Performances at the Concertgebouw hold a certain cachet especially amongst conductors; a fact not lost on the conductor Antony Hermus, who took just that extra moment to bask in the glory before a hop and a skip down those most famous Concertgebouw stairs, to the warmest of Dutch welcomes.
Opening with a jubilant and colourful rendition of Dvořák’s Carnival Overture, the Belgian National Orchestra’s performance was full of exciting accents and incredible attention to detail. Despite the odd moment of questionable tuning as motifs passed around the orchestra, one marvelled at the control from the first horn’s sustained note before a melancholic cor anglais solo whisked the music onwards…
The Programme
The Concert
The Encore
After his performance of the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Boris Giltburg treated us to Rachmaninov’s Prelude in C sharp minor. Click below to hear a recording he made four years ago.
A Little History
Giltburg has a close affinity with Rachmaninov’s work as evidenced in his 2013 performance of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30 in the Queen Elisabeth Competition, Belgium. Click below to hear that very performance with the Belgian National Orchestra, conducted by non other than Marin Alsop. Rather special…
The Concert Programme
Reviewed at The Concertgebouw, Amsterdam on Tuesday 25th July, 2023
Click here to read the full review on Bachtrack.
Cover photo by kind permission © Constance Proux
Follow Clare Varney on Facebook or Instagram to read more about Music, Food and Culture
Further Reading:
Read more reviews from Clare:
Searching For Greatness: The Mahler Competition, 2023
