Ghouls, ghosts and woodland wonder: B’Rock at the Concertgebouw

By Clare Varney, 27 January 2026

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“Horsch’s dynamic range defied belief”

Reviewed at Concertgebouw: Recital Hall, Amsterdam on 25 January 2026

Corelli, Concerto grosso in G minor "Christmas Concerto", Op.6 no.8 (selection)

Bartók, Out of Doors Suite (Szabadban), Sz 81: The Chase, no.5

Kurtág, Signs, Games and Messages (Misterioso - altero)

Yun, Chinesische Bilder: Der Besucher der Idylle

Vivaldi, Flute Concerto in G minor, Op.10 no. 2, RV 439 "La notte”

Hosokawa, Singing Garden in Venice for Baroque orchestra (selection)

Vivaldi, Recorder Concerto in C minor, RV 441

Zuidam, New work

Bartók, Mikrokosmos Book III (Ronddwalen)

Bartók, Mikrokosmos Book IV (Notturno)

Stravinsky, 3 Pieces for clarinet solo (Sempre piano e molot tranquillo)

Kurtág, Signs, Games and Messages (… ein Sappho-Fragment…)

Shinohara, Fragments

Vivaldi, Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione: Violin Concerto in F minor, Op.8 no. 4, RV 297 "L'inverno" (Winter) (selection)

Lucie Horsch, Recorder

B'Rock Orchestra

René Jacobs confronts acoustical challenges in Dortmund Handel

Mengguang Huang, 12th March

René Jacobs and Sunhae Im tackle Handel’s Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno in Dortmund’s acoustically dry Reinoldihaus. Despite challenges, Im’s radiant soprano and B’Rock Orchestra’s basso continuo group shine.

****1

Telemann's Orpheus in Amsterdam: a truly European opera

Nicolas Nguyen, 23rd October

In the hands of B'Rock Orchestra and conductor René Jacobs, Telemann's polyglot opera, once thought lost to time, becomes more than just a curiosity.

****1

Dido and Aeneas reworked as performance art

Cameron Kelsall, 24th April

Though ambitious and occasionally arresting, this revised and expanded take on the Purcell classic suffers from subtraction by addition.

**111

Barocktage opens with a murder: Scarlatti’s Il primo omicidio

Laura Servidei, 1st November

Romeo Castellucci’s inspiring and spiritual production lands in Berlin, with a superb cast of Baroque specialists and the B’Rock Orchestra under the baton of René Jacobs.

****1

Irreverence and ennui in De Keersmaeker's Six Brandenburg Concertos

Ivan Talijancic, 7th October

Anna Teresa De Keersmaeker's production of Six Brandenburg Concertos at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City disappoints

**111

Inspired Ritorno d’Ulisse at the Concertgebouw

Nicolas Nguyen, 18th March

Under the baton of René Jacobs, B’rock Orchestra gave an inspired performance that ought to contribute in giving Il ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria the place it deserves in the standard repertoire.

*****

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Clare Varney

Clare is a freelance writer and music critic from the UK, currently living in the Netherlands where she writes about Music, Food and Culture. Clare is a passionate musician, having learnt the violin and piano from an early age. When not at her laptop writing, she spends her time nurturing the next generation of brass players, all from her Dutch kitchen in the sky. Read more at The Spidy Editor.

Ghouls, ghosts and woodland wonder: Lucie Horsch and B’Rock at the Concertgebouw