How could one not be moved by impassioned masterpieces such as the Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15, or the Serenade No. 1 in D major, Op. 11 by Johannes Brahms? Time, then, for answers. Answers given to the Concertgebouw audience by the Camerata Salzburg, led by conductor Giovanni Guzzo, and the nuanced pianism of Hélène Grimaud.
After two nights of semi-finals the final seven pairs, whittled down from 415 initial registrations from sixty countries, took to the stage at Theater Rotterdam in a memorable evening which was also live-streamed around the world.
Read our review of the final here Noé Chapsal – VISCUM Laura Perron & William-Nicolas Tanguay – Mirror Maze Chen Schuchang & Shi Renqi – Pandora Louis Thuriot & Patricia George – Rakke Xiaoyun Fan – Sticky Ends Iga Włodarczyk and Katarzyna Zakrzewska – Ki Hung-chung Lai – Push and Pull
On the dark and smoke-filled stage, Isabelle Huppert’s Berenice is mesmerising and haunting. Her ghoulish, solemn tone switches from soft melancholy to rage and misery in the blink of an eye. Huppert’s extraordinary voice has such force that it booms and bellows throughout the theatre, leaving the audience in no doubt of Berenice’s agony.
Other Dances, a part of the Holland Festival 2025 by the National Opera & Ballet, delivered two fresh pieces – Other Dances the Dutch premiere by renowned American master Jerome Robbins and the world premiere Trio Kagel by Russian-Ukrainian-American top choreographer Alexei Ratmansky.
Written when he was twenty-five, Le Villi was Puccini’s first, though ambitious, try at opera and one can’t help thinking that because of the forest setting and the mythology he was perhaps inspired by the ballet Giselle and even by Wagner – although the music, even this early in his career, is unmistakably Puccini. . .
MESMERICA 360 is a stunning sensory journey bringing together the music of award-winning composer James Hood with visually-hypnotic animated 3D art curated from artists around the world. The show is now breaking all existing records for full-dome / planetarium music shows. A 360° light and sound projection spectacle creating a wonderfully rich, family-friendly experience designed to…
The evening brought together a range of works, including four new compositions by women composers – Kate Moore, Alice Yeung, Seung-Won Oh, and Sara Zamboni – set alongside readings from Ali Smith’s Seasonal Quartet. The result was a journey through sound and language, shifting like the seasons themselves.
