Basklarinet Festijn

This recurring event focuses on the bass clarinet and the contemporary music created for it. It is an instrument for both soloing and accompanying; it can change in colour and blend in with other instruments, vocals or electronics; it’s like a jukebox full of unusual sounds.

The fifth edition sets up a cultural dialogue with France and Italy. In the various performances and compositions we can see how French and Italian art and literature are used as a source of inspiration. No less than seven players of the bass clarinet will appear, including the founders and artistic leaders of the festival, Fie Schouten and Tobias Klein. The program has three parts:

YOUNG GENERATION, with three young bass clarinettists

Shabnam Parvaresh (IR/DE) and Federico Calcagno (IT/NL) have both made their mark as players, band leaders and artistic leaders. Chris Watt (AUS) recently achieved his master’s degree in Groningen and is equally at home in jazz and contemporary classical.

ARCIMBOLDI ENSEMBLE: Tobias Klein, Rie Watanabe, Lida Brouskari, Thomas Jaspers

Tobias Klein’s compositions for this ensemble were inspired by Italian painter Giuseppe Arcimboldi and his series The Four Elements containing the paintings Earth, Water, Air and Fire. The portraits in profile are composed out of objects and animals that represent the four elements.

Tobias Klein is a bass clarinettist, saxophonist, band leader from, among others, Spinifex, and has been composing for over thirty years for all kinds of formations. Lida Brouskari and Thomas Jaspers are young, up-and-coming improvisers. Rie Watanabe is a percussionist with an impressive career in contemporary music and improvisation.

FREE SPACE: Fie Schouten, Frank Gratkowski, Vincent Courtois, Sofia Borges

Improvisations based on the iconic work Espèces d’espaces by French author Georges Perec. The book zooms out from the intimacy of a bed to the room, the apartment, the street, the city, the country, the world, and the galaxy. Music also needs a surrounding empty space. It breaks the silence and can be interpreted as either an intrusion or an invitation to open up.

Bass clarinettist Fie Schouten, praised for her flexible sound, focuses on composed and improvised music in which literature plays an important role. Schouten has been collaborating for several years with lyrical French cellist Vincent Courtois, and has started working together with versatile drummer Sofia Borges and sonic artist on reeds Frank Gratkowski.

Young Generation: Shabnam Parvaresh bass clarinet, Federico Calcagno bass clarinet, Chris Watt bass clarinet
Arcimboldi Ensemble: Tobias Klein bass clarinet/compositions, Lida Brouskari piano/synth, Rie Watanabe vibraphone/percussion, Thomas Jaspers drums/percussion
Free Space: Fie Schouten bass clarinet/voice, Frank Gratkowski bass clarinet, Vincent Courtois cello, Sofia Borges drums