Author Archives: Maryleen Schiltkamp

Shostakovich Viola Sonata Op.147

16 September 2023 – LiveART performance of Shostakovich’s Viola Sonata Op.147 by Maryleen Schiltkamp in collaboration with the Duo Ingolfsson-Stoupel, during the Shostakovich/ Beethoven festival “Rencontres Musicales Internationales d’Aigues-Vives”, (Gard) France. Organised by Mouvement Chostakovitch and Association Aigues-Vives en Musique.

Shostakovich Viola Sonata; live musicpainting (detail) 2023

Portrait of Dmitri Shostakovich, 2018

Portrait of Ludwig van Beethoven, 2023

LiveART performance of Shostakovich Viola Sonata, Op.147, 16 September 2023, Salle Marius École, Aigues-Vives

The three canvasses of the LiveART performance of Shostakovich’s Viola Sonata, Op.147, 16 September 2023

Altermidi Article on Maryleen

Video clip

NEWS AIGUES-VIVES – LE JOURNAL December 2023

English translation

Donation to the community
A live creation

During the International festival of classical music last September, Dutch painter Maryleen Schiltkamp created an incredible live pictorial work, based on Shostakovich’s Sonata for Viola and Piano played by the duo Ingolfsson-Stoupel. The artist, and the LiveArt Foundation donated this triptych to the commune of Aigues-Vives. The town council was very moved by this gift and thanked Maryleen Schiltkamp for her generosity. Our heritage has thus been enriched by some fine works of art. You can admire the paintings in the Marius École and La Garette rooms, where they have been hung. This artist has exhibited in galleries all over the world, including New York, Los Angeles and Tokyo. She has performed live music-painting in venues and festivals in London, Amsterdam, and Prague, and most recently in Aigues-Vives.

by Myriam Angevin

News ‘Le Journal’: “Une création en direct”, December 2023

NEWS AIGUES-VIVES – LE JOURNAL December 2023

English translation:

“Rencontres musicales internationales”: “Art breaks the silence!”

Last September, Aigues-Vives en Musiques organised its festival on the theme “Art breaks the Silence!”, with the Association Mouvement Chostakovitch. The festival kicked off with a masterful performance of Beethoven’s “Kreutzer” Sonata for violin and piano by the Ingolfsson-Stoupel Duo. For the 2nd event, the stage was the theatre of artistic fusion, where music and painting were intertwined in the LiveArt performance: Dutch painter Maryleen Schiltkamp created an incomparable pictorial work on three canvases, reacting live to the pulsations and emotions of Shostakovich’s Sonata for Viola and Piano, performed by the Ingolfsson-Stoupel Duo. The audience was treated to an incredible sensory experience, witnessing a unique creative process underpinned by the complicity of the three artists. These works were generously donated by the painter to the municipality.

The following day, the Swiss Piano Trio gave a wonderful and unforgettable performance.

Another highlight was the screening of the Russian film “Family Album”, about the life of Shostakovich. A second film. “Alone” (USSR,1931), offered spectators the chance to see a extraordinary cinematographic work, with a score by Shostakovich. Alan Mercer, president of the Association Mouvement Chostakovitch, gave a commentary on the films before the festival. The festival created a bridge between generations and cultures, uniting classical music lovers in a shared celebration of art. Many thanks to all those who worked to make this festival a success! �Association Aigues-Vives en musiques

Maryleen Schiltkamp – music painter

Alan Mercer gave an introduction to Maryleen’s LiveART performance, by talking about synesthesia and Kandinsky’s theory of color relating to music; Salle Marius École, 16 September 2023.

CINEMA: During the festival, the film “Album de Famille” was shown about Dmitri Shostakovich’s family life. Film screening was organised by Alan Mercer.

The silent movie ‘Odna’ with film-music composed by Shostakovich (1931) Cinema organised by Alan Mercer.

15 – 17 September: An exhibition of topics on Shostakovich & Beethoven; documentation and installation by Alan Mercer, Salle Marius École, Aigues-Vives.

