Concerts with works by

Sergei Prokofiev

Liza Ferschtman and Ivan Karizna in Brahms' Double Concerto

The Sunday Morning Concert brings you wonderful and much-loved compositions, performed by top musicians from the Netherlands and abroad. Enjoy the most beautiful music in the morning! You can make your Sunday complete by enjoying a delicious post-concert lunch in restaurant LIER.The Royal Concertgebouw is one of the best concert halls in the world, famous for its exceptional acoustics and varied programme. Attend a concert and have an experience you will never forget. Come and enjoy inspiring music in the beautiful surroundings of the Main Hall or the intimate Recital Hall.

Sunday Morning Valentine Concert: Mahler and Prokofiev

The Sunday Morning Concert brings you wonderful and much-loved compositions, performed by top musicians from the Netherlands and abroad. Enjoy the most beautiful music in the morning! You can make your Sunday complete by enjoying a delicious post-concert lunch in restaurant LIER.The Royal Concertgebouw is one of the best concert halls in the world, famous for its exceptional acoustics and varied programme. Attend a concert and have an experience you will never forget. Come and enjoy inspiring music in the beautiful surroundings of the Main Hall or the intimate Recital Hall.

Alexandra Dovgan

Russian pianist Alexandra Dovgan, known for her mature interpretations, loves Romantic music, particularly Schumann's. Her playing brings depth and precision to his compositions. Now, after numerous competition wins, she focuses on performances, playing Schumann and Prokofiev in her Essen recital.

Réminiscences de l’inoubliable concert « Ce qu’a vu le vent d’Est » 2023

West-Östlicher Vierklang

Entrance is free, donations are welcome.

Konzert für Alle #8

Concert tickets for the “Concerts for All” in 2025 are available in the webshop* or from the visitor service.The following ticket prices apply: €12 per person / reduced price for children and severely disabled persons €6. Reduced tickets are only valid in conjunction with appropriate proof.*) Disabled persons who are entitled to an accompanying person can submit their ticket request to the visitor service upon presentation of their disabled pass.The number of wheelchair spaces is limited. If you or a companion use a wheelchair or require assistance in any other way, please let us know in advance. Please contact hutzler@rsb-online.de or tickets@rsb-online.de.

Prokofjew Pass Alle Prokofjew-Klavierkonzerte

Over three consecutive days, Igor Levit performs Sergei Prokofiev's five brilliant piano concertos, spanning the young composer's boundless creativity to his mature mastery. He's accompanied by Iván Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra. Levit also discusses Prokofiev's challenging 2nd concerto, a piece he hasn't played publicly in ten years.

Igor Levit. Iván Fischer. Budapest Festival Orchestra Alle Prokofjew-Klavierkonzerte I

Over three consecutive days, Igor Levit performs all five of Sergei Prokofiev's brilliant piano concertos, spanning the young composer's boundless creativity to his mature mastery. He's accompanied by the Budapest Festival Orchestra, conducted by Iván Fischer. Prokofiev's first concerto features rhythmic agility and sharp percussion. Alongside this and the fifth concerto, they perform the "Symphony of the Greatness of the Human Spirit", whose 1945 premiere coincided with the Red Army's victory announcement. Levit also revisits Prokofiev's second concerto after a decade. A pre-concert talk with Levit and Anselm Cybinski takes place at 7 pm.

Alina Ibragimova plays Prokofiev

In a time of revolution, Prokofiev’s First Violin Concerto wove fairytale magic – and no-one makes it dance like Alina Ibragimova.‘Music is life’, declared Carl Nielsen, ‘and like it, inextinguishable!’ Defiant words from a composer who’d seen a world laid waste by war, but they could serve as motto for this concert from the dynamic Finnish conductor Hannu Lintu. In a time of revolution, Prokofiev’s First Violin Concerto wove fairytale magic – and no-one makes it dance like our soloist Alina Ibragimova. There’s a vision of cosmic beauty from the late, great Kaija Saariaho. And finally, Nielsen launches a struggle for the future of existence itself: his shattering Fifth Symphony is one of those pieces that simply has to be experienced live.Please note start time.

