Concert 4 november 2025 20:15
Raadhuis, Hilversum
Around All Souls' Day, the Dudok Quartet presents an impressive program focusing on death and the comfort that music can offer. In this contemplative time of the year, works will be performed that each in their own way depict farewell, mourning, and surrender.
The program opens with sections from the string quartet by Peter Vigh, incorporating two in memoria. This is followed by the intense chromaticism of Gesualdo's Moro Lasso, in an arrangement by the Dudok Quartet, and compelling adaptations of Liszt's Via Crucis and Mussorgsky's Songs and Dances of Death. After the break, the concert concludes with one of the most iconic works in the string quartet repertoire: Schubert's moving Death and the Maiden.
Concert 6 november 2025 21:30 - 9 november 2025
TivoliVredenburg
Thrilling experimental pop artist Lido Pimienta spent the past few years studying European classical music to embark on a new ambitious journey. Shifting far from her previous electro pop sound, she remains as captivating and exuberant as ever. Influenced by the solemnity of early Christian hymns, her new album La Belleza is a grand orchestral exploration where Pimienta defies expectations, using contrast to honour her Wayuu ancestors (the Indigenous group from Abya Yala, as Colombia was called before European colonizers re-named it). Her stirring vocal melodies resound over rich symphonic textures like vital expression, celebrating new life and nature’s awakenings. Lido Pimienta will be joined on stage by Utrecht's Flare Quartet and marimba player Tatiana Koleva.
Concert 7 november 2025 20:15
Het Jagthuis
The Maat Saxophone Quartet (Maat) plays groundbreaking music and tells touching stories. They think, play, and color outside the lines of the classical saxophone quartet. With innovative programs where music merges with other art forms, Maat creates space for urgent themes. As four Portuguese musicians in the Netherlands, they speak one musical language and connect two cultures. Maat is curious, open, and not afraid to take a plunge into the deep.
Maat is the winner of the most prestigious classical music competition in Portugal, the Prémio Jovens Músicos (2018), and the Dutch Classical Talent Award (2022). In the 2025/2026 season, Maat has been nominated as an ECHO Rising Star by the Philharmonie de Paris, the Gulbenkian Foundation, and Casa da Música. They are regularly seen on the most prominent stages in the Netherlands, Portugal, and beyond, and collaborate with leading organizations in the Dutch cultural landscape, including AYA Danstheater, Oorkaan, and Theater Na de Dam.
Maat aims to reinvent the saxophone quartet and showcase it in different formations and genres. The 2025/2026 season is a significant milestone: Maat will debut in the largest European concert halls during the ECHO Rising Stars tour, perform the virtual opera Metamorphosis internationally, and tour through Brazil. A new work by Johan de Meij for saxophone quartet and harmony orchestra will have its world premiere, and Maat will collaborate with the Philharmonie Luxembourg in creating a new children's production.
Program:
Hildegard von Bingen - O Viridissima Virga Lili Boulanger - Nocturne et Cortege Henriette Bosmans - String Quartet Paul McCartney - Blackbird Aleksandra Vrebalov - Four Faces, Four Wings Kurt Weill - Music from The Threepenny Opera George Gershwin - Porgy, I is Your Woman Now George Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue
Concert 8 november 2025 19:30
Theater aan de Parade - Pleinzaal
The beauty of the kemenche is given a new brilliance in the hands of Soheil Shayesteh. He is not only an extremely skillful player of this traditional Persian knee violin, but subtly intertwines the enchanting string sounds with live electronics. For his latest composition 'Infinite Range', Shayesteh collaborates with soprano Kristia Michael and ADAM Quartet, ensemble-in-residence during November Music 2025.
Soprano, kemenche, and string quartet come together in this musical journey. In his music, Shayesteh combines chamber music, Eastern sounds, stirring improvisations, and film-like soundscapes. Live visuals are provided by Rashin Teimouri. His dreamy ink drawings emerge live as a response to the performance, creating a complete experience.
Concert 11 november 2025 19:00
Verkadefabriek Clubzaal
Four decisive ladies hold their ground in the ADAM Quartet. A new Dutch string quartet with an international touch that illuminates and enriches the vast quartet repertoire with esprit. During November Music, as ensemble-in-residence, they will perform multiple times. They will participate in the composer portrait of Ellis Ludwig-Leone (Friday, November 14) and accompany kemenche master Soheil Shayesteh (Saturday, November 8).
But of course, the ADAM Quartet also presents their own concert recital. Central to this is their debut album 'Exquisite Corpse'. Just like the eponymous, surrealist game where separate, artistic interventions together form a completely new creation, the ADAM Quartet blends traditional repertoire and new compositions on their album. The selected works together form an abstract collage, giving the music a different meaning.
In the album 'Exquisite Corpse', all individual parts reinforce each other, creating an exciting new whole. The common thread connecting these works is Aus meines Herzens grunde by Bach. This chorale has been divided and transformed by the quartet itself into creative interludes between the parts of the Exquisite Corpse. During their recital, the quartet will perform works including those by Ellis Ludwig-Leone (Exquisite Corpse), Amarante Nat (I listen to the ocean), John Adams (Toot nipple), and Aleksandra Vrebalov (My desert my rose).
