Harlem Gospel Choir with a special tribute to Aretha Franklin

Popup Choir: Aretha Franklin

Tribute to Leonard Cohen

The SummerConcerts powered by VriendenLoterij present two months of wonderful concerts, from classical to jazz and from pop music to film scores. Top musicians from the Netherlands and around the world bring you all your favourite classical pieces, as well as tributes to Leonard Cohen and The Beatles, and all your favourite film music.We also present a host of young talent in our summer concerts, including youth orchestras from South Africa and Turkey, and top young classical soloists. After many of the concerts, we offer a meet-and-greet with the artists in an informal setting, or an afterparty with DJ in the Entrance Hall. In one of the world’s finest concert halls, there’s something for everyone this summer at The Concertgebouw!

Soweto Gospel Choir

The Soweto Gospel Choir is one of the world’s most famous gospel choirs. It has won three Grammys and performed with U2, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Beyoncé and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. But when the South African singers step onto the stage and unleash their powerful voices, all that becomes trivial. Because in those moments, the choir is focused only on its mission, one that has remained constant ever since its founding in 2003: »Spreading joy«. And it usually takes only a few bars for the audience to feel the effect. The choir was formed 20 years ago in Soweto, the South West Townships of Johannesburg in which Nelson Mandela lived, and from which he inspired the South African freedom movement. Since 2003, the Soweto Gospel Choir has performed at historic ceremonies in democratic South Africa, including Nelson Mandela’s state funeral in 2013. Today, the choir tours the world giving concerts and as ambassadors of Mandela’s foundation. As part of the »André Heller Reflektor«, the choir is now coming to the Elbphilharmonie Grand Hall to perform familiar hits by Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye and Otis Redding, as well as gospel songs written by pop legends such as Bob Dylan, Whitney Houston and Prince. One of the things that make the choir’s concerts so special is their translations of songs into some of South Africa’s twelve official languages. Leonard Cohen’s famous »Hallelujah« is just as powerful when sung in Sotho and Zulu – as anyone who has heard the Soweto Gospel Choir’s version will attest.

A Tribute to Bellini

Above all, their long, wistful melodies made Vincenzo Bellini's operas the epitome of musical romanticism in Italy and arias such as Norma's "Casta Diva" still characterise our concept of sung emotion today. Elda Laro, répétiteur, pianist and conductor at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, is a self-confessed Bellini fan and introduces us to the world of the Sicilian composer in the concert programme "A tribute to Bellini", which she conceived and presents together with members of the orchestra and ensemble of the Deutsche Oper Berlin.

Stockholm Jazz Festival – A tribute to Georg Riedel

Welcome to a star-studded and poignant tribute to Georg Riedel, one of the greatest musicians and composers of Swedish jazz. Radiojazzgruppen’s Nisse Landgren hosts the evening and pianist Calle Bagge conducts a house band featuring elite members of the Swedish jazz scene, as well as vocalists including Nicolai Dunger and Sarah Riedel.With the passing on 25 February this year of jazz bassist, composer and arranger Georg Riedel at 90 years of age, one of the most versatile composers of Swedish music fell silent.Georg Riedel composed music for Astrid Lindgren’s films, as well as innovative jazz for Radiojazzgruppen and his own duos, trios and quartets. His oeuvre includes opera, orchestral works and music for films, ballet and church services. He is among the musicians who brought Swedish folk music to jazz stages. Jazz på Svenska (“Jazz in Swedish”), his album with Jan Johansson, is the most sold Swedish jazz album.To celebrate this doyen of jazz, Stockholm Jazz Festival presents a full evening at Stockholm Konserthuset, in which a wide selection of Riedel’s compositions will be performed by carefully selected artists – many of whom worked with the man himself over the past 20 years. This retrospective of Riedel’s work will link the golden age of the 1950s to contemporary jazz of the 2020s.“Georg Riedel’s contribution is utterly massive, and so is the empty space he has left behind. But his music will live on, now and forever. It therefore feels particularly gratifying to open this year’s jazz festival with an evening that pays tribute to him,” says Eric Birath, CEO of Stockholm Jazz Festival.Read more about Stockholm Jazz Festival (opens in a new window)