Igor Levit. Iván Fischer. Budapest Festival Orchestra Alle Prokofjew-Klavierkonzerte II

The second day of the Prokofiev cycle features his third piano concerto, known for its popularity. Its folk-song-like and lyrical character is highlighted by the slightly subdued wildness and softened harmony. The program also includes the Overture on Hebrew Themes, with its melancholic klezmer tone, and an orchestral suite from the ballet "Cinderella". A pre-concert talk with Anselm Cybinski and Igor Levit will take place at 7 pm in the Heidelberg Congress Center.

Igor Levit. Iván Fischer. Budapest Festival Orchestra Alle Prokofjew-Klavierkonzerte III

The Budapest Festival Orchestra, conducted by Iván Fischer, and pianist Igor Levit present a Prokofiev cycle, featuring the whimsical "The Love for Three Oranges" suite and the shadowy Piano Concerto No. 2, whose original version vanished mysteriously. They also perform the Piano Concerto No. 4, commissioned by the one-armed pianist Paul Wittgenstein, and Prokofiev's classically-inspired Symphony No. 1. Levit discusses his return to performing Concerto No. 2 after a decade.

Chan & Ott

When she grew up, Alice Sara Ott wanted to be a »pianist or Chancellor Kohl«. She was just five at the time. We now of course know what came of it: she became one of the acclaimed pianists of our time. At one time a hyped young artist, she has become a stunning interpreter, and she’s now performing the new piano concerto by an American multi-talent: Bryce Dessner composes masterfully for stage, concert hall, and numerous film scores as well; at the same time, he’s the guitarist of the indie rock band The National. What an exciting duo.

Lukas Sternath Schnell und langsam

Alfred Brendel famously wrote about Schubert's sonatas, describing their enigmatic nature. Schubert's last "Grand Sonata" features dreamlike melodies and eerie nuances. Prokofiev's seventh sonata contrasts harsh percussion with a warm "Andante caloroso." Liszt's Petrarch-inspired sonnets offer new soundscapes. Lukas Sternath expertly navigates these diverse musical worlds.

Gabriela Montero Charlie Chaplins „The Immigrant“

Im Jahr 2018 erhielt Gabriela Montero den Heidelberger Frühling Musikpreis für ihren leidenschaftlichen Einsatz als Musikvermittlerin, gesellschaftliche Brückenbauerin und für ihre großartigen Improvisationen. Als Gastkünstlerin beim „Frühling“ wird sie stets warmherzig von ihrem Publikum empfangen. Doch die Venezolanerin, die seit vielen Jahren fernab ihrer von Krisen erschütterten Heimat lebt, kennt das Fremdsein nur zu gut und hat diesem Gefühl ein Rezital gewidmet. Zu hören sind die Werke von drei Russen, deren Biografien ebenfalls durch ein Leben im Exil geprägt waren: das groteske Lachen Prokofjews, die nüchterne Tonsprache Strawinskys und die Musik des missverstandenen Rachmaninow, dessen Melodien nur allzu oft verramscht wurden. Sie münden in den Chaplin-Stummfilm „The Immigrant“, zu dem Montero live improvisieren wird.Das Konzert endet mit einer Live-Improvisation zum Stummfilm „The Immigrant“ von Charlie Chaplin.Im Anschluss findet ein Künstlergespräch mit Anselm Cybinski im Festivalzentrum statt.*Restored by Lobster Films and Cineteca di Bologna under the aegis of Association Chaplin © Film Preservation Associates Inc., 2012, © Lobster Films

Discover Talent: Giorgi Gigashvili / Piano recital

»He is a particularly great talent. I was fascinated by his incredible intuition when we played together. He also plays jazz and pop, composes and sings. The new generation is very open and flexible,« enthuses violinist Lisa Batiashvili about the young pianist Giorgi Gigashvili. The Georgian initially opted for a career as a singer and arranger of pop and folk music. In the end, however, he dedicated himself to playing the piano – and quite successfully at that. In recent years, he has won numerous prestigious piano prizes, most recently 2nd prize at the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition in 2023. The openness praised by Batiashvili is also reflected in Giorgi Gigashvili’s programme. In addition to works by Ravel and Prokofiev, the programme also includes two rarely heard composers: Josef Bardanashvili and Galina Ustvolskaya.

