Wim Henderickx
Encyclopedia
Lier, Belgium
Lier is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the city of Lier proper and the village of Koningshooikt. On January 1, 2010 Lier had a total population of 33,930. The total area is 49.70 km² which gives a population density of 669 inhabitants per...
) is a Flemish
Flemish people
The Flemings or Flemish are the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Belgium, where they are mostly found in the northern region of Flanders. They are one of two principal cultural-linguistic groups in Belgium, the other being the French-speaking Walloons...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
based in Antwerp, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
.
He teaches composition at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Antwerpen and the Conservatorium van Amsterdam
Conservatorium van Amsterdam
The Conservatorium van Amsterdam is a Dutch academy of music located in Amsterdam. This school is the music division of the Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de Kunsten, the city's vocational university of arts...
and studied at IRCAM
IRCAM
IRCAM is a European institute for science about music and sound and avant garde electro-acoustical art music. It is situated next to, and is organizationally linked with, the Centre Pompidou in Paris...
, the Royal Conservatory of The Hague
Royal Conservatory of The Hague
The Royal Conservatory of The Hague is a conservatorium of music, providing higher education in music and dance, it is located in The Hague, Netherlands.-The Conservatory:...
and the Darmstadt New Music Summer School
Darmstadt New Music Summer School
Initiated in 1946 by Wolfgang Steinecke, the Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik, Darmstadt , held annually until 1970 and subsequently every two years, encompass both the teaching of composition and interpretation and include premières of new works...
.
Style
His music is characterized by non-western cultures, chiefly Indian classical musicIndian classical music
The origins of Indian classical music can be found in the Vedas, which are the oldest scriptures in the Hindu tradition. Indian classical music has also been significantly influenced by, or syncretised with, Indian folk music and Persian music. The Samaveda, one of the four Vedas, describes music...
, raga
Raga
A raga is one of the melodic modes used in Indian classical music.It is a series of five or more musical notes upon which a melody is made...
, and rhythms found in the music of Africa
Music of Africa
Africa is a vast continent and its regions and nations have distinct musical traditions. The music of North Africa for the most part has a different history from sub-Saharan African music traditions....
, his music also includes structures inspired by Eastern philosophy
Eastern philosophy
Eastern philosophy includes the various philosophies of Asia, including Chinese philosophy, Iranian philosophy, Japanese philosophy, Indian philosophy and Korean philosophy...
and changing timbre
Timbre
In music, timbre is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, such as string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments. The physical characteristics of sound that determine the...
.
He is influenced by Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen was a French composer, organist and ornithologist, one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex ; harmonically and melodically it is based on modes of limited transposition, which he abstracted from his early compositions and improvisations...
, Iannis Xenakis
Iannis Xenakis
Iannis Xenakis was a Romanian-born Greek ethnic, naturalized French composer, music theorist, and architect-engineer. He is commonly recognized as one of the most important post-war avant-garde composers...
, Igor Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
, György Ligeti
György Ligeti
György Sándor Ligeti was a composer of contemporary classical music. Born in a Hungarian Jewish family in Transylvania, Romania, he briefly lived in Hungary before becoming an Austrian citizen.-Early life:...
and Béla Bartok
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
. As a percussionist, he usually makes use of an extended arsenal of percussion instruments in his works, often calling for unusual instrumentation.
Accolades
Henderickx was awarded the ‘Jeugd-en Muziekprijs Vlaanderen’ (Flanders), the ‘International Composition Price for Contemporary Music’ in Quebec (Canada), the triennial price ‘E. Baie I’ (1999) from the provinces of Antwerp for a talented Flemish artist and in 2002 became Laureate of the ‘Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium’ for the section ‘Arts’. In 2006 he was nominated for the Flanders Culture Prices by the Minister of Culture.Recent works
He wrote the opera "Triumph of Spirit over Matter" (2000) in commission of Music Theatre Transparant with creation in La Monnaie (Brussels) and tour in Belgium and The Netherlands."Achilleus
Achilles
In Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greek hero of the Trojan War, the central character and the greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad.Plato named Achilles the handsomest of the heroes assembled against Troy....
