenth-century composers such as Anton Bruckner, Richard Wagner, and César Franck.

Famous organ composers such as J.S. Bach and G. Frescobaldi were familiar with harmonies in meantone tuning, sounds that today are often perceived as unusual. Early twentieth-century composers like Béla Bartók and Hugo Distler—a major figure in the German organ repertoire—are performed in meantone tuning during this concert by Laurens de Man. The compositions of physicist Adriaan Fokker, the creator of the Fokker organ (1950), are heard in the 31-tone system. Physicist and composer Fokker developed his organ in the 1940s, and since 2009 it has been housed in the Muziekgebouw. Laurens de Man, not yet thirty, is already a significant figure in the organ world. On the extraordinary Fokker organ, he presents this evening a programme of both old and new repertoire. The Fokker organ is a 31-tone instrument: the octave is divided not into twelve, but into as many as thirty-one steps. Inventor Adriaan Fokker and composer Henk Badings wrote microtonal music specifically for this organ—a revelation for the ears. Other works have been transcribed by De Man, with surprisingly harmonious effects.
Online concert!

On World Violin Day, Emmy Storms and Joseph Puglia present a homage to the renowned Dutch violin duo Lemkes & Vos. Inspired by their interest in physics, the couple Bouw Lemkes (1924–2016) and Jeanne Vos (1926–2000) developed, from 1959 onwards, a refined approach to tuning principles as a violin duo. Impressive performances of Henk Badings’ first sonata for two violins attracted the attention of both Professor Adriaan Fokker and the international concert circuit. This led to a long-standing collaboration between the violinists, Badings, and Fokker. In addition to a concerto for two violins and orchestra, Henk Badings composed a total of four out of the five sonatas for violin duo in the 31-tone system.
Other composers also wrote specifically for Lemkes & Vos. For instance, Hans Kox dedicated his Serenade for two violins in the 31-tone system (1968) to them. Furthermore, composers such as the American Joel Mandelbaum, the Australian Bill Coates, and the Dutchman Alphonse Stallaert created works for the duo. Not to be forgotten is Anton de Beer, the former principal organist of the Fokker organ, who is also included in the programme. By performing works from the repertoire of this illustrious pair, the new violin duo Puglia & Storms will undoubtedly follow in their footsteps.
However, the programme of this historic concert does not feature only violin duos. At the request of Joseph Puglia, who in 2010 performed several microtonal works by Hans Kox in the Fokker organ series, a reprise of the monumental Synaesthesia Suite will also be presented, in a version for violin and 31-tone organ by Kate Moore, which she specially composed for him in 2014. In all other works on the programme, Puglia is accompanied by the outstanding violinist Emmy Storms, winner of the Grachtenfestival Prize 2019. First organist Ere Lievonen provides accompaniment on the Fokker organ.
Homage to Lemkes & Vos is one of the few concerts that can be experienced in December at the Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ. With only 30 attendees per concert, it is not feasible for the Muziekgebouw to carry out its regular programming. Our concert with top violinists Joseph Puglia and Emmy Storms, accompanied by Ere Lievonen on the Fokker organ, is part of the alternative programme Muziekgebouw Up Close. This is a new series of concerts in which local top musicians perform an engaging programme in an intimate setting. Music journalist Frederike Berntsen welcomes the audience and provides insight into the music and the lives behind it. We hope to greet you personally in the Kleine Zaal. If there is sufficient interest, a second concert will take place at 13:00.

After participating in numerous Fokker-organ concerts, pianist Anne Veinberg now takes centre stage for this performance. Anne Veinberg (Moscow, 1986) is well known at the Muziekgebouw as the pianist of Ensemble SCALA, the resident ensemble of the Huygens-Fokker Foundation, where she plays the Carrillo piano and keyboards. Veinberg is an award-winning pianist with a bold approach who embraces the theatrical aspects of music. She is active as a soloist, improviser, and chamber musician and has performed at various festivals both in the Netherlands and internationally. She studied at the Melbourne Conservatory of Music with Ronald Farren-Price, earned her master’s degree with David Kuyken at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, and has been conducting doctoral research at the Orpheus Institute in Ghent since 2015. Over the past decade, she has specialised in playing a wide range of pianos, including several toy pianos. Her proficiency on the Fokker organ, however, will come as a surprise to many.
To open the 2020–2021 season, Veinberg will appear as a guest musician in a concert featuring the Fokker organ, the Carrillo piano, and a conventional grand piano. In addition, she will collaborate with the Mexican composer, programmer, and laptop artist Felipe Ignacio Noriega—her partner in the live coding duo Off <>zz—to present several demonstrations of their project ‘CodeKlavier’, a programming language bridging piano and laptop. For this, Veinberg generates computer codes while playing a piano, and for this occasion, she will naturally also apply the system to the Fokker organ. The programme features works by Felipe Ignacio Noriega (using CodeKlavier), Lost Time Triptych by the American composer Christopher Trapani (winner of the 2007 Gaudeamus International Composers Award) for a detuned piano, a sensuous composition by Anthony Leigh Dunstan (arranged for Fokker organ by Anne Veinberg), and improvisations by Veinberg herself. An experience not to be missed!

That microtonal music has long been the focus of attention on the other side of the Atlantic as well can be seen from the many initiatives that have emerged there in this field. However, preferences for microtonal systems can differ from region to region. For example, composers on the west coast of the United States tend to base their music on the exact overtone series, while composers on the east coast more often use equal tunings (the division of the octave into equal pitch intervals). For this reason, in 2020 Ensemble SCALA presents a programme centred on composers from North America who have engaged with music involving microtones. This includes work that has not yet been performed in the concert series, such as the new composition Scala Obscura by the American composer Julia Werntz (affiliated with the Boston Microtonal Society), which she wrote especially for Ensemble SCALA, and Furthermore… for clarinet and viola by microtonal pioneer Ezra Sims. Both works will be heard for the first time in the Fokker organ concert series. In addition, the programme includes works that have already become part of Ensemble SCALA’s repertoire, namely the static yet captivating composition Solar Neon by the well-known American/Dutch composer Ned McGowan and the enchanting Aleph 2 by the renowned composer Terry Riley. Interspersed among these works is the intricate Folding I for Fokker organ solo by Charles Corey (curator of the Harry Partch instrument collection). In this way, Ensemble SCALA presents a fine cross-section of the diverse microtonal musical styles to be found on the American continent.

Under the title Conzonanze Stravaganti, the young and talented organist Laurens de Man will give a remarkable organ recital. For his first encounter as an organist with the 31-tone organ, he has selected works from various stylistic periods, featuring composers who, as he himself put it, “explored the sharper edges of meantone tuning.” A fine challenge for a musician who, despite his youth, is already highly experienced. Laurens de Man (’s-Hertogenbosch, 1993) is active as an organist, pianist and harpsichordist. He studied piano and organ at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam with David Kuyken, Jacques van Oortmerssen, Pieter van Dijk and Matthias Havinga, and also took harpsichord as a subsidiary subject with Johan Hofmann. In 2016 he graduated cum laude with a master’s degree in organ, and a year later obtained his master’s degree in piano with distinction. In 2017 he continued his studies at the Universität der Künste in Berlin with Leo van Doeselaar.
He has won several major music prizes, including the first prize, audience prize and Jan Welmers Prize at the International Martini Organ Competition in Groningen in 2017, and the Sweelinck-Müller Prize in 2018. The oeuvre of J.S. Bach plays a special role in his musical activities. He has performed at the Bach Festival Dordrecht, played Bach on the television programme De Wereld Draait Door, and appeared on Podium Witteman on NTR. Since January 2012, Laurens de Man has been principal organist of the Janskerk in Utrecht and, since 2014, assistant organist of the Oude Kerk congregation in Amsterdam. Despite these responsibilities, he still finds time to perform as a soloist and chamber musician, as he will do during this morning concert.
The programme includes some of the earliest keyboard music from the Robertsbridge Codex, a special arrangement of a medieval estampie by Hans Koolmees, compositions by Giovanni de Macque — the “Italian” composer from the Low Countries who was influenced by Carlo Gesualdo — works by the famous composers Michelangelo Rossi and Girolamo Frescobaldi, as well as compositions by the Dutch composer Tera de Marez Oyens, performed in meantone tuning. In the works by the latter two composers, Laurens de Man will be joined by cellist Irene Kok. Also central to the programme are two compositions from the repertoire of the 31-tone organ, written by the renowned Dutch composer Hans Kox, who sadly passed away in February 2019.
With this tribute among other works, Laurens de Man takes the audience on a musical journey, revealing the extraordinary possibilities of the Fokker organ in a programme that spans from the earliest organ music to that of the twentieth century.

In 2019 the Huygens-Fokker Foundation once again presents a one-day festival for microtonal music in the Dutch capital, entitled MicroFest Amsterdam 2019. This festival meets the demand of many enthusiastic listeners who are interested in microtones, alternative tuning systems, or fresh new sounds. Through its broad programming, the concerts also appeal to a wider audience, providing an engaging overview of the diversity of styles within microtonal music. Music that, as the famous American composer Charles Ives once described it, consists of “the tones between the piano keys.” These microtones lead to entirely new tonal possibilities that expand the listener’s ear and permanently change the way we think about music.
During this edition of the festival, the microtonal specialists Ensemble SCALA, Vokalprojekt 31, and the Scordatura Ensemble will once again perform. The latter ensemble presents a concert programme based on an original recording of a lecture by Harry Partch from 1942. In addition, Vokalprojekt 31 will perform works in the 31-tone system by the composers Henk Badings and Jan van Dijk, and Ensemble SCALA will play new compositions by Julia Werntz and Piet-Jan van Rossum. Between these three concerts, two free-access performances will take place: a lecture-recital by Georg Vogel with microtonally improvised music, and a concert by the four clarinettists of Clarinets in Space. In short, a lively musical day for everyone who enjoys a different sound. (Sander Germanus, artistic director)

Anton Bruckner (Ansfelden, 4 September 1824 – Vienna, 11 October 1896) was during his lifetime primarily regarded as that phenomenal organist of, among others, the Sankt Florian in Linz. He was also invited abroad to perform concerts at, among other venues, Notre Dame in Paris and the Royal Albert Hall in London. Yet, apart from some youthful works, there are few organ compositions by his hand. Fortunately, the composer Sigfrid Karg-Elert created organ arrangements of Bruckner’s symphonies and composed a Brucknerian Adagio.
In 1943, the physicist Adriaan Fokker, inspired by the 31-tone system described by Christiaan Huygens in the seventeenth century, designed a small organ with 31 tones within the octave. It allows the performer to play in different tunings. On this unique instrument, which is permanently installed in the Kleine Zaal of the Muziekgebouw, the Huygens-Fokker Foundation organises a number of concerts each year. The Dutch Fin Ere Lievonen knows the Fokker organ like no other and now brings the organ works of Bruckner the attention and tuning they deserve. During this Fokker organ concert, part of the festival dedicated to Anton Bruckner at the Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, the romantic works of the famous composer Bruckner will be played in the meantone tuning of the Renaissance – a feat that is only possible on the 31-tone organ. Enhanced with additional stops from the virtual 31-tone organ, this will result in a fascinating experiment.

