Ballade for orchestra premiere

On 8 March, the premiere of Ballade for Orchestra took place in TivoliVredenburg (Utrecht), performed by the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Hannu Lintu as part of a programme that also included Sibelius’ Violin Concerto and Nielsen’s fifth symphony.

The concert was recorded by NPO Klassiek and can be streamed here.

Dennis Weijers from De Volkskrant wrote the following review:

“Not one, not two, but three highlights last Friday in TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht. The Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, led by the Finnish conductor Hannu Lintu, played a programme consisting of Carl Nielsen’s Fifth Symphony, the Violin Concerto by Sibelius – starring Alina Ibragimova – and a premiere of the Dutch composer Mathilde Wantenaar.

Her brand-new Ballade is typically Wantenarian: eclectic, free from pretention, and saturated with French nostalgia. You find yourself in a Parisian salon during the fin de siècle, a recording studio in pre-war New Orleans or a slum in Buenos Aires. Charming trombones meet silky-soft violins, but Ballade remains somewhat fragmented and never really breaks free. During the groovy moments you wish The Buddy Rich Band on stage since the classically-rehearsed jazzy rhythms stagger like a new-born baby goat on its stiff little legs.”

Read the entire review here.

Interview with Markus Poschner about Mathilde Wantenaar

Interview with conductor Markus Poschner on the occasion of the world premiere of Mathilde Wantenaar's Accordeon Concerto. After the final rehearsal, Mathilde Wantenaar was awarded the Buma Classical Award 2023, "an oeuvre prize for contemporary composers who have been active in the Dutch music sector for a long time. They connect modern movements with newly composed “serious” music, and his or her work comes to the attention of the bigger audience."

The world premiere of the Accordeon Concerto took place at the Konzerthaus Wien on 8 December 2023, performed by Vincent van Amsterdam and ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien conducted by Markus Poschner.

The Dutch premiere of the Accordeon Concerto will take place at the Muziekgebouw Amsterdam on 14 March 2024, performed by Vincent van Amsterdam and Het Residentie Orkest, conducted by Anja Bihlmaier.

Buma Classical Award

And this year the Buma Classical Award goes to… composer Mathilde Wantenaar! In its annual review of copyright income, BumaStemra sees that as a young woman, the 30-year-old Amsterdam woman stands out above a predominantly older and male field of composers and arrangers. A lot of work has been performed, written and on December 8 there was also a striking premiere of her accordion concert in Vienna. It is time to visit her in her apartment in East Amsterdam, where most of that music was written.

Read the full article here.