Dramatic French flair from Thibaudet, Mäkelä and the Concertgebouw

By Clare Varney, 19 September 2025

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“totally convincing and certainly unique”

Reviewed at Concertgebouw: Main Hall, Amsterdam on 17 September 2025

Thorvaldsdottir, Archora (Netherlands premiere)

Saint-Saëns, Piano Concerto no. 5 in F major, "Egyptian," Op.103

Chopin, Nocturne no. 1 in B flat minor, Op.9 no.1

Stravinsky, Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring)

Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Piano

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.

*****

Magical stillness from the Royal Concertgebouw and Mäkelä at the Proms

Rohan Shotton, 24th August

Janine Jansen joins the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra for Prokofiev in a brilliantly conceived programme ending with Bartók’s ebullient Concerto for Orchestra.

****1

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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.