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""...the audience were immersed in a trance-like, overwhelming ocean of sound..." Trouw (NL)

 

The versatile Dutch pianist Saskia Lankhoorn is an active soloist and chamber musician in the contemporary music scene. Originally from Almere, the Netherlands, Saskia Lankhoorn received her Bachelors and Masters from the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, under the guidance of Marcel Baudet and Naum Grubert, and also studied with Rudolf Jansen at the Academie de Villecroze in France, and shortly with Elza Kolodin in France and Freiburg. She won first prize in the National Prinses Christina Competition in 1998 and was a finalist in the Royal Concertgebouw’s 58th Vriendenkrans Competition in 2007, where her duo was honored with both the Press Prize and the Audience Award. 

 

Her dedication to performing contemporary music dates from early age; 1995 marked her first appearance on national radio, playing Arnold Schönberg’s Sechs Kleine Klavierstücke. Saskia performs with the Asko|Schönberg ensemble and ELECTRA, and has premiered new works with her trans-Atlantic piano duo X88 with Canadian pianist Vicky Chow. She is a co-founder of Ensemble Klang, which has performed in festivals worldwide such as the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Cultural Olympiad UK 2012 and Sonic Festival in New York City 

 

Her critically acclaimed solo concerts combine new art music with a strong performance and sound concept, and strive to immerse the audience in a new sound world. In spring 2014 she presented the solo program ‘Chords & Cables’, exploring the external sound possibilities of the instrument through combining the piano with electronic and prepared sounds. Saskia performs throughout the Netherlands in venues such as the Concertgebouw and Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ in Amsterdam, as well as Symphony Space NY in the USA.

 

October 2014 marked the release of ‘Dances & Canons,’ Saskia Lankhoorn’s first solo CD on ECM Records, featuring a suite of solo piano works by Kate Moore. In 2014-2015 Saskia embarks on an international CD release tour of ‘Dances & Canons,’ performing a solo show featuring a striking light and sound design at a.o. Pukt, Norway; Sacrum Provanum, Poland; Apples & Olives, Switserland; Look and Listen, New York.

Dances&Canons was nominated for the Edison Award 2015.

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Saskia has been curating new music festvial Dag in de Branding (English subtitles available) for two seasons between 2017 and 2019, creating eight editions full of mesmerizing and up-to-date performances from musiccians and composers around the world.

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In 2019 Saskia is been appointed as a member of the artistic board of Gaudeamus Muziekweek

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Press

 

Dutch Biography

 

Volkskrant Article 2015 -NL

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Trouw Article 2016 - NL

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NRC Article 2017 - NL