philharmonie zuidnederland

Between August 1944 and March 1945, Richard Strauss composed his Metamorphosen for 23 solo strings, dedicated to Collegium Musicum Zürich and its conductor / patron / client Paul Sacher.

Strauss' notes in his diary, a few days after the work's completion, about the past twelve years of anti-cultural sentiments make Metamorphosen a lament over the cultural loss of World War II; a bitter parallel to this time.

Lamentation and praise

Yakara by Piet Swerts, partly edited to be performed in this time of Corona, on the other hand, is a song of praise. And on the Jeker, the Limburg BE-NL border river that underwent a radical metamorphosis with the opening in Swerts' birthplace Tongeren in 2019.

The poem on which the composer Yakara bases is by Robert Louis Stevenson, Looking-glass River: a child suspects a secret, magical world in the river. Yakara is the musical continuation of the walk From the source of the Jeker to the mouth in the Maas during Musica Sacra 2017 (theme In the beginning).

The composition by Piet Swerts is commissioned by the MoMeNT Tongeren festival, where - in collaboration with Musica Sacra - the world premiere will take place on Friday 18 September to mark the opening of the 2020/2021 season of Cultural Center De Velinx.