"(youth opera) was created in 2003 in The Flemish Opera, translated into Danish and staged in Copenhagen in 2006.
In 2006 the music theatre productions "Een Totale Entführung" (in cooperation with Ramsey Nasr) based on Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Die Entführung aus dem Serail is an opera Singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Christoph Friedrich Bretzner with adaptations by Gottlieb Stephanie...
and "Olek schoot een beer..." based on Bart Moeyaert's adaptation of the story of the Firebird were on tour in Flanders and the Netherlands. I Solisti del Vento and Theatre Taptoe made a tour through the Netherlands and Belgium in 2009-2010 with the new scenic interpretation of "Olek".
In 2007 Wim Henderickx wrote "Canzone
Canzone
Literally "song" in Italian, a canzone is an Italian or Provençal song or ballad. It is also used to describe a type of lyric which resembles a madrigal...
" for voice and piano in commission of the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition
Queen Elisabeth Music Competition
The Queen Elisabeth Music Competition, a founding member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions has been, since its foundation, considered the world over to be one of the most prestigious and most difficult. It is devoted to violin , piano , to composition and to singing...
, for the semi-finals of the 2008 edition.
After a trip through India and Nepal Wim Henderickx created his "Tantric
Tantra
Tantra , anglicised tantricism or tantrism or tantram, is the name scholars give to an inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, expressed in scriptures ....
Cycle":
- "The Seven ChakraChakraChakra is a concept originating in Hindu texts, featured in tantric and yogic traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism. Its name derives from the Sanskrit word for "wheel" or "turning" .Chakra is a concept referring to wheel-like vortices...
s" (2004) for string quartetString quartetA string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group... - "Nada BrahmaNada yogaNāda yoga is an ancient Indian metaphysical system. It is both a philosophical system , a medicine, and as the name suggests a form of yoga. The system's theoretical and practical aspects are based on the premise that the entire cosmos and all that exists in the cosmos, including human beings,...
" (2005) for soprano, ensemble and electronics - "Maya's Dream" (2005) for oboe and ensemble
- "Void/Sunyata" (2007) for 5 singers, ensemble and electronics was written for music theatre in commission of Music Theatre Transparant, based on a Shri Yantra. It was performed in Zürich, Antwerp and Stavanger. In 2009 this production was shown in Bruges, Zwolle and Rotterdam, conducted by the composer.
- "Disappearing in Light" (2008) for mezzo, viola, alto flute and percussion
- "TejasAgniAgni is a Hindu deity, one of the most important of the Vedic gods. He is the god of fire and the acceptor of sacrifices. The sacrifices made to Agni go to the deities because Agni is a messenger from and to the other gods...
(what does the sound of the universe look like?)" (2009), was written for orchestra in commission of the Royal Flemish Philharmonic with creation in March 2009 in Antwerp and Bruges. - "MudraMudraA mudrā is a symbolic or ritual gesture in Hinduism and Buddhism. While some mudrās involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers...
" (2010) for mixed ensemble
"Confrontations" for African and Western percussion was staged again in 2009 in Mechelen and Rotterdam. "Skriet" (1993), based on Munch
Edvard Munch
Edvard Munch was a Norwegian Symbolist painter, printmaker and an important forerunner of expressionist art. His best-known composition, The Scream, is part of a series The Frieze of Life, in which Munch explored the themes of love, fear, death, melancholia, and anxiety.- Childhood :Edvard Munch...
's "The Scream
The Scream
Scream is the title of Expressionist paintings and prints in a series by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch, showing an agonized figure against a blood red sky...
" was rescored for wind band in 2010.
In February 2011 "Groove!", a big symphonic work for percussion and orchestra, was premiered by Brussels Philharmonic and Gert François as percussion soloist.