‹Cielo e Terra›, Holland Festival announces programme

Today the programme of the 61st Holland Festival was announced in the atrium of Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ in Amsterdam. Presented by artistic director Pierre Audi and further described by Lieven Bertels (artistic coordinator music) and Annemieke Keurentjes (research & development), the 2008 edition is themed ‹Cielo e Terra› (Heaven and Earth), which are the first words from Olivier Messiaen’s St. François d’Assise.

As always is the case with this festival, the programme envelopes over time, revealing its innerstructures, contexts and unique performances. The wonderfully designed pocket - by Maureen Mooren en Daniël van der Velden - will be by my side for the coming days, annotating it with news and anecdotal information I receive from insiders and HF employees. However, there are some immediate artists and events that stand out between the more ‹traditional› greats: Ryoji Ikeda, Matmos, Midaircondo, Rem Koolhaas (not untraditional, but unfestively out of place), Jeroen Willems (in German), Stefan Wolpe (teacher of Morton Feldman) and Heiner Goebbels’ Stifters Dinge (music theatre without actors or musicians).

Somewhat new this year is the enhanced interest in contemporary art, with the commissioned work by media artist Ryoji Ikeda and the installation Location (6) by Belgian artist Hans op de Beeck.

In his critical speech, blaming the Amsterdam municipality for their lack of financial support, Audi also confessed he will remain the festival’s director for another four years.

Visit www.hollandfestival.nl for more information on the programme and tickets.

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