Concerts
Relive Opening Night 2026 in pictures and sound
Fri, Sep 11, 2026
The new season got off to a sparkling start on Friday 11 September with a spectacular open-air concert in Amsterdam's Oosterpark. Many thousands of spectators, including Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema gathered for an evening of young talent, familiar overtures, vibrant orchestral showpieces and much-loved encores.
Food trucks from the local neighbourhood and a surprise theatrical performance by Amsterdam-Oost street theatre company Pretvormer added to the festival atmosphere. Browse the photo gallery, listen back to the concert and watch the television broadcast.
Pre-concert performances
The evening began with a lively showcase of young musical talent. Musicians from Jazz Focus and the Netherlands Youth String Orchestra joined alumni of Concertgebouw Orchestra Young and students from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam in performances of music by Grieg, Borodin, Tchaikovsky and Gershwin. The works were presented in energetic big-band arrangements under the direction of Lorenzo Minacca and Carel den Hertog.
Main concert
The Concertgebouw Orchestra followed with a colourful programme of well-known overtures by Glinka, Rossini and Wagner, alongside excerpts from Bizet's Carmen, Debussy's Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, a polka by Johann Strauss and the exuberant Balera by Austrian composer Bernd Richard Deutsch. Conductor Han-Na Chang guided the audience through the evening with enthusiastic introductions to the music.
The concert concluded with two audience favourites: Nimrod from Elgar's Enigma Variations and Brahms's Hungarian Dance No. 1 in G minor.
Opening Night
Opening Night is the Concertgebouw Orchestra's annual season opener and takes place in a different part of Amsterdam each year. Following editions on Dam Square (2021), in Westerpark (2022), at the NDSM Wharf (2023), in Nelson Mandela Park (2024) and at Sloterpark (2025), the event arrived in Amsterdam-Oost for the first time in 2026.
Radio and television
Missed Opening Night, or would you simply like to experience it again? Listen to the concert on NPO Klassiek and watch the AVROTROS television broadcast on NPO 2 on Sunday 13 September at 6.15 pm and 11.45 pm. The programme will also be available on NPO Start for one week.
Partners
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra's Opening Night is made possible by the support of global partners Booking.com, ING, and The Magnum Ice Cream Company, who aim to make classical music accessible to as wide an audience as possible. Furthermore, this concert is supported by the Leading Women in Music Fund.