Concerts
Fri, Aug 29, 2025
On Friday evening 12 September, we will open the new season with a festive open-air concert in the Sloterpark in Amsterdam Nieuw-West. Led by the energetic conductor Stéphane Denève, the orchestra will take you on a colourful musical journey full of dazzling dance rhythms. You are very welcome - admission is free!
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.
Read more about the concert programme
First, between 6.45 and 7.30 p.m., talented young musicians from Amsterdam Nieuw-West and far beyond will give a vibrant concert! Led by Concertgebouw Orchestra trombonist Nico Schippers, the Jonge Strijkers en Blazers Nederland and the reART World Music Choir & Ensemble will collectively play works by Selim Doğru and other composers as well as klezmer and traditional Arabic, Syrian, and Turkish music, featuring the young singer Ayşe Devrim Özalp, and violin soloists Emma Breedveld and Naomi Bach. As part of the Amsterdam Klinkt Festival, Selim Doğru's newly composed Nieuw-West Rhapsody will be performed with audience participation.
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:
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 following buses and trams stop nearby:
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.
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.
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