The long-awaited opportunity has finally arisen! We're thrilled to spotlight Dutch composer Louis Andriessen, who has, in ways both clear and covert, played a crucial role in the sonic idenity of Q2. Over a seventy-year career, Andriessen has amassed prestigious awards, including the 2011 Grawemeyer Award, composed prolifically and idiosyncratically and come to be regarded as one of the most sought-after composition teachers in the Western world. However, beyond a few smaller works, including Workers Union and Hout, his work, if not his name, remains unjustly obscure here in the United States. Beginning Monday, December 6 on Q2, we aim to address that.

Listen in for tailored programming including:

• Monday's Nadia Sirota on Q2 at 12 a.m. and p.m.
• Tuesday's Workers Union mini-marathon at 4 p.m.
• Wednesday's focus on Andriessen's composer-father, Hendrik Andriessen, at 4 p.m.
• Friday's focus on shorter works of his many students at 4 p.m.
• Weekday evening features of his large-form works, including De materie (Matter), De staat (The Republic), La Passione and De tijd (Time) at 10 p.m.
• Weekend opera focus, including Saturday at 2 p.m.: Rosa: The Death of a Composer and Sunday at 8 p.m.: Writing to Vermeer

From the breakthrough, large-form collaborations with Peter Greenaway to the concentrated punches of pieces introduced to the U.S. by groups such as the Bang on a Can All-Stars, descriptions of Andriessen's style abound with the same complex energy as his ecstatic, rhythmic experimentations. So sit back from the computer for a moment; his music rewards full attention and doesn't take background listening lightly.

For more background, here's a April 2004 interview with Louis Andriessen on WNYC's Soundcheck with John Schaefer: