PART 1 - INFANCY (1911 - 1936)

   Composers in the Netherlands had no copyright protection; their work could be performed by orchestras without them being

    paid. In addition, the American inventor Edison had succeeded to capture sound, and thus music also, with his Phonograph.

    Wax-cylinders and Gramophone records soon conquered the world.

    In 1911 the GeNeCo was born, followed two years later by copyright organisation BUMA/STEMRA. Prominent founders

    were the composers Bernard Zweers, Johan Wagenaar, Peter van Anrooy, Dirk Schäfer and initiator Jan van Gilse.

    In "Infancy" the relative silence of the turn-of-the-century makes place for a time with cars, airplanes and mechanical music

    outside the concert hall. The music of Bernard Zweers (1854-1924) forms a unit with works by the contemporary composers

    Geert Schoonbeek-de Vlaming, Bianca Holst and Hero Wouters.

    Van Gilse, Van Anrooy and Wagenaar talk about their first steps as a composer.

    On the occasion of the centenary of the Dutch Composers Association (GeNeCo) there were a number of events during

    the year 2011. Under the direction of composer Bianca Holst the COM participated with the project "De Eeuw Klinkt Nu!" that

    consisted of a listening route, concerts and music presentations. In 2013 we added unique images to her composition for the listening route,        

    thus creating a movie with a lenght of 50 minutes.

     The Century Resonates Now!

       is a personal view of two composers and filmmakers looking back on the fascinating history of

       music-making during the last century. Although they took the founding of the Dutch Composers

       Association as a starting point, the story of the technical innovations that changed music is not just

       a Dutch story at all- it's worldwide.

       More about the history of the GeNeCo & the developing soundtechniques you can find here.

  PART 3 - SPACE (1962 - 1986)

    The time of changes, from the obsolete social groups (socialism, Protestantism,

    Catholicism) to the liberation of Eastern ways of life & psychedelics, of going to France by car and to the moon by Apollo. The time also of

    Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Neil Armstrong and the Viet Nam-war.

    Or, to put it closer to home: Provo, Womens Lib and the Action Nutcracker, all of this accompanied by the images of the new medium: television!

    In this third part one hears the revolt through the rousing rhythms of music group Track of music theatre-ensemble De Veenfabriek under the

    direction of Paul Koek, and the contemplative spaces in the work of Bianca Holst and the duo Steven Pietersma-Hero Wouters.

    From interviews with o. a. composer Leon Orthel the unique individuality of the composer steps forward.

PART 4 - THE WEB (1987 - 2011)

   In 1986, no one could foresee how our lives would change by the invention

    of the Personal Computer. In 1989 composer Michel Waisvisz designed

    "The Fingerweb", consisting of wires that influenced synthesizer sounds

    by playing them.

    A look ahead to the World Wide Web, that is “played” nowadays by every    

    computer-user, thus producing an immense lot of music ...

    Basis of part 4 form Bianca Holst’s recordings with the Fingerweb in the

    studio of STEIM, and one of her songs on a Groninger text of Derk Sibolt

    Hovinga sung by Eppe Bodde.

    The GeNeCo-founders will give their vision of the future. Their voices are

    echoing through time and their music attaches itself to the threads of the web.

      Also see: “100 Jaar componeren in Nederland” (sorry, no translation)

      Order “De Eeuw Klinkt Nu” on DVD plus CD or on BLU RAY (20 euro) Order by mail.