Signs Games and Messages, June 27 to July 6, 2025
Theme
The theme for 2025 was Signs, Games and Messages, inspired by the legendary and ever-growing series of musical miniatures by Hungarian composer György Kurtág.
Signs, Games and Messages represents an intimate, distilled, and enigmatic collection of musical aphorisms that offers both performers and listeners a rich, though often elusive, emotional and intellectual experience. These miniatures, with their rich variety of instruments, form the framework on which we hang the program. Each concert during the festival will feature one of these miniatures. In addition to the absolute musical value of the theme, the three-part title serves as the starting point for a festive, playful, and versatile program with contemporary compositions and crossovers to other art forms such as literature, games, film, and visual arts.
Objectives
Our central objective is to bring chamber music of a high national and international standard to Zeeland for as wide an audience as possible. We strive to create an unforgettable event where music lovers can indulge in chamber music of a high artistic standard. The program and the appreciation show that we have achieved our objective of bringing chamber music of a high national and international standard to Zeeland, but that also gives us the task of continuing on that path.
A second objective is to spread the festival across the region, which is being achieved through collaboration with the Schouwen-Duiveland Chamber Music Foundation and by spreading the festival across Central Zeeland. With concerts in Zoutelande, Domburg, Noordgouwe, Zierikzee, and Goes, among other places, we have certainly succeeded in this, but for the future we want to spread our festival even further across the province. We will achieve this by intensifying our existing collaborations and entering into new collaborations with local organizations in the coming years.
A third important objective is to involve young people in the festival. In this regard, we pay a lot of attention to schoolchildren and young people and talent from around the world, but also from Zeeland itself. Particularly for primary school children, we organized Tijl Uilenspiegel and a preparation at the school itself. For secondary schools, there was a competition in which the students, through painting or other forms of expression, could reflect on several pieces of music, accompanied by their culture teachers. In addition to attention in the classroom, this project also resulted in approximately 100 cultural expressions from the students.
The concerts
The Academy and the final concert
The final concert was the conclusion of the five-day masterclasses that students took with internationally renowned teachers such as violinist Lisa Jacobs, violist Marc Sabbath, and pianist Nikos Stavlas. This year’s final concert was held in the Koorkerk in Middelburg, was free to attend, and therefore attracted many visitors.
Opening concert (Friday, June 27, Zeeuwse Concertzaal)
Opening concert by the FZK Ensemble with Lisa Jacobs, Angela Chan, Lech Antonio Uszynski, and others. Works performed included Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante, Mendelssohn’s Piano Sextet Op. 110, Adams’ Shaker Loops, and Kurtag’s Postcard to Anna Keller. The theme and music of Kurtag ran like a thread through the entire festival.
Teaser concerts (Saturday, June 28, on the old Queen Emma ferry and at the Spui bookstore in Vlissingen)
On June 28, we were at two locations in Vlissingen with free pop-up concerts by the musicians of the Zeeland Klassiek Festival. On the old Queen Emma ferry, the duo Zala Frangez & Wilker Paredes played music by Martinu, and in the Spui bookshop, the ISLE Quartet played.
Trio Candor (Saturday, June 28, Catharinekerk Zoutelande)
After their impressive program based on the Goldberg Variations last year, Trio Candor brought us a serenade for string trio this year. Trio Candor owes its name to the Latin word candor, which means clarity or purity. This results in complex, honest, and heartfelt interpretations and an exceptionally harmonious collaboration within the trio. The program included: Beethoven’s String Trio in C minor, Op. 9 No. 3, Kurtag’s Signs, Games and Messages for string trio, and Dohnanyi’s Serenade.
Bach for Breakfast (Sunday, June 29, Mythe Goes)
We started the day in a special way with Bach for Breakfast! An intimate morning concert featuring the iconic music of Bach. As part of the common thread, another piece by G. Kurtag, Hommage à Bach. In addition, J.S. Bach Solo Sonata for violin BWV 1001 and J.S. Bach Cello Suite no. 4BWV 1010.
Ticket to Ride (Sunday, June 29)
The day started with a concert by the IKARAI ensemble in the warehouse at Goes station. Then we took the steam train from Goes to Hoedekenskerke, with concerts on the train. Upon arrival in Hoedekenskerke, there was a concert by the ISLE ensemble in the church in Hoedekenskerke. Then we took the train back to Goes with more performances on the train and finally a performance by four Festival cellists in the warehouse at the station in Goes. It was a special festival day for an enthusiastic audience.
