Over the weekend of February 21-22, 2026, the Belgian National Orchestra under the direction of Eva Ollikainen presented a program entirely devoted to Romantic intensity and existential depth: Harold in Italy by Hector Berlioz and the Sixth Symphony by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. We chose to attend the February 21 performance at the Grand Manège in Namur. That meant a slightly longer journey, but the choice proved more than worthwhile. The bright, spacious, and pleasantly ventilated hall offered a listening comfort that one doesn't always experience in the often-too-warm and stuffy Henry Le Boeuf hall at Bozar. Music like this demands breathing room—both literally and figuratively.
What made this program particularly strong was the internal coherence between the two works. Although Berlioz and Tchaikovsky are separated by roughly sixty years and several thousand kilometers, they share the same Romantic sensibility: a pronounced subjectivity, a fascination with inner landscapes, and an orchestral language that doesn't conceal emotions but magnifies them. The combination of these two scores gave the evening an extra dramatic layering. The introspective wandering of Berlioz's Harold found, as it were, a distant echo in the existential despair of Tchaikovsky's final symphony. This made it not merely a chronological succession of two masterworks, but a carefully constructed dramatic arc.
Berlioz: a wandering soul with viola
Harold in Italy is not a classical concerto, but a hybrid work in which the viola acts as a contemplative traveler wandering through orchestral landscapes. Antoine Tamestit brought exceptional layering to that wandering character. His tone was warm and penetrating, never heavy. He eschewed showy virtuosity in favor of a narrative approach in which color and phrasing were paramount.
What particularly struck me was the natural way in which Tamestit wove himself into the orchestral fabric. The balance between soloist and orchestra was exemplary. Ollikainen carefully guarded the transparency of Berlioz's often subtle orchestration, ensuring the viola was never drowned out, yet never artificially thrust forward either. In the second movement, with its procession-like character, an almost restrained atmosphere of stillness emerged, where orchestra and soloist met in a subtle field of tension. The finale brought sharper contrasts and more dramatic accents, delivered by the orchestra with precision and energy.
Tchaikovsky: the inescapable weight of the Sixth
After the intermission came Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony, the "Pathétique." Ollikainen chose an interpretation that was emotionally charged but never sentimental. The opening movement was built organically, with a clear dramatic arc and carefully calibrated climaxes. The thematic contrasts were rendered clearly, without losing sight of the larger line.
The asymmetrical waltz rhythm of the second movement was given a light irony, while the scherzo was impressively built toward an apparently triumphant climax. The orchestra sounded homogeneous and powerful here, with assured brass and energetic strings. The fact that the audience held back applause until after the final movement only heightened the dramatic impact of the work.
In that final movement, the existential core of the symphony came fully into bloom. The strings played with a soft yet intense sustained quality that particularly shone in the acoustics of the Grand Manège. The space allowed the sound to breathe and gave the pianissimo passages an almost tangible tension. The ending, slowly fading away, was delivered with remarkable concentration. The silence that followed was no mere formality, but a natural extension of the music itself.
The Belgian National Orchestra confirmed its high standard with this concert. Eva Ollikainen proved herself a conductor with a clear vision and a sharp sense of dramaturgy, while Antoine Tamestit left a lasting impression with his deeply felt interpretation of Harold in Italy In the combination of these two works lay a special power: two voices from different times and places that, once placed side by side, engaged in a surprisingly coherent and compelling musical dialogue.