YESTERDAY - A TRIBUTE TO THE BEATLES

Yesterday – A TRIBUTE TO THE BEATLES performed by the London West End Beatles Eine Show bringt die Beatles auf die Bühne zurück Keine Band hat die Musikwelt so nachhaltig geprägt wie die Beatles. Ihre Popularität ist seit über 50 Jahren ungebrochen. Die Show YESTERDAY - A TRIBUTE TO THE BEATLES bringt die „vier Liverpooler“ endlich zurück auf die Bühne. Vier erstklassige Musiker aus Großbritannien, Frankreich und Deutschland verkörpern John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison und Ringo Starr so authentisch, dass man sich in einem Konzert der wahren Beatles glaubt. Sie erobern die Herzen der Fans in einem emotional packenden, mitreißenden Fest der Freude. Mit Songs wie „Let it be“, „Help“, „Penny Lane“ oder „Hey Jude“ drehen sie mühelos die Zeit zurück. Wenn tausend Zuhörer ihr „Yeah, yeah, yeah“ erwidern, ist der Zeitgeist der sechziger Jahre wach, dann liegt ein Hauch von Musik-Revolution in der Luft. Wechselnde Kostüme aus der Beatles-Ära, weltberühmte Songs auf originalgetreuen Instrumenten, täuschend echte Stimmen – all das bietet YESTERDAY dem Publikum in einem über zweistündigen Konzerterlebnis.

Kind of Jazz II – A Tribute to Bill Evans

Jan Lundgren is one of our foremost musicians, and with around fifty CDs and a range of projects and collaborations, he has consistently shown his ability to embrace tradition while always evolving. Each year, Jan Lundgren presents three concerts under the banner Kind of Jazz – unique meetings with invited artists and ensembles. Kind of Jazz 2025 marks the series’ seventh season.“This is a tribute to Bill Evans, who was one of my most important influences when I started playing jazz,” says Jan Lundgren. “I was captivated by his sound: his way of playing and voicing chords, the immense richness of his harmonies. It made him truly unique, and I consider him one of the most important jazz musicians of all time. We’ll play some original Bill Evans music, like Waltz for Debby and Very Early, as well as music he’s associated with, such as Song from MASH. We’re paying homage to both the artist and the composer. To recreate his style and not just play the songs requires a deep understanding of the artist – without losing oneself.”Just as Bill Evans had his trio, Jan Lundgren has put together an exceptionally skilled trio here. German drummer Wolfgang Haffner, one of the foremost in the world, has previously worked with Jan Lundgren (as well as with Nils Landgren, for instance). The renowned Swedish bassist Anders Jormin has also taken a leading role in international music and is now a professor at the Academy of Music and Drama in Gothenburg.

Celebrate Christmas with Berget Lewis and Friends

It goes without saying that The Concertgebouw and jazz & pop music make a perfect combination. The stages of both the Main Hall and the Recital Hall have borne witness to nearly the whole of jazz history. Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald have both performed here, as have Miles Davis and Louis Armstrong. Famous pop stars and bands that have graced the stage of the Main Hall include Frank Zappa, the Doors and the Eagles, to name but a few. Legendary concerts, in the present as well as the past.

KCOV Amsterdam: a musical tribute to Puccini and Fauré

The Concertgebouw is right at the heart of Dutch music. That is why we love to welcome the best amateur orchestras and choirs of the Netherlands. To an amateur musician a performance at the Concertgebouw is always special, often marking the end of an extensive period of rehearsals. Please note: although these concerts are of a high standard, they are not performed by professional ensembles.

Jazz at Berlin Philharmonic “Europeana” – a jazz homage to the European idea

The season finale of our Jazz at Berlin Philharmonic series is entitled Europeana and commemorates the end of the war and liberation from National Socialism 80 years ago – a celebration of the European idea. Artists will include the NDR Bigband with Geir Lysne, bringing the traditional big band sound creatively and innovatively into the present; the legendary Joachim Kühn on piano; and the vision string quartet, whose background is in classical music, but who have taken this opportunity to celebrate their passion for jazz. You can expect to breathtaking solos from saxophonist Émile Parisien and trombonist Nils Landgren, who will also be singing.