Dig those cats from Amsterdam! Mäkelä and the Concertgebouw

Klaus Mäkelä conducts the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra at the BBC Proms

By Christopher Woodley, 24 August 2025

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“an oblique glimpse into the nature of artistic creation”

Reviewed at Royal Albert Hall, London on 23 August 2025

Berio, Rendering, for orchestra, based on Schubert's sketches for a 10th symphony

Mahler, Symphony no. 5 in C sharp minor

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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Christopher Woodley

Christopher’s professional background is in the public sector, and includes a spell in music librarianship. A composer, he is a keen follower of contemporary music and has attended all but four editions of the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, including the first concert in 1978. Other musical passions include a fascination with the “bad boys” of the New Complexity fixation, particularly the god-like Brian Ferneyhough – arguably the best thing to have come out of Coventry. When not listening to Boulez, Christopher relaxes by frequenting the fields, orchards, woodlands and pubs on the Weald of Kent, where he lives.

Dig those cats from Amsterdam! Mäkelä and the Royal Concertgebouw at the BBC Proms