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Armeno Alberts: presenter/producer
This month Armeno Alberts is in the limelight. He is going to start in September,
but we would like to introduce him to you now.
 Café Sonore
“From
September 2014 I will produce and present the programme Café Sonore
once a month. Basically the programme will be broad-
cast on Wednesday
evenings, in any case from 23.00 to midnight, but maybe it will become
a 2 hour-block, from 22.00 to midnight. We are still
in negotiations
about that.
From September 2012 to December 2013, Café Sonore
was the last remaining structual radio programme from the Public
Broadcaster, the VPRO (first on Radio 4, then on Radio 5 and finally
ending up on Radio 6). From January
2014 onwards this programme
(together with many other programmes) was cut back by
VPRO. This was
the result of Cabinet Rutte l, which wants to save 200 million on the
media budget. And, not unimportantly …, when the programme disappeared I lost my job as well!”
Content
“At
the VPRO, Café Sonore was the radio platform for the 'Ras Acustica', an
'umbrella phrase’ for a number of 'vulnerable' genres within
contemporary music, i.e. acousmatic music, sound art, radiophonics,
experimental impro, etc. However, within the Concertzender Café Sonore
is not
the only programme that covers such music genres, which are a
little unknown.
I will therefore change the direction of Café
Sonore somewhat under the banner
of the Concertzender. Currently I am
still in discussion with those directly involved
in order to get
everything agreed in the best possible way.”
A sequel at the Concertzender?
“I
have always been very sympathetic towards the Concertzender. Years ago,
when the VPRO allowed me to participate for the first time with
Café Sonore in
the annual Ars Acustica Art’s Birthday (an international
radio happening in which almost all European public broadcasting
companies participated), I took part in
this event in co-production
with the Concertzender (Hessel Veldman). Following
the exodus from the
VPRO the Concertzender was the most logical and natural choice to
continue Café Sonore.”
Jack of all Trades
“After
my piano and composition studies at the Arnhem academy of music I
mainly immersed myself in the electro- acoustic music, e.g. by a study
at the Utrecht Institute for Sonology. Following that I spent years in
all kinds of things as a musician and composer/sound artist; toured
around with projects, participated
as guest curator in festivals and
gave lessons and workshops in various (Art) Academies. And I still do
so. For instance I am a musician in the GENDING gamelan ensemble, with
which I have made 4 tours to Indonesia up to now. Also currently
I am a
board member at a number of organizations, i.e. the CEM (Electronic
Music Centre), Stichting Museumconcerten (Museums concerts Foundation)
(Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam) and the Stichting Ambience Tracks
(Ambience Tracks Foun-
dation). In addition I have worked for the past 21
years (from November 1992 to December 2013) as programme maker
and producer for the VPRO. I collaborated with various programmes e.g.
Nieuwe Muziek, Nieuwe Maandag, Supplement,
Oren Wassen, De
Zaterdagavond, Hotel Central, Jazz Jong, Eigentijds, and last
but
not least Café Sonore. In 1998 I won the Silver Travel Microphone
(together with my co-producers) for NPS/VPRO Supplement and in 2003 I
won the very 1st Prix Phonurgia Nova (Radio France Culture) for the
radiophonic composition 'Zwanenzang op de Westerschelde' (Swan Song on
the Western Scheldt) (in collaboration with Phons Bakx). For a complete
review you can look at my LinkedIn profile.”
Always busy
“Although professionally I am mainly active in the contemporary music
scene, I
still love to creep behind the piano and play classical works.
I have no ambitions whatsoever as a piano player, but purely for myself
it is fantastic to play Bach’s preludes and fugas of the
'Wohltemperiertes Klavier', or the sonatas by Beethoven.
At the moment
I am trying to master all of Chopin’s nocturnes again. Playing music
from our (Western) past is a good way to identify with the universal
beauty of music. I always alternate this with jamming and pure
improvisation. For the rest I like a game of tennis (I am a reasonable
'6') and, if I can find the time, I like to
cook. I have just learned
how to make various boemboes (for Indonesian dishes) and you would
be surprised how much better they are than the prefab rubbish
from the
well-known brands!”
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