Every year, the Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht is also a treat for the people behind the scenes. Our crew members can hardly wait until August and are happy to share their concert tips!
Tip from Pieter-Jan, Ambassador of Early Music
Ensemble Masques – Rameau's Pygmalion (Thursday 4 September 20:00, TivoliVredenburg, Grote Zaal)
For me, there is no more entertaining composer than Rameau. His music is a feast of colour and rhythm. Pygmalion, a short act de ballet about a sculptor who falls in love with his own sculpture, is rightly counted among his best compositions. The first time I heard the work, I was deeply impressed by its gorgeous melancholic recitatives. In the overture, you can hear the sculptor's chiselling, and the music to which the statue comes to life is pure magic. The suite with music from his first tragedy Hippolyte et Aricie is the icing on the cake.
Tip from Hanna, marketer classical music TivoliVredenburg
Martin de Ruiter – A night at the museum (Saterday 30 August 23:59, TivoliVredenburg, Grote Zaal)
There is something magical about being in a concert hall in the middle of the night. Especially in the Grote Zaal of TivoliVredenburg, which then suddenly takes on a very intimate atmosphere. And organ + film images? I've experienced that combination before and believe me: it really works tremendously well. The imaginative film images from the early 20th century, the baroque organ... for a moment you are in a different sphere. And it is a Saturday, so afterwards you step back into bustling Utrecht.
Tip from Daniël, chair Stichting Vrienden Oude Muziek
Capriccio Stravagante Renaissance Orchestra / Skip Sempé - Friends Concert: Dancing with Terpsichore (Wednesday 3 September 20:00, TivoliVredenburg, Grote Zaal)
Dancing with Friends, doesn't that conjure up great images and memories? As chairman of the Stichting Vrienden Oude Muziek, I can of course only tip one concert: the Friends concert. That the festival has so many loyal Friends is a reason for a celebration, and we are certainly going to get that this evening. The name of the ensemble alone is scintillating. That the hall is filled with Friends makes it extra special. I look forward to meeting everyone and hopefully welcoming many new faces. Who knows, there might even be a footfall?
Tip from Louise, marketing and ticket sales
Arie Abbenes (beiaard) – Henry Purcell and the Carillon Opera (Sunday 7 September 16:00 , Utrecht Buurkerkhof)
I really love opera: the emotions, the drama, the music that really gets under your skin. The carillon is one of those instruments that you usually hear in the background, so I am very curious to see how those rich opera sounds come into their own on the city's biggest instrument. It seems extraordinary to stand on the Buurkerkhof, surrounded by the sounds of the city, while the bells above your head come alive with music you normally hear on the opera stage. A totally new way to experience these works.
Tip from Karel, ticket sales
Ensemble Correspondances / Sébastien Dauce - Actus Tragicus: Bach's Earliest Cantatas (Saturday 30 August 13:00 hrs, TivoliVredenburg / Grote Zaal)
For as long as I can remember, Bach cantatas were blaring through my father's stereo at our house. Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit was my and my brothers' favourite even then. Thirty years later, I climbed the baton myself as a conductor. In 2023, a dream came true: I graduated with “our” Gottes Zeit on the lectern. Choir, orchestra and soloists consisted of friends and my parents and brothers sat proudly in the audience. I have been looking forward all festival to what Sébastien Daucé and his Ensemble Correspondances will do with this fantastic cantata.
Tip from Robin, EMTV and ticket sales
Musica Gloria - The cuckoo and the nightingale (Saturday 30 August 11:00 hrs, TivoliVredenburg / Hertz)
A special meeting in 1707 is at the centre of this promising concert: the young Handel meets the legendary Corelli. The bond between these two baroque greats was extraordinary. Handel wrote sublime solo parts for Corelli, and Corelli shone in Handel's oratorios. Their mutual admiration and genius continue to inspire to this day. This concert is a great opportunity to relive those sounds. In any case, I am looking forward to hearing how the young baroque ensemble Musica Gloria brings to life the friendship of these widely known colleagues!
Tip from Vera, head Marketing
La Tempête - Hypnos (Tuesday 2 September 20:00 hrs, Jacobikerk)
They have become a welcome guest at our festival: the early music rebels of La Tempête. Their performances are completely unique and encompass much more than music alone: they are rituals in which song, light, dance and theatre come together. Earlier, they overwhelmed audiences in the darkness of the Grote Zaal of TivoliVredenburg, this time they can be seen in the middle of the day in the Jacobikerk. I am very curious to see what they have in store for us next. With a programme around the Greek god Hypnos and his kingdom of dreams, and with music from the 11th to the 20th century, this will undoubtedly be another experience to remember.
Tip from Inge, marketer Early Music Television
La Fonte Musica / Michele Pasotti - Monteverdi’s Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda (Monday 1 September 17:00 hrs, TivoliVredenburg / Hertz)
Last spring, I had the privilege of witnessing this splendid programme by La Fonte Musica before during a trip to sunny Seville. Now Michele Pasotti and his ensemble are bringing their reconstruction of the premiere of Monteverdi's Combattimento (1624) to Utrecht as well, and believe me: this contrast of solemn madrigals in the first act and vibrant musical theatre in the second is one you don't want to miss. In any case, I myself will be back in the audience.
Tip from Renée, audience participation
Contre le Temps - The Kiss from the Rose (Wednesday 3 September 15:00 hrs, Pieterskerk)
Last January they sang another concert for our Tournees and previously won the International Van Wassenaer Concours. They surprised me with their movement and staging during the Tournees, and in an interview for our Ambassadors they also hinted at their working process. This in turn makes me very curious about the content of the romantic programme they will perform on 3 September. At least the title won't be a problem!
Tip from Marjolein, editor
Maayan Licht & BREZZA – Handel in motion (Sunday 31 August 17:00 hrs, TivoliVredenburg / Hertz)
A while ago, I heard Maayan Licht for the first time. Not in concert, but on social media. A sopranista, he knows how to amaze many online with what he can do with his voice - even young people less familiar with the genre. And how good he is! He performs fantastic arias and also with an appropriate dose of humour. In this concert also together with BREZZA, the young ensemble that won several prizes at the International Van Wassenaers Concours last year. I am enormously looking forward to this combination, it will undoubtedly be a great concert!
Tip from Hitske, artistic planning
Ensemble Hemiolia / Emmanuel Resche-Caserta - Concerti Grossi XXL – Corelli and Melani (Friday 29 August 20:00 hrs, TivoliVredenburg / Grote Zaal)
I do not want to miss a festive opening of the Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht - especially when there is a large baroque orchestra on stage. When I first listened to their CD, I was immediately excited by the full sound of the strings: beautiful melodies alternate with virtuoso passages. I especially like the fact that conductor and violinist Emmanuel Resche-Caserta gives his students from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam the chance to play with this top ensemble and thus present themselves.