War and Peace

Vladimir Jurowski presents a programme of uncompromising emotional power.‘Peace Shall Defeat War’ wrote Boris Lyatoshynsky on the score of his Third Symphony, and the message of this great 20th-century Ukrainian composer has never felt more urgent or compelling. LPO Conductor Emeritus Vladimir Jurowski believes passionately that it needs to be heard, and you’ll be gripped by its epic sweep and uncompromising emotional power. Jurowski has paired it with music from Prokofiev’s operatic tale of Ukrainian struggle, and Mussorgsky’s pitch-black, darkly comic songs – perfect for a singer as dramatic, and as characterful, as the British bass Matthew Rose.

Jurowski conducts Lyatoshynsky

Vladimir Jurowski presents a programme of uncompromising emotional power.‘Peace Shall Defeat War’ wrote Boris Lyatoshynsky on the score of his Third Symphony, and the message of this great 20th-century Ukrainian composer has never felt more urgent or compelling. LPO Conductor Emeritus Vladimir Jurowski believes passionately that it needs to be heard, and you’ll be gripped by its epic sweep and uncompromising emotional power. Jurowski has paired it with music from Prokofiev’s operatic tale of Ukrainian struggle, and Mussorgsky’s pitch-black, darkly comic songs – perfect for a singer as dramatic, and as characterful, as the British bass Matthew Rose.

Marie Jacquot Veronika Eberle Kristine Tjøgersen Sergei Prokofiev Camille Saint-Saëns

Between Trees was the international breakthrough for the composer Kristine Tjøgersen (b. 1982) from Oslo. The Norwegian Radio Orchestra premiered the orchestral piece and was selected as “most outstanding work” at the prestigious award ceremony International Rostrum of Composers. Among the trees in the forest, “it teems with roots connected in a network of fungal threads,” the composer says. “These threads connect trees and plants so that they can communicate - like the forest’s own internet.” The piece is rich in unusual instrument sounds and techniques. She continues: “Fungal threads grow in pulses, so there is a rhythmically pulsating life unfolding beneath our feet. The opening is therefore buoyant and airy, like communicating trees. We then move over the ground, and hear flapping wings and various birds.”When the Russian Revolution was a fact in 1917, Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) left the eye of the storm, Petrograd (today’s St. Petersburg), and traveled to the far east, with a steam boat on the rivers Volga and kama towards the Ural Mountains. In these calm surroundings, he wrote his most famous work. There is little in the Violin Concerto No. 1 in D Major that bears witness to the troubled times - perhaps excluding the wild second movement. The first and third movement contains some of Prokofiev’s most dreamy, romantic music, and some of his most memorable melodies.“I gave everything to it I was able to give. What I have accomplished here, I will never achieve again,” Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) said about his Symphony No. 3 in C minor, the “Organ Symphony”, which premiered in London in 1886. This would be his last symphony and one of his most famous pieces.After growing up as a child prodigy on the piano, Saint-Saëns got the most prestigious organist job in France, at the La Madeleine church in Paris. The composer Franz Liszt heard him play there and called him “the world’s best organist”. Symphony No. 3 culminates in a powerful ending with piano and organ.

Giorgi Gigashvili Hinter den Spiegeln

Georgian pianist Giorgi Gigashvili balances his classical career with his passion for experimental electronic music. In 2025, he returns to Heidelberg with a program featuring Ravel's "Miroirs," Bardanashvili's "Postlude," Ustvolskaya's Sonata No. 6, and Prokofiev's War Sonata No. 1. This concert is part of the Culture Circle of German Business's music prize, awarded to Gigashvili in 2024 for his exceptional stage presence and musicality.

