Gaudeamus has been supporting young composers since 1945, and the organization was consequently closely involved in the first experiments with electronics in the 1950s and 1960s. In collaboration with record label Moving Furniture and composer Jos Smolders, we are paying tribute this year to two Dutch pioneers of electronic music: Ton de Leeuw and Luctor Ponse.
Luctor Ponse and Ton de Leeuw both belong to the early generation of composers who, after World War II, were inspired by the sounds from the electronic studios of Paris and Cologne. Their groundbreaking tape works have been restored and will be presented tonight in a quadrophonic setup—the setup for which many of the works were originally composed, but in which they have not been heard for 60 years. It promises to be a historic evening!
In this first listening session of the night, the work of Ton de Leeuw will be played, along with a contemporary response by Siamak Anvari and a piece selected from an open call by Gianluca Delfino. His piece Étude aux BBDs is a short eight-channel piece focused on the exploration of analogue voltage controlled techniques in the studio of the Institute of Sonology. Anvari’s piece reflects on the work of Ton de Leeuw as one of the pioneers of Dutch electroacoustic music and looks for intersections between De Leeuw’s and his own work – such as the incorporation of microtonality, and the profound influence of non-Western musical traditions. The commission to Anvari is financially supported by the Performing Arts Fund NL.
