Reviews
“The almost otherworldly images of the frozen Dolomites complement the music so well
that it almost seems as if Mahler came up with it himself.” 8weekly
“[Van Woerkum’s’] images do not serve to “spice up” the music, but rather to visualize the often complex underlying emotions.
With his Symphonic Cinema, Van Woerkum searches for the gold behind the notes and that appeals to many people […]
I enjoy the music and watch breathlessly. The images are as penetrating as the notes. They do not take anything from Mahler’s music, they add something to it, but without imposing a literal story on you. I am completely captivated by Van Woerkum’s fascinating Symphonic Cinema and not only when the girl dies tears roll down my cheeks. Life and death fly through the Concertgebouw, as if Van Woerkum performs a spiritual dance with Mahler’s innermost soul movements. Man remember that you will die … The multimedia effect is, in my opinion, beautiful and respectful, honest and profound. One reinforces the other.” De Nieuwe Muze magazine
“Dear Lucas, It is so deep and moving. I just watched it on my computer. I can only try to imagine the huge impact it made on a full screen with the symphony orchestra playing. But one should watch it alone as one will be weeping. Thank you for undertaking such a mammot task, gigantic and risky. Love to you, Marina Mahler” Marina Mahler, granddaughter of Gustav Mahler
Firebird and Daphnis & Chloé (The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester)
“The filmic narratives are intriguing, even puzzling, and hold the attention superbly.” Robert Beale, The Arts Desk
“Van Woerkum does it with great skill and stretches the boundaries of narrative film.” Robert Beale, The Arts Desk
“In contrast to a classic film soundtrack played live with the film, the idea in Symphonic Cinema is that the music, and its interpretation, come first. So the conductor is literally setting the pace, while the film is controlled in real time by an “image soloist”, and the visuals follow the music’s lead rather than the other way round. It’s the brainchild of Lucas van Woerkum, who is that soloist, appearing on stage next to the rostrum like a concerto virtuoso, with a touchscreen as his instrument, and taking his bows alongside the maestro.” Robert Beale, The Arts Desk
“Van Woerkum clearly understands Stravinsky’s music by visually combining traditional storytelling with 20th century modernism yet all appearing quite contemporary to the audience.” Aaron Loughrey, Number 9
“Van Woerkum is an artist and I am sure that his ideas and experiments will develop and gain value. There was much more to this performance than met the eye and I am curious to what will come next from Van Woerkum.” Aaron Loughrey, Number 9
“There were two extremely touching moments which were beautifully matched by Ravel’s impressionist music. The first moment was when Chloe’s mother reached to her across the table and touched her hand tenderly, the second was when Chloe is in the garden and suddenly screamed silently. These images were moments when the live editing element really showed its effectiveness.” Aaron Loughrey, Number 9
Daphnis & Chloé, World Premiere (Amsterdam Concertgebouw)
“In a catchy choreography, Chloé dances with female competitors who taunt and challenge her. It is one of the moments in Van Woerkum’s film in which music and images come together to create added value: music reinforces the image, and the image reinforces the music.”
NRC Handelsblad, April 2018
“You can no longer rely on a shephard love story. That is why Van Woerkum came up with a contemporary drama that takes place in hip clubs and a cold villa in Amsterdam. Drink and pills distort reality and the misty music of Ravel fitted in seamlessly with that.”
Trouw, April 2018
“The digital world we live in is cleverly used by showing the contrast between the ideal, online created image that young people adopt and the more vulnerable sides that are needed to give love a chance. The images are beautifully filmed and the sandwich formula of film and music tastes like more.”
De Telegraaf, April 2018
“The story was captivating and the images swirled before us like pieces of a dream. Long portrait shots expressing emotions, dance, action, all very artistically put together.”
Amsterdamian, April 2018
Conductors
“What’s wonderful about the collaboration is that Lucas with his technology can follow the music in a way that the musicians still have the freedom to express themselves”
Mark Wigglesworth, October 2014
“Working with Lucas has been a great experience. Not only does he have an immense talent as a Film maker, one feels he is also making music through his live editing performance. As the conductor, I felt as free as in any other concert, yet the audience enjoyed a totally new experience of The Firebird.”
Pablo Gonzalez, February 2016