ADE: XA4

XA4

Dutch pianist and composer Xavier Boot, aka XA4, started playing the piano at a young age and quickly proved to be a great talent. He studied classical piano at the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf, the Conservatory of Amsterdam and, as the first classical piano student, completed a master's degree in live electronic music. Xavier has won several prizes for piano and composed music for award-winning films, has an Indonesian background and draws inspiration for his compositions from Gamelan music, just as the famous composer Philip Glass draws inspiration from Indian ragas. In 2023, XA4 released his first EP Glass Gateway on Philip Glass's label, Orange Mountain Music. Xavier has since become friends with Glass and, at Glass's invitation, they have shared the stage in New York and Amsterdam, among other places.

The Sea Above

XA4 will release his new album The Sea Above in October 2024, his second release on Philip Glass' record label. Glass says: 'Xavier is really a wonderful pianist and I am thrilled how he now tackles my music, with that typically and elegant electronica touch'. The Sea Above contains, in addition to Glass' compositions, a number of XA4's own compositions. The Dutch pianist says: 'I recorded this album, inspired by all the influences of music that I have experienced in my life, including classical, electronic (club) music, ambient, minimal and even Indonesian (because of my roots) music.'

ADE and the Concertgebouw

Since Trouw at Concertgebouw with Henrik Schwarz, Darkside and Patrice Bäumel (2013), ADE has become an indispensable part of Het Concertgebouw. Every year, Het Concertgebouw presents one or more special concerts during the festival, exploring the interfaces and boundaries between electronic, classical and timeless music. For example, Weval, Kiasmos, Junkie XL, Niklas Paschburg, Youssou N'Dour, Binkbeats and Nils Frahm have been guests in recent years. After DJ Sasha's performance in 2014, 3voor12 wrote about electronic music in Het Concertgebouw: 'If God was a DJ, he wants this to be his house'.