Jonathan W. Marshall. January 2010
Through Van der Aa’s use of technological doubles of the players and other performative devices, the artist dramatises the fragmentation of the human subject at the end of Modernism in music, culture and performance, producing a fetishistic rendering of the subject and his or her technological prostheses within the composer’s music and drama.
Soundscripts, Language: English
Bas van Putten. August 2009
Sombre multi-voiced brass blocks vaporize in a stratosphere of high-frequency electronica and cool, soft strings; in the background, mechanical ‘clicks’ on the piano, harp and glockenspiel in their uppermost register transform the orchestra into a quasi-digital instrument. As ‘beautiful’ as it is, the music is clearly the product of an imagination that far surpasses the purely musical.
Boosey & Hakwes. Language: English
Myrthe van Dijk. August 2009
De componist vertelt over de veranderingen die hij maakte voor de 2009 revisie van After Life. ‘Bijna elke scène poets ik op en scherp ik aan, als ik klaar ben zal ik naar schatting een half uur nieuwe muziek hebben gemaakt, nieuwe noten op oude plekken.’
Odeon magazine. Language: Dutch
Peter Krause. July 2006
Der Komponist und Hindemith-Preisträger Michel van der Aa legt Wert auf ganzheitlich erfahrbare, audiovisuell komponierte Opern. Kompromisse in der Kunst findet er faul, die Unterscheidung von Augen- und Ohrenkunst sei eine unnatürliche Trennung.
Die Welt. Language: German
Mischa Spel. March 2006
Als een icoon licht ze op; een vrouw in het duister. Het raspende geluid van de knijpkat waarmee ze haar gezicht als in een kinderspookspel beschijnt, doet op het eerste gehoor nostalgisch aan.
Holland Festival program. Language: Dutch
Abi Bliss. November 2009
What do you do with a piano score that says “press keys, no sound”? Acclaimed pianist Sarah Nicolls and Michel van der Aa reveal all.
HCMF website. Language: English
David Allenby. October 2008
Michel van der Aa’s latest music theatre work, The Book of Disquiet, was premiered in Linz, starring Klaus Maria Brandauer. David Allenby talks to the composer.
Quarter Notes. Language: English
Michel van der Aa. June 2003
It was early morning when we took the boat to the small coast Island ‘Fort IJmuiden’. We had booked the Island for a full day to do external shots for the video part of One. It was cold, we were all excited.
Blog. Language: English
One of the most distinctive of the younger composers in Europe today. His ability to fuse music, text and visual images into a totally organic whole sets him apart from nearly all his contemporaries.
— The Guardian
Van der Aa, stage director and mastermind as well as composer, pushes the boundaries of all of his media. This is the Gesamtkunst of the future.
— Financial Times
One of the most original and consistent thinkers about music
— Berliner Zeitung
Unsettlingly stark shapes, shadows and silences, spliced with sudden moments of surrealism… His music had something to say, and said it with an incisive sense of drama.
— The Herald
Van der Aa’s music is dense, gritty and uncompromising
— The Australian
Cutting-edge European concert music…fresh, uncompromising and boundary expanding
— All Music Guide
by Peter van Amstel
The promotion of Dutch Music abroad
(Dutch & English)
Gaudeamus / Donemus
ISBN / EAN: 978-90-812526-1-4
by Emile Wennekes & Mark Delaere
(Dutch, French, German, English, Spanish, Italian versions)
Ons Erfdeel
ISBN 90-75862-85-3
by Jacqueline Oskamp
Chapter in book: ‘Radicaal gewoon’ (Dutch)
The book portraits 10 Dutch composers and investigates if they there is a thing called ‘Dutch Music’.
ISBN 90-5330-372-3
Michel van der Aa’s music analized by Boris D. Filanovski
Chapter in book: ‘Pro Nederlandse muziek ’ (Russian)
Instituut Pro Arte
ISBN 5-93356-033-2
@ publisher Boosey & Hawkes
boosey.com/aa
@ Twitter
twitter/vanderaanet
@ Facebook
facebook/vanderaa
@ Music Center The Netherlands
muziekcentrumnederland.nl
@ MySpace
myspace.com/michelvanderaa
