The Holland Festival is The Netherlands' oldest and largest performing arts festival, and takes place every June in Amsterdam. It comprises theater, music, opera and modern dance. In recent years, multimedia, visual arts, film and architecture were added to the festival roster. The festival was founded in 1947 and features some of the world's top artists and performers, as well as lesser-known performers. Notable world premieres include the definitive version of Benjamin Britten's War Requiem and Karlheinz Stockhausen's Helikopter-Streichquartett. The festival introduced Maria Callas in Holland, but was also the first to successfully set up a large symphonic tribute to Frank Zappa with "200 motels-the suite" in 2000 (after failed attempts to have Zappa perform himself in the festival in 1981). Since 2005, the festival includes off-series called EarFuel, EyeFuel and MindFuel. Outreach initiatives to new audiences include successful non-western concerts such as an Uhm Kalthoum tribute by Egyptian star Amal Maher in 2010. The festival continues to serve as a beacon for other arts organisations, and is visited by a record number of international programmers and artists, seeking inspiration.
Performances take place in Amsterdam venues such as the city theatre, the opera, the Concertgebouw and Muziekgebouw concert halls and the Westergas factory site. Each edition is loosely themed, and the program features both contemporary work and classical pieces presented with a modern edge. Holland Festival's current intendant Pierre Audi is working closely with artistic coordinator Lieven Bertels and the festival team to ensure a cutting-edge festival each edition.
Lieven Bertels left the team of the Holland Festival to direct the Sydney Festival from 2012 till 2015.
Famous quotes containing the words holland and/or festival:
“The tragedy of Northern Ireland is that it is now a society in which the dead console the living.”
—Jack Holland (b. 1947)
“Don’t you know there are 200 temperance women in this county who control 200 votes. Why does a woman work for temperance? Because she’s tired of liftin’ that besotted mate of hers off the floor every Saturday night and puttin’ him on the sofa so he won’t catch cold. Tonight we’re for temperance. Help yourself to them cloves and chew them, chew them hard. We’re goin’ to that festival tonight smelling like a hot mince pie.”
—Laurence Stallings (1894–1968)