| Date and venue | Title |
|---|---|
| 13-Sep-2012 De Doelen: Grote Zaal | A new world from the Rotterdam Philharmonic and Nézet-Séguin at the Gergiev Festival |
 Aaron Copland was one of the most important American composers of the last century. The inclusion of his Clarinet Concerto and Dvořák’s Symphony no. 9 made this program one inspired by the US. The theme of this year’s Rotterdam Philharmonic Gergiev Festival, Sea & You, of course suits this beautifully – after all, we hear the skyscrapers coming up from the sea in Dvořák’s symphony. Above all, both pieces signify a new world, or “Your New World”, as the concert’s program would have it.
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| 7-Sep-2012 De Doelen: Grote Zaal | Opening of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Gergiev Festival |
.jpg) Rachmaninov’s symphonic poem The Isle of the Dead is an intense piece of music. Inspired by a painting by Böcklin, Rachmaninov tells us of the journey to the underworld. The first moments of the piece are crucial to any performance, and Valery Gergiev lead the Rotterdam Philharmonic into a heavy and emotionally laden rendition. The 5/8 that mimics so well the sound of Charon’s boat crossing the river Styx was at the forefront throughout, making the listener really visualize this journey.
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| 17-Aug-2012 Concertgebouw: Main Hall | Exhilarating Brahms by the Rotterdam Philharmonic and Nézet-Séguin |
.jpg) Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s love for Brahms is well-documented, which makes the Rotterdam Philharmonic’s season opening at the Concertgebouw all the more fitting. In a program of Brahms’s First and Second Symphonies, they showed once again why they’re an orchestra to be reckoned with.
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| 31-May-2012 De Doelen: Grote Zaal | Ravel's nostalgic fun in L'enfant et les sortilèges at Rotterdam |
 Classical music is often portayed as being very serious, which is part of what makes it seem inaccessible at times. But this is a mistake: there are plenty of pieces that are, in a word, fun. Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Rotterdam’s beloved principal conductor, delivered a Ravel performance which was just this, emphasizing a childlike pleasure while still ensuring that the beauty of Ravel’s opera L’enfant et les sortilèges was not underappreciated.
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