33

The Treaty of Utrecht in the Spring

WHAT’S ON THE AGENDA?

THE STRENGTH OF MUSIC

We shall begin the spring season with a spectacular programme of music. Utrecht will become one big party venue with both ‘local heroes’ and international stars. From Handel to hip-hop, classical to klezmer, sing song to dance: there will be something for everyone. The city and region will become a podium for music, music and yet more music! The bells of the Dom will ring out, with the unchained melody spreading to the carillons of all churches in the city, the province, the country, Europe and the world.

In the Dom itself, there will be one more opportunity (perhaps the last for another one hundred years) to hear Handel’s Utrecht Te Deum performed by The Netherlands Bach Society. The gala evening will also feature Janine Jansen, the internationally renowned violinist who hails from Utrecht. Those who are not fortunate enough to obtain a place within the church will be able to follow the event live on large video screens outside. And it is outside that the real experience begins. Further celebrations will take place in the shadow of the Dom and in the nearby streets, gradually radiating outwards to encompass the entire region. A new Te Deum will sound to the very borders of our province. This Te Populum will be played and sung by a relay of wind bands, amateur orchestras and choirs, echoing across the Green Heart and the Heuvelrug hills before eventually returning to the city centre and Domplein.

Opera buffs will be able to enjoy the international production Gulliver, performed by the Utrecht company, Insomnia. The libretto is based on the works of Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver’s Travels and a fervent champion of England’s participation in the 1713 negotiations. Elsewhere in the city, we too will be travelling – back in time. The atmosphere of 1713 will be recreated with bonfi res and street parties, and with music and dance. Wherever possible, modern-day vehicles will be excluded from the streets to make the atmosphere even more authentic. Having visited one of the open-air concerts, you will be able to enjoy a dance performance in the neighbourhood, or listen to an iPod commentary

explaining the rich history of the canals, castles and forts. You need only step outside your own front door to take part.

All aspiring Bob Geldofs, John Lennons and Bob Marleys – take note! We are looking for a new Peace Anthem and for young musical talent from Utrecht to write a ‘Peace hit’ for artists all over the world. Who will be the digital music ambassador for the Treaty of Utrecht?

MUSEUMS

If you’re still not sure why 1713 was such an important year, a visit to the large exhibition at the Central Museum is a must. Here, you will be able to explore the story of the Treaty of Utrecht through portraits, paintings and other works of art, which will also be featured on posters throughout the city. Inspired by Leo Tolstoy’s famous novel, the Central Museum will also be exploring the theme of ‘War and Peace’ in various other ways.

If you would like to learn more about the impact of the 1713 negotiations on Utrecht itself, a visit to the Utrecht Archives will reveal which stately houses were rented to the visiting diplomats, where the grand balls and parties were held, and how the city came alive with international cultural activities of all kinds.

Several other museums in and around Utrecht will be staging special events based on the theme of ‘War and Peace’. The University Museum, for example, will examine the process of reaching a ‘truce’, not only at the international level but in the school playground. At the Geldmuseum (Money Museum) you can learn all about the coins and currency associated with war and peace, while the Utrecht Archives will provide an eye-opening introduction to ‘Utrecht as a Garrison’. The Dom, whose tower was used as an anti-aircraft post as recently as the Second World War, is planning an exhibition in the Egmond Chapel, while the National Museum ‘From Musical Clock to Street Organ’ will be hosting various events and live performances throughout the year.

Not to be left out, the National Railway Museum is planning an exhibition (subject to confi rmation) about the role of the railways

April / May

in ‘military mobilization’. The Catharijne Convent Museum is to stage an exhibition about religion and art in the seventeenth century. It will reveal the Netherlands of the day to have been a remarkably tolerant society in which Catholics and Protestants lived alongside each other in relative harmony. The AAMU Museum of Contemporary Aboriginal Art will focus on the stark contrast between the desire for peace which European countries expressed in 1713 and their often brutal colonization of other parts of the world.

Museums elsewhere in the region will also be taking part. The Armando Museum in Amersfoort is planning an exhibition of war paintings by Armando’s European contemporaries. KAdE intends to put together a collection of modern works by no fewer than thirty young European artists. The Flehite Museum in Amersfoort intends to centre its events around the work of Gaspare Vanvitelli, the seventeenth-century landscape painter who was born in Amersfoort (as Jasper van Wittel) in 1652. In short, many museums will be devoting attention to the all-embracing international peace treaty signed in our city three hundred years ago. The Treaty of Utrecht lives on!

VIRTUAL GUIDE

For those who would like to take an active part in history, there will be the Utrecht Interactive software for iPod, mobile (smart) phone and PDA which enables users to call up extensive information about the rich history of our city and region. But this virtual guidebook is also interested in your story and your view of the city. Users can contribute to an archive of experiences relating to the Treaty as it affects us today. The Utrecht region will become one great interactive museum. A number of Utrecht Interactive Routes will be produced for families and tourists, featuring both historic information and handy tips. You can also join friends, neighbours and people you have yet to meet in playing ‘Balance of Power’, a new game in which you learn how to address differences effectively. Points are awarded for diplomacy, understanding and knowledge, while brute force and ignorance attract severe penalties! Utrecht Interactive

is being developed with the help of several partners, including Utrecht University and the Utrecht Archives.

THE STRENGTH OF DIALOGUE

It was on 11 April 1713 that the Treaty which would change the world came into being. On the eve of the 300th anniversary of this historic date, the City Hall will become the forum for a series of debates about the Utrecht Principles. This will be a meeting, at a historic location and at a historically signifi cant moment, to discuss a distinctly topical theme. We shall invite three generations to take part.

In the spring of 2013, we hope that the internationally renowned conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim will be the key speaker at the Edward Said Memorial Conference. Barenboim, who was a close friend of the philosopher Said, has for many years used his fame and standing to mediate in world confl icts, particularly in the Middle East. He also founded the West-East Divan Orchestra, made up of young musicians from both Israel and Palestine.

Once again, social responsibility and the power of the arts form the key focus. The lecture and related activities are to be organized in association with the Centre of the Humanities at Utrecht University.

In the period leading up to the events of 2013, schoolchildren of all ages will take part in various arts and culture projects examining aspects of war, peace and dialogue. Their work will be shown at various locations, including the Central Museum, and other events will include a musical about peace.

A conference on education is also planned. Over the course of several days, delegates will examine the interrelationship between art, culture, peace education and citizenship. In association with the regional police force, the conference will highlight the work of three hundred ‘bridge builders’: mediators who have in some way helped to create or maintain peace, whether on the large international scale or the far smaller scale of the school playground. They include the founders of the ‘Mayors of

35

April / May

Peace’ network, from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and representatives of Peaceful Schools International (PSI), a Canadian non-profi t, charitable organization.

4 AND 5 MAY

In the years ahead, Utrecht wishes to reaffi rm its reputation as a City of Peace. We shall therefore devote attention to modern issues such as peace and security. One of the most appropriate times of the year at which to do so publicly is on 4 May, the day on which the Netherlands commemorates the fallen of past confl icts, and on 5 May, Liberation Day in the Netherlands. Events are to be organized in association with various local organizations and the National 4 & 5 May Committee.

Utrecht intends to invite a number of artists from confl ict zones to set up a temporary studio in the city. They will then be able to prepare their contribution to the international MasterPeace exhibition to be held in 2014, while we shall be able to learn much from their experiences.

On 5 May 2013, the largest and best Liberation Festival in the country will be held in Utrecht. Through public debates and pop music, we shall draw attention to the links between the present and the past. This festival will attract visitors from throughout the country and beyond.