Rafael Payare makes an unconvincing Royal Concertgebouw debut

Rafael Payare conducts the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

By Clare Varney, 20 February 2026

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“in Zimmermann’s hands, Martin’s lyricism entranced”

Reviewed at Concertgebouw: Main Hall, Amsterdam on 19 February 2026

Gubaidulina, Fairytale Poem

Martin, Violin Concerto

Ernst, Grand Caprice on Schubert's "Erlkönig", Op.26

Shostakovich, Symphony no. 10 in E minor, Op.93

Frank Peter Zimmermann, Violin

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

Rafael Payare, 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.

*****

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

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.