Nederlands Strijkergilde: Breathless

Who are they?

The Nederlands Strijkersgilde brings together amateur musicians to offer them, as well as the public, the opportunity to get acquainted with pieces of music from the 20th and 21st century.

Aim

Breathless is a concert about breath, farewell, death and freedom. The opening work ‘The Last Round’ by Osvaldo Golijov (1960) uses two opposing string orchestras that fight each other, but eventually unite. This is followed by ‘Fatal Harmonies of Black Sweetness’ by Enjott Schneider (1950). Together with cellist Lidy Blijdorp, the dark world of Carlo Gesualdo (1566-1613) is explored, who, after killing his adulterous wife, fell into depression. Finally, the Pulitzer Prize-winning second symphony by John Corigliano (1938) will be performed, a Dutch premiere. The work begins and ends in silence, in which only the bated breath of all present is heard.