This concert is part of the festival Unheard Bruckner at the Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ.

In the autumn of 2019, it will be exactly 10 years since the organist Ere Lievonen gave his first concert on the renovated Fokker organ. Since 2009, he has been the resident organist of this remarkable 31-tone organ, which is located in the Kleine Zaal of the Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ. It is high time to put him in the spotlight with a carte blanche concert.
Harpsichordist, fortepianist, pianist and organist Ere Lievonen (Finland, 1972) has specialised in both historical performance practice and contemporary music in Finland and the Netherlands. He has performed at numerous festivals for early and new music across the European Union and the United States. Lievonen studied piano and organ at various conservatoires with, among others, Jacques van Oortmerssen (organ), Bart van Oort and Jacques Ogg (fortepiano).
He performs with several early music ensembles, such as Beauty and the Beasts, ALGO, Salon Eusebius, and has a duo with Anna Ryu (violin). He is also a co-founder of the Finnish Ensemble Ambrosius, which performs contemporary music (including Frank Zappa) on Baroque instruments, and he is a member of Hexnut, Occult Ensemble, and Ensemble SCALA, the resident ensemble of the Huygens-Fokker Foundation. That his musical interests therefore extend beyond 31-tone music will become abundantly clear during this concert. The programme includes works by Bernardo Storace, Juhani Nuorvala, Pier Damiano Peretti, and compositions by Ere Lievonen himself, performed by him and several guest musicians.

In the oeuvre of Louis Andriessen, the organ does not occupy a prominent place: he has only one organ work to his name. He composed The Divine Routine – a typically Andriessen title – for the 125th birthday of his father, the composer Hendrik Andriessen, in 2017. Ere Lievonen performs a special programme on organ and harpsichord with works by both father and son Andriessen, supplemented with music by Andriessen’s former pupils Martijn Padding and Calliope Tsoupaki.
Since 2009, Ere Lievonen has been the resident performer of the microtonal Fokker organ in the Kleine Zaal of the Muziekgebouw, an exceptional instrument from 1950 on which the octave is divided into no fewer than 31 tones. Thanks to Lievonen, Andriessen’s The Divine Routine is now heard on the Fokker organ for the first time. The harpsichord work Overture to Orpheus (1982) deals, according to Andriessen, with “the borderline between canon and unison techniques.” Its monomaniacally spiralling sounds form the prelude to an imaginary opera about Orpheus.
Martijn Padding’s Cow Music (originally for harmonium), a work that was also performed on the Fokker organ in 2018, is an ode to the splendid animal, the cow, and the Dutch landscape that is slowly disappearing. In the movements ‘Padding’s country dance no.1 & 2’ he also makes reference to the dance.
This concert is part of the Andriessen Festival.

Carolina Eyck, one of the finest performers on the theremin in the world, takes centre stage this morning as guest musician in a concert devoted to this mysterious instrument. In 2019, it is exactly one hundred years since the theremin was invented: an electronic musical instrument that is played by varying the distance between the hands and two antennas, with the performer never actually touching the instrument. This early electronic instrument was invented in 1919 in the Soviet Union by Léon Theremin (Lev Sergeyevich Termen, 1896–1993), a Russian inventor who, from an early age, experimented with magnetism, high-frequency circuits and optics. Around 1927 he embarked on a world tour with the theremin, astonishing audiences with its almost ghostly sounds. A year later he arrived in New York, where he applied for a patent on the theremin and sold the production licence to the American electronics company RCA. At that time he also Americanised his name to Léon Theremin. In 1930 he went on to invent the first drum machine, the rhythmicon, commissioned by the American composer Henry Cowell.
The theremin later became popular thanks in part to major performers such as Clara Rockmore, a student of Léon Theremin. Yet even today there are musicians capable of playing the theremin at the highest level, such as Carolina Eyck (1987) from Leipzig, who received her first lessons on the instrument at the age of seven from Lydia Kavina, performs concerts all over the world, and made her debut at the Berliner Philharmonie at just fifteen. With her flawless technique in mid-air, she is able to bring a wide range of musical styles to life. And that comes in handy, for in the programme The Theremin Stories she will present an overview of how the theremin has sounded over the past hundred years. She will be accompanied by the incomparable Fokker organist Ere Lievonen, with the well-known Dutch composer and performer Wouter Snoei as sidekick. Together with Carolina Eyck, Snoei will demonstrate to the audience the similarities between the theremin and the 31-tone organ by controlling the Fokker organ electronically (via a laptop).

The renowned Dutch organist Jan Hage, a passionate advocate and much sought-after performer of contemporary organ music, is this morning’s guest, taking on the unique Fokker organ. As a soloist he has performed with, among others, Slagwerk Den Haag, Asko|Schönberg and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1995 he was appointed organist of the Kloosterkerk in The Hague, and in 2011 of the Domkerk in Utrecht. It is now Jan Hage’s task to master all 31 keys within the octave of the Fokker organ. And that is quite a challenge, especially for an organist who cannot take his seat at the black, white and blue keys every month. Yet this challenge is in excellent hands with Jan Hage. His virtuosity and interpretations were already being praised before he obtained his organ diplomas with distinction on three occasions and won several competitions. In 2006 he was even awarded the médaille d’argent by the Société Académique Arts-Sciences-Lettres in Paris for his contributions to French organ culture.
Moreover, some years ago Jan Hage wrote an article about the Fokker organ for the journal Het Orgel, through which he acquired a great deal of theoretical knowledge about this unique instrument. The programme includes works by the famous composers Sweelinck and Frescobaldi, composed at a time when meantone tuning (in which the semitones are unequally spaced) was common throughout Europe. In addition, atmospheric organ compositions by the French composers Louis Vierne and Jehan Alain from the first half of the last century will be heard. Alongside excerpts from the imposing composition Rrrrrrr for organ by the Argentinian-German composer Mauricio Kagel, well-established works from the 31-tone organ repertoire by Henk Badings and Anton de Beer will also be performed. And, as the grand finale, two improvisations by Jan Hage. In short, a fascinating concert not to be missed.

Who’s afraid of small intervals? With this new programme, Ensemble SCALA continues to strike the (micro)tone by performing compositions that are all based on a different division of the octave. Thus, alongside the fifth-tones of the 31-tone system, one will also hear the quarter-tones of the 24-tone system, the third-tones of the 19-tone system, the twelfth-tones of the 72-tone system, the sixteenth-tones of the 96-tone system, and the completely pure tones of the harmonic series. A concert full of microtones, then. But is this something to be afraid of? Judging by the series of intriguing works that will be performed, there is certainly nothing to fear.
The programme includes a beautiful modern classical work by the American composer Ezra Sims, entitled Night Piece, and the restrained yet thrilling Rapprochement by the Dutch composer Arnold Marinissen, which will be performed again. In addition, The Juggler by the American composer Aaron Krister Johnson will be played. Although an electronic version of this curious, almost neo-Baroque 19-tone work is already known, this acoustic performance for harpsichord and flute will be its true premiere.
Also featured is the premiere of Ancient Wisdom by the Romanian/Finnish composer Sebastian Dumitrescu, who has written a work with ten quarter-tones based on the Mohajira, a meantone tuning in which the fifth is divided into two neutral thirds. The concert begins with resounding tones based on the additive chords of Prof. Adriaan Fokker, in a guided improvisation by Melle Weijters (entitled Improspectrum) for the full ensemble. It is played in a pure tuning, which in English is referred to as just intonation.
Following this concert will be the CD presentation of Arnold Marinissen, featuring, among other works, his composition for Ensemble SCALA.

Vokalprojekt 31 is a groundbreaking ensemble of five vocalists, performing 31-tone music from the Renaissance, early Baroque, and the present century. The ensemble is accompanied by Ere Lievonen on the 31-tone organ, also known as the Fokker organ. Together they perform microtonal music with great drive, aiming to showcase the unique possibilities of the 31-tone system and meantone tuning in both early and contemporary music. In this way, Vokalprojekt 31 once again guarantees performances of idiosyncratic works from the Renaissance and the 21st century.
The 31-tone madrigals from 1555 by the Italian composer Nicola Vicentino are, of course, an essential part of the programme. This time, all four of his enharmonic madrigals from this collection will be sung, noting that only one of these madrigals has survived the centuries completely intact. A recent expansion of the ensemble to five singers has also made it possible to perform several famous madrigals by Carlo Gesualdo.
Alongside early vocal music, this morning will also feature fresh compositions from the 21st century, including a dreamlike 31-tone work by the composer/lutenist Andreas Arend, entitled Faictz ce que vouldras, and the organ piece Fantazia by the Finnish composer Olli Virtaperko, who drew inspiration from the contrapuntal keyboard music of the 17th century. Furthermore, a special arrangement of sections from the fascinating Koerikoeloem by the Dutch composer Miranda Driessen is on the programme, in which electronic sounds mystically complement the ensemble.

