CANTO OSTINATO ON FOUR CONCERT GRAND PIANOS
On Saturday 18 September 2027, Simeon ten Holt’s Canto Ostinato will be performed during a special Stellae lying-down concert in the monumental Sint-Maartenskerk in Zaltbommel.

Four pianists from the Natalon Kwartet perform the work on four concert grand pianos, in the middle of the church. Lying on your own mat or air mattress, you are surrounded by the music and the remarkable acoustics of the high vaults.

Canto Ostinato is one of the best-known works in Dutch music history. It consists of short, recurring patterns that the pianists can freely repeat and alternate within the composition. As a result, the music develops as it is played and each performance takes on its own character.

FOUR PIANISTS, FOUR GRAND PIANOS

The Natalon Kwartet is the only permanent four-grand-piano quartet in the world and has been performing Ten Holt’s music for more than twenty years. The pianists continuously respond to one another and together determine how long the patterns are played and how the composition unfolds.

Four grand pianos fill the Sint-Maartenskerk with a layered sound that you not only hear, but can almost physically feel. The repetition brings a sense of calm, while subtle changes continually take the music in a different direction.

At a Stellae lying-down concert, you do not listen from a church pew, but while lying on your own mat or air mattress. This creates space to focus entirely on the music.

Don’t forget to bring your own mat or air mattress!