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 9 november 2025 15:00
Podium Milûk, Harlingen
Beethoven's fourteenth string quartet is one of the last string quartets he completed. It is a work that Beethoven himself was very proud of and has fascinated the music world ever since. Franz Schubert found it so beautiful that he wanted to hear it one last time on his deathbed, and then said, 'After this work, what else is there left for us to write?' The work consists of seven parts, each part with its own character that reflects a different aspect of life. Between the parts, members of the Skazka Quartet will read letters from Beethoven that provide insight into his life. From a passionate love letter to the will of Heiligenstadt, in which he considers ending his life but ultimately decides not to because he still wants to write so much music: he cannot leave the world before completing this.
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 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 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 5 november 2025 20:15
De Regenboog, Zoetermeer
The Skazka Quartet, founded in 2020, is a new presence in the Dutch quartet landscape. Skazka (скáзка) is the Russian word for fairy tale, and that is exactly what the quartet aims for: telling stories. Since winning the Storioni Competition in 2022, they have performed in several major Dutch venues, including the Concertgebouw, TivoliVredenburg, and DeDoelen.
They are the recipients of the String Quartet Scholarship 2024 from the Kersjes Fund.
In recent seasons, the quartet has been heard at the Storioni Festival, ZOOM! Festival, Grachtenfestival, Aurora Festival, and Duinstreek Chamber Music Festival. They have also performed live on Radio 4 in the Spiegelzaal program. Additionally, the quartet enjoys producing their own projects, for which they have received support from the Performing Arts Fund and the Municipality of Utrecht. In collaboration with MERITA, the quartet developed their production '131', in which they combine Beethoven's letters with his string quartet op. 131. This production will be performed in various locations in Europe as well as in the Netherlands this season.
In September 2024, the Skazka Quartet participated in the Chamber Music Campus in Weikersheim, where they received lessons from members of the Cuarteto Casals and the Artemis Quartett (Heime Müller and Gregor Sigl). For this, they received a scholarship from Jeunesses Musicales Deutschland. They had previously attended masterclasses with, among others, Jonathan Brown (former Cuarteto Casals) and Cibrán Sierra Vázquez (Cuarteto Quiroga).
In 2024, the quartet was selected to participate in Musethica, a masterclass program for young professional ensembles, to which they will be connected in the 24/25 and 25/26 seasons. They are also part of the European network Le Dimore del Quartetto. Since 2020, they have been associated with the Dutch String Quartet Academy, where they receive lessons from artistic director Marc Danel and guest teachers such as Pierre Colombet, Marie Chilemme (Quatuor Ébène), and Luc-Marie Aguera (former Quatuor Ysaye). They have also taken lessons from members of the Jerusalem Quartet (as part of the Zeister Muziekdagen) and members of the Ruysdael Quartet.
The program features two masterpieces: Janacek's First String Quartet and a Rasumowsky quartet by Beethoven. Janácek wrote his string quartet 'Kreutzer Sonata' after reading Tolstoy's novella of the same name: a story of love and jealousy, where all emotions reach a climax during a performance of Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata. The music tells the story through Janácek's characteristic style, with repeating motifs, strong rhythmic elements, and a wealth of special techniques.
Beethoven's string quartets op. 59 mark an important point in the string quartet literature: they are the first works written for a professional string quartet. Up to that point, string quartets were ad hoc ensembles, and the level of the players varied considerably. With in mind a quartet of four equal and talented musicians, Beethoven dared to push the boundaries of what was possible even further. As a gesture to the patron, Count Razumovsky, he incorporated a Russian theme in the final movement of opus 59 no. 1.
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 31 oktober 2025 20:00
De Waalse Kerk, Amsterdam
Under the artistic direction of Albert Bonnema, Stichting Opera in het Hart van Mokum presents the opera evening Love, Passion, and Jealousy. A varied program bringing together professional singers and musicians and young talent from the Conservatory of Amsterdam. This evening highlights the power of opera as a means of expression for intense emotions that have no outlet in everyday life, and provides space for both performers and the audience to experience them intensely.
With a diverse selection of voice types, works by composers such as Mozart, Verdi, Wagner, and Beethoven are performed, including for example the first act of Walküre, the trio Soave sia il vento, and Bella figlia dell'amore from Rigoletto. The combination of dramatic and lighter voices creates a rich palette of timbres and styles.
An important goal of the foundation is to make opera more accessible in Amsterdam, where the offer is very limited. Another goal is talent development: at each concert, a young talent from the conservatory gets the opportunity to develop under the guidance of experienced artists, within a professional context.
The musical accompaniment is in the hands of the British/Belgian pianist Andrew Wise, who not only supports the singers but also arranges pieces for the Dokwerk Saxophone Quartet. This ensemble will perform their own works but also serve as an accompanying ensemble for the vocal pieces.
In between the musical pieces, artistic director Albert Bonnema will provide the audience with explanations, allowing the audience to familiarize themselves with the background and meaning of the selected compositions in an accessible way.
With this concert (Love, Passion, and Jealousy), the foundation takes the first step in its ambition to realize a series of high-quality opera concerts and thus expand the existing opera offer in Amsterdam.
