Kristina Fuchs

Spring, a time of renewal and growth. In our annual Spring Duets series, we celebrate this spring feeling by creating new encounters between musicians we rate highly. Whether they are young heroes, internationally acclaimed performers, improv veterans, or unique outsiders, they unanimously take on the challenge make new music. This time the duos are: Kristina Fuchs & Jeroen van Vliet – vocals/electronics & piano/electronics We begin with an intimate duo who present their album tonight: Life, you are beautiful, by vocalist Kristina Fuchs and pianist Jeroen van Vliet. Fuchs, with her kaleidoscopic voice effortlessly shifting between dreamy and playful, whispering and powerful, performs together with pianist Jeroen van Vliet, who impresses with his lyrical and crystal-clear playing. Together they create an adventurous musical world where jazz, improvisation, and poetry embrace each other. Mary Oliver & Nora Mulder – violin/Hardanger fiddle/pedals & piano/electronics/pedals Mary Oliver and Nora Mulder are no strangers to each other, although they are now performing as a duo for the first time. Together with vocalist Greetje Bijma, they formed Picatrix, an adventurous ensemble that explores the boundaries of improvisation. Oliver plays the violin, viola and the Hardanger fiddle, a Norwegian folk variant of the violin. She is a pivot in the Amsterdam improv scene, partly through her participation in the ICP Orchestra. The distinctive pianist Nora Mulder made a name for herself with a combination of contemporary classical music, improvised music, and special sound installations. Ella Zirina & Wolfert Brederode – guitar & piano In a short time, Ella Zirina has developed into a guitarist who has become indispensable in the Dutch jazz scene, partly through a performance at North Sea Jazz (with Kurt Rosenwinkel and Joey Baron), her Edison-nominated debut album Intertwined, and the fact that she has already shared the stage with big names like Tineke Postma, Ben van Gelder, Jesse van Ruller, Reinier Baas, Pablo Held, and Yuri Honing. Now she shares the stage with another great musician: pianist Wolfert Brederode. Brederode’s piano playing and compositions are recognizable yet surprising, due to the subtle contrasts he uses. His latest album Ruins and Remains was released on the renowned label ECM Records. Giuseppe Doronzo & Genevieve Murphy – baritone sax/Iranian bagpipes & voice/electronics/Scottish bagpipes Baritone saxophonist Giuseppe Doronzo is an improviser through and through. Therefore it makes a lot of sence he enters into a duet with another pure improviser, Genevieve Murphy. Doronzo has played many times on our stage before, for example with the AVA Trio or as a soloist, with the successful solo album Goya. Genevieve Murphy combines performance and visual art with contemporary classical music. A commonality is playing the bagpipes, with Doronzo on Iranian bagpipes alongside baritone sax and Murphy on Scottish bagpipes alongside her voice and electronics.