It is now widely known among a growing audience that Professor Adriaan Fokker had the 31-tone organ built in 1950. What few people realise, however, is that in 1943, as curator of the Physical Cabinet at the Teylers Museum, he also took the initiative to have another organ constructed, the so-called Euler organ. And yet, each year thousands of visitors walk past this remarkable little organ in a hall full of historical scientific instruments in this Haarlem museum.
How this Euler organ sounded and what music was composed for it has largely been forgotten, as the little organ has long been unplayable and the sheet music of its associated repertoire—which developed over only a seven-year period—is stored in the archive of the Huygens-Fokker Foundation in Amsterdam. This provides a wonderful opportunity, seventy-five years after the completion of the Euler organ, to investigate how the instrument once sounded!
First, research was conducted to determine the type of metal open organ pipe used in the Euler organ. Highly realistic samples of exactly the same organ stops will be used during this concert, played from behind the console of the Fokker organ, to finally bring this mysterious little organ to life. This virtual organ is carefully tuned so that the so-called “Euler-Fokker genera of the third degree” can be heard. In this way, the first microtonal compositions by Fokker—short pieces to demonstrate the ten genera on the little organ—will also be performed.
Other composers have also written for the Euler organ, including Jan van Dijk, Henri Carf (Henk van Kempen), and Martin J. Lürsen, who, among other achievements, won the “Teylers Musical Competition” in 1945 with their works. Of particular note is that, specially for this concert—and for the day when the Euler organ in Haarlem may once again be playable—a new work for the Euler organ has been composed by the Dutch composer Gijsbrecht Roijé.
All of these compositions will be interspersed by the resident Fokker organist Ere Lievonen with works from the acoustic 31-tone organ repertoire, so that the difference in tuning can be highlighted as clearly as possible. To complete the experience, photographs of the original Euler organ will be projected onto a screen during the concert. In this way, this mysterious little organ comes briefly back to life this Sunday morning.

The new season of Fokker organ concerts opens with a programme in which dance takes centre stage. Three dancers—Birgit Gunzl, Maria Mavridou and Raoul Freitas Vale Germano—will perform choreographies and dance improvisations to music played by the organist Ere Lievonen on the Fokker organ at the Muziekgebouw. For the occasion, the glass wall of the Kleine Zaal will be fully opened, allowing the dancers to move freely both inside and outside the hall and to occupy the entire third foyer deck in full daylight.
The works on the programme connect in a special way to the theme of ‘dance’. Three of the composers whose works are featured also served in their youth as musical accompanists at a dance academy. The most well-known of these is the Dutch composer Martijn Padding. His Cow Music (originally for harmonium) is an ode to the splendid animal, the cow, and to the Dutch landscape that is gradually disappearing. In the movements ‘Padding’s country dance no.1 & 2’ he also makes reference to dance.
Serpentine (2010), composed by Christina Oorebeek for the Fokker organ, is already a dance in itself, as it is essentially a kind of organ pedal concerto in which the organist virtuosoly navigates the pedals, accompanied by a laptop controlling the manuals of the Fokker organ.
With the title Pas de Deux, composer Martin Lo-A-Njoe unmistakably refers to his musical background as an accompanist for dance, in a pulsed work specially composed for the Fokker organ and the 96-tone Carrillo piano. The piano will once again be played by the pianist Anne Veinberg, who, together with Birgit Gunzl, will also improvise in a fascinating way on and around this striking instrument.
This is complemented by Souvenir by the renowned American composer John Cage, who throughout his life worked extensively with dancers, including the modern dance pioneer Merce Cunningham. With this programme full of movement, the concert can certainly also be called a dance performance.

This season, the Huygens-Fokker Foundation once again presents a concert full of new compositions and experiments for 31-tone organ, 96-tone piano, laptop & electronics. The sound of the Fokker organ, in particular, is expanded using the most advanced electronic techniques. The programme includes a new work by the Dutch-American composer Ned McGowan, in which a detuned street organ from Mexico takes centre stage. The composer himself will introduce the idea behind this piece with audio-visual explanations.
In addition, trumpeter Hans Leeuw will immediately present harmonised melodies on his electrumpet, accompanied by sounds from the 31-tone organ. A work specially written for the Fokker organ by the South African composer Michael Blake will also be performed, showcasing clearly post-minimalist and African-inspired sounds, with occasional ingenious beats in the organ’s low bass registers.
The duo Off <>zz returns to the Kleine Zaal, with Anne Veinberg this time playing the 96-tone Carrillo piano and Felipe Noriega once again providing electronic sounds via live coding. Further on the programme is a renewed improvised composition by guitarist Melle Weijters, who, using his MIDI guitar, will bring the impressive additive chords of Adriaan Fokker on the 31-tone organ to life.
Resident Fokker organist Ere Lievonen will also perform two short works by the American composer John L. Baker and the Finnish composer Juhani T. Vesikkala, both of which have not yet had their premiere. In short, a colourful morning full of experiments and surprises awaits during this third Laboratonium!

Violin and electronics do not form an everyday pairing. Top violinist Joseph Puglia, kindred spirit of the Muziekgebouw, demonstrates just how exciting that combination can be. As early as 1959, Henk Badings placed a violinist between two soundtracks. His Capriccio is futuristic music from the past, yet it remains as solid as ever. Kate Moore composed her kaleidoscopic Synaesthesia Suite (2014) for Puglia, now performed in an arrangement for the Fokker organ and therefore in meantone tuning. Movement is the theme that beautifully connects all four works in this concert.
This concert is made possible by the Huygens-Fokker Foundation.

Ligeti and Nancarrow on the Fokker organ
For this concert, Ere Lievonen, the resident player of the Fokker organ, has specially arranged piano and harpsichord works by György Ligeti for the unique 31-tone organ. In addition, the programme pays attention to the composer Conlon Nancarrow, whom Ligeti admired, who composed a piece for player piano, Study No. 21, that is impossible to perform by human hands. Using the latest electronic techniques, it is possible to perform this work directly on the Fokker organ via a laptop. Furthermore, four movements from the organ work Rrrrrrr… by the renowned composer Mauricio Kagel, a close acquaintance of György Ligeti, will be played. Kevin Volans, like Ligeti, was inspired by ethnomusicologist Imha Arom, which alone establishes a connection between the two composers. Hans Otte once organised a festival in which, at his request, a work by György Ligeti received its premiere. Thus, they knew each other as well. In short, there are plenty of cross-connections that have resulted in a wonderful programme, which will be heard only this morning. And let us not forget: it is particularly special that all the works will be performed in meantone tuning!

The Austrian musician Alexander Moosbrugger (1972), living in Berlin since 2001, is remarkably versatile; in addition to being an organist, harpsichordist, and programmer, he is also known as a composer, unafraid to combine new and old music in his work. His interest in ‘listening’ as a compositional starting point previously led him to study philosophy alongside music in Vienna. Still fascinated by this concept, Moosbrugger will take you on an auditory adventure this morning. As a guest performer on the unique Fokker organ, he is musically accompanied in certain works by flautist and composer Ned McGowan, a specialist in the contrabass flute, whom he will play with great energy.
The programme for this surprising concert includes works by Moosbrugger himself, music from the historic repertoire of the 31-tone organ, a new composition by McGowan, and not least, early music. As an organist, Moosbrugger has actively performed solo works by composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach, Nicolas de Grigny, and in particular Dieterich Buxtehude, whose visionary music will also be featured in this concert. Immerse yourself in this musical adventure with Alexander Moosbrugger.

Julián Carrillo (1875–1965) and Adriaan Fokker (1887–1972) both dedicated their lives to microtones, yet each arrived at a completely different tuning system. The Mexican Carrillo, who met Fokker in 1958 at the UNESCO Congress in Paris, divided the octave into 96 minute steps, known as the Sonido-trece system (the thirteenth tone). For all his efforts in this field, he received widespread recognition during his lifetime, including even a nomination for the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1950. Fokker, on the other hand, divided the octave into 31 small steps per octave, based on meantone tuning and the ideas of Christiaan Huygens. On paper, these two systems are incompatible, yet in practice the instruments built specifically for these different tunings blend together remarkably well.
For instance, the tones of the 31-tone organ deviate imperceptibly little from 31 corresponding tones on the 96-tone piano, or Carrillo piano, which is also in the possession of the Huygens-Fokker Foundation and of which only a few exist worldwide. This remarkable instrument will once again be played by the pianist Anne Veinberg. Equally special is the presence of the renowned harpist Ernestine Stoop, who will bring her rare Carrillo harp to this concert. She had this instrument, which more closely resembles a zither, built especially for herself. The Fokker organ will be played by the highly experienced resident organist Ere Lievonen.
The programme will include, among other things, two premieres: Hangszon by Matthias Kadar (for Fokker organ, Carrillo piano, and Carrillo harp) and a new work by Sander Germanus for Carrillo piano and Fokker organ, entitled Morpheus. In addition, compositions from the repertoire of these extraordinary microtonal instruments will be performed, including pieces by Carrillo himself and Manoeuvre by Brechtje van Dijk (for Carrillo piano and Fokker organ). The interplay between the two microtonal systems will also manifest in a spectacular improvisation battle, performed collaboratively by the musicians.

Ensemble SCALA, centred around the 31-tone organ, returns this season with a new programme full of microtonal sounds. The title of this concert is partly derived from the Stichting Nauwluisterendheid, founded in 1960 by Professor Adriaan Fokker, which officially changed its name to the Huygens-Fokker Foundation in 1967. With the peculiar term nauwluisterendheid (close listening), Fokker referred both to the small intervals of the 31-tone system, where the tuning is finely nuanced, and to the skill of perceiving these tones accurately by ear—a true art in itself.
It is the task of Ensemble SCALA, specialists in this field, to perform compositions featuring microtones so that the audience can experience the art of nauwluisterendheid firsthand. The programme includes a new work by the well-known Finnish composer Juhani Nuorvala (1961). Nuorvala, whose music is notable for its accessible gestures and sonorities while making masterful use of microtones, is also a composition lecturer at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki.
Also featured is the long-awaited premiere of a work by Arnold Marinissen (1966). Marinissen, who is not only a percussionist and composer but also currently head of classical music at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, is known for his fondness for minimal music and percussive sonorities. Whether this predilection will be apparent in his new composition for Ensemble SCALA remains to be heard.
Alongside these two world premieres, the programme includes works for various smaller ensembles, ensuring that the entire concert maintains a fresh and varied character.

