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Logo Concertgebouw Brugge
Têtes-à-têtes

Têtes-à-têtes

Intense musical experiences in the Chamber Music Hall

For a whole month, we are banning overwhelming orchestras and magisterial Baroque to make room for the more intimate. Goethe once defined the string quartet as ‘four rational gentlemen conversing with each other’. Fortunately, they no longer have to be men, but the spirit of his law still applies: for chamber music, you gather together. Personal contact with musicians and fellow audience members gives the listening experience an extra dimension. Four thematic lines bring order to 17 multi-coloured concerts: Beethoven XS, International Quartets, Musical Gifts and Roots.

Beethoven XS
THEME #1

Beethoven XS

Beethoven XS
In Beethoven Year 2020, which is resounding everywhere, our contribution at the Concertgebouw is small but splendid. Previous seasons have shown that intimate arrangements of, among other things, Mahler's First Symphony are a great success. Although originally intended simply as a way to bring music to more people in an age before recordings and widespread concert halls, such a pared down configuration also shows us music in a different light. In a chamber music context, the musicians bring out the essence of Beethoven's orchestral monuments in an intense dialogue, and give us insight into the pure mastery of this giant.
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International quartets
THEME #2

International quartets

International quartets
In this series of international quartets – featuring famous string ensembles, such as Diotima and Brodsky, and ensembles built around renowned violinists, such as Liza Ferschtman and Baiba Skride – strings are central. Folk influences are never far away. In his work, Hosokawa integrated Japanese folk instruments such as the shō, a traditional mouth organ. Bartók, Brahms and Enescu drew their inspiration from Hungarian and Romanian gypsy music. British composers Elgar and Britten also combined old and new elements to create their own musical language.
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Musical gifts
THEME #3

Musical gifts

Musical gifts
Roeland Hendrickx asks Piet Swerts for a new work, composed especially for his ensemble. Daan Janssens writes a cello piece, tailored to the expressive talents of Arne Deforce. Richard Mühlfeld persuades Johannes Brahms to compose for the clarinet. And Eugénie Alecian dedicates her string quartet to the ensemble in which her niece plays first violin. Four times that a powerful bond between composer and performer(s) has resulted in tailor-made work. These musical gifts are unwrapped with love.
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Roots
THEME #4

Roots

Roots
How do you relate to your past? And are folk music and art music completely different worlds? Four different projects take us beyond the parochial. Mixing traditional with contemporary music is common to all eras. Teta Diana mixes Afro-pop with early influences, New Early Music ensemble Brú use period instruments to breathe new life into dances from days gone by and Nihan Devecioglu shows us how seamlessly Baroque music can blend into Mediterranean folk music. Wings & Roots blends a diversity of music in response to the – for many – complex search for their roots.
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