Category: musical works

List of musical works by Rozalie Hirs. Orchestral scores. Works for ensemble. Chamber and solo works. Instrumental works with or without electronic sounds. Works for spoken voice, based on own poetry, with or without electronic sounds. Electroacoustic or electronic music.

Rozalie Hirs composed hand in hand (2020) for soprano and string quartet, based on her own poetry. This commission from Kulturkreis für Neue Musik Heilbronn is inspired on the life and ideas of the German poet Hölderlin. The world premiere takes place on his two-hundred-and-fiftieth birthday, a day later followed by a performance next to his birthhouse in Lauffen am Neckar, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

→ Nederlands contents 1. programme notes, review 2. technical details: orchestration, other technical requirements, duration, publisher 3. performances programme notes Rozalie Hirs: lightclouds (2019) lightclouds (2019) is inspired by so-called noctilucent clouds (Deutsch: leuchtende Nachtwolken; Nederlands: lichtende nachtwolken; Français: nuages noctulescents), a metereological phenomenon of high clouds, that seem to […]

Press photgraphs of Rozalie Hirs by Sara Anke Morris, Bianca Sistermans, Marco Borggreve, Richard Ayres, Patrick Post|Hollandse Hoogte, Philip Mechanics. All rights reserved by the photographers ©1998-2018.

parallel sea [to the lighthouse] (2018) by Rozalie Hirs, commissioned by ASKO|Schönberg with support of the Dutch Performing Arts Fund, is scored for flute, clarinet, French horn, trumpet, 2 harps, 2 percussionists, electronic sounds, violin, viola, cello, and double bass.

contents 1. program notes 2. technical details: orchestration, technical requirements, duration, publisher 3. performances program notes program notes [English; German below] meditations for piano and electronic sounds (2017) was premiered by Philip Thomas at the Dutch contemporary music festivals November Music (Den Bosch) and Sounds of Music (Groningen) in November […]

parallel world [breathing] (2017) by Rozalie Hirs, commissioned by Concertgebouw Orchestra and University of Amsterdam, with support of the Dutch Performing Arts Fund, is scored for flute, clarinet, 2 harps, percussion, electronic sounds, violin, viola, and cello.

the honeycomb conjecture for large ensemble and electronic sounds (2015) by Rozalie Hirs is a commission by Philharmonie, Essen, Germany, for Festival NOW! Prismen. The instrumentation consists of 2 flutes, oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet, bassoon, 2 French horns, 2 trumpets, bass trombone, 2 percussionists, keyboard, piano, 2 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos, double bass.

atlantis ampersand (music, text; 2015) by Rozalie Hirs is a composition for large ensemble and choir. Commissioned by Holland Festival for the world premiere performance by Klangforum Wien and Enno Poppe (conductor).

lichtende drift for string orchestra (2014) by Rozalie Hirs is a commission by Amsterdam Sinfonietta, dedicated to its artistic director Candida Thompson. With financial support of the Netherlands Performing Arts Fund.

Music composition for string quartet and electronic sounds. World premiere by Bozzini Quartet and Arne Bock (sound projection in the hall)
November Music, Muziekcentrum De Toonzaal, Den Bosch, The Netherlands, 8 November 2014, 19:00 CET.

infinity stairs (2014) by Rozalie Hirs is a trio for flute, bass clarinet, (electric) guitar, and electronic sounds

article 8 [infinity] (2014) by Rozalie Hirs is a microtonal composition for flute and electronic sounds. Its highly lyrical melodies are enveloped by electronic glissandi that move along in several large waves. article 8 [infinity] (2014) investigates the overtone realms of the solo works article 7 [ways to climb a mountain] (2012) and article 6 [waves] (2013) for bass clarinet and electric guitar respectively. The three pieces can be played either separately as solo works, or in conjunction, i.e. simultaneously, as the trio infinity stairs (2014).

article 6 [waves] (2013) by Rozalie Hirs is a lyrical, virtuosic composition for electric guitar and relatively simple electronic glissandi, synthesized from pure sine waves, employing binaural beatings and ring modulation only. The instrumental lines are enveloped by, or cut through, the glissandi moving in several large waves. article 6 [waves] (2013) is the sixth episode by Rozalie Hirs in a series of solo compositions with or without electronic sounds. article 6 [waves] (2013) investigates the overtone realm of article 7 [ways to climb a mountain] (2012) for bass clarinet and electronic sounds. In addition it served as the starting point for article 8 [infinity] (2014) for flute and electronic sounds. The three pieces can be played separately as solo works, but were also conceived to be played in conjunction, i.e. simultaneously, as the trio infinity stairs (2014).

article 7 [ways to climb a mountain] (2012) is a music composition by Rozalie Hirs for bass clarinet and electronic sounds, commissioned by Fie Schouten for a world premiere at November Music, The Netherlands.

Music composition for soprano, ensemble, and electronic sounds, based on the poem ‘Stamboom’. World premiere by Susan Narucki (soprano), Pierre-André Valade (conductor), Asko|Schönberg.
PROMS, Muziekgebouw aan’t IJ, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 10 November 2011, 20:15

Venus (2010) by Rozalie Hirs is a spatialized music composition for six percussionists and six-channel electronic sounds. It consists of three movements [evening star], [invisible], and [morning star]. Venus (2010) was commissioned by Slagwerk Den Haag, with support from the Eduard van Beinum Foundation. It was first performed around the BACH Pavilion, designed by architect Zaha Hadid, at Holland Festival in 2010.

“At the other end of history came the world premiere of Rozalie Hirs’ engrossing string quartet, Zenit, played by the superb new L.A.-based Formalist Quartet. Everything I might say about Hirs’ unsettled music I could also say the opposite. It is also quite settled. It forges ahead with tentative sounds and silences. It stops and starts yet flows. It has a hint of hard-hitting Dutch Minimalism, yet it offers a feast of radiant string harmonics, pulsating outside of rhythm.” (Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times)

Music composition by Rozalie Hirs for spoken voice and musicians, based on the section ‘Gekromde ruimte’ (‘Curved Space’) of the poetry book Geluksbrenger (Lucky Charm; Amsterdam: Querido, 2008).

Roseherte (2008) is a composition for symphony orchestra (ninety players) and electronic sounds, commissioned by Nederlandse Muziekdagen with financial support of Netherlands Performing Arts Fund.

Platonic ID (Amsterdam: Attacca Productions, 2007) is the first full-length portrait CD of Rozalie Hirs (*1965) with instrumental works: works for solo instruments (violin, piano, percussion) and for ensemble. The works for ensemble were commissioned by Asko|Schönberg, formerly known as Asko Ensemble. All works were financially supported by Netherlands Performing Arts Fund.

Logos interactive website (map: Noëlle von Eugen; design, programming in Flash: Matt Lee; poetry: Rozalie Hirs; 2002) was the first interactive online website of a full length Dutch poetry book. Available online September 2003 – November 2012. Available for download now as a standalone digital application [Mac OsX].

article 1 to 3 for solo piano (2003) by Rozalie Hirs investigates the resonance properties of the grand piano, its body, and strings. It consists of three movements, [the], [aleph], and [a] respectively. The first movement [the] serves as an opening, emerging from the depths of the piano register. The center movement [aleph] is a meditation on the relative positioning of the piano keys, and on weightlessness. The large, virtuoso leaps render a light, transparent character, that offers space for reflection. The third movement [a] serves as an after-thought, exploring the possibilities of fireworks in the higher piano register. [a] employs an impressionistic piano technique and lyricism, that is reminiscent of Feux d’Artifice (Préludes book II) by Claude Debussy.