PROGRAMME
conductor Matthew Halls
soprano Christiane Karg
baritone Thomas Oliemans
chorus Nederlands Kamerkoor
Maxim Shalygin (1985) Canto Inferno (2024) for Soprano, Mixed Choir and Orchestra
World Premiere
Gabriel Fauré 1845-1924 Requiem, op. 48 (1887-1900) for Soprano, Baritone, Mixed Choir and Orchestra
• Introït et Kyrie
• Offertoire
• Sanctus
• Pie Jesu
• Agnus Dei
• Libera me
• In Paradisum
Concert ends at around 21.15
Most recent performances by our orchestra:
Shalygin Canto Inferno: world premiere
Fauré Requiem: Aug 2007, conductor Philippe Herreweghe
Cover: Photo Fabien Barral (Unsplash)
Fire of Rotterdam (1940). Painting by Henk Chabot, coll. Chabot Museum Rotterdam
Heaven and hell
On 14 May 1940 Rotterdam was destroyed in a scorching tsunami of flames. In the same way that we can touch history through the surviving walls of the Laurenskerk, so the music of Shalygin and Fauré connects past and present.
TheUkrainian-Dutch composer Maxim Shalygin came to the Netherlands in2010 to study composition inTheHague.Muchofhis musicdeals withtheviolenceofwar,from theHolocaustup topresent-day conflicts.At times,themusic ischargedwithemotion;at others,itfeels aggressiveorsorrowful.When RussiafirstinvadedUkraine,thecomposer couldn’tbringhimself towriteasinglenote ofmusicduetohis rageatthebrutalreality ofthesituation.Sincethen,hehas composed mainlylyrical,comforting musicto offera counterbalancetotheterribleeventsplaying out throughout theworld. ForCantoInferno hereliedonatext fromAmericanpoetRobert Frost,written in1920. Thegapingwoundof WorldWarOnewasfarfrombeinghealed, andFrostwasunable toerasefromhismind thoughtsabout theendoftheworld.During aconversationwithaprominentastronomer, theydiscussedtwoscenarios:either thesun willexplodeandtheearth willbedestroyedby fire,orthesun willburnitself outand earth willturnintoadead massof ice.InDante’s Inferno,Frostfoundanother referencetothe deepestcircleof hell,afrozenwilderness. Frostuses theforcesofnature inhispoem Fire andIcetosymbolise humandrives: desireand hatred.Hearrivesatthecynical conclusion thatmankindisitself perfectlycapableof bringingaboutthe endoftheworld.
Comfort and beauty
Soundandmelodyplayan importantrole inShalygin’smusic.Wherewordsfallshort, Shalygincommunicatesthroughamulticoloured sound pallet. InCantoInfernothe choirbeginswithaglissandoand comforting melody.Suppressedangerseems torisetothe surfaceas thevoicesswell.Andwhereanger smoulders, firescanignite,givingrisetohope. Wehearaverysoft,repetitivehighnotelike abeating heart.Thisheartbeat swellsinto an alarmbell,and sopranovoiceand choirfire theirwords ofwarning tothe listener. The musicreachesaclimax,andthenabruptly stops.Theglissando andopening melody make averysoftreturn,likethelightfrom astar that haslongsincedied,ora departedlovedone whoremainsbyone’sside.