CODE (Monday, June 30, Industrial Museum in Sas van Gent)
Here, too, the theme recurred in the program with Kurtag Signs Games and Messages (selection) for solo viola, performed by the Skazka Quartet. The music of Shostakovich (String Quartet No. 3) and the machines from the beginning of the last century complemented each other perfectly.
Keti-Koti (Tuesday, July 1)
Concert at Keti-Koti during the official commemoration in the choir church in Middelburg with Lisa Jacobs and Levan Tshkadadze.
Children’s concert Tijl Uilenspiegel (Tuesday, July 1)
A puzzle concert immersed primary school pupils in the musical universe of Tijl Uilenspiegel, the famous folk hero, joker, and freedom fighter from the Low Countries. In the various rooms of the Zeeuwse Concertzaal, the pupils discovered fragments of Tijl’s story through live music, theatrical scenes, and interactive assignments. Each part contained a musical or narrative “riddle” that brought them closer to the true nature of Tijl. Ab Nieuwdorp stepped into the shoes of Tijl and, together with the musicians, brought Tijl’s jokes and antics to life.
Shadow of the Wind (Tuesday, July 1, Zeeuwse Concertzaal)
For the program “Shadow of the Wind,” we entered into an interdisciplinary collaboration with a graphic designer and a lighting designer who took us to Barcelona in the early 1920s and 1930s, a concert inspired by the book by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. With music by Herrmann Souvenir de Voyage; De Falla Siete Canciones Populares and Turina Piano Quartet op. 67. Relevant texts from the book were projected in sync with the music.
Day @ the Movies (Wednesday, July 2, Cinema Middelburg)
The futurism of the film Aelita, the first Soviet science fiction blockbuster, inspired pianist Helena Basilova and sound designer Salvador Breed for their unique interdisciplinary project. Constructivist sets and costumes characterized this vision of the future from yesteryear, which was transformed into an enchanting, timeless dream with a new, live electroacoustic score.
Secret love letters (Thursday, July 3)
Fauré’s La Bonne Chanson was originally composed for voice and piano; this new performance offered a rare opportunity to hear the cycle in Fauré’s later arrangement for soprano, piano, and string quintet. Franck’s Piano Quintet in F minor was composed in the winter of 1878-1879. An ultra-expressive work. The program also included Enescu’s Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2.
Free play (Friday, July 4, Badpaviljoen Domburg)
Chopin and Alkan
Frédéric Chopin gained fame as the romantic with golden fingers. Less well known is Charles-Valentin Alkan, his colleague whose piano works are among the most difficult ever written. Both were virtuoso pianists, friends, and neighbors in 19th-century Paris. They form the backdrop for a new concert program by the Nieuw Amsterdams Klarinet Kwartet (NAKK). The NAKK asked Dutch piano master Thomas Beijer to arrange Alkan’s pieces.
Cluedo and Finale (Saturday, July 5, Gasthuiskerk, Stompe Toren, and Stadhuismuseum)
This day consisted of several elements. Together with secondary school students, we had been working for the past few months on an intriguing murder mystery, which was unraveled that day while walking through the city. The students had developed both board games and paintings for this purpose. As people moved from location to location, they were treated to short live concerts, fascinating historical stories, tasty snacks, and well-hidden clues…
At each location, a clue was revealed, which could be filled in on the game card. During the final concert in the Gasthuiskerk, the remaining pieces were played. The selected artworks created by the secondary school students as part of the IMPRESSIONS project were also exhibited and the winners were announced.
Finale (Sunday, July 6, Zeeuwse Concertzaal)
The program included: J.C. Bach Sinfonia Concertante, Beethoven Triple Concerto, Kurtag Message Consolation a Christian Sutter. For our closing concert of this anniversary edition, we had a selection of (former) artistic directors on stage. With our own Festival Zeeland Klassiek Festival Orchestra, Ramon Jaffé & Lisa Jacobs first shone together in J.C. Bach’s Sinfonia Concertante, followed by Beethoven’s masterful Triple Concerto featuring our Artist in Residence for 2025, cellist Anton Spronk. Daniel Raiskin, founder of the festival at the time, conducted the Festival Orchestra.
The Hurgronje Family Fund has made a financial contribution to this Festival.
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