Folk music touches the heart. In this festive programme, the musicians of Asko|Schönberg doff their caps to all of their anonymous colleagues who have translated human emotions into song for as long as we can remember. Leoš Janáček, with his arrangements of Moravian folk songs, proves how small the step can be from the street to the concert hall.
Unsuk Chin garners inspiration from the street theatre of her youth in Seoul. Her lively music contrasts with the naive slant of John Adams, paying homage to his father and their common instrument, the clarinet. The young Dutchman Thomas van Dun, whose rhythmic drive is reminiscent of Adams, rounds off this ode to folk culture with a brand new commissioned work.