Michel van der Aa

Biography

Michel van der Aa (Dutch pronunciation: [miˈɕɛl vɑn dər ˈaː]; born 10 March 1970) is a Dutch composer of contemporary classical music.

Early years

Michel van der Aa was born 10 March 1970 in Oss. He trained as a recording engineer at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, and studied composition with Diderik Wagenaar, Gilius van Bergeijk, and Louis Andriessen.

Career

The music of van der Aa has been performed by ensembles and orchestras internationally. Those include the Asko|Schönberg ensemble, Freiburger Barockorchester, Ensemble Modern, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Dutch National Opera, Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, Seattle Chamber Players, Ensemble Nomad Tokyo, musikFabrik, Continuum Ensemble Toronto, Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Orchestras, Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, Sweden, and the Helsinki Avanti! Chamber Orchestra.
He completed a short program in film directing at the New York Film Academy in 2002. He also participated in the Lincoln Center Theater Director's Lab, a short, intensive course in stage direction in 2007.
Michel van der Aa's music theatre works, including the chamber opera One (2002), the opera After Life (2006, Amsterdam) and the music theatre work The Book of Disquiet, have received international critical praise. The innovative aspect of these operas is their use of film images and sampled soundtracks as an essential element of the score.
He directed the television production of One for the Dutch national broadcasting company NPS. Passage (2004), a short film by van der Aa, has been shown at several international festivals and has been aired on Dutch national television.
He has been a featured artist at the Perth Tura New Music Festival and Holland Festival. He has collaborated with choreographers such as Kazuko Hirabayashi, Philippe Blanchard, Ben Wright and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa.

Projects

Van der Aa's 3D film-opera Sunken Garden, a collaboration with David Mitchell, author of Cloud Atlas, was a joint commission from English National Opera, Barbican Centre, Toronto Luminato Festival, Opéra National de Lyon, and the Holland Festival. It was given its première by English National Opera conducted by André de Ridder at the Barbican Centre, London, on 12 April 2013, with Roderick Williams in the role of Toby.
His music is recorded on the Harmonia Mundi, Col Legno, Composers' Voice, BVHaast, and VPRO Eigenwijs labels, as well as his own label Disquiet Media.

Opera and music theatre

Vuur (2001), opera, for solo voice, actors, singers, ensemble and soundtrack
One (2002), chamber opera, for soprano, soundtrack and film
libretto by the composer
After Life (2005–06), opera, for six solo voices, ensemble, soundtrack, and film
libretto by the composer, after Hirokazu Kore-Eda
The Book of Disquiet (2008), music theatre, for actor, ensemble, soundtrack and film
libretto after Fernando Pessoa, adapted by the composer
Sunken Garden (2011–12), opera, for three singers, ensemble, soundtrack, and film
libretto by David Mitchell
Blank Out (2015–16), chamber opera, for soprano, baritone (film), choir (film) and 3D film
Eight (2018–19), virtual reality installation, for mezzo-soprano, soprano, choir, soundtrack, VR
Upload (2021, Bregenzer Festspiele), music and libretto by van der Aa, for soprano, baritone, small orchestra, film projection, motion capture
The Book of Water (2021–22), chamber music theatre, for two actors, soprano, string quartet, film and soundtrack
based on the 1979 novel Man in the Holocene by Max Frisch, adapted by the composer and Madelon Kooijman

Orchestra

See-Through (2000), for orchestra
Here [to be found] (2001), for soprano, chamber orchestra, and soundtrack
Here [enclosed] (2003), for chamber orchestra and soundtrack
Second Self (2004), for orchestra and soundtrack
Imprint (2005), for Baroque orchestra
Spaces of Blank (2007), song cycle for mezzo-soprano, orchestra and soundtrack
Violin Concerto (2014) for violin and orchestra

Ensemble

Span (1996), for ensemble and soundtrack
Between (1997), for percussion quartet and soundtrack
Above (1999), for ensemble and soundtrack
Attach (1999–2000), for ensemble and soundtrack
Here [in circles] (2002), for soprano (with small cassette player) and ensemble
Mask (2006), for ensemble and soundtrack
Up-Close (2010), concerto for solo cello, strings ensemble/orchestra, soundtrack and film

Chamber music

Auburn (1994), for guitar (classical or electric) and soundtrack
Oog (1995), for cello and soundtrack
Double (1997), for violin and piano
Quadrivial (1997), for flute, violin, cello, and prepared piano
Solo (1997), for percussion solo
Wake (1997), for percussion duo
Caprce (1999), for violin solo
Just Before (1999), for piano and soundtrack
Memo (2003), for violin and portable cassette recorder
Transit (2009), for piano and film
Rekindle (2009), for flute and soundtrack
And how are we today? (2012), for mezzo-soprano, piano, and double bass
Miles Away (2012), for mezzo-soprano, violin, piano and double bass

Dance and film

now [in fragments] (1995), for soprano, clarinet, cello and soundtrack
ballet, commissioned by the Richard Alston Dance Company in collaboration with Ben Wright
Staring at the Space (1995–96), for chamber orchestra
70 minute theatre/dance work, commissioned by the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra and the Östgöta Dance Company
Faust (1998), for ensemble and soundtrack
a large-scale (90 minute) dance work, commissioned by the New National Theatre Tokyo, choreographed by Kazuko Hirabayashi
The New Math(s) (2000), for soprano, traverso, marimba, violin and soundtrack
Co-commissioned score with Louis Andriessen for a short film directed by Hal Hartley, for the BBC and NPS
Solitaire (2003), for violin and soundtrack
ballet, commissioned by the Het Nationaal Ballet, Den Bosch

Other

Writing to Vermeer (1999), opera by Louis Andriessen and Peter Greenaway, with the thirteen electronic music inserts (which accompany a corresponding film projection) composed by van der Aa.
The Book of Sand (2015), digital interactive song cycle, based on Jorge Luis Borges' short story "The Book of Sand", with Kate Miller-Heidke
Time Falling (2020), album in collaboration with Kate Miller-Heidke