Celebrate the opening of the new season with the Concertgebouw Orchestra! This year, our annual free open-air concert takes place near the Sloterplas in Amsterdam Nieuw-West. Featuring a dazzling guest performance by ISH Dance Collective.
About this concert
Welcome to our free open-air concert! With Opening Night 2025, we celebrate the start of the new concert season in Amsterdam’s Sloterpark. The orchestra will work closely with local entrepreneurs to make it a great music festival for everyone. Will you come too? You don't need a ticket!
For the fifth time, we bring our Opening Night to a special location in Amsterdam. After the Dam, the Westerpark, the NDSM Wharf and the Nelson Mandela Park, this time you will find us on the west bank of the Sloterplas in Amsterdam Nieuw-West, the district where we recently started working together with Theater Meervaart. Thus, Opening Night is travelling through the city that celebrates its 750th anniversary. With a vibrant support programme by young talent and local musicians.
At 8.15 p.m. , Stéphane Denève will conduct the Concertgebouw Orchestra in a colourful programme full of dances from all over the world, from the swirling sounds of Bernstein and Ravel to Grieg’s enchanting melodies. With a dazzling guest performance by ISH Dance Collective to music by Tchaikovsky and Falla, and featuring musical fireworks by Dvořák, Mussorgsky and two composers of our time: Karmit Fadael and Claude Chalhoub.
Support programme featuring young and local talent
Between 6.45 and 7.30 p.m. , Concertgebouw Orchestra trombonist Nico Schippers will conduct the Jonge Strijkers en Blazers Nederland (Young String and Wind Players of the Netherlands) and the reART World Music Choir & Ensemble. They will collectively play works by Selim Doğru, MAias Alyamani and other composers, as well as klezmer and traditional Arabic, Syrian, and Turkish music. This concert will feature the young singer Ayşe Devrim Özalp, and violin soloists Emma Breedveld and Naomi Bach.
To celebrate the 750th anniversary of the city of Amsterdam, Selim Doğru's composed a new work, the Nieuw-West Rhapsody, which will be performed together with the audience as part of the 'Amsterdam Klinkt!' Festival.
From 5 pm you’ll find a variety of food trucks ready to serve you, but you’re just as welcome to bring along your own food and drinks. On site we’re expecting:
- Abbi Patat - fries
- Het Goudhaantje - chicken & grilled sausage rolls
- Lunchroom Soussi - BBQ
- Baramaribo - bara
- Mocro Flavor - msemen
- Moes – spring rolls & meat pies
- Şerifoğlu – baklava
- Aden’s Viennoiserie
- Komproeven – gin & tonic, cotton candy, popcorn
- Wilde Trots – coffee & tea
- Shaved Ice Bar
Access
The stage is located near the hill and the artwork Groot Landschap in Sloterpark. We advise everyone to come by bike or public transport. The nearest tram/bus stop is Meer en Vaart, where tram 1, 17 and 27 and bus 61, 63, 69 and 192 stop.
Radio and television
The concert will be broadcast live on Dutch radio by AVROTROS via NPO Klassiek, and can be viewed on Dutch television on Saturday 13 September from 10.45 pm on NPO 2. The repeat will be on Friday 19 September at 1:20 pm on NPO2.
Other information
- Frequently asked questions
- Find the location on Google Maps
The Concertgebouw Orchestra's Opening Night is made possible by the support of Global Partners ING, Booking.com and The Magnum Ice Cream Company, whose shared aim is to make classical music accessible to as wide an audience as possible.