Especially for November Music, the ADAM Quartet has expanded their repertoire with Thomas Adès' masterpiece for string quartet: 'Arcadiana'. In this seven-part work, the composer refers to the mythical Arcadia. A place of eternal beauty and tranquility that seems to only exist in memory.
Concert 14 november 2025 20:00
Verkadefabriek - Grote zaal
A whole generation of young composers has emerged who effortlessly break down boundaries between tonal music, classical, post-minimalism, and pop music. One of the stars is the 36-year-old Ellis Ludwig-Leone. He composes with the seductive flair of a seasoned storyteller, virtuosically guiding the listener through emotional peaks and depths. Since 2012, he has not only led his own indie rock band San Fermin, but also composed for orchestras, ensembles (yarn/wire, Sandbox Percussion), and string quartets (Jack Quartet, Attacca Quartet). Ludwig-Leone has developed a special bond with the young Dutch ADAM Quartet and harpist Lavinia Meijer.
During an exclusive composer portrait, Ellis Ludwig-Leone presents his music. The composer himself takes a seat behind the piano. In addition to the ADAM Quartet and Lavinia Meijer, the concert is supported by the American singer Eliza Bagg. The experienced Bagg is known from the vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth and her solo act Lisel (which can be seen during Saturday Night on November 15).
The central focus of the Ludwig-Leone portrait is the song cycle 'False We Hope' for solo voice, string quartet, and piano. Ludwig-Leone wrote the piece specifically for Eliza Bagg. In the cycle, the composer touches on deeply human themes such as hope and loss, connection and isolation with a serene aggression. He sees the piece as a book of prayers for non-believers. The cycle includes texts and poems by Karen Russell (known for the novel 'Swamplandia!') and Carey McHugh.
In addition, various compositions featuring the harp are on the program. Lavinia Meijer is a true specialist in (post)minimalistic music and has worked closely with composers such as Philip Glass. Following a meeting between Ludwig-Leone and Meijer during a residency at the 'Banff Centre for the Arts' in 2011, a long-standing friendship and collaboration between the composer and performer emerged. The concert opens with Shadowy Figures, a one-movement harp concerto written for Lavinia Meijer, who premiered the piece with Het Gelders Orkest in 2019. Specifically for this concert, Ellis created an arrangement for harp and the ADAM Quartet. The first piece after the intermission, Night Loops, was composed in 2014 for Lavinia's album The Glass Effect and is written for solo harp, looping pedal, and electronics. Layers of restless harp figures and obsessive repetition are meant to evoke the experience of insomnia, exploring the strange twilight zone between wakefulness and dreams. In addition to this work, Lavinia performs the duet 'Past Life' for harp and viola alongside violist Minna Svedberg. During an intermission interview, Ludwig-Leone explains his work in the Verkadefabriek's conservatory.
Concert 15 november 2025 20:00
De Goede Rede, Almere
Final concert of our Artist in Residence 2025 with mezzo-soprano Bella Adamova. The movement of the planets and celestial bodies in the cosmos was believed to create celestial music. An inspiration for artists and composers. Also for the Belinfante Quartet with their arrangement of Songs by Alma Mahler for strings and mezzo-soprano, a world premiere!
Especially for this finale, the Belinfante Quartet has given substance to their goal of creating their own arrangement. And they succeeded! To perform their arrangement, they have collaborated with 'rising star' mezzo-soprano Bella Adamova. She is also a Mahler specialist and a wonderful chamber musician.
In addition to the songs of Alma Mahler, Gustav Mahler's Kindertotenlieder are also on the program. Something completely different.
Program:
Alma Mahler: Songs - arr. Belinfante Quartet for strings+mezzo-soprano - premiere
Benjamin Britten: Third String Quartet
Rhiannon Randle: Baile
Gustav Mahler: Kindertotenlieder
Concert 16 november 2025 15:00
TivoliVredenburg - Club Nine
The Brazilian saxophonist Lucas Santana (1993) presents a fascinating sound palette in which jazz and classical music meet. On his new album Bosquesos do Brasil, he explores his musical roots in a surprising garment.
Santana's collaboration with the ADAM Quartet originated during his studies in Amsterdam, where he broke the boundaries between jazz and classical departments. The meeting of these musical worlds resulted in a unique sound in which Brazilian rhythms, classical structures, and jazz improvisations merge.
In addition to his saxophone and clarinet, the multi-instrumentalist also brings his flute, with which he weaves refined melodies through a rich texture of strings and subtle rhythms.
Lecture 17 november 2025 16:30
ONLINE
Anne Hyland is Senior Lecturer in Music Analysis at the University of Manchester. She holds degrees from University College Dublin (BA hons, BMus and MMus) and from the University of Cambridge, where she completed her PhD in 2012 under the supervision of Prof. Nicholas Marston at King's College.
