Wim Henderickx

Henderickx's music is characterized by non-western elements, chiefly Indian classical music, raga and the rhythms of African music. It employs changing timbres and structures inspired by Eastern philosophy.[1] He is influenced by Olivier Messiaen, Iannis Xenakis, Igor Stravinsky, György Ligeti and Béla Bartók. As a percussionist, he usually makes use of an extended arsenal of percussion instruments in his works, often calling for unusual instrumentation.[2]

Henderickx has received the Jeugd-en Muziekprijs Vlaanderen (Flanders), the International Composition Price for Contemporary Music in Quebec, Canada, the triennial E. Baie I prize for a talented Flemish artist in 1999 from the province of Antwerp and became the Arts Laureate of the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium in 2002. In 2006 the Minister of Culture nominated him for the Flanders Culture Prize.[1][2] He received the Lifetime Achievement Culture Prize in Lier, Belgium, in 2011. He was appointed as a member of the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium (KVAB) for Science and the Arts in 2015.

Many of his early works were influenced by oriental music and philosophy. He wrote "Mysterium" (1989) for 10 woodwinds, "OM" (1992) for string quartet and "Dawn" (1992) for mezzo-soprano, female chorus and instrumental ensemble. A CD with "Raga I, II, III" was released in 1999.

His opera Triumph of Spirit over Matter (2000) was commissioned by Music Theatre Transparent and toured in Belgium and The Netherlands.

His youth opera Achilleus was produced in 2003 by the Flemish Opera. It was translated into Danish and staged in Copenhagen in 2006.

Een Totale Entführung was a music theatre production made in cooperation with Ramsey Nasr and based on Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail.[3] Olek schoot een beer ... was based on Bart Moeyaert's adaptation of the Firebird story.[4]

Henderickx wrote "Canzone" for voice and piano for the semi-finals of the 2008 Queen Elisabeth Music Competition.

After a trip through India and Nepal, Henderickx created his "Tantric Cycle":

• "The Seven Chakras" (2004) for string quartet
• "Nada Brahma" (2005) for soprano, ensemble and electronics
• "Maya's Dream" (2005) for oboe and ensemble
• "Void/Sunyata" (2007) for 5 singers, ensemble and electronics, commissioned by Music Theatre Transparent and based on a Shri Yantra
• "Disappearing in Light" (2008) for mezzo-soprano, viola, alto flute and percussion
• "Tejas (what does the sound of the universe look like?)" (2009) for orchestra, commissioned by the Royal Flemish Philharmonic
• "Mudra" (2010) for mixed ensemble.

"Confrontations" for African and Western percussion was released on CD in 2004.

"Groove!" is a large symphonic work for percussion and orchestra. It was premiered in February 2011 by the Brussels Philharmonic with Gert François as percussion soloist.

"Medea" for music theatre toured Belgium and the Netherlands in 2011-2013 with HERMES ensemble and 4 actors of the Dutch 'Veenfabriek' and Wim Henderickx as conductor.

A few albums of Henderickx's music:[5][6][7]

• Disappearing in Light with HERMESensemble
• Tejas and Other Orchestral Works performed by DeFilharmonie (the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra) conducted by Martyn Brabbins.
• Triptych with HERMESensemble
• Double CD: At the Edge of the World with the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra conducted by Martyn Brabbins and Edo de Waart.

"Symphony Nr.1 (At the Edge of the World)" was premiered by the National Orchestra of Belgium (NOB) in Luxemburg in 2012 with Stefan Blunier as conductor and has had performances with various orchestras in Brussels, Antwerp, Halle-Saale and Magdeburg.

Within the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) World Music Days 2012 in Antwerp and November Music in den Bosch (Netherlands) Wim Henderickx premiered and conducted "Atlantic Wall" with HERMESensemble, a work for mezzo-soprano, instrumental ensemble, video and electronics.

In 2014 he composed "Antifoon (A resonating bridge)" for 500 musicians. He conducted the open air spectacle on a bridge between Hasselt and Genk (BE) and in May 2015 his large choral work "Visioni ed Estasi" premiered with 200 singers (professional and amateurs) at the Saint Rumbold's Cathedral, during the Flanders Festival in Mechelen with James Wood as the general conductor.

In March 2017 it was the premiere of Symphony N°2 (Aquarius' Dream) with the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, Claron McFadden and Thierry Fischer as the conductor at the new Queen Elisabeth Hall in Antwerp. Also in March 2017 the ballet production Requiem (East) premiered with choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Opera Ballet Vlaanderen and had performances in Ghent, Antwerp and Bruges. In April 2017 the music theatre production Revelations premiered at the Opera21 Festival in Antwerp with Muziektheater Transparant, Cappella Amsterdam and the HERMESensemble. It has had performances at Operadagen Rotterdam and November Music.

His works are published by Norsk Musikforlag in Oslo, Norway.

Media related to Wim Henderickx at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website
• Video interview with Henderickx
• Documentary (in Dutch) on Henderickx, with an extract from "Tejas"
• Summer Composition Course Soundmine, concert 2014
• Gramophone (January 2016), Contemporary Composer: Wim Henderickx
• Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel now houses most works and manuscripts of Henderickx, after the bankruptcy of CeBeDeM in 2015.