Destruction and reconstruction
On the evening ofFriday 19 April 1940 in De Doelen–thenstilllocatedon theCoolsingel–therewas aperformance ofFauré’s Requiemby theKCOVExcelsiorchoirand theRotterdam PhilharmonicOrchestra.Amusiccritic describedthemusicas ‘anopenbookthat ispleasant toread’.Anotherpreferredto exchangeperfectionfor‘somethingmore genuineanddeeply moving’.Noonecould havesuspectedthat thiswouldbeoneofthe lastconcerts inDeDoelen.Amonthlater,on 14May,theconcerthall wentupinflames, togetherwiththemanyofthe musicians’ instrumentsand muchofthelibraryof sheetmusic.Outofthebleak seaofrubble thatremainedoftheproudcity juttedthe badlydamagedwallsandpartiallycollapsed towersofthe Laurenskerk.Afterthewar,the churchwasoneof thefewbuildingsinthe citytobe restored;theworkwascompleted
Matthew Halls • conductor
Born: England
Current position: chief conductor Tampere Philharmonic
Education: first music lessons in his father’s church choir, piano and organ lessons, organ scholar at Oxford University with Edward Higginbottom
Awards: British Academy Award
Breakthrough: 2011, debut Oregon Bach Festival; subsequently appointed Artistic Director, as successor to Helmut Rilling Guest appearances: Concentus Musicus Wien, London Mozart Players, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Dallas Symphony, Houston Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Toronto Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Finnish Radio Symphony, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Estonian National Symphony, Warsaw Philharmonic, SWR Symphonieorchester, Wiener Symphoniker, Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, TonkünstlerOrchester Musikverein, Mostly Mozart Festival Debut Rotterdam Philharmonic: 2025
Christiane Karg • soprano
Born: Feuchtwangen, Germany
Education: Universität Mozarteum Salzburg with Heiner Hopfner and Wolfgang Holzmair; International Opera Studio
Hamburg State Opera
Awards: Internationaler Johannes Brahms Wettbewerb (2018)
Breakthrough: 2006, Salzburger Festspiele
Opera: Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Opéra national de Paris, Lyric Opera Chicago. Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Staatsopera van Wenen, Hamburg, Berlijn, Beieren; Artist in Residence Graz Musikverein with major roles in Orfeo ed Euridice, Le nozze di Figaro, Così fan tutte, Die Zauberflöte, Rusalka, Pelléas et Mélisande, Daphne a.o.
Solo appearances: Wener Philharmoniker, Berliner Philharmoniker, Staatskapelle Dresden, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Philadelphia Orchestra, Münchner Philharmoniker
Debut Rotterdam Philharmonic: 2012
Photo: Gisela Schenker
Photo: Askonas Holt
Thomas Oliemans • baritone
Born: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Education: Amsterdam Conservatory with Margreet Honig; lessons with Robert Holl, Elio Battaglia, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Breakthrough: 2002, debut in Henze’s Pollicino with Dutch Touring Opera
Subsequently: Opera with Dutch National Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Salzburger Festspiele, Metropolitan Opera, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Festival d’Aixen-Provence; solo appearances with Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Freiburger Barockorchester, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, song recitals in Oxford, Cambridge, Vienna, Zurich, London, New York, Tokyo, Paris
Special projects: curator Delft Chamber Music Festival 2019, jury member International Vocal Competition ’s-Hertogenbosch, masterclasses Opera Studio DNO and Academia Reina Sofia
Madrid
Debut Rotterdam Philharmonic: 2012
Netherlands Chamber Choir • chorus
Founded: 1937, by Felix de Nobel
Current conductor: Peter Dijkstra
Chorus members: core of 16 professional singers
Repertoire: choral music from early medieval to contemporary
Performed at: Lincoln Center NewYork, Konzerthaus Wenen, Hong Kong Arts Festival, Adelaide Arts Festival, Festival Oude Muziek, Klara Festival a.o.
Commissions: Van der Aa, Andriessen, Auerbach, Badings, Benjamin, Birtwistle, Escher, Goebaidoelina, Heppener, Kagel, De Leeuw, MacMillan, Martin, Muhly, Poulenc, Roukens, Shaw, Wenjing a.o.
