The Nieuw Ensemble was founded in 1980 in Amsterdam.
成立于1980年的荷兰阿姆斯特丹新音乐团(Nieuw Ensemble)一直以其新颖多元的乐器组合闻名。

It has a unique instrumental structure, using plucked instruments such as mandolin, guitar and harp in combination with wind, string and percussion. Ed Spanjaard has been the principal conductor since 1982. The lack of literature for this group makes it as dependent upon composers, as composers have always been upon musicians. The Nieuw Ensemble has thus set out to build its own repertoire, encouraged by continuous contact with composers from different cultures, countries and generations, and long-term workshops for young composers. More than four hundred pieces have been written for the ensemble. Highly successful programmes have been those dedicated to the work of a single composer, such as Berio, Boulez, Carter, Donatoni, Ferneyhough, Kagel, De Leeuw, Kurtág, Loevendie and Nono.

该乐团灵巧地将曼陀铃、吉他和竖琴等拨弦乐器的声音特点运用于管弦乐与打击乐中。自1982年来，乐团的总指挥一职由埃德·斯帕尼亚(Ed Spanjaard)担任。由于同类曲目的稀缺，作曲家对于阿姆斯特丹新音乐团的艺术活动显得至关重要。而另一方面，该乐团的音乐家也不断地为作曲家带来了新的创作灵感。多年来，阿姆斯特丹新音乐团与众多作曲家合作，逐渐建立起乐团独有的表演曲目。该乐团不仅与那些来自不同文化和国家的成熟作曲家进行合作，还以音乐工作室的形式与很多年轻的作曲家保持联系。至今，专为阿姆斯特丹新音乐团所谱的曲目已超过400支。出自Berio、Boulez、Carter、Donatoni、Ferneyhough、Kagel、De Leeuw、Kurtág、Loevendie 和Nono等音乐大师的个人作品更是获得了巨大的成功。

The ensemble has been widely praised for its innovative programming. It initiated festivals such as Complexity? (1990), Rules & Games (1995), Improvisations (1996), the multi-cultural Festival of Plucked Instruments (1998) and The Refined Ear on microtonality (2003). In 1998 the Nieuw Ensemble and its artistic director Joël Bons were awarded the Prince Bernhard Fund Music Prize for their ‘markedly lively and adventurous programming which can be described as groundbreaking, both in the literal and figurative senses of the word’. Since 1991, programmes featuring new works written especially for the ensemble by Chinese composers such as Tan Dun, Qu Xiaosong, Xu Shuya, Chen Qigang and Guo Wenjing have attracted wide attention. In 1997, the group toured China with concerts in Shanghai and Beijing.

阿姆斯特丹新音乐团成功策划了众多极具创新性的音乐活动。它们包括Complexity? (1990年)、Rules & Games (1995年)、Improvisations (1996年)、拨弦乐器多元文化节( the multi-cultural Festival of Plucked Instruments, 1998年) 以及微分音音乐节(The Refined Ear on microtonality, 2003年)。1998年，该乐团艺术总监Joël Bons被授予王子音乐奖（Prince Bernhard Fund Music Prize），其成就被评为“鲜活而富有冒险趣味的音乐编排，极具开创性。这种开创性不单要从以上描述的字面上去理解，还要从文字的具象意义中去感受”。 自1991年起，中国作曲家谭盾、瞿小松、许舒亚, 陈其钢和郭文景的音乐创作成为阿姆斯特丹新音乐团的表演曲目，受到广泛关注。该乐团曾于1997年在上海和北京两地进行演出。

The Nieuw Ensemble now enjoys a firm international standing. It has performed in festivals such as the Venice Biennale, Settembre Musica, Ars Musica in Brussels, Donaueschinger Musiktage, Musica Strasbourg, Holland Festival, Warsaw Autumn, Huddersfield Festival, Agora, Stockholm New Music and the Festival d’Automne à Paris. The Nieuw Ensemble has released compact discs of Donatoni, Carter, Ferneyhough, Gerhard, Loevendie, Poulenc, Guo Wenjing and Chinese composers, and documentary films about Boulez’ Eclat and five Chinese composers.

今天的阿姆斯特丹新音乐团早已在国际上获得广泛的认可和好评。她的身影频繁出现在如威尼斯双年展(Venice Biennale)、米兰都灵9月音乐节(Settembre Musica)、布鲁塞尔现代音乐节(Ars Musica)、多瑙埃兴根新音乐节(Donaueschinger Musiktage)、斯特拉斯堡音乐节(Musica Strasbourg)、荷兰艺术节(Holland Festival)、华沙现代音乐节(Warsaw Autumn)、哈德斯菲尔德艺术节(Huddersfield Festival)、AGORA现代音乐节、斯德哥尔摩新音乐节(Stockholm New Music) 和巴黎秋季艺术节(Festival d’Automne à Paris) 等众多国际音乐节上。除了现场演出，阿姆斯特丹新音乐团还就音乐大师Donatoni、Carter、Ferneyhough、Gerhard、Loevendie、Poulenc 以及包括郭文景在内的众多中国作曲家的音乐作品发行过CD光碟。此外，该乐团还发行过一部内容有关布列兹(Pierre Boulez)和5位中国作曲家的纪录片。