Guitarist Bram Stadhouders (known in the Netherlands for his distinctive and unconventional guitar playing) and guitarist Melle Weijters (for many years closely involved with the Huygens-Fokker Foundation and an expert in microtonal music) will alternately, but also jointly, control the Fokker organ via their guitars and laptops. Stadhouders will mainly focus on his characteristic and energetic improvisations, magnificently controlling the organ with his MIDI guitar. Weijters, on the other hand, will concentrate more on new microtonal applications within jazz and blues, using an electric guitar and software to communicate with the 31-tone organ.
Bram Stadhouders studied electronic music in Utrecht and composition at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague, and he has gained considerable experience in playing an organ through his guitar. Under the title Organic Guitar, he has performed live improvisations on the BusyDrone barrel organ in the Orgelpark in Amsterdam. Melle Weijters studied jazz guitar at the Maastricht Conservatoire and has devoted himself for many years to fretless and microtonal guitars. He has already controlled the Fokker organ with his guitar in both 2014 and 2016, including improvisations on chords by Adriaan Fokker and Duellin’ The Meantone Blues, one of his own compositions, which will also be performed again on this occasion. The differences in approach between the two musicians will also become apparent in a collective improvisation, in which they will engage in a musical duel.

For this special occasion, the unique acoustic Fokker organ will be expanded with digital organ stops. In this way, various lifelike organ sounds will be added to several works from the Romantic era, which require more stops than the Fokker organ possesses. These additional sounds will, of course, be tuned according to the 31-tone system, allowing major organ works from the 19th and 20th centuries to be performed for the first time in meantone tuning in a truly perfect manner.
Alongside these classical works, the programme features Hilbert’s Hotel by the Dutch composer Rozalie Hirs, in which the spectral electronic sounds merge seamlessly with the organ tones of the 31-tone organ. All of this will be made possible by a new, advanced sound system suspended near the organ pipes from the ceiling of the Kleine Zaal in the Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ.
Resident Fokker organist Ere Lievonen will take on the admirable task of making this microtonal instrument sound unlike anything you have heard before. In three works for four hands and feet (including the rhythmic, pattern-based Speed Loops by Christina Oorebeek and the short, harmonically rich Spring scram by Lauri Supponen), he will be joined by the young and talented organist Maarten Havinga, who already gave a convincing performance on the Fokker organ last season.

Discover the unique sounds of the Fokker organ. The programme features various works, each highlighting a different side of the repertoire of this remarkable 31-tone organ. The composition by Henk Badings is one of the very first works ever written for the instrument, in which the strange yet largely harmonious sounds run counter to the prevailing modernist style of the 1950s. The work by Danny de Graan was the first piece composed for the Fokker organ after its renovation in 2009, when the instrument became the first organ in the Netherlands to be fully computer-controlled. This short but powerful composition is abstract yet full of humour and is performed entirely via laptop. The subsequent anonymous work from the Renaissance will open your ears to how revolutionary music could sound more than 450 years ago. It is followed by the one-minute piece from 1957 by Hans Kox, featuring gliding melodies. Fabio Costa, by contrast, focuses on spectral sounds, in which chords are based on overtones (natural tones). These can be rendered particularly well using the microtones (in this case, fifth-tones) that the 31-tone organ possesses. In the striking, circus-like work by Felix Kubin, one can hear just how virtuously the instrument can be controlled by computer. So come and listen — and experience the Fokker organ!

This concert forms an imaginary laboratory of microtones in which composers carry out exciting musical experiments with the Fokker organ and the Carrillo piano (both in the possession of the Huygens-Fokker Foundation). Unlike this rare 96-tone piano, built on the ideas of the Mexican composer/violinist Julián Carrillo (1875–1965), the Fokker organ has, since its extensive renovation in 2009, been controllable via various advanced computer techniques.
Composer Wouter Snoei will perform his composition Bij heldere hemel (in a new arrangement for the 31-tone organ and electronics) himself using special hardware. In contrast, the premiere of a new composition Folding I for 31-tone organ (about, among other things, the impossibilities of microtonal systems) by the American composer Charles Corey, who is also the curator of Harry Partch’s original instruments in Seattle, will be played “normally” by the resident organist Ere Lievonen.
Likewise, the new composition for the 96-tone piano by the well-known Finnish composer Juhani Nuorvala, entitled Kaiho (longing, wistfulness), has been specially composed for Ere Lievonen. Two movements, including vol du bourdon (flight of the bumblebee), from the solo work Huit études for Carrillo piano by the Canadian composer Bruce Mather from Montréal, who owns a 96-tone (or 16th-tone) piano himself, will, however, be performed by our resident Carrillo pianist Anne Veinberg.
In addition, Equilibrium (2009) for Fokker organ and electronics by composer Danny de Graan will be heard. And not to be forgotten: the early electronic 31-tone work from 1957 by the renowned Dutch composer Ton de Leeuw, entitled Elektronische Studie, which he created for AVRO radio and which stands as a unique historical document of the emerging electronic and microtonal music of the 1950s.

Those who missed Vokalprojekt 31 at MicroFest Amsterdam 2015 now have another chance to be overwhelmed by these dizzying vocal sounds. Initiated by the Huygens-Fokker Foundation and born from a collaboration with the Berlin-based conductor and composer Fabio Costa, Vokalprojekt 31 is an ensemble of four singers who perform early and contemporary music in both meantone tuning and the 31-tone system in a fascinating way. During this morning concert, they will be accompanied by Ere Lievonen on the unique Fokker organ.
The programme features a world premiere by Fabio Costa, entitled and while there he sighs… (for alto and Fokker organ), as well as a four-minute opera by Sander Germanus (about the murder of Carlo Gesualdo’s wife). The ensemble will also perform the work of the German composer and lutenist Andreas Arend, Faictz ce que vouldras, entirely in 31-tone tuning. In addition, the programme includes music from the early Baroque and Renaissance, such as the madrigals of the 16th-century microtonalist Nicola Vicentino. Without exception, this is music that is rarely heard.

Fabio Costa on the project: “The versatility of the 31-tone system is remarkable. It is a system in which one can approach the pure tones found only in the overtone series. This opens up entirely new and unexplored harmonic worlds. At the same time, it is an ideal system for performing compositions from the Renaissance and Baroque periods, such as the innovative music of composers like Gesualdo and Vicentino.”

The organist of the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam, Jacob Lekkerkerker, is renowned for his imaginative improvisations and distinctive sound world, making a name for himself as a pioneer who unites the classical organ sound with electronic and digital textures, using electronics, turntables, and DJ equipment. In his performances, organ improvisations, electronic music, and soundscapes seamlessly merge.
In addition to studying organ, Lekkerkerker pursued art history and philosophy. He graduated in 2005 from the Royal Conservatory in The Hague and subsequently studied in France with Loïc Mallié. He has won several significant organ prizes.
Today, he brings together musicians and artists from various disciplines in concerts centred around historical organs. For this concert, Lekkerkerker is also joined by a special guest, Alfredo Genovesi, a guitarist and electronic musician from the underground scene in London, now based in Amsterdam. Improvisations on the organ, compositions with electronics by Lekkerkerker himself, and an original work for 31-tone organ by the Swiss composer Hans Eugen Frischknecht flow seamlessly together in this performance. In other words, a remarkable concert in which Jacob Lekkerkerker, alongside the Fokker organ, is sure to move and captivate the audience.

Under the title Blast from the Past, Ensemble SCALA explores compositions from its short but eventful history. The programme presents highlights from the repertoire that were specially written for the ensemble. Among these is Na (2013) by Gijsbrecht Roijé, in which, alongside subtle microtonal chords, surprising digital sounds are incorporated beneath the keyboard. In 3 pezzi molto simili (2014) by Lucio Garau, three essentially similar movements can be heard, in which he does not shy away from the effectiveness of tonality.
The composition In the Blink of an Eye (2015) by Danny de Graan, in which sounds of his newborn daughter have been electronically integrated, is more modernist in design, yet the precise form of the work demonstrates a contemporary sense of timing. The sometimes ‘swinging’ Gallium (2010/2011) by Sander Germanus tells the story of a slowly melting metal (the chemical element) with atomic number 31, referring to the 31-tone system used in the piece, where overtone sounds and unusual chord progressions occur frequently.
The relatively short work Unruh (2015) by Joachim F.W. Schneider centres on the ingenious mechanics of a clock, in which the unrest of the timepiece is remarkably regulated by a component called the Unruh, first expressed by a quirky rotating cymbal and later mirrored by the clever microtonal lines in the parts of the other instruments.
In short, this is a rich listening experience, a retrospective concert with a fresh touch, emphasising the past six eventful years of Ensemble SCALA.

After successful concerts featuring Indonesian gamelan and the Chinese erhu (Chinese violin), this season it is Japan’s turn to complement the Fokker organ with a traditional instrument. Among the many remarkable Japanese instruments is the shakuhachi flute. The shakuhachi has been played since the 13th century by the monks of the Fuke sect within Zen Buddhism. A leading Dutch virtuoso on this instrument is the renowned flautist Harrie Starreveld, who has long been affiliated with the conservatories of Amsterdam and Bremen.
During this meditative concert, he will be accompanied by regular Fokker organist Ere Lievonen and Taiwanese composer I-lly Cheng (live electronics), who has written a new work for shakuhachi entitled Kodama, meaning “striking wood that echoes in the mountains”. The act of striking wood is used in Japanese and Chinese temples to summon monks to meditation.
In addition to this piece, compositions by various composers from the Netherlands to Tokyo will be performed during the concert. Parallel to this, everything will be played on an organ with a strong Dutch connection and a flute deeply rooted in Japanese musical tradition. As rich in sound as these instruments are, so colourful this concert will be!

The famous physicist Christiaan Huygens was inspired when, in 1691, he devised the 31-tone tuning system and published his ideas under the title Lettre touchant le cycle harmonique. But what exactly did one of the Netherlands’ greatest thinkers intend with this system? And what influence might it have had on the future of music if his invention had gained wider recognition?
During this concert, music from both Huygens’ own time and from the centuries that followed will be performed on the Fokker organ, in both meantone tuning and 31-tone tuning. Several works from the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods will be played in meantone tuning, focusing on modulation to keys that were previously impossible. In addition, a new work by the young composer and trombonist Iris Tjoonk will be performed.
The Fokker organ will be played by the young and talented organist Maarten Havinga, who in recent years has revealed his affinity for new sounds and fresh microtones. With his dedication and imagination, he will guide listeners on an exploration of how music over the past centuries might have sounded.

During this evening, organised by Lost & Found with guest curator Geo Wyeth (USA) and editors Alma Mathijsen and Julia van Mourik, new works (some still in progress) by various artists will be presented—works that cannot easily find a place within established exhibitions. As a musical interlude between the different parts of the evening, The Offzz will perform on the 31-tone organ in a stylish and contemporary way.
The concert is sponsored by the Mondriaan Fund and the Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, with the cooperation of the Huygens-Fokker Foundation.

