Madness!
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Thu 4 Mar 202720:15 - 22:00Grote Zaal
1 Normaal € 49,00 CJP € 39,00 Stadspas € 39,00 Early Bird (13-30jr) € 12,50 2 Normaal € 39,00 CJP € 39,00 Stadspas € 39,00 Early Bird (13-30jr) € 12,50
Program
19.15 / Foyerdeck 1 / Pre-concert talk
20.15 / Grote Zaal / Main program
Zad Moultaka I am the Truth! (world premiere)*
Peter Maxwell Davies Eight Songs for a Mad King
*co-commissioned by the Muziekgebouw with support from Ammodo
Credits
Netherlands Chamber Choir
New European Ensemble
Burak Onur Erdem conductor
Kenza Koutchoukali director
Mahan Esfahani harpsichord
Gilad Nezer baritone
In a ground-breaking concert, the Netherlands Chamber Choir explores the thin line between madness and genius. Waanzin! (Madness!) is a theatrical journey through the works of Franco-Lebanese composer Zad Moultaka and English composer Peter Maxwell Davies, full of cultural and historical intersections. The programme connects the mystical poetry of the ‘mad’ 9th-century Sufi Al-Halladj with the delusional world of the English King George III.
The concert opens with a new work by Moultaka for choir and harpsichord, based on texts by the mystic Al-Halladj, who is often regarded as a martyr within Islam. Performing on the harpsichord is Mahan Esfahani, dubbed a ‘harpsichord superstar’ by The Guardian. This is followed by Maxwell Davies’ Eight Songs for a Mad King, which centres on King George III, who was plagued by delusions. The work’s erratic structure reflects his internal chaos and the thin line between rationality and madness.
