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Sarah Neutkens – What is Sarah Neutkens thinking? Review

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Sarah Neutkens – What is Sarah Neutkens thinking? Review

sarah-neutkens-cdSarah Neutkens is a Dutch composer, pianist, visual artist, model, and art historian/journalist. Neutkens is drawn to quirky things, always seeking total freedom in her expression through various mediums. As a classical composer, her works have been performed by Alma Quartet and Nederlands Kamerkoor. Still, she also aims to connect contemporary music, jazz, and popular music with the world of art and fashion. This has led to multiple interdisciplinary collaborations and artist residencies for music festivals Into the Great Wide Open and Muziekgebouw Eindhoven, articles in Harper’s Bazaar, and collaborations with museums.

Neutkens has brought her interdisciplinary approach to her new album, What is Sarah Neutkens thinking? Neutkens explains, “There are feelings and thoughts in life that you can’t put into words; they come out to me through music.” For this double album, she wrote a composition for string quartet, which was recorded by the Alma Quartet, consisting of members of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. The second part of the album consists of pieces for solo piano, which Evans performed and recorded herself. In addition, it includes an arrangement for piano of Other Echoes, a piece she previously composed as a string quartet.

Neutkens: Bright Edge Deep – “Bright Edge Deep” opens with a growing melody hauntingly performed by the Almasarah-neutkens-1 Quartet. The ensemble’s use of vibrato is exquisite. Each part maintains its clarity and importance as the canonic figure grows in space. Neutkens show a maturity and balance in her orchestration that must be acknowledged. The melody is beautiful, having elements of folk, classical, and new age wrapped into a flowing set of variations that will pull you in for further exploration and listening.

Neutkens: Other Echos (arr. For Solo Piano) – “Toher Echoes I” has a repeating ostinato and rhythmic motif that is developed by Neutkens. Neutkens’ piano playing is expressive as she maintains all the various rhythmic layers of the counterpoint and shapes and maintains each phrase’s flow. Her compositional style of layering is a big part of her sound. In addition, her choice of simple harmonic structures gives her melodies the ability to shade and color emotions from different angles and hues.

sarah-neutkens-2Neutkens is making a beautiful statement with What is Sarah Neutkens thinking?. Her classical compositions have many textures of today’s music, reaching jazz, pop, new age, and traditional classical to form a unique and feminine-hued texture of Neu-Classical compositions. So come and explore What is Sarah Neutkens thinking?; her sonic nuances will stimulate and encourage your own thoughts.

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Sarah Neutkens - What is Sarah Neutkens thinking? Review - Chalked Up Reviews