Frieda Gustavs’ new piece, Elisabeth, creates a dialogue across time, with 20 trombones playing from the balcony of the Muziekgebouw, while Pitou Nicolaes and Jasmine Karimova join Frieda in singing about the contrasts and continuities between Bruckner’s time and today. The piece is inspired by Frieda’s four “letters” to her great-great-grandmother Elisabeth, telling the story of generational change.

Frieda explains that by celebrating Bruckner’s birthday, they are reaching back in time. Bruckner and his contemporaries are widely recognized as composers, but Frieda wanted to understand how far back in time this connection goes. After speaking with her grandmother Jorinde, they realized that when Bruckner’s second symphony premiered at the 1873 World Exhibition, Frieda’s great-great-great-grandmother Elisabeth was a young woman, about the same age as Frieda is now. This revelation spans six generations:

• 6th: Elisabeth Schnorr von Carolsfeld (born Kerner) 1857
• 5th: Maria 1885
• 4th: Ingeborg 1910
• 3rd: Jorinde 1943
• 2nd: Svea 1966
• 1st: Frieda Gustavs 1996

The piece is a reflection on how music connects the past with the present. Frieda’s grandmother Jorinde doesn’t remember much about Elisabeth, except that she raised her three daughters alone after her husband died young. Elisabeth’s family had shares in mines, which allowed the family to travel to Italy—a rare luxury at the time. Frieda wonders if she will remember the stories about her own great-grandmother Ingeborg, who passed away a year after Frieda was born. Despite this, Bruckner’s music has an enduring, time-transcending power. In Elisabeth, Frieda uses the time-traveling power of music to connect with her great-great-grandmother, reflecting on the things that have changed and the things that remain the same.

The composition consists of four sections, each representing one of Frieda’s “letters” to Elisabeth:

1. Moderato (mässig bewegt) – A section in C minor discussing the planetary and natural changes over the past 150 years.
2. Andante (feierlich, etwas bewegt) – A section in C minor about the changing role of women in society.
3. Scherzo (mässig schnell) – A section in A-flat major discussing Frieda’s profession as a composer and the search for inspiration, comparing it to that of composers in Elisabeth’s time.
4. Trio (gleiches Tempo) – A section in C minor about the diverse people around Frieda from different corners of the world.

These four “letters” are partially literal and partially translated into music. Elisabeth will be performed by a 15-member trombone choir, with Sebastiaan Kemner as the first trombone, creating a sound reminiscent of Bruckner’s music. Together with Jasmine Karimova and Pitou Nicolaes, Frieda will sing the letters, bridging the genres of contemporary classical, songwriting, and jazz. Pitou and Jasmine, both distinctive singer-songwriters, help to merge genres