Name: Marc Albrecht conducts Brahms
Start: 2026-03-07T15:00:00
Location: Queen Elisabeth Hall

Antwerp Symphony Orchestra is set to enchant audiences with a series of diverse and compelling events. From children’s concerts like 'De Muziekboom' to grand orchestral performances featuring renowned artists, each event promises a unique exploration of symphonic music. With an array of international talents such as Alena Baeva, Timothy Chooi, and Garrick Ohlsson, these performances highlight the orchestra’s commitment to bringing world-class music to Belgium. Experience the magic of music at venues like Queen Elisabeth Hall and Music Center De Bijloke and let the symphonic waves take you on an unforgettable journey.

Exploring the Symphony: A Journey Through Antwerp's Musical Events

The Antwerp Symphony Orchestra is set to dazzle audiences with a spectacular lineup of events in March 2026. From the Romantic depth of Brahms to Wagner's monumental works, the orchestra, under the direction of renowned conductors like Michael Sanderling and Santtu-Matias Rouvali, promises an array of unforgettable experiences. Featuring virtuosos such as pianists Garrick Ohlsson and Martin Helmchen, and exploring themes from Bach’s spiritual passions to experimental compositions, the symphony offers something for every music enthusiast.

A Month of Musical Mastery: Antwerp Symphony Orchestra's 2026 Lineup

Martin Helmchen

Marc Albrecht

Antwerp Symphony Orchestra

Starting in the 2026-2027 season, Marc Albrecht will take up the baton as principal conductor of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra. This season, he returns to Antwerp with music by Brahms, a composer he has admired since receiving his first Brahms score at age 12. Brahms’ First Piano Concerto, originally conceived as a sonata and later adapted into a symphony, reflects his early struggles with the symphonic form. Martin Helmchen, a cherished guest of the orchestra, performs this Beethoven-inspired masterpiece. Arnold Schoenberg’s orchestration of Brahms’ First Piano Quartet, crafted 80 years after the original, transforms the piece into a stunning tribute to one of the 19th century’s greatest symphonic composers.

Marc Albrecht conducts Brahms

Queen Elisabeth Hall

Music Center De Bijloke

Music history is filled with moments that leave an indelible impression. Elgar’s Cello Concerto opens with the melancholic embrace of the cello, followed by the orchestra’s emotional response, conveying beauty, simplicity, and deep sadness. Written after World War I, it reflects Elgar’s disbelief in humanity and the sorrow following immense suffering. Similarly, Shostakovich, under the heavy hand of Stalin’s regime, spent years balancing his personal expression with political restrictions. Yet, this programme is not all sorrow. Shostakovich’s playful finale and Elgar’s glimmers of hope are complemented by Rimsky- Korsakov’s vibrant Capriccio espagnol. After the storm, the sun shines again. The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra is conducted by Finnish maestro Santtu-Matias Rouvali, with Senja Rummukainen, a gifted cellist from Finland, performing Elgar’s masterpiece.

Santtu-Matias Rouvali conducts the Rotterdam Philharmonic

Discover the fiery music of French composer Hector Berlioz in this fun KID concert! While the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra plays his Symphonie fantastique, actors bring Hector’s life story to life: how he defied his father to become a composer, his unrequited love for Estelle, and his eventual reconciliation with his dad. Through Berlioz’s powerful music, children can feel the emotions behind his story. Do you feel your heart pounding too? (performance in Dutch)

De Fantastische Symfonie (6+)

Easter is Bach time, and his St Matthew Passion is the pinnacle of this tradition. In this masterpiece, Bach weaves suffering, repentance, and redemption into a profound spiritual journey that resonates deeply with every listener. Under the inspired baton of baroque specialist Laurence Cummings, the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra and the Vlaams Radiokoor join forces to deliver a moving performance. Soprano Carolyn Sampson enchants with her ethereal voice, while tenor Joshua Ellicott brings dramatic intensity as the Evangelist. This exceptional cast immerses you in a transcendent musical experience.

