‘Nederlands Kamerkoor & Asko|Schönberg’

In his late years, Franz Liszt struck radically new paths. The exceptional piano virtuoso and composer switched from technical fireworks to a pared-down and visionary musical language. The late work is strongly introspective and meditative in character. So is Via Crucis, a masterful rendition of Jesus' 14 stations on the Way of the Cross. A profound melancholy pervades the whole, fragile melodies often end in silence, and with the complex harmonies Liszt is already anticipating the 20th century. Reinbert de Leeuw regarded a D in the fourth station as 'the most beautiful note' in music history. This performance by the Nederlands Kamerkoor is a tribute to the eminent Dutch conductor. Sofia Gubaidulina's sublime Jetz immer Schnee, of which de Leeuw gave the world premiere, is the closing piece of an intimate concert.