Public administration student, pianist and composer Maurick Reuser wins two 1st prizes in international composition competition
Student, pianist and composer Maurick Reuser has won two first prizes in the international composition competition The Time of the Guitar. The competition took place online last month. Maurick received the prizes for the guitar solo work From Clouds and First Winds, a duo for clarinet and guitar.
The IIIrd International Competition among composers "The Time of the Guitar' was organized by the Moscow International Association of Guitar Art, a leading organization in international guitar music. The jury consisted of composers and guitarists from Italy, Canada, Finland and Russia. Now that war has broken out between Russia and Ukraine, Maurick stresses that his music is meant to build bridges.
His source of inspiration is the coming together of eastern and western cultures and how these can relate to each other. The exploration of balance, harmony, dynamics and space takes a central role. His favourite expression is fusoku-furi, which means ‘’not connected and not separated’’. His way of composing is strongly connected to his world view.
Photo by Guido Nieuwdorp
Maurick: ‘’To me, the prizes mean that my message to think in possibilities and harmony, instead of black-and-white and conflict, is acknowledged. Every story is a frame and all frames together form the greater whole. To be able to act properly, you need to have taken notice of every story. The a priori exclusion of possibilities, I don’t believe in that. When a particular story systematically disqualifies other stories, you’d better be on your guard. But I also could be completely wrong.’’
Maurick thinks that art and culture are capable of connecting people, but under one condition: ‘’The culture or one culture doesn’t exist. Culture is a collection of different stories, heard and unheard voices. This way, culture can encourage to look for possibilities, comparable to viewing the many facets of one diamond. Minding culture is minding diversity in one’s society and moreover the recognition and appreciation of it. Only then you can make choices in favour of balance and harmony. Culture is no politics or even a political choice. It enables politics. That’s for me the potency of culture.’’
The premier of First Winds will take place 20 March in the concert series Marquette Classique in Heemskerk, Noord-Holland, by Ekaterina Uvarova (guitar) and Danielle Rossouw (clarinet).
For more information, go to www.maurickreuser.nl.