Alive, adventurous, alluring

newly commissioned works alongside masterpieces

A Series

A Series

The classical music tradition is very much alive and kicking. The A Series presents newly commissioned works alongside familiar and unfamiliar masterpieces from the last 100 years.

Composers write history. They have been doing that for centuries, and they show no signs of stopping. This keeps classical music relevant and vital. The Concertgebouw Orchestra has always worked closely with composers. Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss conducted the orchestra more than once.

Today, it’s the British  composer/conductor George Benjamin, who has been a welcome guest for twenty years. He will lead a very personal programme during the 2023-24 season, with his own Concerto for Orchestra and works by Oliver Knussen, Unsuk Chin, and György Ligeti. That concert will be part of the A series, which focuses on the music of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Betsy Jolas and Thomas Larcher will engage in a dialogue with Mozart, their celebrated predecessor; Bartók’s music will resonate with that of two contemporary American colleagues. Bas Wiegers will conduct a programme focussing on the idiosyncratic elder statesman of Dutch music, Theo Loevendie. Gustavo Gimeno will conduct the music of two Canadian composers, Kelly-Marie Murphy and Samy Moussa. And how will Stravinsky’s ground-breaking Rite of Spring sound to today’s ears?

After the concerts

Meet the Artists

Meet the ArtistsAfter the concerts, you are welcome in the Spiegelzaal of the Concertgebouw to meet the performers.

Alive, adventurous, alluring

The classical music tradition is very much alive and kicking. The A Series presents newly commissioned works alongside familiar and unfamiliar masterpieces from the last 100 years.

Composers write history. They have been doing that for centuries, and they show no signs of stopping. This keeps classical music relevant and vital. The Concertgebouw Orchestra has always worked closely with composers. Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss conducted the orchestra more than once.

Today, it’s the British  composer/conductor George Benjamin, who has been a welcome guest for twenty years. He will lead a very personal programme during the 2023-24 season, with his own Concerto for Orchestra and works by Oliver Knussen, Unsuk Chin, and György Ligeti. That concert will be part of the A series, which focuses on the music of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Betsy Jolas and Thomas Larcher will engage in a dialogue with Mozart, their celebrated predecessor; Bartók’s music will resonate with that of two contemporary American colleagues. Bas Wiegers will conduct a programme focussing on the idiosyncratic elder statesman of Dutch music, Theo Loevendie. Gustavo Gimeno will conduct the music of two Canadian composers, Kelly-Marie Murphy and Samy Moussa. And how will Stravinsky’s ground-breaking Rite of Spring sound to today’s ears?

After the concerts

Meet the Artists

Meet the ArtistsAfter the concerts, you are welcome in the Spiegelzaal of the Concertgebouw to meet the performers.

Choose one of these options

your selection

A Series with 5 concerts

A Series
  • Grade 1+ €240.00
  • Grade 1 €240.00
  • Grade 2 €240.00
  • Grade 3 €240.00

A1 Series with 2 concerts

A Series
  • Grade 1+ €150.00
  • Grade 1 €150.00
  • Grade 2 €150.00
  • Grade 3 €150.00

A2 Series with 2 concerts

A Series
  • Grade 1+ €150.00
  • Grade 1 €150.00
  • Grade 2 €150.00
  • Grade 3 €150.00

You choose the following concerts

  • image: Jorne Tielemans
    image: Jorne Tielemans

    Concertgebouw Orchestra performs Loevendie, Smit and Ravel

    Amsterdam, jazz, and the call of the East

    Het Concertgebouw, Amsterdam

    • Maurice Ravel (en)

      Ma mère l'Oye: Suite

    • Theo Loevendie (en)

      Six Turkish Folk Poems

    • -- interval --

    • Leo Smit (en)

      Silhouetten

    • Theo Loevendie (en)

      Flexio

    • Bas Wiegers

      conductor

    • Polly Leech

      mezzo soprano

  • image: Milagro Elstak
    image: Milagro Elstak

    The world according to conductor and composer George Benjamin

    Colourful music by Benjamin, Chin, Stravinsky, Knussen and Ligeti

    Het Concertgebouw, Amsterdam

    • Oliver Knussen (en)

