Unique every time

From 2 to 4 October, we swapped our familiar stage at The Concertgebouw for Amsterdam’s largest concert venue, the Ziggo Dome. Over three consecutive evenings, we shared our passion for classical music with people of many different ages and backgrounds, nearly 30.000 in all, including many who heard the orchestra live for the very first time.

The Academy is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a special concert conducted by Klaus Mäkelä, in the presence of our patron, Queen Máxima. For this occasion, the orchestra will bring together musicians who have trained through our talent development programmes over the past 25 years.

Ta-ta-ta-taaa… how would this iconic music have sounded to someone listening for the first time in 1808? Here’s an ‘earwitness’ account of heavy winter coats, exhausted musicians, and the birth of the most famous four notes ever.

The new season got off to a sparkling start on Friday 11 September with a spectacular open-air concert in Amsterdam's Oosterpark. A festive evening packed with young talent, familiar overtures, vibrant orchestral showpieces and much-loved encores.

We start our 2026-27 season with four new players, including three former members of our Academy. Remarkably, one of them already participated in Concertgebouw Orchestra Young at fifteen years of age. Meanwhile, double bassist Théotime Voisin is stepping up to a principal position.

On Friday 25 September, you will be introduced to the Fund, learn how it contributes to greater visibility for female talent at the highest level of symphonic music, and hear how you can support this work through a donation.

Our cross-genre partnership with Bijlmer Parktheater enters its fifth season with a concert devoted to the Dutch-Surinamese polymath.

On Friday evening, 11 September, we open the 2026-27 season with Opening Night in Oosterpark in Amsterdam East. And everyone is welcome! After a support programme by young talent, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, conducted by Han-Na Chang, will perform a festive open-air concert featuring overtures by Glinka, Rossini and Wagner, Debussy’s summery Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune and music from Bizet’s opera Carmen. Admission is free and no ticket is required.

This photo series looks back on the 2025-26 season, capturing standout concerts and unforgettable moments. Take a look, enjoy, and relive it all: a season to remember, in pictures.

On 3 October, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra will play Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in the Ziggo Dome. What makes this music so remarkable?

Two exceptional CD sets featuring historical recordings by the Concertgebouw Orchestra have recently been released: a 42-disc box set of recordings conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt on Warner Classics, and a three-disc set from the Willem Mengelberg Society featuring beautifully restored Tchaikovsky recordings with Mengelberg, our chief conductor from 1895 to 1945.

Henriëtte Bosmans (1895–1952) was a celebrated pianist who also forged a successful career as a composer – a formidable achievement for a woman of her era. Chief among the prominent musicians who championed her work was Willem Mengelberg, Principal Conductor of the Concertgebouw Orchestra.

For those unfamiliar with the subscription series of the Concertgebouw Orchestra, the letter system may seem quite a puzzle. What do the letters A, B, D, E, S, or indeed Z, stand for? And what, you might well wonder, became of the letter C? Time to investigate the rich history of our subscription alphabet.

Last Saturday, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra presented a season packed with highlights for a broad audience. The 2026-27 season is characterised by variety and imagination, with a large number of concerts led by future chief conductor Klaus Mäkelä and exciting debuts from new conductors and soloists. Subscriptions are on sale from 31 March.