Close-up: Early birds

In the final movements of his Symphony No. 6, Beethoven sets his experiences of the countryside to music with the calls of the cuckoo, quail and nightingale. The musicians of the Concertgebouw Orchestra then linger a bit longer to explore the pastoral landscape. Together with Alexander van Reeuwijk, known from the popular wildlife radio programme Vroege Vogels, they guide you through bird music from the early Baroque to today. While Beethoven wasn’t the first composer to incorporate the sounds of birds in his music, he most certainly was not the last.

Musicians of the Concertgebouw Orchestra perform their own programmes in the Recital Hall as part of the Close-up chamber music series. Each of these concerts is unique and performed only once as part of the series. It’s the very best way to experience the individual qualities of the orchestral musicians! These intimate concerts are organised by the Friends of the Concertgebouw and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.