LiveART panel with examples of Maryleen’s preparations for the live musicpainting performance of Shostakovich Viola Sonata OP.147

Stravinsky’s RITE OF SPRING – musicpaintingLIVE

2023 Stravinsky’s RITE OF SPRING in Riga

by pianist Reinis Zariņš & painter Maryleen Schiltkamp

Reinis Zariņš & Maryleen Schiltkamp, “Atmošanās”, Hanzas perons, 17 June 2023. Photo: Jānis Porietis

On 17 June, a musicpaintingLIVE performance with a striking concept of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring took place, as part of a program ‘AWAKENING’ by pianist Reinis Zariņš, 17 June, Hanzas Perons, Riga. As a music painter, Maryleen Schiltkamp has collaborated with various musicians internationally, but the core of her live painting performance art was created in artistic partnership with the Latvian pianist Reinis Zariņš. In this collaboration – musicpaintingLIVE – the pianist and the painter co-author visual creations that combine live music with painting on canvas, following the musical movement and the colour of sound directly on stage during a concert. Reinis Zariņš and Maryleen Schiltkamp are known for their unusual programs, with a repertoire including Bach/Busoni, Chopin, Franck, Ravel, Messiaen, Medtner, Gubaidulina and Shostakovich. They have performed at festivals including in London (Baltic Art Form), Amsterdam (Winteravonden aan de Amstel – Hermitage) and CĒSIS Concert hall in Latvia.

The concept:

From its inception, Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring was meant to be expressed
and visualised by dance — the ancient rituals represented on stage were originally dance- like games, mystic circles and sacred lines drawn by dancing tribes, ending in a horrific and earth-shattering sacrificial dance. For pianist Reinis Zarins and painter Maryleen Schiltkamp, the intensity of experiencing The Rite calls for a style of performance that most directly involves both the artists and their audiences. It is like a visceral dance, stretching their limits, the music inexorably pulling towards its end. This is a unique interaction between a pianist who tackles Stravinsky’s massive orchestral score with his two bare hands, and a painter who ‘dances’ through The Rite, in a choreography of paint and brushes on a large-sized canvas. The resulting synergy is striking and powerful.

In The Rite of Spring, there is awakening of people and nature, there is something prehistoric and foundational in its music, there are shackles to be thrown off, and there is the fateful inevitability of sacrificial death from the very first to the last note.

The Video-project of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring was sponsored by the LiveART Foundation

Concert-video, 17 June @Hanzas Perons, Riga

View article – View interview

The Rite, Part 1, Dance of the Earth. photo’s Jānis Porietis

Part 2 Sacrificial Dance – musicpaintingLIVE (detail of large canvas)

With our editor, Edmunds Mickus, and camera team, oa. Jānis Porietis, we have been working on a video-project of Stravinsky’ RITE OF SPRING. The good news is: we have finished the production stage of this huge project and are now actively looking for ways to place it on streaming platforms,

Trailer of the Video project The RITE!

Reinis Zariņš & Maryleen Schiltkamp; the musicpaintingLIVE team!

Double portraits Reinis & Maryleen by Saskia Bakker

Live musicpainting (detail)

Reinis during our studio rehearsals! Amsterdam, January 2023

Postcards of The RITE!

Homeconcerts

Homeconcert, 21 May 2023

TOBIAS BORSBOOM: JAVA SUITE – GODOVSKY

GAMELAN demonstration; Widosari group

Video Clip

Pianist Tobias Borsboom, acclaimed in the press for his ‘velvet toucher’ and excellence, presented an integral performance of Godovsky’s Java Suite on Sunday afternoon, May 21.

The Java Suite, composed in 1925 by the Lithuanian/American composer Leopold Godovsky (1870-1938) is a cycle of musical travelogues – “Phonoramas” – colorful impressions and emotions, adventures and picturesque scenes Godovsky experienced during his journey through Java, Indonesia.

The Java Suite consists of twelve parts and is influenced by Javanese gamelan music with pentatonic harmonies.

Book 1

I Gamelan

II. Wayang-Purwa, Puppet Shadow Plays

III. Hari Besaar, The Great Day

Book 2

IV. Chattering Monkeys at the Sacred Lake of Wendit

V. Boro Budur in Moonlight

VI. Bromo Volcano and the Sand Sea at Daybreak

Book 3

VII. 3 Javanese Dances

VIII. The Gardens of Buitenzorg

IX. In the Streets of old Batavia

Book 4

X. In the Kraton

XI. The Ruined Water Castle at Djokja

XII. A Court Pageant in Solo

As a wonderful addition to Tobias’ concert, the Java Suite was followed by a live gamelan demonstration, so we could hear the source of musical influence and further enhance the Javanese atmosphere. Michiel Niemantsverdriet, gamelan teacher at the Amsterdam Conservatory, gave an introduction on some gamelan instruments, together with Yukari Uekawa and Paul Schauenburg – ao. the saron, slenthem, gambang, gendèr, bamboo flute and small gong. Michiel, Yukari and Paul are connected with the Gamelanhuis, Amsterdam, and belong to the gamelan group ‘Widosari‘, with whom they often perform.

