Sospeso presents Louis Andriessen's recent work The New Math(s), a multimedia collaboration with New York filmmaker Hal Hartley, on January 12, 2003.

Andriessen was born in Utrecht in 1939 into a musical family: his father Hendrik, and brother Juriaan were established composers in their own right. Andriessen studied with his father and with Kees van Baaren at the Hague Conservatory, and between 1962 and 1964 undertook further studies in Milan and Berlin with Luciano Berio.

Since 1974 he has combined his teaching with his work as a composer and pianist. He is now widely regarded as the leading composer working in the Netherlands today and is a central figure in the international new music scene.

Andriessen’s compositions have attracted many leading exponents of contemporary music including the two Dutch groups named after his works De Volharding and Hoketus. Other eminent Dutch performers have included the Schoenberg Ensemble, the ASKO Ensemble, the Netherlands Chamber Choir, the Schoenberg Quartet, pianists Cees van Zeeland and Gerard Brouwhuis and conductors Reinbert de Leeuw and Edo de Waart.

Groups outside of the Netherlands who have commissioned or performed his works include the San Francisco and BBC symphony orchestras, Kronos Quartet, the London Sinfonietta, Ensemble Modern, Ensemble InterContemporain, Icebreaker, the Bang on a Can All Stars and the California EAR Unit.

From a background of jazz and avant-garde composition, Andriessen has evolved a style employing elemental harmonic, harmonic and rhythmic materials, heard in totally distinctive instrumentation. His acknowledged admiration for Stravinsky is illustrated by a parallel vigour, clarity of expression, and acute ear for colour.

Andriessen’s inspiration is wide, from the music of Charles Ives in Anachronie I, the art of Mondriaan in De Stijl, and mediaeval poetic visions in Hadewijch, to writings on shipbuilding and atomic theory in De Materie Part I. He has tackled complex creative issues, exploring the relation between music and politics in De Staat, the nature of time and velocity in De Tijd and De Snelheid, and questions of morality in Trilogy of the Last Day.

Collaborative works with other artists include a series of dance projects, the full length theatre piece De Materie created with Robert Wilson for the Netherlands Opera, the music for the Peter Greenaway film M is for Man, Music, Mozart and the ‘horse opera’ Rosa premiered at the Netherlands Opera in 1994 with text and production by Peter Greenaway. A further collaboration with Greenaway, Writing to Vermeer, was premiered at the Netherlands Opera in December 1999 and at the Lincoln Center Festival 2000.

Nonesuch Records has released a new series of Andriessen’s major works including the complete De Materie, with Rosa in production for release in 2000.