Vladimir Jurowski conducts the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Bruckner’s Symphony No. 1

Vladimir Jurowski conducts the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Mozart and Bruckner

Anton Bruckner’s First Symphony is rarely performed. And that’s a shame, since this delightful journey through the Austrian countryside of Bruckner’s youth is a comprehensive introduction to his symphonic œuvre. Conductor Vladimir Jurowski considers it ‘an amazing artistic achievement to write such a symphony ten years before the composition of Brahms’ First Symphony (…). Bruckner takes Schubert's lyrical symphonic style to its extremes and even beyond them. One can clearly sense the essence of all later symphonies by Bruckner in this one, as if contained in a nutshell.’At the premiere of Bruckner’s First Symphony in Linz, audiences were above all amazed that their city organist could write symphonies. Shortly afterwards, the ambitious Bruckner moved to Vienna, the city of his predecessors Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, whose Viennese classical influences are still palpable in his First Symphony. Vladimir Jurowski juxtaposes Bruckner’s First with Mozart’s penultimate symphony, the tempestuous No. 40 in G minor, a forerunner of Romanticism. Jurowski has been a popular guest conductor with the Concertgebouw Orchestra since 2006, one with a versatile repertoire – indeed, this is the first time he will be conducting Bruckner in Amsterdam.

Vladimir Jurowski conducts the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Mozart and Bruckner

Anton Bruckner’s First Symphony is rarely performed. And that’s a shame, since this delightful journey through the Austrian countryside of Bruckner’s youth is a comprehensive introduction to his symphonic œuvre. Conductor Vladimir Jurowski considers it ‘an amazing artistic achievement to write such a symphony ten years before the composition of Brahms’ First Symphony (…). Bruckner takes Schubert's lyrical symphonic style to its extremes and even beyond them. One can clearly sense the essence of all later symphonies by Bruckner in this one, as if contained in a nutshell.’At the premiere of Bruckner’s First Symphony in Linz, audiences were above all amazed that their city organist could write symphonies. Shortly afterwards, the ambitious Bruckner moved to Vienna, the city of his predecessors Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, whose Viennese classical influences are still palpable in his First Symphony. Vladimir Jurowski juxtaposes Bruckner’s First with Mozart’s penultimate symphony, the tempestuous No. 40 in G minor, a forerunner of Romanticism. Jurowski has been a popular guest conductor with the Concertgebouw Orchestra since 2006, one with a versatile repertoire – indeed, this is the first time he will be conducting Bruckner in Amsterdam.

Simone Young conducts the Concertgebouw Orchestra Bruckner’s Symphony No. 6

The Sixth Symphony is shorter, lighter in tone and less monumental than Bruckner’s other symphonies. Bruckner himself was in the habit of saying ‘Die Sechste ist die keckste’ (the Sixth is the sauciest). Perhaps most remarkable is the third movement: instead of the lively, Ländler-like folk dances that characterise his scherzos, Bruckner wrote a rather dark and eerie movement here, with a theme from his Fifth appearing in the Trio. It was not until December 1930, under the baton of Willem Mengelberg, that the Concertgebouw Orchestra would programme the Sixth Symphony for the first time. The performance was hailed as a success. ‘Although most of Bruckner’s symphonies can be compared to a proud Baroque cathedral,’ one critic wrote, ‘his Sixth bears a greater resemblance to a chapel – intimate and transparent, standing in an open, sunny clearing in a proud forest.’Bruckner expert Simone Young devoted herself exclusively to her work as artistic director of the Hamburg State Opera and chief music director of the Hamburg Philharmonic from 2005 to 2015. In recent years, she has returned to performing regularly as a guest conductor with major orchestras all over the world; she is making her first appearance with the Concertgebouw Orchestra conducting Bruckner’s Sixth Symphony.

