Louis Andriessen Has Dementia And Has Written His Last Music

The 81-year-old composer suffered a fall last year; this past January, his condition having worsened, he was diagnosed with a combination of Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia and has moved into a long-term care facility. That means that May, a cantata written for Cappella Amsterdam and the Orchestra of the 18th Century that has its world premiere on Saturday (Dec. 5) at the Concertgebouw, is almost certainly his final work. Journalist Guido van Oorschot interviews Andriessen’s wife and his assistant and orchestrator for May about how the score came together and the composer’s state of health. – de Volkskrant (in Dutch)