Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony is a musical cathedral. Of a beauty that touches deeply. Chief conductor Anja Bihlmaier takes you from heartbreaking pain to exuberant joy, from ominous danger to triumphant fanfare. Alban Berg’s Violin Concerto is also delicate and moving. In Berg’s sorrow for a child, you recognize echoes of the Bach chorale Es ist Genug. 

Performing Berg’s Violin Concerto in The Hague was a deeply cherished wish of artist in residence Josef Špaček. He diligently prepares you for Bruckner’s emotional rollercoaster with a mournful Berg and Bach. The second movement alone is of unearthly beauty. Rich string sounds precede a long, lyrical funeral march in tribute to the deceased opera giant Richard Wagner. It leaves you silent.

In 2014 Martijn Padding made an arrangement of Bach’s chorale Es ist genug which will open the concert.