Pimp My Organ 4Ever! presents brand-new compositions and arrangements by mostly young composers for the 31-tone organ, in which the Fokker organ is once again “pimped” and expanded through the latest computer-controlled techniques using laptops. The Carrillo piano (with 96 tones per octave!) will also be added to the instrument during the premiere of the long-awaited and greatly extended version of Lhorong, written by the renowned Dutch/Mexican composer Juan Felipe Waller. In addition to several new works by various composers, including the premiere of Manoeuvre by Brechtje van Dijk, there will be a special improvisation by composer Felipe Ignacio Noriega and pianist Anne Veinberg on the Fokker organ, as well as improvisations by Melle Weijters on the organ, controlled by a guitar. The concert concludes with a short and cunning little piece by Ben Wallet, specially arranged for this concert for the 31-tone organ.

NB. This is an additional concert in the Fokker organ concert series.

Tijdens het concert 4 voeten, 4 handen wordt de vaste Fokker-organist Ere Lievonen net als in 2014 aangevuld door Susanne Kujala, een Duits-Finse organiste die gespecialiseerd is in hedendaagse orgelmuziek. Naast organiste is Susanne Kujala ook een professionele klassieke accordeoniste. Dit is een uitstekende combinatie van muzikale kwaliteiten waardoor zij zeer geschikt is om zich ook het toetsenbord van het 31-toonsorgel meester te maken, zo is al eerder gebleken. Ere Lievonen en zij zullen nieuw geschreven stukken uitvoeren van Christina Oorebeek en Lauri Supponen. Daarnaast tevens eerder gecomponeerde werken van Sebastian Dumitrescu en Joachim Schneider, die dit in 2014 speciaal voor het Fokker-orgel hebben opgetekend. Bovendien zal Susanne Kujala de première van een exclusief voor haar gecomponeerd solowerk voor 31-toonsorgel van de Finse componist Hannu Pohjannoro uitvoeren. Al met al een klankkleurrijk programma waarbij het Fokker-orgel voor de tweede keer deze eeuw quatre-mains bespeeld zal worden.

In The Word to the Word, the word takes the floor. That much is immediately clear. But how does the word relate to music? In this case, the focus is not on the sung word, but on the spoken word, expressed through poetry. Can the two complement each other? Can they sound simultaneously, or must they alternate? This concert presents an intriguing exploration of how two art forms can influence one another. Several composers who are also published poets contribute to this exceptional performance, including Rozalie Hirs and Samuel Vriezen. In addition, several well-known poets with a distinctive perspective on word and music have been invited, and they will, of course, present their own recitations: Lieke Marsman, Han van der Vegt, and Maria van Daalen. Ere Lievonen accompanies the entire ensemble on the Fokker organ, with the participation of composer Danny de Graan, who has created a new work especially for this occasion.

Johannes Keller, harpsichordist and specialist in rare meantone music with more than the usual twelve tones per octave, comes to Amsterdam from Basel by invitation of the Huygens-Fokker Foundation to give a unique concert. Here he will perform both the 31-tone organ and his own ‘chromatic-enharmonic’ harpsichord. The programme features several composers, such as Georg Muffat, Ascanio Mayone, and Nicola Vicentino, who in the 16th and 17th centuries attempted to expand meantone tuning so that modulations to previously unreachable keys became possible. The use of these ‘new’ tones occasionally resulted in experiments producing unusual harmonic transitions. A highlight of this concert is that the renowned German composer and cellist Caspar Johannes Walter will compose a new work for violin and 31-tone organ. Johannes Keller will be musically accompanied in several works by violinist Eva Saladin.

For the second time, the Huygens-Fokker Foundation is organising a festival for microtonal music in Amsterdam, entitled MicroFest Amsterdam 2015. Through a broad programme, it caters to the needs of many enthusiastic listeners and those interested in music based on unconventional tunings and alternative divisions of the octave. Music that, as the renowned American composer Charles Ives described it, consists of “the tones between the keys of the piano.” These microtones open up entirely new musical and tonal possibilities; a source of fresh sounds that expand the listener’s ear and transform the way we think about music. A recurring thread throughout the MicroFest programmes is the 31-tone music of the Italian composer Nicola Vicentino, a pioneer in the development of meantone tuning. His four enharmonic madrigals from 1555 were first published in modern notation in 1990 in the series Corpus Microtonale (The Diapason Press, Utrecht), thanks to the financial support of the Huygens-Fokker Foundation. This is a wonderful opportunity to perform his forward-looking music 460 years later during this one-day festival. (Sander Germanus, artistic director)

The British label Touch is one of the most respected and influential labels in the ambient, experimental music and sound art. Celebrated for their fantastic and new sound, artistic integrity and graphic design, Touch was at the cradle of several musicians who were previously presented at the relatively new series of the Muziekgebouw: The Rest is Noise. Touch-founder Mike Harding presents this evening some important artists of the moment: Philip Jeck, Thomas Ankersmit and last but not least, Claire M Singer.
The musical work of performer Claire M Singer has been widely commissioned, exhibited and performed throughout Europe and North America. This includes acoustic and electronic composition, fixed media, multi-media, installations and live electronics. In recent years her work has focused on a mix of organ, ‘cello and electronics with performances.
The Rest Is Noise hosts the Touch Label Night at Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, Amsterdam on Monday, 9 November. Artists of the moment Philip Jeck and Thomas Ankersmit will be performing alongside a rare staging of the 31-tone Fokker organ by Claire M Singer. For more information and tickets, visit The Rest Is Noise.

The Muziekgebouw is celebrating its 10th anniversary, and it’s a year-long celebration. This jubilee weekend marks the official kick-off and offers the perfect opportunity to experience three days of the Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ’s idiosyncratic and surprising programming. Music as an expression of the present, for audiences of all ages. Unique and unforgettable concerts from early in the morning until well past midnight. Everywhere in the building, one can hear how moving and enchantingly beautiful music can be. The Kleine Zaal is no exception. In honour of this special occasion, a varied and surprising programme will be performed on the 31-tone organ, also known as the Fokker organ. Specially designed for everyone curious to discover concerts at the Muziekgebouw, and in particular this unique instrument, the programme spans almost all Western musical styles that have been heard over the past ten years at the Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ. From early music to contemporary works, this concert covers it all, culminating in a new improvised composition by Guus Janssen. Naturally, a clear example of 31-tone music will also be included in the programme.

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.

In the rectangular space of the Kleine Zaal at the top of the Muziekgebouw, a concert will take place featuring (post)minimal movements and galactic overtone sounds. With a sweeping view over the wide IJ, you can enjoy the microtones of Ensemble SCALA and the Fokker organ in works such as Solar Neon by composer Ned McGowan. A highlight of the concert is the arrangement of Aleph 2 by the renowned minimal composer Terry Riley for ensemble. Also on the programme are the exciting Lhorong by composer Juan Felipe Waller, the non-Western minimal sounds of Martin Lo-A-Njoe, a serene piece by Piet-Jan van Rossum, the organic movements for 31-tone organ by Sander Germanus, and not least a brand-new work by the distinctive postminimal composer Renske Vrolijk. Spectral tones, hovering textures, harmony, and clusters with continuous rhythmic flow alternate throughout this concert, performed by Ensemble SCALA, specialists in contemporary and microtonal music.

“The Day of the Ingenious Organ” is a collaboration between the Huygens-Fokker Foundation, the Muziekgebouw, and the Orgelpark, placing the computer-controlled organ at the centre of attention. Concerts will take place in the morning and afternoon, respectively in the Kleine Zaal of the Muziekgebouw (11:00) and at the Orgelpark (14:15). For this special day, Masato Suzuki returns as guest performer on the unique Fokker organ. In addition to Bach in meantone tuning, early Baroque music, a composition by Henk Badings, and his own improvisation, he will also premiere a new work for 31-tone organ, computer, and electronics by the British composer Rose Dodd, who has a strong interest in the mystical Scandinavian sound world.
Tickets can be reserved at the Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ for both the morning concert in the Kleine Zaal and the afternoon concert at the Orgelpark. A passe-partout is also available.

An Anniversary Concert
The 31-tone system, an invention from 1691 by the renowned physicist Christiaan Huygens that allowed modulation between keys within the 16th- and 17th-century meantone tuning, came to the attention of another famous physicist, Professor Adriaan Fokker, in 1942. This moment marked a turning point in Fokker’s life, after which he devoted his attention primarily to music and, years later, commissioned the construction of a full 31-tone organ, the so-called Fokker organ.
In 2015, it was 65 years since the Fokker organ was built by organ builder Pels and installed in the Teylers Museum in Haarlem. This unique instrument has now reached retirement age, yet the 31-tone music it can produce is more alive than ever. In 2009, the Fokker organ was relocated to its current home in the Kleine Zaal of the Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ. Since that time, dozens of new works have been composed for the instrument by both emerging and established composers.
It is now time to celebrate this legacy with an overview and cross-section of the rich and distinctive repertoire of Adriaan Fokker’s 31-tone organ. The programme will include works by Anthon van der Horst, Sebastian Dumitrescu, Michelangelo Rossi, Peter Schat, Henk Badings, Anton de Beer, Danny de Graan, and of course Adriaan Fokker himself. In short, an anniversary concert with a broad and festive programme.

The tones that, in theory, lie “between the keys of the piano” can indeed be played on the Fokker organ, the 31-tone guitar, and especially on the Carrillo piano, which has 96 tones and keys per octave. During this concert, Ensemble SCALA will once again bring many of these tones to life in exciting works. The programme features a premiere by the Italian composer Lucio Garau, who has previously written an intriguing composition for 31-tone organ and viola da gamba. In addition to works by the old master Nicola Vicentino, compositions by the Quebecois composer François-Gabriel Madden (written specifically for the ensemble in 2011) and the Dutch composer Gijsbrecht Roijé will be performed.

Tickets can be reserved through the Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ. Please note: drinks after the concert are no longer included this season. However, the admission price for the concert has been reduced.

The concert MicroBlues focuses on improvised music in meantone tuning, 31-tone tuning, and 41-tone tuning. Guus Janssen and Melle Weijters explore together the new possibilities these tunings offer for improvised music, with a special emphasis on the blues. As a regular performer on the Fokker organ, the versatile musician and leading composer Guus Janssen already has extensive experience with “light music” on this 31-tone organ. Jazz guitarist Melle Weijters has devoted himself for many years to fretless and microtonal guitars and is a specialist in this field. The alternating styles of the improvisations and themes are supported by the use of the most advanced computer techniques, which will lead to surprising results.

