Coda - Cello Octet and Sophie van Winden

Magda is 100 years old and celebrates her final hour. She has one last bottle to empty, surrounds herself with the music of her old friend Ryuichi Sakamoto, and has something to say - because what story is needed now? With her great-grandson in mind, she searches, together with the audience, for something that will outlive her.

Cello Octet Amsterdam and Sophie van Winden create a musical death scene around the question: what do we leave behind? The text is by Sophie van Winden; the music of Ryuichi Sakamoto was specially arranged for cello for this production. Sakamoto was both a composer and anti-nuclear activist, and initiator of a major reforestation project. In 2022 he became terminally ill. His meditations during chemotherapy resulted in the album '12', and the very last concert he gave was recorded on 'Opus'. He died in 2023. The production features pieces from 'Opus', as well as Thousand Knives and Reversing.

The production was originally written for Oerol and is now finding its way to theatres. Sophie van Winden is an actress, theatre maker and writer; this season she also appears in the monologue De Gloed and is working on her debut novel, which will be published in 2026 by Uitgeverij Thomas Rap. Cello Octet Amsterdam is a collective of cellists focused on new music and interdisciplinary performances.

NRC, Ron Rijghard: 'Beautiful is when Van Winden works herself up into an angry tirade about the stalled energy transition: "Bitterballen! The embodiment of evil!"'