 The first idea for the music started with van Veelen’s wish that her good friend and saxophone player, William Raaijman (1972-2007) would play the voice of Megumi Yokota in the film. Soon after that William Raaijman brought composer Robin de Raaff with van Veelen in contact. De Raaff finished his composition for solo saxophone and ensemble. Which was performed by the well known DoelenEnsemble with conductor Maarten van Veen. ROBIN DE RAAFFRobin de Raaff studied composition at the Amsterdam Conservatory with Geert van Keulen and Theo Loevendie and graduated ‘cum laude’. In addition he has taken courses with Pierre Boulez, Ferneyhough and Rihm. Beginning in 1999, Robin de Raaff studied with George Benjamin in London. He has won various prizes for his chamber music. Although De Raaff believes that in the end intuition is the guiding factor in composing, numerical relationships determine the structure of his compositions: “I really feel a need to let my intuition be guided by numbers because it forces me to investigate areas I’m not familiar with.” In collaboration with Pierre Audi, artistic director of De Nederlandse Opera, De Raaff has developed an opera about the tenor Anton Raaff, who sang the title role in Mozart’s Idomeneo in 1781. After a conception period of nearly ten years, RAAFF was received with great success at its premiere in 2004. |
ORIGINAL SCORE
Composer Conductor Soloist saxophone Horn Cello Contrabas Violin Altviolin Percussion DOUBLE CONCERT Composer Concertgebouw Amsterdam performed by Conductor Clarinet Bass Clarinet |
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