Outstanding German violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann, who has been performing regularly with the RCO since 1990, collaborates once more with Daniele Gatti to great acclaim. Within the lush, energetic melodies of Beethoven’s immensely popular Violin Concerto the solo violinist showcases his artistry. Under Gatti’s guidance, “the coordination between orchestra and soloist is especially fine” (Bachtrack). It is followed by Brahms’ First Symphony. It took Brahms at least 14 years to complete it, as he battled self-doubt, when comparing it to Beethoven’s symphonies. The audience, however, gave the work the highest praise by dubbing it “Beethoven’s Tenth”. Gatti gives the score a reading of high drama, leading the RCO to a most convincing finale. “In an onslaught of inspiration, all musicians climbed to a level you rarely hear … An unforgettable evening!” (Het Parool). PROGRAM: Beethoven: Violin Concerto; Brahms: Symphony No. 1
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: Hengelbrock conducts Schubert “Unfinished” & Mozart Requiem
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Thomas Hengelbrock present a fine selection of incomplete works by Schubert and Mozart. They are joined by Hengelbrock’s Balthasar-Neumann-Chor, “one of the world’s best choirs” (Gramophone), and by four proficient soloists. Performed one year after his death, the whole concert is dedicated to conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt, RCO’s Honorary Guest Conductor from 1975 to 2013. According to Hengelbrock, being Harnoncourt’s pupil was a path-breaking experience. The encore “Komm o Tod, du Schlafes Bruder”, the very first Bach-chorale Hengelbrock and Harnoncourt performed together, is a deeply moving finale to a concert night “of radiant beauty” (NRC). PROGRAM Schubert: Stabat mater; Symphony No.8 ‘Unfinished’, W.A. Mozart: Requiem
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: Kerstmatinee 2017 – Bach: Mass in B minor
The RCO’s annual “Kerstmatinee” (Christmas Matinee) has become a much loved holiday tradition. For this edition, the orchestra, led by Philippe Herreweghe, performs J.S. Bach’s Mass in B minor, one of the gems of his oeuvre – for the first time in 45 years! The choir Collegium Vocale Gent shares the stage with outstanding soloists Dorothee Mields, Hana Blažikova, Alex Potter, Robin Tritschler and Krešimir Stražanac. Often referred to as Bach’s “Hohe Messe” (High Mass), the full-scale Catholic mass was given this name in the 19th century to distinguish it from the Baroque composer’s other, small masses. Why the Lutheran Bach decided to create a Catholic mass late in life, remains unclear; what is evident, however, is that his work is nothing less than a monumental masterpiece. Herreweghe’s Mass is “grand and yet moving!” (Het Parool)
Barenboim conducts Strauss & Tchaikovsky
On the occasion of the Festival de Música y Reflexión at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Daniel Barenboim returns to his native city to perform with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra who regularly “exceed all expectations” (FAZ) with their festival programme. During their Summer Residency at the magnificent theatre, they play Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 and Richard Strauss’s Don Quixote, enlisting the help of Kian Soltani and Miriam Manasherov. The soloists unite effortlessly with Barenboim’s orchestra which famously brings together young Israeli and Arab players from the warring states of the Middle East in a model of peaceful harmony. PROGRAM Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5; Strauss: Don Quixote
Pierre Hantaï and Skip Sempé play Rameau’s “Symphonies for two harpsichords”
At the Chikurin Banquet Hall of Tokyo’s famous Gajoeng Hotel, Pierre Hantaï and Skip Sempé present their successful chamber music programme of Rameau’s “Symphonies for two Harpsichords”. It comprises transcriptions compiled from nine different works, among them Rameau’s first opera Hippolyte et Aricie, as well as Dardanus, Les Indes galantes, and the composer’s instrumental masterwork Pièces de clavecin en concert. Hantaï and Sempé, two artists situated at the forefront of today’s musical personalities in Renaissance and Baroque music, create a stunning atmosphere in this private recital. Recorded in the picturesque surrounding of extravagant Japanese-style murals and artworks preserved from the old Gajoen buildings – which used to be one of Japan’s first wedding complexes back in the 1930s –, this concert is a pleasure for both the eye and the ear.
The Christmas Tree Concert – Martha Argerich & Daniel Barenboim
Long-time artistic partners and close friends Martha Argerich and Daniel Barenboim bring their extraordinary artistry to the Pierre Boulez Saal in a piano duo recital, which features Bizet’s charming “Jeux d’enfants” alongside Ravel’s work for four hands “Ma Mère l’Oye” and Liszt’s rarely heard “Weihnachtsbaum suite”, an arrangement of Christmas carols written for his granddaughter. When Argerich and Barenboim invite the children in the audience to sit on the floor around the piano for their performance of Weihnachtsbaum, it is in the spirit of Christmas, when families come together, and reminiscent of the work’s premiere: First performed in a Rome hotel room on Christmas Day 1881 by Liszt’s granddaughter Daniela, the suite of 12 pieces brought the composer a family reunion with his beloved daughter and granddaughter.
Marcia Haydée – The Seduction of Dance
Marcia Haydée – for many the “primadonna assoluta” of the 20th century, John Cranko’s muse and long-time director of the Stuttgart Ballet. On the occasion of her 80th birthday, Harold Woetzel pays homage to this unique artist by telling the ballerina’s captivating story.