Olivia Vermeulen and Jan Philip Schulze at Concertgebouw

In Heaven is the new programme by mezzo-soprano Olivia Vermeulen and pianist Jan Philip Schulze. In it, they look upwards. Since time immemorial, the heavens have been the canvas for the projection of utopian visions, psychedelic journeys and mankind's eternal dreams. Hear how those skies have inspired artists - as diverse as David Bowie, Franz Schubert, Marianne Faithful and Stockhausen - in so many different ways.

In Heaven
Since time immemorial, the heavens have been the canvas for the projection of utopian visions, psychedelic journeys and mankind's eternal dreams. In Heaven is a cosmic odyssey, a musical space mission. Themes like utopia, strange atmospheres, stars and eternity, sense enchantment and ultimate liberation pass by. Angels, heaven and paradise are leitmotifs, earth becomes a distant afterthought. We explore planets as refuges where reality fades and there is room for dreams - only to return more or less gently to earth, the only place where these dreams can be dreamt. With music ranging from Schubert to Bowie.

Olivia Vermeulen and Jan Philip Schulze
‘We are so in tune with each other - we're like an old married couple! He is mega good at coming up with programmes and we are constantly ping-ponging with hunches and suggestions. When I tackle something without him, I immediately miss him a lot too.’ This is what mezzo-soprano Olivia Vermeulen told Preludium in an interview about her duo partner, pianist Jan Philip Schulze. Once again, they come together to the Small Hall and we can enter the heaven shaped by the two of them.