In Das Klachtende Lied, Mahler expresses a bloody brotherly struggle and looks ahead to his great symphonies. Willem Jeths’ Recorder Concerto brings together recorder and large symphony orchestra in a Mahlerian manner. Symphony Orchestra De Philharmonie, the Netherlands Concert Choir and vocal soloists are responsible for the performance.

Jeths

In Willem Jeths’ Recorder Concerto we hear the recorder and the orchestra together in great harmony. Willem Jeths wrote this concerto 10 years ago for Erik Bosgraaf, who is now performing it again. The enthusiastic reviews at the time especially praised the ‘miracle of subtle and melancholic balance’ that can be heard in the interplay of the large symphony orchestra and the tiny recorder.

Mahler

The relationship between Jeths’s concert and Mahler’s piece is greater than suspected. In The Complaining Song the flute plays a crucial role from a dramatic point of view: it unmasks the murdering brother and thus changes the perspective in this fairy tale by Mahler. In this concert, the Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Stijn Berkouwer, continues its fruitful collaboration with the Netherlands Concert Choir and vocal soloists, with whom it has given successful concerts many times in its 25-year history.

Program:

Willem Jeths: Recorder Concerto

Gustav Mahler: Das klagende Lied