Special projects: NKK NXT (training programme for young professionals), Singing Days (with amateur choirs), YARA (with young people aged 12 to 16), collaborations with actors, dancers, VJ’s and poets, individuals from the field of healthcare, education and science
Debut Rotterdam Philharmonic: 1973
Photo: Juri Hiensch
Photo: Marco Borggreve
Musicians Agenda
Fri 16 May 2025 • 20.15
Sun 18 May 2025 • 14.15
conductor Lahav Shani
soprano Christiane Karg
baritoneThomas Oliemans
chorus Nederland Kamerkoor
Brahms Symphony No. 3
Shalygin Canto Inferno
Fauré Requiem
Fri 23 May 2025 • 20.15
Sun 25 May 2025 • 14.15
conductor Lahav Shani
Mahler Symphony No. 9
Anima Obscura
Thu 29 May 2025 • 20.00
Fri 30 May 2025 • 20.00
Sat 31 May 2025 • 20.00
Sun 1 June 2025 • 20.00
Rotterdam, Nieuwe LuxorTheater
conductor Giuseppe Mengoli
chorus LaurensVocaal
harp Remyvan Kesteren
dance Scapino Ballet Rotterdam
choreography Nanine Linning
digital scenography Claudia Rohmoser
Brahms Ein deutsches Requiem
Kyriakides Ein Schemen
Thu 5 June 2025 • 20.15
Fri 6 June 2025 • 20.15
conductorTarmo Peltokoski
soprano Asmik Grigorian
bass Mika Kares
Shostakovich Symphony No. 14
Sibelius Symphony No. 4
Chief Conductor
Lahav Shani
Honorary Conductor
Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Principal Guest Conductor
Tarmo Peltokoski
First Violin
Marieke Blankestijn, concertmaster
Tjeerd Top, concertmaster
Quirine Scheffers
HedYaron Meyerson
Saskia Otto
Arno Bons
Rachel Browne
Maria Dingjan
Marie-José Schrijner
Noëmi Bodden
PetraVisser
Sophia Torrenga
Hadewijch Hofland
Annerien Stuker
Alexandra van Beveren
Marie Duquesnoy
Giulio Greci
Second Violin
Charlotte Potgieter
Frank de Groot
Laurens vanVliet
Elina Staphorsius
JunYi Dou
Bob Bruyn
Eefje Habraken
Maija Reinikainen
Babette van den Berg
Melanie Broers
Tobias Staub
Sarah Decamps
Viola
Anne Huser
Roman Spitzer
Galahad Samson
José Moura Nunes
Kerstin Bonk
Janine Baller
Francis Saunders
Veronika Lénártová
Rosalinde Kluck
León van den Berg
Olfje van der Klein
Jan Navarro
Cello
Emanuele Silvestri
Joanna Pachucka
Daniel Petrovitsch
Mario Rio
Eelco Beinema
Carla Schrijner
Pepijn Meeuws
Yi-Ting Fang
Killian White
Double Bass
Matthew Midgley
Ying Lai Green
Jonathan Focquaert
Arjen Leendertz
Ricardo Neto
Javier Clemen Martínez
Flute
Juliette Hurel
Joséphine Olech
Manon Gayet
Flute/Piccolo
Beatriz Baião
Oboe
Karel Schoofs
Anja van der Maten
Oboe/Cor Anglais
Ron Tijhuis
Clarinet
Julien Hervé
Bruno Bonansea
Alberto Sánchez García
Clarinet/ Bass Clarinet
Romke-Jan Wijmenga
Bassoon
Pieter Nuytten
Lola Descours
Marianne Prommel
Bassoon/ Contrabassoon
Hans Wisse
Horn
DavidFernándezAlonso
FelipeFreitas
Wendy Leliveld
Richard Speetjens
Laurens Otto
Pierre Buizer
Trumpet
Alex Elia
Adrián Martínez
Simon Wierenga
JosVerspagen
Trombone
PierreVolders
AlexanderVerbeek
Remko de Jager
Bass Trombone
Rommert Groenhof
Tuba
Hendrik-Jan Renes
Percussion
Danny van de Wal
Ronald Ent
Martijn Boom
Harp
Albane Baron