East of the Sun — Saskia Rao-de Haas, Shubhendra Rao, Yan Jiemin, Zhao Yuachun + Cello Octet Amsterdam

Three world premieres around the Cello Octet

With the Cello Octet as the common theme, different influences from all over the world come together. The Dutch-Indian Saskia Rao-de Haas arranged her orchestral work Song of Water for sitar, cello octet, and Indian cello: a smaller sized cello which is played seated on the floor. Kayhan Kalhor is one of today’s most influential contemporary composers and performers within Iranian classical music. In his music, he makes connections between Persian traditions, Kurdish folk music, and Western classical elements.

In 2016, Joël Bons made a huge impression with his work Nomads for cello and the Atlas Ensemble. He was awarded the ‘Nobel Prize’ of music for it, the Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition. The successor of the piece is his lauded Atlas Orchestra Book, which he composed for 2025’s Holland Festival. In it, a prominent role was given to two Chinese erhu players, the soloists in this new work for Cello Octet Amsterdam.