Lorenzo Viotti returns to 40-year-old orchestra with pianist Kirill Gerstein
The Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra celebrates its 40th anniversary this season! The orchestra will mark this special occasion in style together with former chief conductor Lorenzo Viotti. During the Opening Concert on Saturday 20 September at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the purple carpet will be rolled out, the audience will be able to have their photo taken in the Spiegelzaal, and festive cocktails will be served. Visitors will also have the chance to win a golden ticket, entitling them to take a seat in the middle of the orchestra on adventure seats after the interval. And of course, there will be music!
Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 with Kirill Gerstein
Pianist Kirill Gerstein will perform as soloist in Beethoven's monumental
Piano Concerto No. 5
, the 'Emperor Concerto', the crowning glory of Beethoven's piano concertos. Gerstein is a versatile performer who turns everything he touches into pure gold. From Stravinsky and Liszt with the Netherlands Philharmonic to jazz and contemporary music, his audience and critics are always enthusiastic about his playing. In Beethoven's 'Emperor Concerto', the heroic grandeur, bold melodies and outbursts are interrupted by a middle section that is heavenly contemplative.
Lorenzo Viotti conducts Brahms' First Symphony
Lorenzo Viotti conducts the Netherlands Philharmonic in Brahms' first symphonic masterpiece. Johannes Brahms took Beethoven's symphonies as the starting point for his own First Symphony . But with its autumnal lyricism, restrained passion, melancholy and comforting power, it is above all Brahms through and through. Brahms had great difficulty with his first symphony, because 'what can you compose after Beethoven's Ninth ?' It took him more than fifteen years of toil, deleting and refining. But hard work pays off: from the first iconic timpani strokes to the magnificent finale, every note is spot on in this symphonic masterpiece.
Sat 20 September 2025, 20:15
The Concertgebouw Amsterdam
Tickets & info
Program
Samy Moussa - Elysium (Dutch premiere)
Beethoven - Piano Concerto No. 5
Brahms - Symphony No. 1
Netherlands Philharmonic
Lorenzo Viotti, conductor
Kirill Gerstein, piano