About this concert
Jaap van Zweden has always had a special bond with the Concertgebouw Orchestra ever since he was appointed leader at a very young age back in 1979. He is currently music director in Hong Kong and New York and a guest conductor of worldwide renown.
Jaap van Zweden leads the Concertgebouworkest in a balanced Christmas programme with room for both reflection and exuberance. It kicks off with a commissioned work by the successful Dutch composer Hawar Tawfiq. Matthias Goerne sings songs from Des Knaben Wunderhorn by Mahler. Childlike wonder, romance, reflection and mourning all have their place in Mahler’s colourful song cycle.
Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony is an exuberant work full of obsessively repeated rhythms. But don’t forget the very lifeblood of the whole work: the melancholy second movement.
Childlike wonder, romance, reflection and mourning converge in Mahler’s song cycle.