Just prior to his eightieth birthday, Amsterdam Sinfonietta places Louis Andriessen in the limelight with two of his major works alongside new compositions by kindred spirits. Krisztina de Châtel creates a new choreography for Andriessen’s enchanting music theatre work Dances, originally composed for the dance De Trap in 1991. Claron McFadden sang in the première and also appears in this new performance, together with the dancer Tim Persent. McFadden also performs as a soloist in David Lang’s new work, together with the cellist Harriet Krijgh.

Harriet Krijgh
The 27-year-old Harriet Krijgh is one of the most promising young cellists of our day. Her lyrical and expressive playing has won the admiration of audiences and press alike. She won diverse awards both during and after her years of studying in Utrecht and Vienna with Lenian Benjamins, Lilia Schulz-Bayrova and Jontscho Bayrov, including the first prize and Audience Prize at the Amsterdam Cello Biennale in 2012. Since the summer of 2017 Harriet has been the artistic director of the International Chamber Music Festival Utrecht, succeeding Janine Jansen in this role. During the first festival edition under her direction she performed in the closing concert with Amsterdam Sinfonietta. Since June 2012 Harriet also has her own chamber music festival ‘Harriet & Friends’ at Burg Feistritz in Austria. She performs on a cello by Giovanni Paolo Maggini dating from 1620, made available by a private collector.

Claron McFadden
The American-Dutch soprano Claron McFadden studied at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester New York. She made her opera debut on 1 June 1985 at the Holland Festival as Ulania in ‘L’Eroe Cinese’ by Hasse. At De Nederlandse Opera her roles have included Zerbinetta in ‘Ariadne auf Naxos’ (1989), Zerlina in ‘Les Brigands’ by Offenbach (1992), Valetto in ‘L’Incoronazione di Poppea’ (1993) and Soeur Constance in ‘Dialogues des Carmélites’ (2002). McFadden regularly performs in prestigious international productions of major operatic masterworks. She has also collaborated on world premières by Theo Loevendie, Guus Janssen, Rob Zuidam, Michel van der Aa, Jörg Widmann, and Martijn Padding, among other composers. Claron McFadden received the Amsterdam Prize for the Arts in 2006. She also sang at the inauguration ceremony of the Dutch King Willem Alexander in 2013. Claron McFadden has previously performed with Amsterdam Sinfonietta on past occasions, notably in Michel van der Aa’s Sunken Garden in 2013.