Performers:
Karen Vermeiren - soprano
Maria Fiselier - mezzo-soprano
Yulietta Quevedo - soprano
Albert Bonnema - tenor
Frans Fiselier - baritone
Dokwerk Saxophone Quartet
Andre Wise - pianist/arranger
Concert 30 oktober 2025 20:15
Leidse Schouwburg
Specially selected concerts, including an afterparty! From classical music to jazz and from world music to cross-over: let yourself be taken on a surprising musical journey in the intimate Aalmarktzaal for 5 quarters. Afterwards, the bar is open, the DJ is ready, and you can hit the dance floor in Café Caat, the theater café of the Stadsgehoorzaal and the new hotspot of Leiden. Whether you come with your partner or friends (or take yourself out on a solo date!): HEAR\\HERE guarantees a fantastic night out.
Mortality in classical music
Memento mori: a reminder of our mortality. On the eve of Halloween, HEAR\\HERE dives headfirst into the grave and the Dudok Quartet performs the most beautiful classical music about death. The famous string quartet Der Tod und das Mädchen by Franz Schubert is flanked tonight by compositions of Gesualdo, Mussorgsky, and Liszt: other composers who have also been inspired by this life-sized theme.
Masterclass 28 oktober 2025 09:00 - 30 oktober 2025
From October 28th to 30th, the NSKA masterclass will be given by Pierre Colombet of the Quatuor Ebène and Gilles Millet of the Quatuor Danel.
Pierre Colombet (1979) began playing the violin at the age of 9 at the music school of Saint-Galmier. In the class of Pierre Beaugrand, he won first prizes for the violin and chamber music at the conservatory (CNR) of Saint-Étienne. In 1997, he continued his education at the CNR of Boulogne-Billancourt, where his love for chamber music grew. Under the guidance of teachers such as Jacques Ghestem, Hortense Cartier-Bresson, Christophe Poiget, and Xavier Gagnepain, he founded the Quatuor Ebène in 1999, in which he is the first violinist. Since then, the quartet has had an impressive international career, winning prizes at the competitions in Bordeaux and Munich, and performing in cities like London, Berlin, Tokyo, Washington, Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Munich, Prague, Salzburg, Palermo, and New York.
In addition to his classical education, which he completed with highest honors at the CNSM of Paris (class of Boris Garlitzky), Colombet developed a growing interest in improvised music, including jazz, tango, and electronic music. He constantly seeks to connect different musical traditions and cultures, fueling his artistic curiosity and enthusiasm.
Gilles Millet won the second prize at the International Bach Competition of Paris in 1986 and was admitted to the class of Régis Pasquier at the Conservatoire de Paris (CNSMD) at the age of fifteen, where he graduated in 1991 with a first prize and a special prize for contemporary repertoire.
Millet is one of the founders of the Quatuor Danel, where he plays second violin. From its inception, the quartet received international recognition, winning prizes at competitions in Florence, Evian, St. Petersburg (Shostakovich), and London. The ensemble was formed and inspired by luminaries such as the Amadeus and Borodin Quartet, Fjodor Droujinine (Beethoven Quartet), Walter Levin (LaSalle Quartet), Pierre Penassou (Parennin Quartet), and Hugh Maguire.
The Quatuor Danel is known for its in-depth explorations of the string quartet repertoire and has performed complete works by composers such as Beethoven, Shostakovich, Weinberg, Tchaikovsky, Schubert, Brahms, Schumann, Bartók, and Saygun.
Concert 25 oktober 2025 15:00
Stadsgehoorzaal, Leiden
Fontana Quartet
The Fontana Quartet is a lively, energetic, and passionate string quartet that has been collaborating since September 2021. The ensemble consists of violinists Mara Mostert and Caspar Bellamy, violist Elin Haver, and cellist Isaac Lottman. The young musicians form a quartet in which both the personal and the musical aspects click. They study at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, where they meet for rehearsals and lessons with Dmitri Ferschtman, Judith van Driel, and Peter Brunt. The quartet has already performed multiple times: on TV at Podium Klassiek, at the Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, and on beautiful stages throughout the Netherlands. In March 2024, the Fontana Quartet entered into a collaboration with Portuguese soprano Madalena Massano, with whom they went on tour to Portugal. Since October 2024, the quartet has been affiliated with the Dutch String Quartet Academy (NSKA), an academy that guides young ensembles in their learning process and offers many opportunities.
Program:
Britten String Quartet no.2 op.36
Barber Molto Adagio op.11 second part
Schulhoff 5 pieces for string quartet
Concert 23 oktober 2025 20:30
Het Concertgebouw, Amsterdam
In Masterpieces Unboxed we dissect masterpieces from chamber music. Tonight with Ravel's String Quartet in F and the Animato Quartet. Gijs Kramers first takes you along inspiration sources, hidden details and surprising twists, with live played fragments that shed new light on the work. After the 'unboxing' the entire work will be performed. The language will be English.
Ravel's String Quartet in F
Ravel dedicated his String Quartet to Gabriel Fauré. The young composer, inspired by the refinement and timbre spectrum of colleague Debussy, wrote an irresistible evergreen. The bigwigs thought differently: Ravel submitted his quartet for the Prix de Rome. He did not win it, but was instead expelled from the conservatory for this deed…
Animato Quartet
For the Dutch Animato Quartet, founded in 2013, the sound world of Ravel holds few secrets. The four players are well-versed in this standard repertoire, but also exhibit a great curiosity for contemporary notes which they demonstrate on both domestic and international stages. In 2023, the quartet was awarded the prestigious Kersjes Prize. Let yourself be surprised by the powerful playing of the Animato's!
Keizersgracht 241
1016 EA Amsterdam
info@nska.nl
