Like many of you, I’ve spent the past few months searching for answers. For understanding. And, if I’m honest, at times also for a bit of comfort in the face of social and, let’s be honest, sometimes frightening political developments.

One book kept echoing in my mind: On Tyranny by historian Timothy Snyder. Those who know me well may already be slightly annoyed by my enthusiasm. Don’t worry; I’ll spare you the details… But seriously, do read it.

In short: Snyder identifies five conditions that make freedom possible. Or, to put it another way, five conditions that are systematically dismantled when freedom is taken from us. One of them is unpredictability.

That word struck a chord, because suddenly I thought of our own search for a new name. Until recently, we were known as Asko|Schönberg. Now, we are Het Muziek. And both names, in their own way, carry unpredictability as an expression and as a quest for freedom. Contemporary music thrives on ideas like disruption, friction and confrontation. A successful 20th-century concert wasn’t complete unless at least one couple stormed out of the hall.

Het Muziek continues in that tradition. We saw that clearly from the strong reactions we received after announcing our name change. Let’s be honest: some of the responses were intense. There’s no doubt the news landed like a bombshell. We even made the front page of de Volkskrant.

And yet, we were surprised.

Why? Because what felt like a natural step to us turned out to be so unpredictable to others. For us, it was the outcome of a long and thoughtful process. A decision that connects the rich history of Asko|Schönberg with the music of today. A history that helped put the Dutch ensemble culture on the international map with Louis Andriessen as its figurehead.

With works like De Staat, De Tijd, and De Materie, he broke with convention to arrive at his own truth. Louis became unpredictable. The only predictable thing was his titles: always an article and a noun. Titles that pointed directly to the essence of his compositions. As a representative of the post-war generation, Andriessen rejected elitism, resisted pretension, and gave voice to a cultural and societal renewal.

That’s the DNA we’re building on. Our name change is not a rupture, but a recalibration. A return to the values Asko|Schönberg embodied that are now carried forward by Het Muziek. With this name, we acknowledge our own history and our place in the canon. At the same time, we become unpredictable once again. It creates space for new voices and unexpected collaborations that continue to surprise us.

And yes, a new name can feel vulnerable. But vulnerability is always preferable to status. Because status never leads to renewal. And renewal is the core of our mission.

Perhaps that’s exactly what Snyder meant: that unpredictability does not weaken us. It creates the conditions for something greater. For freedom.