composer
Simons was born in The Netherlands on December 29, 1982.
Education: He studied violin with Prof. Saschko Gawriloff, composition with Daan Manneke and James MacMillan and conducting with Ed Spanjaard, Jean- ...
related works
Genre:
Opera, musical theatre
Subgenre:
Opera
Instruments:
5zang picc fl/fl-a ob/eh cl/cl-b sax-bar fg/cfg h tpt/tpt-picc trb-t trb-b 2perc hp g-eb pf/keyb 2vn vla vc db tape
Gestures : for 8 violoncellos / Daan Manneke ; arr.:. Bart Visman, 1980, revisions 1991 and 2011
Genre:
Chamber music
Subgenre:
Cello
Instruments:
8vc
Monologue : for cello solo / Patrick van Deurzen
Genre:
Chamber music
Subgenre:
Cello
Instruments:
vc
A thin place : for violoncello and the player's voice / Lowell Dykstra
Genre:
Chamber music
Subgenre:
Cello
Instruments:
vc
composition
Vita Fugax : for cello / Marijn Simons
Description:
Vita Fugax means “fleeting life”. It was originally composed for campanula (a kind of cello with additional 16 resonating strings) for the former principal cellist of the Berlin Philharmonic Georg Faust. The campanula version has extended improvised sections. The cello and viola versions are reduced to the concretely written out passages.
The opening movement Secret Societies is a social commentary on “behind closed doors” politics and silly conspiracy theories.
The second movement Futurology is based on Stanislaw Lem’s novel The Futurological Congress.
The third movement Christian Extremism is a statement against extremism (of any sort), which unfortunately is still too much a part of our present society.
The final movement’s title A Fairy Story comes from a quote by a man I hugely admire, namely Stephen Hawking: “A belief that heaven or an afterlife awaits us is a fairy story for people afraid of death”. - Marijn Simons