Alex Klaasen wins Annie MG Schmidt Prize 2023 with his song ‘152W96TH street’

Alex Klaasen has won the Annie MG Schmidt Prize 2023 with his song ‘152W96TH street’, from his theater program No Ponies. The music was written by Peter van de Witte.

The prize was presented during the Amsterdam Kleinkunst Festival by the chairman of the jury, Jurrian van Dongen. Klaasen was also the winner of the Annie MG Schmidt Prize in 2019, with the song ‘Gewoon re’, with Van de Witte as composer and Van Dongen as lyricist.

The jury praised Klaasen for the bravado with which he and Van de Witte push the boundaries of what a Dutch theater song can be. “They create a derailing mini-musical, which not only takes place around Broadway but also flirts with musical authors such as Stephen Sondheim and Jason Robbert Brown. The music cleverly structures an experience that shoots in all directions.”

According to the jury, the interpretation was unparalleled. “His voice full of eagerness for life, then dull with misery, then melancholic again. Every sentence with timing as if the panic attack is happening right now. Merciless honesty and exactly the right details in a shape that fits like a glove make this very personal experience a universal work of art.”

The other nominated songs were ‘The sterilization’ by Peter van Rooijen, ‘The right path’ by Yentl and de Boer, ‘How I tell my mother’ by Ellen ten Damme and Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer, ‘Tata’ by Kiki Schippers , and ‘Twee Duiven’ by Peer Wittenbols, Stanislav Mitrovic and Joost Spijkers.

Alex Klaasen and Peter van de Witte received a bust designed by artist Frank Rosen and a cash prize of 3,500 euros.

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Last year Flip Noorman was the winner, with the song ‘They know who you are’. Previous winners include Joost Spijkers, Yentl & de Boer, Jan Beuving, Brigitte Kaandorp, Jeroen van Merwijk, Theo Nijland, Maarten van Roozendaal and Kiki Schippers.

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