“Armstrong’s phenomenal recital was so exceptional that every attempt to describe it falls short” (NRC). When Kit Armstrong performed at Amsterdam’s hallowed Concertgebouw for the first time, he mesmerized his audience with Bach’s monumental Goldberg Variations. By combining them with earlier polyphonic variation masterpieces by William Byrd, Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck and John Bull, in the present program he is shedding a new light on Bach’s masterpiece. When Kit Armstrong was only 14, the Los Angeles-born musical prodigy overcame his mentor Alfred Brendel’s reluctance to take on pupils. Brendel said: “He played so beautifully that I thought to myself, ‘I have to make time for him.’” Soon Armstrong was winning international prizes both as pianist and as composer and was appearing at some of the world’s foremost venues.
Elgar: Cello Concerto & Sibelius: Symphony No. 1
Sir Mark Elder and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra present a concert experience on the highest level at the Grote Zaal of Rotterdam’s famous De Doelen Concerthouse, performing Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E minor, together with the internationally acclaimed German cellist Daniel Müller-Schott. Elgar’s Cello Concerto, his last notable work, is a cornerstone of the solo cello repertoire and, according to Müller-Schott, one of the composer’s most personal works. It is passionately performed by this “fearless player with technique to burn” (The New York Times), considered “one of the finest cellists before the public today” (The Sunday Times).
Being a passionate admirer of Jean Sibelius, Sir Mark Elder completes his programme with the Finnish composer’s Symphony No. 1.
RCO Opening Night 2016 – Daniele Gatti’s Inaugural Concert
The inaugural concert of Daniele Gatti as the new music director of Amsterdam’s fabled Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra – only the seventh in its 128-year history. Together with baritone Christian Gerhaher, Gatti presented a bouquet of works including Mozart arias and the Wayfarer Songs by Gustav Mahler, with whom the “world’s best orchestra” (Gramophone international music critics’ poll) has a unique tradition going back to the composer himself – who called Amsterdam his “second musical home”. The programme also includes Respighi’s Fountains of Rome as well as overtures by Verdi and Beethoven – with 30 members of the Netherlands Youth Orchestra joining the RCO musicians for the Overture to Egmont.
RCO: Kerstmatinee 2016 – Bach: Christmas Oratorio (Cantatas IV-VI)
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra’s annual Kerstmatinee (Christmas Day Matinee) has become a beloved holiday tradition. For the second time, this matinee has been entirely dedicated to Bach’s inspirational Christmas Oratorio: The RCO presents the cantatas IV to VI, conducted by Trevor Pinnock, a renowned authority on eighteenth-century music. He leads the RCO in this masterpiece of Baroque music, accompanied by German coloratura soprano Marlis Petersen as well as Ursula Eittinger, Daniel Behle, Michael Nagy, and the “top ensemble” (Volkskrant) of the Nederlands Kamerkoor. The first three sections of the Christmas Oratorio, performed by the RCO under the baton of Jan Willem de Vriend, are also available: J.S. Bach: Christmas Oratorio (Cantatas I-III), Cat. No.: A 865 50025 0000.
RCO: Gatti conducts a French Night
Daniele Gatti is conducting three works all connected by the theme of nature and embodying the great musical changes taking place around 1900: Claude Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune and La mer and Igor Stravinsky’s Le sacre du printemps. In 1914, Debussy himself led the Concertgebouw Orchestra in his Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune and was met at the stage door by an applauding crowd after the performance. Stravinsky made his first guest appearance with the orchestra in 1924, after which he returned regularly. He conducted his Sacre twice in a single day in 1926 to long and loud ovations – a striking contrast to the premiere which caused a scandal. Under the baton of Maestro Gatti, the orchestra is performing these three groundbreaking classics on the same programme for the very first time. “What a mesmerizing playing level! The RCO was again incredibly good, with a level of detail and refinement that no other conductor achieves.” (Het Paarol)
RCO Opening Night 2017: Hengelbrock conducts Mozart and Dvorak
With its festive RCO Opening Night, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra kicks off the new season with a hall full of loyal listeners and new music lovers. The RCO is joined by celebrated conductor Thomas Hengelbrock and – for the first time ever – by German star soprano Diana Damrau. Together they perform well-loved arias and orchestral works by W.A. Mozart, as well as Antonín Dvorák’s Symphony No. 8. Dedicated to the genius of Mozart, the first half of the concert kicks off with the overture to Don Giovanni, played with gusto by the RCO and Thomas Hengelbrock, an expert in historically informed performance practice. Diana Damrau’s “L’amerò, sarò costante” is a sincere declaration of love while the concert aria “Bella mia fiamma, addio” is a dramatic farewell letter to a loved one which the singer performs with great passion. The programme is rounded off by Antonín Dvorák’s Symphony No. 8, an exuberant ode to the great outdoors.
RCO: Gatti conducts Haydn & Mahler
Joseph Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C major was long thought to have been lost, but in 1961 the manuscript was discovered in the archives of the Prague National Museum. Chief conductor Daniele Gatti leads the principal cellist of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Tatjana Vassilijeva, in Haydn’s animated, ingenious work, before performing Gustav Mahler’s Fourth Symphony together with his orchestra. Mahler himself led the RCO in the Dutch premiere of the work in 1904. In the 3rd movement “Ruhevoll”, the orchestra’s sound is “so beautiful it makes you want to cry” (NRC). With her angelic voice, soprano Julia Kleiter sings an ode to Das himmlische Leben in the finale. The soprano solo, originally intended for the song cycle Des Knaben Wunderhorn, alternates with fast orchestral runs. PROGRAM Haydn: Cello Concerto in C major; Mahler: Symphony No. 4
RCO: Daniele Gatti conducts Mahler Symphony No. 2
For his first series of concerts as Chief Conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Italian maestro Daniele Gatti conducts the iconic Symphony No. 2, “Resurrection”, by Gustav Mahler, in a spirited performance. Gatti and the RCO are joined by German soprano Annette Dasch and Scottish mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill. “Gatti’s magic” (Trouw) makes clear that “a new era has definitely begun by now. Gatti is a conductor who really makes You think about what an interpretation should be like in the year 2016” (NRC).
RCO: War Requiem
Witnessing a performance of Benjamin Britten’s monumental War Requiem is an experience. Scored for orchestra, large chorus, children’s choir and three soloists, it is certainly a challenge to perform. Gianandrea Noseda makes his debut with the Concertgebouw Orchestra with a work he has championed and for which he has received critical acclaim in performances and on record. In 1964, the Concertgebouw Orchestra performed Britten’s War Requiem under the direction of Bernard Haitink with the ‘dream team’ Britten had actually envisaged for the world premiere two years earlier: the Russian soprano Galina Vishnevskaya, the English tenor Peter Pears and the German baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. Now the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra has again invited a Russian soprano, an English tenor and a German baritone.
RCO: Kerstmatinee 2018 – Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker
A heart-warming Christmas Matinee featuring Tchaikovsky’s Christmas fairy tale The Nutcracker. For many, The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra’s Christmas Matinee is a fun introduction to classical music – for others, it’s a familiar, festive experience to look forward to each year. The combination of the captivating conductor Semyon Bychkov and Tchaikovsky’s legendary music for the Christmas ballet The Nutcracker makes this programme truly irresistible. People of all ages and backgrounds can enjoy Tchaikovsky’s infectious music and the atmospheric fairy tale about dolls that come to life. A sugarplum fairy, a Mouse King and a return to the Land of Sweets – it’s exactly what we need in the dark, wintry days before Christmas.