Concertgebouw replaces Russian artists with breakthrough Dutch talent

The Amsterdam concert hall has published a memo on ‘programme changes due to war in Ukraine’.

In line with the policy of the Dutch government, all formal collaborations with the Russian government and associated cultural institutions are suspended. The Concertgebouw’s seasonal brochure had already been printed before the Russian invasion, which means that various concerts included in the series brochure cannot take place. Examples of this are the concert of the Munich Philharmonic (change of conductor) and the concert of the Russian National Orchestra that has been cancelled.

In the new season, the emphasis is on Hemelbestormers (heven stormers), young musicians who break through classical conventions and conquer their place at the top of the music world. Pianist Thomas Beijer, singer Karsu and mezzo-soprano Fleur Barron adorn three different covers of the series brochure. The seasonal theme stems from the new Hemelbestormers Fund that was set up from the Concertgebouw Fund during the pandemic. Thomas Beijer: ‘I always want to make a difference with my work. It doesn’t matter whether it’s emotion or giggles. If only something happens. In that sense, artists are Hemelbestormers.’

World-famous orchestras are returning to Amsterdam – the Vienna Philharmonic and Symphoniker, Cleveland Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic and the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks – as well as such stars as Janine Jansen, Mitsuko Uchida, Maria João Pires, Lang Lang, Angélique Kidjo, rock band The Zombies, the Sitkovetsky Trio and the Borodin Quartet. The series Great Pianists is entering its second season with, among others, Beatrice Rana, Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Kirill Gerstein. Ian Bostridge and Mark Padmore are in the Small Hall in the Vocal Series and Renée Fleming sings in the Great Hall with none other than Evgeny Kissin at the piano.

Rachmaninoff 150 and Beethoven 250

2023 commemorates the 150th anniversary of Serge Rachmaninoff’s birth. Nikolai Lugansky gives a recital with preludes and a sonata, and Sergei Babayan and Daniil Trifonov form an occasional duo for the four-hand version of the Symphonic dances. For the orchestral version, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra comes over with conductor Stéphane Denève. Beethoven’s 250th birthday could not be celebrated as intended in 2020. In order to do justice to the crowning year of this groundbreaking jubilee, there will be a three-day tribute in May 2023, in collaboration with the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, with the Violin Concerto, a piano concerto, the Triple Concerto and three symphonies.

Tickets are on sale from today.