Please note, this concert will not take place in the AB, but in the Bozar.

In 2020, renowned composer, writer and performer Wim Mertens undertakes a world tour to mark the 40th anniversary of commencing his musical career (1980-2020).

Mertens began making music 1980, after having worked as a musicologist and radio producer. His first release 'For Amusement Only' is a musical recording consisting only of pinball machine sounds. This album was followed by 'At Home: Not at Home' (1981), 'Vergessen' (1982), 'Struggle for Pleasure' (1983) and 'Maximizing the Audience' in 1984.

Over the past 40 years, he has developed his musical language into a normative vocabulary by writing for various ensembles, but also by creating vocal compositions and pieces for symphony orchestras.

Mertens now has more than 70 albums to his name and he regularly performs the music from these live, all over Europe, North & Central America, Japan, Thailand and Russia.

Wim Mertens has performed in Amsterdam, Antwerp, Athens, Bangkok, Barcelona, Berlin, Bilbao, Budapest, Bucharest, Brussels, Dublin, Florence, Geneva, Gdansk, Granada, Guanajuato, Hamburg, Houston, Kazan, Kyoto, Los Angeles, Madrid, Milan, Mexico-City, Moscow, New York, London, Lisbon, Paris, Parma, Porto, Preveza, Ravello, Rome, Rotterdam, Saõ Paulo, San Sebastian, Seville, Sofia, Saint Petersburg, Strasbourg, Thessaloniki, Tokyo, Jena, Venice and many other locations.

He still currently performs solo concerts for piano and voice, but also does shows as part of a duo, trio or string quartet. On top of that, he performs with symphony orchestras in Belgium, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain and Portugal too.

To celebrate this artistic 40 year anniversary, the Belgian composer is preparing a special concert programme to serve as an overview of 1980-2020. Mertens offers his fans a selection of his best known compositions and also introduces his new album 'The Gaze of the West' (2020).

His ambition is to create events that fall somewhere ‘between word and deed’, or ‘we, that’s me' and 'me, that’s us’. In the words of the composer: ‘In the end, the audience determines the extent of the event that we create. The relationship between the composer and his audience is based upon trust, or: ‘I do what happens'. It is a fact that the actor knows that this is his duty. When the note resounds, it becomes the ‘carrying out of the duty’.