Expedition Weather Sounds with Intermania

On 22nd of November the Intermania comittee went to a classical concert in the Muziek gebouw in Eindhoven. However, this was not a normal classical concert, it namely was presented by Dutch NOS weatherman Peter Kuipers Munneke together with pianist Ralph van Raat. Peter presented weather types after which Ralph played a piano piece that corresponded with this weather. Read along to find out what we all thought of the concert. 

Concert in a few words

To give you all a small overview of our opinion I made a word cloud:

Favorite part of the show

There were a few favorites within the show. For example that we got a private "8 uur journaal" weather forecast. The fact that until a few years ago, there was a small part of the Netherlands where they could not accurately create the rain radar (Obviously a very important aspect in any Dutchie's life) due to conflicting radar signals. This meant that they “just did something” for this area. The area happened to be Bergen op Zoom, the town where Marjolein went to high school. This was a really eye-opening experience for her, since Marjolein suddenly had an explanation as to why she had gotten wet so many times when it was supposed to be dry while she was cycling. Also Peters enthusiasm about weather phenomena was something we all enjoyed very much.

What was your favorite piece

Lotte: 

I liked the number about the thunder. I personally really like thunderstorm (Sonate nr.2)and love to watch the lightning and the sound of rain. And that piece really represented that well, but without imagination it would be a piece that would be hard to listen to.  

Charrie: 

Personally, I liked each composition except the one chosen to represent the phenomenon of thunder. Although it was the best pairing for a good representation of the weather, it was exactly as Ralph described it: chaotic and intense, which made it hard to listen to. All other compositions where both the perfection pairing with Peter's discussion topics and represented the different weather settings very well as well as them being beautiful pieces to listen to. 

Rens: 

For me it was the song “winter child”. It was a song about longing back to the cold winters in your childhood. Something that occurs less often now due to global warming. It had this melancholic feeling that suddenly took a hold of me. During this song, an old painting of Dutch people ice skating on a canal was projected on a screen. The music lured me into the painting and made me want to go back to a time when I wasn't even alive yet. 

Maarten: 

I liked the piece “June/ Barcarolle” by Tchaikovsky the best. It reminds me of a slow summer day with a bit cloudy or rainy weather. For me the melody represents spending a chill weekend at home and not doing very much. There is a part in the piece that suddenly gains a lot of energy, and to me that can be the weather suddenly changing or it suddenly raining a lot, or it could be doing something fun or active, and then going back to lounging worriless around the house again. 

Marjolein: 

One of the songs was called “Winter child” and they explained that the composer of this song was born in winter and that he wrote the song longing for cold winters. I am a “winter child” myself and I really think that I have some sort of special affection for winter because of this. Therefore, the vibe of this piece really resonated with me.  

Wouter:  

I really liked the first song by Tjaikovksi “the seasons: june” and the last song by Joep Franssens “Winter Child”. These were the more basic piano songs compared to some of the unconventional songs which were played. These songs can just bring me to a calming place and that is what piano music is all about for me. I can listen to people playing live music for a long time and these songs are perfectly suited for that.  

Morris:  

I liked the thunder piece (Sonate nr.2), it really surprised me and it was cool to know that there are only a few people that bothered to learn this composition. I think it just stood out in the show. Now thinking about it I also very much liked the last piece in the show where Peter joined in on the piano which was also unexpected.  

A list of pieces played

If you want to listen to some of our favorites below is a list of the pieces played in the concert.

Pjotr IljistsjTsjaikovski - From The seasons opus 37B: June

Franz Listz - Nuages gris

Luciano Berio - Luftklavier

Daniel Pinkham - Diamonds in the Mud

Salvatore Sciarrino - Sonate nr.2

Debussy - Images oubliées

Joep Franssens - Winter Child

What was your view on classical music and has this changed due to this show?

Lotte: 

I have done classical ballet since I was 5 years until I was around 20, so I am used to listening to classical music. However, that is very melodically lead classical music and in the show a lot of modern less melodical music was played as well which was new to me and would be hard to listen to without the story around it. But with the story attached to it I found it very nice.  

Charrie:  

I think not. The main reason for this is that I already believe that music has the power to represent everyone and everything extremely well.  From emotions all the way up to the weather. Hearing the music during the show confirmed my beliefs about the power of music. 

Rens: 

It made me re-appreciate classical music and I have listened to classical music playlists on Spotfiy for several hours since I visited this concert. 

Maarten: 

As a classical pianist I always appreciated classical music very much. Though the music that we got to listen to at this show is somewhat different from the music that I usually play or listen to. It was a bit more abstract or impressionistic as the sounds were supposed to be a representation of the weather. Also I liked it very much to see a professional pianist play music that I myself enjoy playing too. 

Marjolein: 

I work at the Muziek gebouw (coincidence? I think not) and therefore I have heard my fair share of classical music. Even within this genre, there are a lot of differences and definitely not everything I hear during my work is pleasant. I wouldn't say my view on classical music has been changed by this concert, but this was certainly a concert that I would classify as pleasant to listen to (maybe not the thunder piece). 

Wouter: 

My dad is a big fan of classical music in all forms and styles. My brother and him can play the piano perfectly and I love to listen to it. I literally send my dad a message with my favorite songs of the show so he could listen to them. I do not listen to classical music a lot but played live I can definitely enjoy it. My view on it did not change much but it remembered me the calming feeling of live classical music. Had not listened to something like this in a long time.  

Morris:  

I normally don’t like classical music, it is just not my cup of tea. But I think because we had some back story behind these compositions and because it was a bit more abstract than other pieces I could appreciate it a bit more. There is apparently more out there then ‘Boring Beethoven’ and I came to appreciate the genre a bit more.  

Conclusion

I think overall everyone really enjoyed the music, although some rather challenging classical music was played. However, the story told by Peter gave context to the pieces making them a lot easier to listen to. We would definitely advise people to listen to classical music while it can bring some calm to our chaotic student lives.  

TIP of the day: want to have a nice evening out try to get the Spottickets at the Muziek Gebouw, where you can go to a concert for just 10 euros, this often includes a free drink during the break. Click on this link to see the terms and conditions and the plays.