Each of the 11 song duos who were in the finals of the International Vocal Competition ‘s-Hertogenbosch stood a chance of winning our engagement prize: a performance at a subsequent festival as part of our Next Generation programme. Henk Neven and Hans Eijsackers, who, as our artistic directors, were privileged to award the prize, were convinced by the eloquence and performance of the programme Age of Anxiety by soprano Justyna Khil and pianist Rozalia Kierc: ‘They touched us with their beautiful and original choice of repertoire, supported by strong visuals, outstanding singing and playing. It was a breathtaking and moving performance. Not for nothing were they rewarded with an exceptionally long standing ovation for this competition. The audience was also visibly touched!’
Age of Anxiety
In three acts, Justyna and Rozalia created a contemporary, theatrical experience of a song recital with stories of war and (a little) peace running through generations. With the title of their programme, the two Polish-born musicians refer to W.H. Auden's poem of the same name, which expresses the omnipresent threat of war - even in peacetime. They therefore chose works by well-known Western composers such as Hanns Eisler, Claude Debussy and Benjamin Britten as well as compositions by Polish and Ukrainian composers. ‘Because,‘ they write, ‘almost eight decades after Auden wrote his poem, our generation of young artists is once again experiencing the fear, pain, loss and displacement caused by military conflicts. The shadow of the trauma we grew up in becomes a tangible fear. With this programme, we want to say: this is where we come from. This is what we see, think and feel every day. Do you feel it too?’ Henk and Hans both think so: ‘Some of the images used in the performance will stay burned into our retinas forever. It proves how images can enhance music and text. And also how music can make images more penetrating and provide them with extra emotional charge.’
