He completed a short program in film directing at the New York Film Academy in 2002. He also participated in the Lincoln Center Theater Director's Lab, a short, intensive course in stage direction in 2007.
Michel van der Aa's music theatre works, including the chamber operaOne (2002),[3] the opera After Life [nl] (2006, Amsterdam) and the music theatre work The Book of Disquiet, have received international critical praise.[4] The innovative aspect of these operas is their use of film images and sampled soundtracks as an essential element of the score.[5]
He directed the television production of One for the Dutch national broadcasting company NPS. Passage (2004), a short film by van der Aa, has been shown at several international festivals and has been aired on Dutch national television.[6]
In November 2012 it was announced that van der Aa would be the recipient of the 2013 University of LouisvilleGrawemeyer Award in Music Composition, for his cello concerto Up-Close, a 'highly innovative fusion of musical and visual art'[8] written for Sol Gabetta and the Amsterdam Sinfonietta.[9] In 2013 he won the Mauricio Kagel Music Prize.
His music is recorded on the Harmonia Mundi, Col Legno, Composers' Voice, BVHaast, and VPRO Eigenwijs labels, as well as his own label Disquiet Media.[6]
Worksedit
Opera and music theatreedit
Vuur (2001), opera, for solo voice, actors, singers, ensemble and soundtrack
One (2002), chamber opera, for soprano, soundtrack and film
Writing to Vermeer (1999), opera by Louis Andriessen and Peter Greenaway, with the thirteen electronic music inserts (which accompany a corresponding film projection) composed by van der Aa.
^"Vanderaa.net: News: World premiere of double concerto 'akin'". www.vanderaa.net. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
^Picard, Anna (1 April 2012). "Riccardo Primo, Britten Theatre, London Life Is a Dream, Argyle Works, Birmingham Timberbrit, Bussey Building, London". The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 May 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
^Clements, Andrew (25 February 2016). "The Book of Disquiet review – a beautifully crafted Van der Aa theatre piece". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
^ abJoshua Barone (3 October 2021). "Review: In Upload, Do Blockchains Dream of Electric Lizards?". The New York Times.
^ abClements, Andrew (22 March 2016). "Van der Aa: Blank Out review – enigmatic but effective and fluent". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
^"Vanderaa.net : Biography". www.vanderaa.net. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
^"Up-close wins music prize for van der Aa". 25 November 2012. Archived from the original on 25 April 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
^"Vanderaa.net : News : Michel van der Aa wins 2013 Grawemeyer Award". www.vanderaa.net.
^"Michel van der Aa – Sunken Garden", intermusica.co.uk
^Sunken Garden – Vanderaa.net Michel van der Aa website. Accessed 17 September 2014
^"Virtual International Philharmonic". Archived from the original on 26 May 2014.
^"The Book of Water – Michel van der Aa". 6 April 2022.