      Choral

    • George Benjamin (en)

      Concerto for Orchestra

    • -- interval --

    • Unsuk Chin (en)

      Spira

    • György Ligeti (en)

      Lontano

    • Igor Stravinsky (en)

      Symphonies of wind instruments

    • George Benjamin

      conductor

  • image: Marco Borggreve
    image: Marco Borggreve

    Klaus Mäkelä and Clarinettist Olivier Patey

    Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto and contemporary by Jolas and Larcher

    Het Concertgebouw, Amsterdam

    • Betsy Jolas (en)

      Latest (commission)

    • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (en)

      Clarinet Concerto, KV 622

    • -- interval --

    • Thomas Larcher (en)

      Symphony No. 2, 'Kenotaph'

    • Klaus Mäkelä

      conductor, artistic partner

    • Olivier Patey

      principal clarinet

  • image: Marco Borggreve
    image: Marco Borggreve

    The Rite of Spring

    Gustavo Gimeno conducts Stravinsky’s trailblazing ‘Sacre’ and new music by Canadian composers

    Het Concertgebouw, Amsterdam

    • Kelly-Marie Murphy (en)

      Curiosity, Genius, and the Search for Petula Clark

    • Samy Moussa (en)

      Symphony No. 2

    • -- interval --

    • Igor Stravinsky (en)

      The rite of spring

    • Gustavo Gimeno

      conductor

  • image: Grant Leighton
    image: Grant Leighton

    Bartók, America, Rhythm

    Het Concertgebouw, Amsterdam

    • Béla Bartók (en)

      Concert voor orkest

    • -- interval --

    • Jessie Montgomery (en)

      Strum

    • John Adams (en)

      Fearfull Symmetries

    • Marin Alsop

      conductor

  • image: Jorne Tielemans
    image: Jorne Tielemans

    Concertgebouw Orchestra performs Loevendie, Smit and Ravel

    Amsterdam, jazz, and the call of the East

    Het Concertgebouw, Amsterdam

    • Maurice Ravel (en)

      Ma mère l'Oye: Suite

    • Theo Loevendie (en)

      Six Turkish Folk Poems

    • -- interval --

    • Leo Smit (en)

      Silhouetten

    • Theo Loevendie (en)

      Flexio

    • Bas Wiegers

      conductor

    • Polly Leech

      mezzo soprano

  • image: Grant Leighton
    image: Grant Leighton

    Bartók, America, Rhythm

    Het Concertgebouw, Amsterdam

    • Béla Bartók (en)

      Concert voor orkest

    • -- interval --

    • Jessie Montgomery (en)

      Strum

    • John Adams (en)

      Fearfull Symmetries

    • Marin Alsop

      conductor

  • image: Milagro Elstak
    image: Milagro Elstak

    The world according to conductor and composer George Benjamin

    Colourful music by Benjamin, Chin, Stravinsky, Knussen and Ligeti

    Het Concertgebouw, Amsterdam

    • Oliver Knussen (en)

      Choral

    • George Benjamin (en)

      Concerto for Orchestra

    • -- interval --

    • Unsuk Chin (en)

      Spira

    • György Ligeti (en)

      Lontano

    • Igor Stravinsky (en)

      Symphonies of wind instruments

    • George Benjamin

      conductor

  • image: Marco Borggreve
    image: Marco Borggreve

    The Rite of Spring

    Gustavo Gimeno conducts Stravinsky’s trailblazing ‘Sacre’ and new music by Canadian composers

    Het Concertgebouw, Amsterdam

    • Kelly-Marie Murphy (en)

      Curiosity, Genius, and the Search for Petula Clark

    • Samy Moussa (en)

      Symphony No. 2

    • -- interval --

    • Igor Stravinsky (en)

      The rite of spring

    • Gustavo Gimeno

      conductor