10/08/2026
📰 The NRC and NPO Klassiek highlight the revival of De Schat van Scharlaken Rackham, composed in 1970 on a nine-metre wallpaper roll for pupils of the Utrechtse Muziekschool. The work will be performed Sunday 28 June as part of the 150th anniversary celebrations of HKU Utrechts Conservatorium.
Join the ‘Treasure of Utrecht’ in Utrecht, 16:00 | Free admission.
https://www.hku.nl/en/events/treasure-of-utrecht
Journalist Rahul Gandolahage writes in the NRC about Louis Andriessen’s long-lost graphic score:
🖊 It starts with “play a chord your mother likes”. Then comes “a chord you like yourself”. Then “a chord your family finds ugly”.
🖊 Over the past few months, eighty students have worked on interpreting Andriessen’s instructions. [...] Wiek Hijmans explains how students from classical, pop/jazz, music education and Musician 3.0 all worked on the piece.
🎼 “Refreshing”, but “extremely difficult”
🖊 Words by HKU students:
For the students, the project opened up another way of thinking about notation, freedom and improvisation. For Zhao, the project is a fun adventure. “Especially that graphic score, that free interpretation, that is new for us as classical musicians.” Classical pianist Laboyrie found the improvisation particularly “refreshing.” For violinist Kokavesi, improvising was actually less daunting, but she does wonder how Andriessen thought that treasure melody was playable for a nine-year-old. “Those fingerings are really difficult.” For Stas Peters (19, drums) and Tjeerd Derksema (18, bass guitar) from the pop/jazz department, it was also an interesting project. Peters: “In jazz improvisation, there are still many clear rules about what is and isn’t allowed. Here, improvisation is taken much broader.” Because of that, it can’t really go wrong, Peters thinks. “Even if I drop my stick, I make a sound.”
🖊 The students have worked on the blocks, but ultimately it is Hijmans, a committee of teachers, and conductor Esmée Olthuis who shape the blocks into an artistic concept.
Read the NRC article:
https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2026/06/24/speel-een-akkoord-wat-je-moeder-mooi-vindt-in-utrecht-klinkt-muziek-gecomponeerd-op-een-behangrol-a4930753
🎥 NPO Klassiek (with video):
🖊 You would think that a score nine metres long would not be easy to lose. And yet De Schat van Scharlaken Rackham by Louis Andriessen was considered lost for almost half a century [...]
The piece is based on the famous Tintin comics. But do not expect ordinary staves and neat bar lines. Andriessen made it a graphic score: a long roll full of symbols, instructions and drawings. The performers have to interpret these themselves. As a result, the work sounds slightly different at each performance. Just looking at the score is an adventure in itself, with references to the world of Tintin and Red Rackham [...]
Read & watch more on NPO Klassiek:
https://www.npoklassiek.nl/klassiek/de-ochtend/69171400-8d2e-4ba9-a5ab-c8551d94a45e/verloren-kuifje-partituur-louis-andriessen-klinkt-na-bijna-halve-eeuw-weer
📷 Rehearsal photos by Merlin Daleman
