With this tenth release in its acclaimed Horizon SACD series, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra proves once again that contemporary music features prominently in its repertoire – even in times of crisis. During the coronavirus pandemic that dominated 2020 and 2021, the orchestra was forced to perform less frequently than it normally does, yet it managed nonetheless to premiere all the works it had commissioned. These performances often took forms different from those originally planned, but contemporary music as a ‘mirror of the times’ continued to be a main priority – one characterised by its power of expression. That applies to the music of big names of our day like Wolfgang Rihm and Detlev Glanert, as well as to that of younger composers such as Rick van Veldhuizen and Celia Swart. The result is three discs full of music of importance, an album featuring what will be the traditional repertoire of the future. Horizon 10 thus offers not just an overview of the premieres that the Concertgebouw Orchestra has given in recent years, but also a blueprint for contemporary composition with an exciting cross-section of today’s young leading high-profile composers. That is why this tenth release in the Horizon Series is both a resounding testimony to a world in the midst of a disturbing health crisis and painful periods of lockdown, and – above all – a state-of-the-art manifesto for composition for symphony orchestra and related ensembles around the beginning of the second decade of the twenty-first century.

“Verbey was known as one of our country’s best orchestrators and in Ariadne he wraps subtle instrumentations in an immaculate orchestra sound. Craftsmanship of the highest order.” – Joep Christenhusz, NRC Handelsblad

“… an attractive work… an exciting, tumultuous journey through a varied soundscape” – Mischa Spel, NRC Handelsblad (JacobTV)

“… a magnificent musical picture book…” – Joep Christenhusz, NRC Handelsblad (Wigglesworth)

Recorded at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam between 12 May 2017 and 20 June 2021