,,I know of no more encouraging fact than the undoubted ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious effort.'' said 19th-century Henry David Thoreau, ecologist avant la lettre, to us. That effort is also demanded at Kursaal Classics, but the audience receives all the 'tools' to complete the course with distinction. Each concert that starts at 17:00 is preceded 3 quarters of an hour by an introduction in which the context of what is to be heard is sketched in an accessible way.
Six concerts on Sunday, spread over the new season. On stage are the five most important orchestras our country has to offer. And there is also a young shoot on the tree: the Casco Phil.
Mahler's Des Knaben Wunderhorn conducted by Michael Schønwandt
The Belgian National Orchestra (BNO) conducted by Michael Schønwandt opens the series. They dive into the soul of über-romantic Mahler with some of his Des Knaben Wunderhorn orchestral songs, sung by American top vocalist Thomas Hampson. The BNO further performs Divertissements for Nabucco by Verdi and the 4th symphony - Fate Symphony - by a troubled Tsjaikovski, an overwhelmingly expressive outburst that also found great resonance abroad.
WHO: Belgian National Orchestra
WHAT: Kursaal Classics
WHERE: Kursaal Oostende
WHEN: 23 October 2022
Tickets:
Hadelich serves Sibelius conducted by Dima Slobodeniouk
The Antwerp Symphony Orchestra (ASO) conducted by Dima Slobodeniouk offers as an appetizer the playful 22nd symphony of Haydn. More serious is the enigmatic violin concerto by Sibelius, which evokes images of the wild Finnish nature. The concerto calls for a fine-tuned soloist. This was found in the person of none other than top talent Augustin Hadelich. Finally, the 7th and last symphony of Prokofjev, which gives us a rare glimpse into his soul.
(Sunday 19 December 2022)
WHO: ANTWERP SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
WHAT: Kursaal Classics
WHERE: Kursaal Oostende
WHEN: 11 December 2022
Tickets:
Cathedral of sound conducted by Gergely Madaras
The Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège (OPRL), the only major professional
orchestra in Wallonia, presents under the direction of Gergely Madaras the violin concerto of Glazounov and the 7th symphony of Bruckner. Concertmaster Alberto Menchen is the soloist in Glazounov's brilliant showpiece. Bruckner's symphonies offer a spiritual and spatial journey without precedent. With Bruckner you don't just listen to his music, you LIVE in that music. The 7th symphony is perhaps the most accessible of the nine. It is up to the OPRL and the conductor to never let the tension drop.
WHO: Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège
WHAT: Kursaal Classics
WHERE: Kursaal Oostende
WHEN: 29 January 2023
Tickets:
The Creation à la Haydn conducted by Bart Van Reyn
The Brussels Philharmonic (BP) and the Vlaams Radiokoor (VR) perform under the direction of Bart Van Reyn, and with the help of Liesbeth Devos, soprano, Peter Gijsbertsen, tenor and André Morsch, bass-baritone, the oratorio Die Schöpfung by Haydn.
Deeply impressed in England by hearing Händel's oratorios Messiah and Israel in Egypt, Haydn created his own grand oratorio at the end of the 18th century: Die Schöpfung. The work gives voice in three parts to the origin of the earth and mankind: the elements, the animals and man, and Adam and Eve in the earthly paradise. God needed only 6 days for it, Haydn took some 2 years to bring the creation story to life. A view of creation through rose-tinted glasses, admittedly.
WHO: Brussels Philharmonic & Vlaams Radiokoor
WHAT: Kursaal Classics
WHERE: Kursaal Oostende
WHEN: 11 December 2022
Tickets:
Das Lied von der Erde conducted by Kristiina Poska
The Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen (SOV) under the direction of Kristiina Poska tackles the breathtaking Das Lied von der Erde by Mahler. "Dark is life, dark is death." No composer has bid farewell to the world as eloquently, as urgently, and as often as Mahler. In Das Lied von der Erde, Mahler made Chinese poetry his own. Alternately performed by tenor Peter Gijsbertsen and alto Christianne Stotijn, we hear Mahler's most profound confrontation with human mortality. Composer Filip Rathé welds the different sections together with new orchestral music. A subtle total experience emerges.
WHO: Symfonie Orkest Vlaanderen
WHAT: Kursaal Classics
WHERE: Kursaal Oostende
WHEN: March 19, 2023
Tickets:
Combative Beethoven under the direction of Michiel Delanghe
• The Casco Phil (CP) under the direction of Michiel Delanghe takes on Beethoven. The attention to Beethoven that was cancelled due to corona in 2021–2022 finally gets its worthy moment. As befits a true opera overture, Beethoven's Coriolan Overture is the fitting introduction to the 5th Piano Concerto – the Emperor Concerto. Pianist Liebrecht Vanbeckevoort enters the arena with the orchestra. There is confrontation and struggle between soloist and orchestra, unrest, doubts, tension and tragedy in abundance. The fierce, wildly dancing 7th symphony prompted Wagner to call that score the "Apotheosis of Dance." So be it.
WHO: Casco Phil
WHAT: Kursaal Classics
WHERE: Kursaal Oostende
WHEN: April 23, 2023