Loud Chords and Calm Moments. Louis Andriessen, Composer

Louis Andriessen's oeuvre now stands at around one hundred published works. Their unique and headstrong idiom, their instrumentation and their role in the history of music make some of the compositions that have been discussed key works of international composition from the last quarter of the twentieth century. Other works, however, have more of a one-off character. For that too is a side of Louis Andriessen: the artisan, the craftsman, the musician in heart and soul, who doesn't approach music like a cell biologist, but sees it as a living passion that is constantly being reinvented. What is always present, even in the shorter pieces, is his strong and recognisable musical personality. Generally you can tell after just one bar: this is Andriessen. Setting the tone…