Anne is a musicologist and music analyst, specializing in music from the first half of the nineteenth century, with a particular focus on chamber music and its contexts. Her research mainly focuses on the instrumental music of Franz Schubert, which she studies from analytical, historiographical, and philosophical perspectives, as well as from the perspective of editorial practices of Schubert's time.
Her monograph Schubert's String Quartets: The Teleology of Lyric Form was published in April 2023 in the Music in Context series by Cambridge University Press and was awarded the Anthony Pople Mid-Career Researcher Award by the Society for Music Analysis. Her first article, 'Rhetorical Closure in the First Movement of Schubert's Quartet in C Major, D46: a Dialogue with Deformation' (2009), won the Music Analysis 25th Anniversary Award.
Concert 20 november 2025 20:00
Grote Kerk Epe
Soprano Elisabeth Hetherington and the ADAM Quartet explore the intersections between voice and string instruments. Hetherington's expressive delivery and versatility seamlessly complement the detailed and inventive playing of the ADAM Quartet. With a program that stretches the boundaries between vocal and instrumental music, they demonstrate how voice and strings enhance, challenge, and elevate each other to another level.
Masterclass 21 november 2025 09:00 - 23 november 2025
From November 21 to 23, 2025, the NSKA welcomes three prominent musicians for a special masterclass: Gerhard Schulz (Alban Berg Quartet), Marc Danel (Quatuor Danel), and Stefan Metz (Orlando Quartet).
Gerhard Schulz was born in Linz and studied violin with Franz Samohyl at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna, with Sándor Végh at the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf, and with Shmuel Ashkenasi in the United States. He was a founding member of the Salzburg String Trio and the Schulz Ensemble, and served as the first violinist of the Düsseldorf String Quartet.
Since 1980, he has been a professor of violin at the Musikuniversität in Vienna, and since 1993, a guest professor of chamber music at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Cologne. For over 30 years, he was a member of the world-renowned Alban Berg Quartet, with which he performed at all major music centers worldwide. After the quartet disbanded in 2008, he founded the Waldstein Ensemble (piano quartet). In 2009, he made his conducting debut with the Copenhagen Philharmonic and has since devoted himself passionately to his students.
Marc Danel has been the artistic director and head teacher of the NSKA since 2011, succeeding founder Stefan Metz. He has coached Dutch quartets such as Ragazze, Dudok, Ardemus, and Animato, as well as foreign ensembles like Quatuor Varèse and Quatuor Agate.
Born in 1969, Marc Danel studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Cologne. He is the first violinist of the Quatuor Danel, which received its training from the Amadeus Quartet, Valentin Berlinsky (Borodin Quartet), and Fyodor Drushinin (Beethoven Quartet). The quartet is considered the successor to the legendary Russian Beethoven Quartet and the Belgian Pro Arte Quartet.
Stefan Metz studied cello in Bucharest and furthered his studies with Paul Tortelier. A masterclass by the Amadeus Quartet brought him to the Netherlands, where he began his international career. He founded the Orlando Quartet and the Orlando Festival, and shared the stage with artists such as Heinz Holliger, Nobuko Imai, Gidon Kremer, Menahem Pressler, the Borodin Quartet, and members of the Amadeus Quartet. He conducted masterclasses worldwide and served as a jury member at prestigious competitions in Bordeaux, Florence, London, Moscow, and Prague.
Stefan Metz was instrumental in the founding of NSKA and served as artistic director and head teacher from 2001 to 2011. To this day, he remains closely involved as a dedicated teacher and esteemed advisor.
Concert 21 november 2025 20:15
De Doelen, Rotterdam
Soprano Elisabeth Hetherington and the ADAM Quartet explore the intersections between voice and string instruments. Hetherington's expressive delivery and versatility seamlessly complement the detailed and inventive playing of the ADAM Quartet. With a program that stretches the boundaries between vocal and instrumental music, they show how voice and strings strengthen, challenge, and elevate each other to another level.
Elisabeth Hetherington
The Canadian-Dutch soprano Elisabeth Hetherington was awarded the Dutch Music Prize in 2024 at De Doelen and stands out with her expressive interpretations of early, modern, and contemporary repertoire. Her background in modern dance fuels her multidisciplinary approach, seamlessly combining singing and movement in innovative productions. She is praised for her virtuosity, expressiveness, and visual performance. On January 17, 2026, she will also be heard in Andriessen's De Materie with Asko|Schönberg, and on May 9, 2026, she will perform with the Orchestra of the 18th Century.
ADAM Quartet
The ADAM Quartet is a young and energetic string quartet that explores the classical repertoire with a fresh perspective. They combine traditional works with contemporary compositions and regularly collaborate with artists from other genres. The quartet has performed on major Dutch and international stages and festivals, and has been following the postgraduate program at the Dutch String Quartet Academy since 2022.
Program:
Dean String Quartet No.2
Schönberg String Quartet No.2
Shaw Other song & Cant voi l'aube
Montgomery Break away (string quartet only)
Keizersgracht 241
1016 EA Amsterdam
info@nska.nl
