Contemporary repertoire in Bremen
Last season, I conducted no fewer than 23 works by contemporary composers at the University of Arts in Bremen. It began in November 2023 with a concert featuring pieces by important composers from the last century, all of whom gave their very own interpretation of the dodecaphony developed by Schoenberg. Under my direction, the ensembleANM played works by Webern, Stockhausen, Stravinsky, Yun, Cage and Schnittke. This concert was followed by three different concerts with new works by composition students, and in May the same ensemble played works by Austrian composers in the series ‘What do the neighbours write?’ (‘Was schreiben die Nachbarn?’). These included compositions by Haas, Neuwirth, Lang and Staud. Towards the end of the season, there were again concerts with works by composition students and, finally, a special concert as part of ‘Fête de la Musique’. A wind orchestra formed especially for the occasion, consisting of conservatoire students, played first a work by Louis Andriessen (Workers Union) and then Friedrich Gulda’s flamboyant cello concerto with the unsurpassed soloist Prof Thomas Carroll. Finally, a spectacular performance of ‘Science fiction’ by Rick Dior. For this piece, the entire percussion department was mobilised, both in terms of the amount of players and instruments. Electronics and a video about science fiction in the films of the 1950s and 1960s (including monsters and UFOs) completed the performance. Here a video from a rehearsal and some pictures from the concert.
Release double CD with works by Benoliel
After about a year and a half, the double CD ‘Aeronauts’ was finally released. This contains two major works by Bernard Benoliel, namely his symphony and his grand requiem for 2 choirs, violin soloist and orchestra with lots of percussion (including 15 timpani!). I made the recordings for it in May 2022 in Riga with the National Choir, a chamber choir and the National Orchestra of Latvia.
Copies of this double CD are available from:
To get an impression of Benoliels music, here are the last three pages from his Requiem including the accompanying audio recording.
Romantic symphonic repertoire
Besides concerts featuring the much-played standard orchestral repertoire by Weber, Bizet, Liszt, Dvorak (symphony no. 9) and Sibelius (symphony no. 2), the two concerts featuring Bruckner’s 8th symphony were among the highlights of last season. The hall in Amsterdam was completely sold out and the hall in Leiden virtually. At full strength, the Dutch orchestra ‘Het Klassiek Collectief’ played this majestic and profound symphony in inimitable fashion. A short video clip of the beginning of the symphony can be viewed and listened to here:
For those who are interested to listen to the whole symphony, here is the link to the audio recording of the performance in Leiden on October 15, 2023. Bruckner symfonie 8 – René Gulikers.mp3.
International Masterclass Conducting Technique
As every year, last season I organised and led my ‘International Masterclass Conducting Technique’ in the Belgian Ardennes, the first in February, the second in August. Both weeks were fully booked and so I worked with conductors from the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Croatia, Canada, Taiwan and Japan. As usual, hard work was done on the candidates’ conducting technique. At the end of the week, everyone conducted some of the repertoire they had studied with two excellent pianists. Many experiences were shared and friendships made, often while enjoying one of the delicious meals or over drinks in the evening. The nature surrounding the accommodation contributed to an unforgettable week for many.
The whole team of the IMCT no. 7 (Winter 2024)
From left to right: Evert-Jan de Groot (pianist), Chi-Chun Chen, Futo Yamane, Constant Notten (pianist, seated), Astrid Gulikers (hostess), Nika Kožar, Skye Morris, Lisa Ritke, Apollonio Maiello, Jen-Jen Liu, René Gulikers (course leader)
The whole team of the IMCT no. 8 (Summer 2024)
From left to right: Daniël Rouwkema, Esther Damsma – In ‘t Groen, George van Dam, Mourik Jan Heupink (pianist), Johannes Liebig, Eva Kerloc’h (pianist), Astrid Gulikers (hostess), René Gulikers (course leader), Martin Robidoux, Gilbert Coenegracht, Judy Hung, Pavao Masic
Nika Kožar, professional opera singer, 4th year student Orchestra Conducting (Zagreb) about the IMCT no. 7:
I’ve nothing but positive things to say about the wonderful week I spent in Chiny. René Gulikers is, in my opinion, truly doing extraordinary work and providing what many aspiring conductors are lacking: solid and reliable technique. The lessons were the best I’ve ever had; clear and precise, and I truly felt improvements after just one week. I’m happy because I finally know how to practice. Now I can put a name to things I was doing instinctively beforehand, and I finally know why and how they work. He helped me fill the gaps in my knowledge and his feedback was always immensely helpful.
The atmosphere of the masterclass is friendly and cozy, with all participants spending a lot of time together and learning from each other, which I greatly enjoyed. My gratitude goes to René for being a professional and kind mentor, but also to René’s wife, Astrid, for her kindness, hospitality, and cooking for a huge amount of people!
02-03-2024
Would you or someone you know be interested in participating one of the next editions of this conducting masterclass, then take a look here https://www.renegulikers.nl/international-masterclass-conducting-technique/ for all details, or share the link.
Private lessons orchestra conducting
In addition to these master classes, I increasingly give private lessons in orchestral conducting, both online and in person. My students (now more than 10) come from the Netherlands, Germany, Greece, Canada, the United States and Norway. I really enjoy teaching and I am happy to share my experiences and my conducting technique with all these enthusiastic conductors. Conducting lessons by René Gulikers
The new season
The first upcoming project in the new season is a concert with the choir and orchestra of the University of Arts in Bremen. On 20 November, under my direction, we will play a concert including ‘A Survivor from Warsaw’ by Arnold Schönberg with Prof Thomas Mohr as narrator, ‘An unanswered question’ by Charles Ives and the impressive ‘… die Seele muss vom Reittier steigen …’ by Klaus Huber. The latter piece is for symphony orchestra and baroque orchestra that, together with a trio of soloists (Alto: Katharina Rikus; Cello: Tanja Tetzlaff; Baryton: Jessica Ulusoy-Horsley), is going to show a magical world of sounds.
I am looking forward to this concert and to all other projects that will come!