On 5 October 2026, it will be one hundred years since Gottfried Michael Koenig was born in Magdeburg. Koenig moved to Utrecht in 1964 after he was appointed artistic director of the Studio for Electronic Music of Utrecht University, which later became the Institute of Sonology. Koenig held this position until 1986, the year in which Sonology moved to the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague. He followed the developments of the institute with great interest until his death on 30 December 2021.
To reflect on Koenig’s great achievements in electronic and computer-composed instrumental music in general, and for the Institute of Sonology in particular, we are organising a concert in the Conservatoriumzaal on Friday 2 October 2026 at 19:00. The programme includes electronic and instrumental compositions, including the world premiere of the String Quartet 2019. The instrumental works will be performed by members of the New European Ensemble. This concert is made possible with financial support from the Konrad Boehmer Foundation.
Following the event on 2 October, the Institute of Sonology presents a second concert at the New Music Lab on the sixth floor of Amare on 3 October 2026 at 17:00, devoted to work inspired by, or in dialogue with, Koenig’s music and his thinking about composition. The programme brings together an electronic composition of Koenig with new and recent pieces by Bjarni Gunnarsson, Ji Youn Kang, Riccardo Marogna, Kees Tazelaar, Cansu Ülker and Guyshawn Wong.
Programme October 2 & 3
1. Klangfiguren I (1954), electronic music
2. Zwei Klavierstücke (1957)
3. Varianten 1 (2011) for clarinet, string trio and piano
4. Funktion Grau (1969), electronic music
5. Konrad Boehmer – Fünf Bagatellen (1958–59), for trompet, violin, clarinet, cello, percussion
6. Streichquartett 2019 – Kanonisches Mosaik
TBA