Bach's St Matthew Passion

Led by the highly qualified conductor Pierre Bleuse and the penetrating sound of mezzo-soprano Bella Adamova, the evening concert of this happening explores a multitude of musical and philosophical themes. Central to it is the play of contrasts: light and dark, revelation and concealment. Thomas Larcher tackles the sense of time: sometimes it seems to slow down, and sometimes it seems to go faster. In Debussy's ‘poème dansé’, the ballet is contained in the music, even without dancers on stage. With Berio, the rather floaty wanderings then give way to expressive vocal fireworks, and to top it all off, Andrew Gourlay reduces Wagner's grandeur to its essence, in a version without vocals. As a listener, you rediscover what rustles at the margins and remains hidden from the naked eye.

Happening: Evening concert 'Parsifal'

The kaleidoscopic song cycle The Blue Hour brings our introspective meanderings to an end around midnight. Five leading female composers - Rachel Grimes, Angélica Negrón, Shara Nova, Caroline Shaw and Sarah Kirkland Snider - set to work on Carolyn Forché's poignant poetry. The work reduces memories, loss and love into an intimate portrait of a single life, in which the personal provides a lens for the universal. With influences ranging from Renaissance polyphony to modern sound experiments, The Blue Hour illuminates how we deal with life's uncontrollable realities. At this late hour, when silence and sound merge, The Blue Hour asks you to close your eyes one more time.

Happening: Midnight concert 'The Blue Hour'

What do we focus on when we listen to music? During this symposium, we will deepen a specific facet of the seasonal theme ‘Eclipse’: taking away, eclipsing a particular part of a composition. How does this shift our focus? And how does that change the listening experience?

Happening: Symposium

Twice a year, the talented musicians of the Antwerp Youth Orchestra (AJO) dazzle audiences in the magnificent Queen Elisabeth Hall. Under the baton of conductor Stijn Saveniers and after intensive coaching from Antwerp Symphony Orchestra musicians, these gifted players aged 14 to 26 bring challenging programmes to life. Each performance promises an unforgettable experience for both the young musicians and their devoted listeners.

AJO plays Sibelius

Experience a stylish yet relaxed evening with Antwerp Symphony’s Club Concert. Under the baton of Nuno Coelho, the orchestra and pianist Cédric Tiberghien present music by Maurice Ravel and Jean Sibelius. Enjoy classical highlights, laugh along with top-notch comedy, and dance the night away at a vibrant afterparty in the Atrium. An unforgettable night awaits!

Clubconcert with Ravel and Sibelius

After losing his right arm in the First World War, pianist Paul Wittgenstein refused to give up his art and commissioned Maurice Ravel to write his Piano Concerto for the Left Hand. The result is one of the most captivating works in the piano repertoire, blending jazzy rhythms with profound beauty. Pianist Cédric Tiberghien brings this masterpiece to life. Jean Sibelius’ First Symphony combines a Tchaikovskian tradition with hints of the unique sound world he would later develop. With great flair, Nuno Coelho leads the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra through this rich and colourful programme.

Ravel's Piano Concerto for the left hand

If one word defines this extraordinary evening with the world-renowned Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, it is passion. Under the fiery baton of Andrés Orozco-Estrada, the orchestra brings Robert Zuidam’s Orewoet – a contemporary work steeped in ardent desire – and Dvořák’s beloved Symphony No. 9 ‘From the New World’ to life. The Middle Dutch term orewoet, meaning ‘passion,’ lies at the heart of Zuidam’s evocative composition. In contrast, Dvořák’s Ninth Symphony interweaves folk melodies and grand American vistas with a poignant longing for his Bohemian homeland, creating a universally emotional masterpiece. A concert where passion and longing are explored in all their depth, reaffirming the Concertgebouw Orchestra’s place among the world’s finest.

The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra & The New World

It's party time when our beloved conductor emeritus Jaap van Zweden heads the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra. With Ludwig van Beethoven and Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, he chooses two composers who crossed his path several times during his rich musical career. Beethoven composed his Third Piano Concerto at the start of the nineteenth century. In it, he bridged the gap between Mozart's piano concertos and the heyday of Romanticism. Beethoven himself took his seat behind the piano at the premiere - according to tradition, he played the concerto largely by heart, as there was hardly anything on paper. Eighty-five years later, Tchaikovsky showed what Beethoven initiated. Bloody beautiful melodies make his dramatic Fifth Symphony a delightful highlight of the Russian repertoire. Tchaikovsky led the first performance, now Jaap van Zweden is happy to take up the baton.

Marc Albrecht conducts Brahms

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