Duo Hevans, consisting of Henri Bok and Eleri Ann Evans, was founded in 2005 and features the remarkable combination of bass clarinet and tenor saxophone. With an adventurous approach to programming, the duo focuses on various contemporary musical styles and techniques, including the use of microtones. Together with Ere Lievonen on the 31-tone organ, the duo presents a concert consisting entirely of world premieres. The programme includes a work with electronics and overtones by René Uijlenhoet, a collaborative composition by Rose Dodd (score) and Monty Adkins (sound), a piece by Scott McLaughlin featuring fluctuations around a consonant interval, a derailed musical dialogue with references to organ sonorities by Dianah Soh, a composition built around a sustained tone with microtonal eruptions by Christopher Fox, and a piece by the renowned bass clarinettist Henri Bok himself, highlighting the finest possibilities of the instruments. In addition, the three outstanding musicians will perform a joint improvisation.

More about Contrasting Symmetries by Rose Dodd and Monty Adkins:
Contrasting Symmetries creates shifting textures between instruments and electronics. The ‘contrast’ in the title refers to the low wind instruments and the higher organ, the instruments and the electronics, the linear nature of the first part and the chordal second. Overall the piece is concerned more with sonority and creating a unified soundscape rather than one instrument predominating over another.

Tickets can be reserved through the Muziekgebouw. Admission includes a complimentary drink after the concert in the Zouthaven restaurant of the Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ.

In this concert for four hands (and four feet), the regular Fokker organist Ere Lievonen will be joined by Susanne Kujala, a German-Finnish organist/accordionist specialising in contemporary organ music. In addition to being an organist, Susanne Kujala is also a professional classical accordionist, a combination of musical skills that makes her particularly well suited to mastering the keyboard of the 31-tone Fokker organ. Together they will perform newly written works composed for them by, among others, Joachim Schneider (Germany) and Sebastian Dumitrescu (Finland), as well as two earlier compositions for two organists by Daniel Caux and Anton de Beer, which were written especially for the Fokker organ. In addition, both musicians will perform solo organ works. In short, a magnificent programme in which the Fokker organ will, for the first time in this century, once again be played quatre-mains.

Tickets can be reserved through the Muziekgebouw. Admission includes a complimentary drink after the concert in the Zouthaven restaurant of the Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ.

Masato Suzuki (1981) is an exceptionally talented Japanese organist, harpsichordist, pianist, composer, and conductor. He specialises in both early and contemporary music and has been giving numerous concerts at home and abroad for many years. During this concert, Masato Suzuki will perform both old and new music on the Fokker organ, in meantone tuning and in the 31-tone tuning, which was first described in 1691 by the famous Dutch physicist Christiaan Huygens. Especially for this programme and for Masato Suzuki, the young composer Brendan Faegre has written a new work for Fokker organ entitled Novel Forces, in which he breathes new life into the tonal structures of the late Baroque through microtones.
In addition to a work by Sweelinck, the programme includes music by three Spanish composers, primarily from the early 17th century, of whom Francisco Correa de Arauxo is the most prominent, as he reflects the transition from the Spanish Renaissance to the Baroque. He was considered a revolutionary, despite the fact that only a single work from 1626 has survived, a portion of which will be performed this morning. Cabanilles Barberà is regarded as the most famous Valencian composer of the 17th century. The tiento written by these composers is a typically Spanish form combining elements of the Ricercare and the Toccata. Further on the programme is Tonal Round V by Leo de Vries, who will celebrate his 90th birthday this year.

During this morning of the Morning of the Unexpected, Ensemble SCALA will perform exciting and remarkable 31-tone works composed in a variety of styles. The programme features the premiere of a piece by one of the pioneers of microtonal music in the Netherlands, Gijsbrecht Roijé. His nearly uncompromising pursuit of sonic purity has resulted in the composition Na for Ensemble SCALA. Also on the programme is the first performance on the authentic Fokker organ of a composition by Peter Adriaansz, Scala I. In this strict yet colourful work, the electric 31-tone guitar features in a particularly striking way.
The composition Speelmuziek II by Anton de Beer, the former resident organist of the 31-tone organ, will be performed in a small ensemble (flute, viola, Fokker organ) and is conceived in a more classical than modern style. From Martin Lo-A-Njoe, Pas de Deux will be heard, a work for the (96-tone) Carrillo piano and the (31-tone) Fokker organ, composed in a more or less minimalistic style. The concert will conclude with Zerscheinen by Steffen Krebber, in which a fragile, sometimes tender search for the right tone is central.

Music from Past and Present on the Fokker Organ
This concert takes us into the history of the Fokker organ, back to where the instrument stood from 1950 to 2000, namely in the Teylers Museum in Haarlem. Over this fifty-year period, an extensive repertoire developed that was frequently performed in the auditorium of this historic museum. During the concert, the music will once again evoke the atmosphere of the old Teylers Museum. Ere Lievonen will perform on the 31-tone organ.
The Fokker organ in our Kleine Zaal is based on a microtonal 31-tone system, instead of the usual 12 tones. As a microtonal instrument, the 31-tone Fokker organ can also sound in a more natural meantone tuning. In this specific tuning, early music can be performed in an authentic manner.

In ‘the Laboratorium’ the boundless musical and technical possibilities of the Fokker organ form the starting point for newly composed works by several talented young composers. The richness of microtones and the extraordinary computer-controlled technology of this unprecedented 31-tone organ has greatly increased composers’ desire to explore new musical ideas for the instrument. This concert functions as an imaginary laboratory of tones, in which the Fokker organ is not only played by the regular organist Ere Lievonen but also driven by a laptop. In addition to all these exciting experiments, earlier successful compositions by, among others, Michiel Mensingh will also be performed.

A special concert featuring two Finnish performers: Mikko Perkola on viola da gamba and Ere Lievonen on the Fokker organ. Together they let a gentle northern wind sweep through the Kleine Zaal of the Muziekgebouw with a unique combination of instruments tuned in meantone tuning. Premieres by, among others, the versatile Finnish composer Juhani Nuorvala make this concert a fresh musical event. Both gamba player Perkola and organist Lievonen are specialists in both early and contemporary music, which is reflected in the varied programme. Historical works and newly composed pieces flow effortlessly one after the other. As a counterpart in the programme, the Italian composer Lucio Garau (b. 1959) brings warm-blooded sounds with his latest work. About his premiere piece, Garau writes: “I am always astonished when I look at Nature; it seems to me so incredible that life forms from very different times live together. The composition is a sort of homage to Charles Darwin.”

Dag in de Branding (Festival for New Music) devotes special attention in this edition to the work of composer Peter Adriaansz. Ensemble SCALA, including the Fokker keyboard, performs the first concert of the day, presenting the premiere of his latest work, entitled Scala I. Adriaansz’s austere yet intriguing and radiant composition was created specifically for the ensemble in 31-tone tuning. Remarkable is his intelligent use of the overtone series. The programme also features works by Nicola Vicentino, Ned McGowan, and Steffen Krebber. Tickets can be reserved via the Korzo Theatre in The Hague (Prinsestraat 42).
Korzo presents a special portrait concert during the Dag in de Branding festival centred around the The Hague-based composer Peter Adriaansz. His work explores sound, form, and what he terms “audible” mathematics. Recently, his compositions have also displayed microtonal influences.

Ensemble SCALA is the new ensemble for microtonal music in the Netherlands, initiated by the Huygens-Fokker Foundation (centre for microtonal music). Notably, the famous Fokker organ is part of this ensemble. All the musicians are specialists in microtonal music, collectively exploring the vibrant possibilities of microtonality in contemporary music and beyond.

By using 31 tones per octave instead of the usual 12, the repertoire of the Fokker organ can be considered contrary or unconventional. To provide an overview of these contrasting sounds, this programme presents a selection of diverse compositions that illustrate the rich musical literature of the Fokker organ. Alongside several old and contemporary classics, including a work by the American/Flemish composer Bert Van Herck, newly composed pieces written specifically for the Fokker organ by Miranda Driessen and Angus Barnacle will also be performed. Both of these composers have previously created works exploring such contrary sounds.

During The Art of the Trio, pianist Guus Janssen can be heard twice. In this concert, he plays the extraordinary 31-tone Fokker organ. As an experienced performer on this instrument, he makes full use of its unique possibilities – the 31 tones per octave allow for a wealth of microtonal exploration. Janssen’s regular trio partners, trumpeter Marco Blaauw and trombonist Wolter Wierbos, join him in an improvisational dialogue. Improvisations, experiments, and jazz classics will form the heart of this concert, often enriched with microtonal flavours and spices.
The 31 tones of the Fokker organ are microtones, filling the spaces between the twelve notes we all know from the white and black keys of the piano. Intervals that are not entirely pure in the conventional twelve-tone system can here sound perfectly in tune. Composer, pianist, and improviser Guus Janssen disregards traditional boundaries of genre and style. The Fokker organ, with its permanent home in the Kleine Zaal of the Muziekgebouw, serves as an ideal medium for his colourful improvisations. In short, an adventurous concert with top-class musicians!

Ensemble SCALA is the new ensemble for microtonal music, initiated in 2009 by the Huygens-Fokker Foundation, which manages the unique Fokker organ, to explore microtonality across a spectrum of timbres. The 31-tone Fokker organ is used here as part of a larger acoustic ensemble. For the third consecutive year, Ensemble SCALA will perform in the Kleine Zaal of the Muziekgebouw a programme consisting solely of music with unconventional tunings and alternative divisions of the octave. The programme includes a composition by the former Fokker organist Anton de Beer. In celebration of the 450th anniversary of Sweelinck’s birth, two works in meantone tuning will also be performed. The concert 31 Steps to Heaven concludes with the eponymous work by composer René Samson, a lightly microtonal piece in which 12-tone and 31-tone lines are combined and set in interplay with one another.