Hilary Hahn plays Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 1

The Concertgebouw’s famous Main Hall is one of the best concert halls in the world, well-known for its exceptional acoustics and special atmosphere. In the Main Hall, you will feel history. Here, Gustav Mahler conducted his own compositions, as did Richard Strauss and Igor Stravinsky. Sergei Rachmaninoff played his own piano concertos in the Main Hall. This is also where musicians such as Leonard Bernstein, Vladimir Horowitz and Yehudi Menuhin gave legendary performances. Right up to now, the Main Hall offers a stage to the world’s best orchestras and musicians. Buy your tickets now and experience the magic of the Main Hall for yourself!

Family Concert: Cinderella (6+, Dutch spoken)

What does a house sound like? Or a wheel? What do you hear when you are in love? Or in the seventh heaven? The Concertgebouw’s Children’s Concerts take children aged 4 to 12 on a wonderful journey of discovery into the world of music, instruments and musicians. Breathtaking music and stories that challenge children to listen, to look, to sing and to participate. They learn about the most beautiful sounds and modern and ancient masterworks from near and far in a playful manner. Please note: narration during these concerts will be in Dutch.

Harpe symphonique : transcriptions et œuvres originales

London Symphony Orchestra: Half Six Fix – Prokofiev 2

Kick-start your evening with a Half Six Fix concert. One piece in a 60-minute concert, introduced by the performers, with screens in the hall to bring you closer to the action.

London Symphony Orchestra/Gianandrea Noseda

Prokofiev’s mind-blowing second Symphony, plus early Beethoven and a charming opener from Schubert.

ZUSATZKONZERT: Igor Levit Neue Horizonte

Due to high demand, pianist Igor Levit will perform an additional concert on April 12th at 11:00 AM in Heidelberg, featuring Chopin's works, a first for him, and Prokofiev's final piano sonata. This follows the sold-out evening performance on the same day.

Igor Levit Neue Horizonte

Igor Levit, known for performing complex works, will premiere two Chopin pieces in Heidelberg. This marks a long-awaited turn towards the Polish Romantic composer. Also on the program is Prokofiev's last piano sonata, possibly reflecting on the composer's life and Levit's earlier performance of Prokofiev's piano concertos.

Eroica

Three winners of the third edition of the La Maestra competition for female conductors perform alongside Claire Gibault, the driving force behind this initiative to promote women in music.

Karneval des Glücks

This event features Katja Riemann, Franziska Hölscher, and Marianna Shirinyan performing Camille Saint-Saëns's Carnival of the Animals with Roger Willemsen's rhymes. The performance explores themes of life, happiness, and community. It also includes Willemsen's version of the biblical Job story. The second part, Ver-FÜHRUNG, examines the consequences of extremist ideologies with texts about the Hanau and Bataclan attacks, alongside music by Mozart, Schnittke, Elgar, Prokofjew, Strawinsky, and Mahler. The program premieres in Schwetzingen.

Organ matinee In memory of Jean Guillou

Slovakian organist Zuzana Ferjenčíková dedicates her debut concert on the organ of the Berlin Philharmonie Berlin to her teacher Jean Guillou, who died in 2019. Guillou performed on the the Philharmonie’s organ several times himself. His speciality: his own arrangements of famous orchestral works, with which he created unexpected orchestral timbres on the organ. Zuzana Ferjenčíková plays some of Guillou's most impressive arrangements, including the delicate “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” from Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker and Mussorgsky's powerful cycle Pictures at an Exhibition.

Slobodeniouk conducts Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet

From the depths to the stars; from romance to tragedy: Dima Slobodeniouk pairs Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet with Lili Boulanger’s mighty shout of hope and praise.

Piano Nights: Lestari Scholtes & Jan-Willem Rozenboom