Klaus Mäkelä and Yuja Wang

The pianist Yuja Wang has displayed exceptional brilliance during her numerous appearances with the Concertgebouw Orchestra. She leaves the audience gasping for breath each time with her boundless technique, repertoire, and flair. And now, Yuja Wang will take on a unique challenge: she will perform both of Maurice Ravel’s piano concertos in one evening. These two virtuoso pieces, written simultaneously, are clearly influenced by jazz, yet each has its own distinct character. In the eyes of conductor Klaus Mäkelä, these concertos are like two sides of a coin.

The concert begins and ends with colourful masterpieces by Claude Debussy. According to some, twentieth-century modern music began with the dreamy flute melody of his Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune . And Debussy's La mer is a miracle of colour and motion that still makes a huge impression, even a hundred years after it was written. Hard to imagine a symphony orchestra sounding better than this.