Concertgebouw Orchestra kicks off new season with free concert in Amsterdam

The Concertgebouw Orchestra will open the 2024/2025 season on September 13 with a free, open-access concert in the middle of Amsterdam's Bijlmermeer, in Nelson Mandela Park. In addition, Hip-hop musician Sor, winner of the Maestro 2022 TV conducting competition, will be among others participating in the opening event.

The orchestra also kicked off the new cultural season earlier with open-air performances in the capital, for example, on Dam Square. In this way, the internationally renowned orchestra wants to establish a connection with the entire city. Next season, Amsterdam, which has been in existence for 750 years, will receive even more attention. The Concertgebouw Orchestra will celebrate the anniversary with concerts featuring mezzo-soprano Tania Kross and the Groot Omroepkoor.

The ensemble is also going on tour again. This includes an extensive tour of the United States with the future chief conductor Klaus Mäkelä. The now 28-year-old Finn will also conduct the orchestra several times during the Mahler Festival in May in Mahler's First and Eighth Symphonies.

Due to the great interest in the Mahler Festival (all tickets were sold out within a day), additional concerts have been added to the program. These are performances of Mahler's First (Saturday, May 10) and Eighth Symphonies (Sunday, May 18) conducted by Mäkelä and Mahler's Second and Fifth Symphonies (Sunday, May 11 and Tuesday, May 13) by the Budapest Festival Orchestra conducted by Ivan Fischer.