https://www.gamelanhuis.nl/widosari/

https://yukariuekawa.wixsite.com/index

@ Nicolaas Witsenkade 14a, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

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Homeconcert 26 March 2023

Ursula Schoch (violin) & Marcel Worms (piano): Five Dutch Women Composers (20th century)

Majoie Hajarie

Rosy Wertheim Agnes Jama

Johanna Bordewijk-Roepman

Henriëtte Bosmans

PROGRAMMA

Johanna Bordewijk-Roepman – Sonate voor viool en piano (1923)

Henriëtte Bosmans – Sonate voor viool en piano (1918)

Majoie Hajarie – Serenade en Tango

P A U Z E

Agnes Jama – Suite voor viool en piano (1952)

Rosy Wertheim – Sonate voor viool en piano (1931)

Ursula Schoch & Marcel Worms

@ Nicolaas Witsenkade 14a , Amsterdam

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Homeconcert New Year’s Eve 2022/23

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Theatrical Storytelling Performance by Roland Colastica, 16 October, 2022

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Homeconcert 15 May, 2022

Marcel Worms – Das Wohltemperierte Klavier (Book2)

Video clip homeconcert

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

J.S. Bach’s Wohltemperierte Klavier

Het Vredeskerkje te Bergen aan Zee, Netherlands; 7 April 2023

J.S.Bach’s ‘Das Wohltemperierte Klavier’ (Book2) by pianist Marcel Worms, with musicpaintings inspired on WTK 2 by Maryleen. Media

J.S. Bach – WTK (1&2); diptych in oil on canvas, 24 x 30 cm (2x), 2022

In this diptych I have depicted 2 x 24 Preludes and Fugues according to the color of the Affects evoked by the successive keys and what happens in terms of musical expression.

J.S. Bach: WTK 2 No.12 Fugue in F Minor – oil on canvas, 50 x 60 cm, 2021

Here I followed the rhythm and accents in the movement of this Fugue, live in synchronicity with the music.

J.S. Bach – WTK 2 No.13 Fugue in Fis Major – oil on canvas, 60 x 50 cm, 2021

The counterpoint of polyphonic voices within a canvas frame…

Stage view from the piano …

Het Vredeskerkje: Marcel Worms prior to the concert; 7 April 2023

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Salviuskerkje, Limbricht; 13 maart 2022

Musicpainting collaboration with pianist Marcel Worms on Johan Sebastiaan Bach’s Das Wohltemperierte Klavier, Book 1. Concert 13 March, Salviuskerkje, Limbricht, Netherlands; 1 pm introduction at Limbricht Castle, 3 pm concert.

Trailer

Salviuskerkje Website

Press release Sittard – Geleen Nieuws

Musicpainting detail of WTK 1 (preludes & fugues 1- 6)

Salviuskerkje, Limbricht

Introduction on Bach’s Wohltemperierte Klavier by Marcel Worms, with small exhibition of musicpaintings at Limbricht Castle prior to the concert:

Pan’s universe in colorful tones

Pan’s universe in colorful tones …

The tone poem “Pan”, op. 43 by the Czech composer Vítězslav Novák, is an evocation of the mythical forest god, Pan, in five parts: Prologue, Mountains, Sea, Forest and Woman. Forces of nature are recalled musically, from overwhelming and majestic, to subtle and sensual, to serene tranquility; a masterpiece of neo-romantic style and modernist harmonies. All in great thematic unity, as the word “pan” also means.
In addition to Beethoven’s 250th – , the year 2020 is also the 150th birth year of Vítězslav Novák. At the initiative of pianist Tobias Borsboom, Novák’s ‘Pan’ will be performed at various locations in the Netherlands during 2020. Tobias Borsboom, one of the Netherlands’ most famous young pianists for his poetic, colorful interpretations, is for these concerts in collaboration with the artist Maryleen Schiltkamp, who interprets this piano piece in her own unique way, from her discipline as a painter. Schiltkamp, who lived and worked in Prague for many years, has made oil paintings for the five parts of Novák’s Pan. These “Pan” paintings will take part in the concerts. For the event at the Haagse Kunstkring in The Hague, she will also paint live simultaneously with the music as performance art, creating the artwork ‘live’, following the structure of the music composition.

