The Orlando Festival is the oldest chamber music festival in the Netherlands and has been an important contributor to the development and promotion of chamber music in the Netherlands since 1982. The festival was founded by Stefan Metz, cellist of Orlando Quartet. This new 2 CD set features the works of Dutch composer Hans Kox, who was born in 1930 and originally started out as an organist. In 1953, while still a student, he made his composition debut at the Gaudeamus Music Week with a string trio and a piano sonata. In 1955 he wrote his First String Quartet and in 1956 he received his first commission from the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, for whom he wrote his Concertante Music for 3 brass instruments and orchestra and from whom he received many commissions. Over a career spanning 60 years, Kox completed more than 200 compositions. His music has no specific intentions or meaning. Kox described his music as "just music, sound. Music is itself, however one wants to interpret this." This new 2 for 1 recording features his chamber works, recorded live at the 2019 Orlando Chamber Festival which also contains many premiere recordings.