Riccardo Chailly conducts the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Bruckner's Ninth

Riccardo Chailly, conductor emeritus and former chief conductor of the Concertgebouw Orchestra, rounds off the symphonic cycle marking Anton Bruckner’s 200th birthday with his enigmatic swansong, the Ninth Symphony – including the finale, which the latest scholarship has deemed complete.Anton Bruckner’s symphonies are a pillar of the Concertgebouw Orchestra’s core repertoire. And they’re certainly in good hands with such an authority as Riccardo Chailly. He sees Bruckner as ‘a saint who constantly confronted the devil, a man of such piety that he dared to explore the darkness’. In the Ninth, darkness wins: Bruckner died before completing the work. The slow third movement is a dignified ‘farewell to life’, as Bruckner himself noted in the score. ‘It has to be the most beautiful thing I have ever written,’ he said of this moving Adagio. ‘It always grips me when I play it.’Many fragments of the missing finale were found among Bruckner’s personal effects. And for more than a century, these made up a fascinating puzzle, yet no one could piece them together to form a convincing whole. But a team of musicologists changed all that in 2012. The performance version by Samale, Phillips, Cohrs and Mazzuca is astounding, and changes the symphony’s tragic character: after three dark movements, the last brings redemption. Performed here is the ‘SPCM’ version heard in J.A. Phillips’s most recent revision dating from 2021–22.

Mahler Symphony No.6 with Vladimir Jurowski

Mahler Symphony No.6 with Vladimir Jurowski

Jaap van Zweden conducts the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Bruckner's Fourth

Jaap van Zweden conducts Anton Bruckner’s popular Fourth Symphony. Enticing, entreating themes and motifs which are constantly repeated lure us into a new sound world. Bruckner was more than a century ahead of Steve Reich’s hypnotic music. The American minimalist pioneer has written increasingly exuberant compositions over the years. Reich claims that the calibre of modern orchestras is now so high that he no longer need limit himself to composing for small ensembles. Music for Ensemble and Orchestra is an enchanting tapestry of tight rhythmic patterns and kaleidoscopic harmonies, with a timeless effect.Time also seems to stand still in Anton Bruckner’s symphonies, as if one were viewing a slowly revolving celestial body from a great distance. The Fourth Symphony, however, is an exceptionally agile and anecdotal work, which Bruckner himself described as a ‘romantic spectacle’ of medieval castles, magical forests and knights on proud horses.

Jaap van Zweden conducts the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Bruckner's Fourth

Jaap van Zweden conducts Anton Bruckner’s popular Fourth Symphony. Enticing, entreating themes and motifs which are constantly repeated lure us into a new sound world. Bruckner was more than a century ahead of Steve Reich’s hypnotic music. The American minimalist pioneer has written increasingly exuberant compositions over the years. Reich claims that the calibre of modern orchestras is now so high that he no longer need limit himself to composing for small ensembles. Music for Ensemble and Orchestra is an enchanting tapestry of tight rhythmic patterns and kaleidoscopic harmonies, with a timeless effect.Time also seems to stand still in Anton Bruckner’s symphonies, as if one were viewing a slowly revolving celestial body from a great distance. The Fourth Symphony, however, is an exceptionally agile and anecdotal work, which Bruckner himself described as a ‘romantic spectacle’ of medieval castles, magical forests and knights on proud horses.

Jaap van Zweden conducts the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Bruckner's Fourth

Jaap van Zweden conducts Anton Bruckner’s popular Fourth Symphony. Enticing, entreating themes and motifs which are constantly repeated lure us into a new sound world. Bruckner was more than a century ahead of Steve Reich’s hypnotic music. The American minimalist pioneer has written increasingly exuberant compositions over the years. Reich claims that the calibre of modern orchestras is now so high that he no longer need limit himself to composing for small ensembles. Music for Ensemble and Orchestra is an enchanting tapestry of tight rhythmic patterns and kaleidoscopic harmonies, with a timeless effect.Time also seems to stand still in Anton Bruckner’s symphonies, as if one were viewing a slowly revolving celestial body from a great distance. The Fourth Symphony, however, is an exceptionally agile and anecdotal work, which Bruckner himself described as a ‘romantic spectacle’ of medieval castles, magical forests and knights on proud horses.

Kochanovsky conducts Bruckner's Symphony in d

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!