Tobias Borsboom – pianist Maryleen Schiltkamp – music painter

Tobias Borsboom ‘Pan’ video Vlissingen

Pan’s Prologue (Prolog) – part 1 of Vítězslav Novák ‘s tone poem ‘Pan’; oil on canvas, 100 x 120 cm, 2019

Mountains (Hory) – part 2 of Vítězslav Novák ‘s tone poem ‘Pan’; oil on canvas, 120 x 100 cm, 2019

Sea (Moře) – part 3 of Vítězslav Novák ‘s tone poem ‘Pan’; oil on canvas, 120 x 100 cm, 2019

Forest (Les) – part 4 of Vítězslav Novák ‘s tone poem ‘Pan’; oil on canvas, 120 x 100 cm, 2019

Woman (Žena) – part 5 of Vítězslav Novák ‘s tone poem ‘Pan’; oil on canvas, 100 x 120 cm, 2019

De Klankvijver – Voorschoten 19.01 202

RondoM Concerten – Wilhelminaoord 11.01 2020

Haagse Kunstkring – The Hague 27.02 2020

Maryleen’s review of Arthur Olof’s book: ‘The Art of Survival’

July 2020

De Kunst om te Overleven: Russische Muziek in de Eeuw van Dmitri Sjostakovitsj

[The Art of Survival: Russian Music in Shostakovich’s Century]

Book review published in the July 2020 edition of DSCH Journal, the music magazine dedicated to the life and work of Dmitri Shostakovich.

By Maryleen Schiltkamp

In ‘The Art of Survival’: Russian Music in Shostakovich’s Century, Dutch radio producer Arthur Olof (1954–2014) describes the history of music in twentieth-century Russia, a time when Soviet artists were forced to conform to the party line in their creative works, under the threat of persecution. The focus of the book is Dmitri Shostakovich, whose resourceful ability to compose in spite of these restrictions, was of great interest to the author as an example of the art of survival.

Olof explains how Shostakovich’s oeuvre was closely connected to the contemporary artistic and literary scene in Leningrad, and provides a wide-ranging, kaleidoscopic view of music history along with colourful details. These insights offer a deeper understanding of the context of Shostakovich’s work and sketch a broad cultural and sociopolitical framework as a background to his life. To Olof, Shostakovich’s music mirrored the political oppression and cultural life in 20th-century Russia.

The fulcrum of the book is the Dutch radio series Oorgetuige (‘Ear-witness’); almost 100 episodes produced for the Concertzender station between 2009 and 2014. Interspersed in the book’s text are QR-codes providing links to the Concertzender website, allowing access to the music under discussion. The book thus offers a unique sound library of around six hundred compositions by twentieth-century Russian composers: from Shostakovich to Ustvolskaya, from Prokofiev to Gubaidulina and from Stravinsky to Schnittke. In addition, there are links to visual art provided by access to the websites of museums such as the Hermitage, the Tretyakov Gallery and the Pushkin Museum.

While the wide-ranging scope of the book necessarily excludes in-depth analyses of chosen subjects, the provided links to on-line references undoubtedly enhance the book’s appeal. In addition, the author’s selection of artists, coupled with his insightful comments on them provide an original and fascinating panoramic view. But it is Olof’s ability to draw the reader into a realm which is so very Russian, where beauty could still save the world and a deep sense of the metaphysical is alluded to, that projects this book far beyond the mere musical history. To “set the tone” each broadcast began with a motto: “All in memory of you ….”, a line of poetry by Alexander Pushkin, which Anna Akhmatova used to accompany her Northern Elegies, a cycle of poems she wrote during one of the darkest times of her country and her personal life. Chosen in turn by Arthur Olof, these words convey how music can relate to the human soul, and the power of artistic creation to connect and transcend.

Arthur Olof was the son of the well-known violinist Theo Olof, a Jewish refugee from Germany. Arthur studied Slavic Languages and Dutch Literature in Amsterdam and was a producer for Concertzender.

The idea to publish a book based on the radio series took shape around 2012. A year later Olof was diagnosed with a fatal illness. Determined to complete the book, he handed the finished manuscript over to his wife, José ten Berge, six weeks before he died in 2014. She became the driving force behind the publication and book launch in June 2019.

De Kunst om te Overleven: Russische Muziek in de Eeuw van Dmitri Sjostakovitsj

Amsterdam: Autres directions (2019) Paperback. 256 pages, colour illustrations.

