Heinz Holliger & Jan Michiels

"The future should be the higher echo of the past." Robert Schumann's ringing words apply perfectly to the oeuvre of the Swiss composer and oboist Heinz Holliger (1939). In his seventy-fourth year, he is still on a voyage of discovery. In his own compositions, he is always searching for new spheres on the basis of tradition. Intimate lyricism goes hand in hand with sound exploration that tests the outer limits of instrumental possibilities. He often takes his lead from the music of Schumann, his visionary kindred spirit. For example, in his 'Partita', Holliger radically transposes the intensity of Schumann's 'Kreisleriana' into the present. And just like Schumann, he often draws inspiration from poetical texts in order to discover new worlds of sound. The third section of the 'Partita' is based on a poem by Hölderlin. In Belgium, Jan Michiels is one of the leading advocates of Holliger's music. He will be performing solos and also chamber music alongside Holliger, who will also be showing us his other incarnation as one of the world's leading oboists.