Magical stillness from the Royal Concertgebouw and Mäkelä at the Proms

Klaus Mäkelä and Janine Jansen

Klaus Mäkelä conducts the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

By Rohan Shotton, 26 August 2025

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“it was easy to forget that nearly 6,000 people were watching in rapt attention”

Reviewed at Royal Albert Hall, London on 24 August 2025

Mozart, Symphony no. 31 in D major, "Paris”, K297 (K300a)

Prokofiev, Violin Concerto no. 1 in D major, Op.19

Bartók, Concerto for Orchestra, Sz 116

Kodály, Dances of Galánta (Allegro vivace)

Janine Jansen, Violin

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

Klaus Mäkelä, Conductor

Chailly makes a highly anticipated return to the Royal Concertgebouw

Max Lima, 4th March

Joined by two of the Netherlands' finest choirs, Riccardo Chailly conducts a Prokofiev double bill: the Fourth Symphony, a first for the orchestra, paired with the cantata Alexander Nevsky.

*****

Rafael Payare makes an unconvincing Royal Concertgebouw debut

Clare Varney, 19th February

Frank Peter Zimmermann joins the orchestra to bring Frank Martin’s seldom heard Violin Concerto back to the Netherlands.

***11

Jaap van Zweden, Dutch wanderer, rejoins the Concertgebouw Orchestra

Clare Varney, 21st January

Leonidas Kavakos joins the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra for an evening of Hollywood glamour and lush Romantacism.

*****

Paavo Järvi and Beatrice Rana at the Concertgebouw

Antonio D'Amato, 9th October

An evening of contrasts at the Concertgebouw, where Beatrice Rana’s poised Beethoven meets Paavo Järvi’s clear-eyed Sibelius in a thoughtful performance with moments of genuine resonance.

***11

Barbara Hannigan conducts the Royal Concertgebouw

Clare Varney, 2nd October

The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra puts Persian music centre stage with the Dutch premiere of Tehran-based composer Golfam Khayam's I am a tale not to be told.

*****

Dramatic French flair from Thibaudet, Mäkelä and the Concertgebouw

Clare Varney, 17th September

Jean-Yves Thibaudet’s astonishing technical prowess in Saint-Saëns’ Fifth Piano Concerto entrances Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw.

****1

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Rohan Shotton

Rohan has reviewed concerts and opera across the UK and Europe, but chiefly in Manchester, where he enjoys conducting and playing percussion and piano. He works as a hospital doctor, having studied in St Andrews and Manchester, and tweets as @RohanShotton.

Magical stillness from the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Klaus Mäkelä at the Proms