Last night saw the start of the KlaraFestival's 10th birthday party - and what a way to kick off the two-week celebration! The audience was treated to a modern and contemporary programme played by one of the world's top orchestras, the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam, and one of the best known soloists in the classical world, the Chinese pianist Lang Lang.
The organisers promised a festival of fireworks and if the opening concert is anything to go by, then concert goers are not going to be disappointed.
Lang Lang was clearly the main draw of the evening, and it was his performance of Ravel's concerto for piano and orchestra in G that was chosen to round off the Saturday night programme. Jazzy, jaunty, exhilarating and exciting, there can't have been an audience member who didn't leave the hall with a smile on his or her face. It felt about as far from the clichéd image of a stuffy classical concert as you can get.
And in a way that's what the KlaraFestival is about. It's a festival that prides itself on original performances of classical, romantic, modern and contemporary music; it aims to convey the power of music through new performances. And that's why I look forward to the festival so much each year. Oh and if it doesn't feel like a year since the last festival, that's because it isn't: as of 2014 the organisers have switched the festival to early spring rather than autumn.
Also on the programme last night were John Adams' The Chairman Dances (1985), Shostakovich's Chamber Symphony opus 110a (1960) and Human Voices Only (2014), the brand new commission for the Royal Concertgebouw composed by Belgium's Kris Defoort, who was in the Bozar concert hall and came on stage to thunderous applause from his home crowd.
Belgian talent is a particular feature of this 10-year anniversary festival, with other well-known names starring throughout the two weeks including Philippe Herreweghe, Bernard Foccroulle, the Baroque Orchestra B'Rock and Muziektheater Transparant.
For the full festival programme, including those concerts that will be broadcast live on Klara radio, take a look here. Enjoy!