Peter Schat composed his Collages for 31-tone organ in 1962, creating one of the most distinctive works for the remarkable Fokker organ. In the movement Clusters, Schat paints an advanced palette of tone colours for his time, which went on to inspire many of his contemporaries. The other works on the programme, by composers such as Eugen Frischknecht, Ivan Wyschnegradsky and Jan van Dijk, were written around the same period as Schat’s composition. In addition to these pieces from the established repertoire, a composition by Felipe Waller for Fokker organ and the 96-tone Carrillo piano will be performed. This work also makes use of clusters, though in a highly playful manner, giving rise to lively musical movements. The work by Leo de Vries, though more recent than Schat’s, also has a historical connection, as de Vries corresponded with Adriaan Fokker during the 1960s. Hector Bravo Benard pays tribute to the cluster with his composition, performed using a laptop.

This year, the Huygens-Fokker Foundation commemorates the 25th anniversary of the death of Henk Badings (Bandung, Dutch East Indies, 17 January 1907 – Hugten near Maarheeze, 26 June 1987). His significant contribution to the 31-tone repertoire will be highlighted during this concert. Badings composed four works for the Fokker organ. In 1954, he wrote his Reeks van kleine klankstukken in selectieve toonsystemen for 31-tone organ. In this series, he makes use of several twelve-tone rows (selected from the 31 tones) that are pre-programmed and played by means of a traditional twelve-tone keyboard on the organ. In this work, Badings does not directly distance himself from classical tonality; rather, microtonality functions as a kind of ornamentation, a colouring of this classical tonality. In addition to his works for the Fokker organ, Badings also composed 31-tone music for, among others, string quartet (no. 4, 1966) and for the violin duo Bouw Lemkes and Jeanne Vos, who remained an active and well-known duo into the 1980s, devotedly promoting 31-tone music. A cross-section of the finest microtonal works by Henk Badings will be performed in this concert, featuring Ere Lievonen (Fokker organ), Judith van Driel (violin) and Marleen Wester (violin).

Organist Ere Lievonen unravels the secret of meantone through a selection of idiosyncratic old and new music. This morning concert provides answers to the question of why meantone tuning disappeared and how it can be applied once again in modern times. In addition to a premiere, chromatically coloured works in meantone tuning by the famous Italian composer Girolamo Frescobaldi – as well as by his contemporaries – will be performed on the 31-tone organ. Among these is a work by Gioanpietro del Buono, in which curious modulations occur to distant keys (making use of 17 tones within the octave), while in the work of Fabio Colonna, the 31 different keys of the Fokker organ are explored through conventional modulations. As a modern counterpart to Colonna, a 1997 composition (first performance!) by the Rotterdam-based violist, music theorist and composer Leo de Vries will be performed – a piece that also travels through all 31 keys, but now by means of microtonal harmonies within a contemporary idiom. The twentieth-century work by composer Hans Otte included in the programme, by contrast, is written entirely for the twelve tones of meantone tuning. The concluding work by James Hewitt from 2010 is classical in form and takes as its foundation the twelve meantone pitches rather than the 31 chromatic tones of the Fokker organ.

In December 2011, the Huygens-Fokker Foundation will present the first microtonal festival ever to take place in the Dutch capital, under the title MicroFest Amsterdam 2011. With this event, the foundation follows in the footsteps of the Los Angeles-based MicroFest and UK MicroFest in London. Through a broad and varied programme showcasing the most diverse forms of microtonality, the festival aims to meet the interests of many enthusiastic listeners and those curious about unconventional tunings and microtonal music — music that, as the famous American composer Charles Ives described it, consists of “the tones between the keys of the piano.”
A significant aspect of the concerts during the festival is that, in contrast to the Fokker organ concerts which are based on 31-tone technique, there will also be performances focusing on other microtonal systems. Attention will therefore be given to, among others, 31-tone music, 19-tone music, quarter-tone music, 96-tone music, music in Bohlen-Pierce tuning, in meantone tuning, and music based on overtone series — all founded on well-tested divisions of the octave. These divisions or tunings give rise to entirely new musical and tonal possibilities; a source of fresh sounds that broaden the listener’s ear and forever alter the way we think about music.
The programme will also demonstrate that various conventional instruments, such as the clarinet, are capable of producing exact microtones. Furthermore, during the festival, an effort will be made to position Dutch microtonality within the broader international context.

With this one-day festival, the Huygens-Fokker Foundation aims to raise public awareness of the fact that our conventional twelve-tone system is not a fixed given, but a human choice dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries — a choice that has not been entirely fortunate in every respect. For example, our currently dominant twelve-tone system lacks several important harmonic possibilities that are inherent in the natural overtone series. Acquiring this kind of knowledge through concerts and other activities during MicroFest Amsterdam is one of the primary objectives of the festival.

The main mission of MicroFest and its organiser, the Huygens-Fokker Foundation, is to develop and make knowledge of microtonal music accessible to a wide audience. As a centre for microtonal music, the foundation occupies a unique position within the Dutch musical landscape. Through its regular concerts featuring the Fokker organ, there is growing attention to alternative tunings and microtonality. For this reason, the Huygens-Fokker Foundation considers it important to give this special music extra focus in the form of a one-day festival. Such a festival already exists in other countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States, and now rightly finds a place in one of Europe’s most culturally rich cities: Amsterdam.

The concert series, organised since last season by the Huygens-Fokker Foundation in collaboration with the Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, has shown that there is a diverse audience for microtonal music, consisting not only of specialists in the field but also of listeners from all corners of the Netherlands.

For its third and, for the time being, final season, the Huygens-Fokker Foundation is organising Pimp My Organ! together with the Muziekgebouw. Once again, the computerised Fokker organ will be “pimped” and controlled via laptops, with or without additional live electronics. New this season is that the 31-tone organ will be played live from Australia via special software by the idiosyncratic composer/performer Warren Burt, who will also be visible on a screen in the hall. The programme further includes Serpentine by the Amsterdam-based composer Christina Oorebeek, written for performer and laptop, in which the laptop provides accompaniment in a kind of (organ) pedal concerto. In Together by the composer Wim de Ruiter from Heemstede, a laptop is also connected to organist Ere Lievonen, but the performance remains open-ended, allowing the performer to follow their own path within the musical material. In Second WAKE by the Canadian composer Marc Sabat, the Fokker organ is entirely computer-controlled, with the instrument supplemented by subtle electronic sounds.

The 96-tone Carrillo piano and the 31-tone Fokker organ will engage in both musical dialogue and confrontation throughout this concert. This will be expressed in a new work by composers Torsten Anders and Martin Lo-A-Njoe, written especially for this occasion. In addition, a new, short yet powerful piece by the renowned Mexican/Dutch composer Juan Felipe Waller for prepared Carrillo piano and Fokker organ will be performed. The evident contest between the two instruments will further unfold in an impro-battle, performed by musicians Maarten van Veen and Ere Lievonen. Existing works from the repertoire of these remarkable microtonal instruments will also be featured. The programme includes Music for 16th Tone Piano and Piano by Maarten van Veen and 3 epigrammen voor 31-toonsorgel by Hans Kox. Before these pieces are performed, the Carrillo piano – the newest acquisition of the Huygens-Fokker Foundation – will be presented by artistic director Sander Germanus.

Film and live music on the 31-tone organ
Pianist and master improviser Hugo van Neck will accompany, on the Fokker organ, the fascinating film El Hotel Eléctrico by Segundo de Chomón from 1908, starring actress Julienne Mathieu and the director himself. This short and curious film by Segundo de Chomón (1908) was made using stop-motion techniques. The story follows a married couple on their honeymoon who find themselves in a hotel where everything operates electrically and by itself. The idea was clearly inspired by the arrival of electricity, which at the time was a major development in many parts of Europe. Segundo de Chomón created a large number of trick films with fantastical and sometimes fairy-tale-like content.
Witty, exciting and surreal scenes will be brought to life during this performance with colourful improvisations on the 31-tone organ. Film expert and silent film specialist Theodore van Houten will introduce El Hotel Eléctrico and the other short films on the programme. All this will take place in the newly renovated BAM Hall, featuring the Fokker organ in its refreshed appearance, beautifully illuminated since this summer.

A special crossover concert featuring music by Claudio Monteverdi and his contemporaries, as well as a short 31-tone chamber opera by the young Berlin-based composer and lutenist Andreas Arend, based on Monteverdi’s solo aria Lamento d’Arianna, the only surviving part of his opera L’Arianna, which was unfortunately lost. The programme includes compositions by Biagio Marini, Andreas Oswald, Claudio Monteverdi and others. These composers were partly engaged with unusual musical theories, such as chromaticism, thematic coherence and tunings, which at the time led to music that was both innovative and appealing.

Organist Ere Lievonen will present thrilling and beguiling 31-tone music high above the IJ during this concert. In addition to brand-new works performed on the Fokker organ, including compositions by Wim de Ruiter and James Hewitt, the programme also features early music by Johann Jacob Froberger. This music was composed in meantone tuning, the tuning on which the Fokker organ is based, in which the semitones are not equally spaced. As a result, pure thirds and minor sevenths can be sounded. Bach’s music will acquire a different colour in this concert, as it was originally composed for the equal-tempered 12-tone tuning. The programme also includes two previously composed works for the Fokker organ: a classic by Hans Kox and a 2010 work for performer and laptop by Martin Lo-A-Njoe.

Gamelan is characteristic of classical Indonesian music. 31-tone music, by contrast, is a typically Dutch invention that has been developed here. The 31-tone tuning of the Fokker organ offers possibilities for rendering exotic melodies and harmonies, similar to those used in the various types of gamelan. For example, the fifth can be divided into three, resulting in a Balinese scale with 6/5 seconds. These sounds align closely with the pelog and slendro tunings of metallophones, gongs, and drums that make up the Balinese and Javanese gamelan ensembles. Percussionists Robbert van Hulzen and Clara de Mik, both specialists in gamelan performance, will accompany Ere Lievonen (Fokker organ) during this remarkable concert. The result will be a melting pot of exotic sounds.

Due to great success in December 2009, here comes the follow-up to Pimp My Organ! During this concert, the computerized Fokker organ will once again be controlled by laptops. For this occasion, two composers have created a new work. Using the latest electronic possibilities, the 31-tone organ will again be expanded, “pimped,” and transformed!
The works by Verduin, Benard, Pfeiffer, and Mensingh premiered in 2010 during the Gaudeamus Music Week and will now be performed for the first time in the Fokker organ concert series. In addition, flautist Jos Zwaanenburg will perform a revised composition together with organist Ere Lievonen. Alongside a premiere by the Mexican composer Sebastian Velasco, a new work will also be heard by the New York-based composer and 2007 Gaudeamus Music Prize winner Christopher Trapani, who composed this piece under the supervision of master composer and spectralist Tristan Murail.

