Nikola Meeuwsen plays Prokofjev

Bellitoni Symphony Orchestra

With a special anniversary programme, the Bellitoni Symphony Orchestra (founded in 1979) under the direction of permanent conductor Jurjen Hempel returns to the Concertgebouw. Messiaen wrote Un Sourire (a smile) on the occasion of the two hundredth anniversary of Mozart's death. This short work alternates a calmly rippling melody by strings and oboe with abrupt rhythms by the melodic percussion and winds.

Prokofiev and Brahms

So much happens in Prokofiev's formidable Second Piano Concerto : daring harmonies, captivating melodies and breathtaking piano passages. The young and already acclaimed pianist Nikola Meeuwsen takes us into Prokofiev's distinct musical language, in which elements of romanticism are seamlessly combined with a modernist touch. An excellent prelude to Brahms' First Piano Quartet , which was orchestrated for large orchestra by Arnold Schoenberg in 1939. You should be able to hear everything in this orchestration. The brilliant orchestration could have been by Brahms himself, but is sometimes amusingly un-Brahmsian (especially the xylophone and the chimes in the last movement). With this, Schoenberg placed his own signature.