ISBN 978-90-821384-1-2
The Art of Survival is on sale from https://Olof.cz, priced € 29.95

Shostakovich Inspired! at Brecon Theatre, Wales (UK), 29th September

Shostakovich’s Tenth String Quartet was the subject of Maryleen’s participation as live musicpainter in collaboration with the Fitzwilliam String Quartet at Brecon Theatre, Wales (UK) on 29th September during Festival Hay-on-Wye 2019.

For the Live Art performance of the String Quartet, Maryleen painted on stage in synchronicity with the music, dividing the four musical movements over three canvasses.

It has been a great experience and fascinating interaction with the brilliant musicians of the Fitzwilliam Quartet! This year celebrating its 50th anniversary, the Quartet’s impressive history goes back to founding member Alan George (viola) personally meeting Shostakovich in the ’60’s, with the composer attending their concerts and trusting the Fitzwilliam Quartet to be the performers of his string quartets in the West.

Dmitri Shostakovich with Alan George

The present members of the Quartet are leader Lucy Russel (violin), Marcus Barcham Stevens (violin), Alan George (viola) and Sally Pendlebury (cello)

DSCH Journal announcement of the Fitzwilliam Quartet’s collaboration with Maryleen

The Art of the Symphony at Europe House, 16 September 2019

After our succes with the screening of the documentary film The Art of the Symphony in Amsterdam at De Balie in April this year, there was a next screening of the documentary in The Hague at the House of Europe on 16 September. Organized by Blinibioscoop, we could show our film, with panel discussion and exhibition of paintings, during an afternoon related to Russia and the post-Soviet States, interestingly this time in the context of the EU.

Line-up of deputies of the embassies of Belarus, Azerbaijan, the organizers of Blinibioscoop Grigori Pasternak and Olga Sterenshis, panelspeakers Olga de Kort and Tony van der Togt, Maryleen Schiltkamp and ladies from the Russia House …

‘The Art of the Symphony’ – documentary film (2017)
Synopsis:
Filmed in Prague, ‘The Art of the Symphony’ takes us from a studio where live paintings of Shostakovich symphonies are created, to archive footage of Prague during the Communist era and to present-day sites of former Communist monuments. Through these images, the main theme of the film – freedom from oppression – is related through a humanitarian, rather than political standpoint where; the individual, the human soul, strives to rise above this agony. Shostakovich’s Fourth Symphony is at the heart of these notions.

Produced by the DSCH Journal aﬃliate DSCH Films, written & directed by Alan Mercer.
Live-paintings by Maryleen Schiltkamp

Trailer documentary

With panelspeakers Olga de Kort (Musicologist and music journalist) and Tony van der Togt (Associate fellow at Clingendael Institute, The Hague); discussion was moderated by Maryleen Schiltkamp
Panel introduction

Shostakovich Symphony No.10 – oil on canvas painting, 200 x 100 cm, 2016

The exhibition at the House of Europe on 16 September 2019

Festival “Winteravonden aan de Amstel” Hermitage Amsterdam 2018

MusicpaintingLIVE at the Hermitage Amsterdam
16 December 2018

with pianist Reinis Zariņš

Festival “Winteravonden aan de Amstel” 2018

Gubaidulina Chaconne design for musicpainting

Studio with Gubaidulina Chaconne

Program Hermitage:
Gubaidulina – Chaconne
Medtner – Sonata Reminiscenza No.1, Op.38
Shostakovich – Preludes & Fugues No.24 in D-minor
Scriabin – Sonata No.7, Op.64

a
studying Scriabin

Shostakovich Prelude & Fugue No.24; musicpainting (detail)

Shostakovich at the Kerkzaal in Hermitage Amsterdam

Nikolai Medtner – Sonata Reminiscenza (MusicpaintingLIVE detail)

‘Hungarian Canvas’ Vriendenconcerten, Zuiderkerk Amsterdam, 2018

‘Hungarian Canvas’; live musicpainting concert on Hungarian composers Franz Liszt and Zoltan Kodaly in collaboration with cellist Pamela Smits and pianist Tobias Borsboom on 13 January, 2018 at the Zuiderkerk Amsterdam.

Video Hungarian Canvas
Live at the Zuiderkerk 2018

Program:
Liszt – Die Zelle in Nonnenwerth, S.274
Liszt – Piano Sonata in B minor, S.178
Kodály – Cello Sonata , Op. 8

Video of the rehearsal at Maryleen’s studio

Kodály – Cello Sonata; musicpainting (detail)