Deze voorstelling brengt film en live muziek samen in een bioscoop van ongetemperde tonen. Pianist en meester-improvisator Hugo van Neck begeleidt op het Fokker-orgel de fascinerende film Aelita van Yakov Protazanov uit 1924, met in de hoofdrollen o.a. Yuliya Solntseva, Igor Ilyinsky en Nikolai Tsereteli. In de BAM Zaal zullen slechts de orgelpijpen en de filmbeelden te zien zijn. Spannende, dramatische en grappige scenes worden gedurende deze voorstelling kracht bijgezet door de klanken van het 31-toonsorgel. De film zal om 11 uur worden ingeleid door filmkenner Theodore van Houten.

Aelita is een vroege SF-film (1924) afkomstig uit de Sovjetunie. Een ingenieur, genaamd Los ontvlucht zijn overspelige geliefde door naar Mars af te reizen om daar de plaatselijke koningin (Aelita) te ontmoeten. Los bouwt een schip om naar Mars te vliegen omdat hij verliefd is op Aelita, de regentes, die hij in zijn droom heeft ontmoet. In werkelijkheid is hij getrouwd met Natacha die vluchtelingen verzorgt.
De grote attractie van deze film zijn de ideeën die men toentertijd had over ruimtereizen en buitenaardse beschavingen. Ondanks dat de film AELITA onder de bolsjewistische propagandafilms gerekend kan worden, waarin het Rusland van 1921 wordt vergeleken met de kapitalistische planeet Mars, is de film een meesterwerkje met bijzondere decors en kostuums.

During this concert, the Fokker organ will be part of a new seven-member ensemble for microtonal music, called Ensemble SCALA, formerly the Huygens-Fokker Ensemble. The instrumentation comprises Fokker organ, 31-tone guitar, viola, flute, clarinet, master keyboards, and percussion. All the musicians are specialists in microtonal music, and in this configuration they will explore the boundaries of the colourful 31-tone tuning of the Fokker organ. A wide range of new sounds will be presented, with newly composed works that sometimes combine composed music with a form of improvisation, alongside existing music from the 16th and 17th centuries. The programme includes works by René Samson, Steffen Krebber, Ned McGowan, John Bull, and Nicola Vicentino.

During this concert, organist Ere Lievonen will perform a number of new 31-tone works. Among others, the Flemish composer Bert Van Herck and the Dutch composer Christina Oorebeek were commissioned to write new pieces for the Fokker organ. In addition, an older work (2002) by Sander Germanus for this microtonal instrument will receive its premiere, performed entirely via laptop. Early music will also feature in the programme, with early Baroque compositions by the little-known but forward-looking composers Ascanio Mayone, Giovanni Maria Trabaci, and Tarquinio Merula, whose music is particularly well served by the meantone tuning of the unique Fokker organ.

On Sunday 12 September 2010, a special concert on the Fokker organ will take place in the BAM Hall of the Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ as part of the Gaudeamus Music Week. No fewer than ten premieres are on the programme, with eleven composers having created works specifically for this occasion. These microtonal compositions will be performed either by organist Ere Lievonen or via laptops, sometimes supplemented with audio. The composers are Janco Verduin, Steffen Krebber, Hector Bravo Benard, Martin Lo-A-Njoe, Michiel Mensingh, François Gabriel Madden, André Douw, Sean Winters, Christian Pfeiffer, Joseph Michaels, and Iván González Escuder.

On the occasion of composer Hans Kox’s eightieth birthday on 19 May 2010, the Huygens-Fokker Foundation, in collaboration with the Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, is presenting a unique concert on 30 May dedicated to the entirety of Kox’s 31-tone oeuvre. This body of work arose from the special contact Hans Kox maintained with Professor Adriaan Fokker between the 1950s and 1970s. His string quartet, his piece for violin duo and piano, and his other microtonal compositions will be performed. The programme includes, among others, his solo violin piece and the dreamy Vues des Anges for violin and baritone, sung by Tiemo Wang. Additionally, organist Ere Lievonen will perform works for the Fokker organ, such as the Larghetto, 3 Epigrams for 31-tone organ, and Passacaglia and Chorale. The regular organist of the Fokker organ will be joined for this concert by a new generation of dedicated microtonal performers on violin, viola, and cello.

Organist Joop van Goozen, a specialist in performing on the Fokker organ since the 1990s, presents in this concert an intriguing collection of both old and new 31-tone music. Alongside the old masters of meantone tuning, such as Michelangelo Rossi and Johann Jakob Froberger, established pieces from the fixed repertoire will also be performed, including a work by Peter Schat and a previously unknown piece by Henk Badings. Flutist Jos Zwaanenburg, also known as a composer and performer on the open-holed flute, will join Joop van Goozen as a guest to perform his new composition This Tight and Spiced Up Ring of Fire Found Some Higher Ground for Fokker organ and live electronics. As an intermezzo, the exciting Equilibrium (2009) by Danny de Graan will also be featured, with the 31-tone organ and multiple speakers controlled via laptop.

The masterful improviser and composer Guus Janssen will perform on the microtonal Fokker organ during this concert, making use of both a 12-tone keyboard and the 31-tone manual. Special guest is clarinettist/saxophonist David Kweksilber, with whom Janssen has frequently collaborated in recent years and who will musically accompany him during several improvisations. For this programme, Janssen will select works by John Bull, Duke Ellington, and himself. In addition, a composition by Kweksilber will be performed, alongside improvisations on a micromodal blues and in an ‘untamed’ tuning. Exclusively for this concert, Janssen has composed several themes for the Fokker organ, through which he will explore the possibilities of improvising with microtonality. If you want to discover where this leads and are in search of a different sound, this exciting and unpredictable concert is not to be missed!

As part of the Chinese Opera Weekend, the Huygens-Fokker Foundation, in collaboration with the Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, presents a concert featuring the Chinese erhu and the Dutch 31-tone organ, to be heard in the BAM Hall of the Muziekgebouw. The Fokker organ is a typically Dutch instrument whose unique microtonal tuning allows intervals to be rendered with exceptional purity. The erhu, better known in Western countries as the “Chinese violin,” is a two-stringed bowed instrument frequently used both as a solo instrument and within ensembles and orchestras. Tracing its origins to instruments introduced in China over a thousand years ago, the erhu has developed a distinctive musical tradition and technique over the centuries.
During this concert, organist Ere Lievonen and erhu player Fang Weiling will explore compatible tunings together, improvising on a Chinese theme and performing a Chinese composition. The programme also includes variations on Adriaan Fokker’s Bagatelle “Chinees,” Henk Badings’ Suite of Small Pieces for 31-tone organ, and an entirely new work by Joke Kegel titled Imaginary City for erhu and Fokker organ.

The Fokker organ will be controlled by laptops during this extraordinary concert. Various composers, including Marc Sabat, Danny de Graan, Rozalie Hirs and Jos Zwaanenburg, will compose works for the MIDI-controllable Fokker organ or work with live electronics. In addition, a composition by Conlon Nancarrow will be performed (with electronics and in a purer tuning) and improvised upon by Hubert-Jan Hubeek on a digital saxophone connected to the Fokker organ. Through the latest electronic possibilities, the 31-tone organ will be expanded, enhanced, and transformed during the performance.

During this special Baroque programme, the effect that an instrument such as the Fokker organ might have had on music from the time of Christiaan Huygens is explored through the use of ornamentation, enharmonic notes, and Baroque improvisation. Research has shown that the availability of extra notes/keys (to allow for retuning) led some 17th-century composers to make unconventional use of chromatic microtones. Using works by composers such as Trabaci, Delusse, Huygens, Monteclair, and Rossi, the Baroque ensemble La Barca Leyden will attempt, where necessary, to rewrite music history.

Organist Ere Lievonen, alongside Joop van Goozen the new player of the Fokker organ, will perform fascinating 31-tone music during this concert. In addition to new works on the Fokker organ, including the composition Forma by Danny de Graan, pieces by historical masters of meantone tuning will be presented, among them a work composed by the renowned Amsterdammer Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck. Furthermore, compositions from the instrument’s historical repertoire will be featured, including works by Henk Badings and Ivan Wyschnegradsky.

After having been out of sight for ten years, the Fokker organ has now found a permanent home in the BAM Hall of the Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ. This unique 31-tone instrument, following a thorough renovation and the addition of MIDI in and MIDI out, has gained a range of new musical possibilities that are surprising for composers, performers, and audiences alike.
This afternoon, the Gaudeamus Music Week and the Huygens-Fokker Foundation offer composers the opportunity to become acquainted with this microtonal organ. In addition to explanations, a demonstration of the various possibilities will be presented through a series of short performances. Furthermore, a concise presentation will cover the software that can be used to compose 31-tone music. Composers interested in writing for the Fokker organ in the coming season will have the chance for their works to be performed during Gaudeamus Week 2010.
Presented by Sander Germanus (director of the Huygens-Fokker Foundation), with contributions from Ere Lievonen (Fokker organ), Manuel Op de Coul (software demonstration: Scala for microtonality), and Danny de Graan (explanation of technical aspects of the Fokker organ).

Following the renovation of the Fokker organ, the return of this extraordinary instrument to the music world will be celebrated with a surprising inauguration concert. A cross-section of the 2009–2010 season’s concert offerings will be presented, including highlights from the Fokker organ repertoire performed by organist Joop van Goozen, improvisations by Guus Janssen, early music by La Barca Leyden, and a demonstration of the latest possibilities on the Fokker organ by composer Danny de Graan. The event will be presented by Sander Germanus (director and artistic leader of the Huygens-Fokker Foundation).

The Fokker organ was built in 1950 at the request of Professor Adriaan Fokker, who wished to make 31 tones per octave audible. This seemingly arbitrary number is based on the theories of Christiaan Huygens, whose goal was to achieve a purer resonance with the keyboard instruments of his time in the seventeenth century. In the twentieth century, the microtonal possibilities of the Fokker organ, both melodically and harmonically, became an important source of inspiration for composers. From 1950 to 2000, the organ was regularly used for Sunday afternoon concerts at the Teylers Museum in Haarlem. Composers such as Peter Schat, Hans