Holland Festival

Music theatre, theatrical music and tantalising performance art in spectacular settings: with a full month of around 50 cutting-edge performances, the annual Holland Festival is already larger in scale and scope than most festivals, but the 2014 edition is one of the largest ever as a farewell salute to director Pierre Audi after his ten-year reign. Staying true to its innovative nature, the 67th Holland Festival welcomes groundbreaking legends as well as younger artists whom the festival has committed to showcasing in recent years. Here’s a selection.

01-29 June – Amsterdam

Vortex Temporum, 1 and 4 June, National Opera & Ballet

Coming up as a young female four-piece in the Eighties, Rosas was something else in the field of dance, with a sober, direct approach more like a punk band than a ballet company. The Flemish ensemble grew, but maintained its intensity thanks to founding dancer and choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersemaeker, who pairs her fascination with musical structures to clever, stripped-down scenographies. Festival opener Vortex Temporumis based on the eponymous composition by Gérard Grisey, known for his dense, layered orchestral music.

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Twitchy Organs, 4 June, Orgelpark

In their irreverent take on a supposedly sacred instrument, Manhattan’s contemporary music wunderkind Nico Muhly and Brooklyn’s electronic music enigma Oneohtrix Point Never infuse the organs of Orgelpark, a former church-turned-concert venue, with a dose of captivating noise.

20 Pianos, 12 June, Bimhuis

Contrary to many electronic music producers, Matthew Herbert tends to delve into history rather than anticipate the future, with timeless results. In his newest project he manages to fit 20 historical pianos on to one stage, by way of virtual re-creations projected on to an interactive video table played by broad-minded pianist Sarah Nicolls.

The Wasp Factory, 22 and 23 June, Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ

Noisemeister Ben Frost knows his way around all things dark and engrossing, hence his choice to adapt Iain Banks’ spine-chilling cult novel The Wasp Factory into a stage show, in collaboration with the Reykjavik Sinfonia string quartet. Warm attire recommended.

High art on stage Museums and galleries, why bother? At Holland Festival high-end contemporary artists can immerse themselves in the same immediate applause as the actors and musicians on stage, by collaborating directly with them. Iranian feminist video artist Shirin Neshat catches all eyes in the National Ballet’s interpretation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest (18 to 29 June, National Opera & Ballet, world premiere). Dutch video star Aernout Mik collaborates with new music ensemble Asko|Schönberg on a performance named after Soviet astronaut dog Laika (3 to 8 June, Stadsschouwburg Rabozaal). Reproductive gland-obsessed cultural icon Matthew Barney, known in the art world for his Cremaster film series and outside as Björk’s ex-husband, created his new six-hour film-noir spectacle River of Fundament (23 to 25 June, EYE) in collaboration with composer Jonathan Bepler, who coordinated a legion of choirs, brass bands, vocal improvisers and free-jazz musicians. Get your tickets or they’ll be gone before you can say gesamtkunstwerk.

www.hollandfestival.nl