Drumming

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Strumming

In the 2026/2027 season, HIIIT celebrates its 50th anniversary as well as the 90th birthday of Steve Reich, pioneer of minimal music and a lasting source of inspiration for the ensemble. At the heart of the programme is the iconic Drumming: a pulsating sound universe in which rhythms gradually shift and patterns interlock, until all sense of time disappears.

Set against this is Aart Strootman’s new Strumming, written especially for HIIIT. The titles rhyme, and so do the works: fifty-five years later, percussion gives way to strings. Nine specially developed 24-string instruments unfold soft harmonies and layered sound fields without a fixed pulse. Where Drumming sweeps you along in hypnotic energy, Strumming instead invites you to slow down, fall silent and find stillness.