Following the success of the Concertgebouw Orchestra’s 2021 season opener on Dam Square, Opening Night 2022 will again be taking place at a special public location in Amsterdam: Westerpark!

A free open-air concert for everyone in Westerpark

The open-air concert may be attended free of charge on Friday, September 9, at 8.30pm, and is open to everyone. The Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS will broadcast the concert on Dutch national television and radio, live on NPO Radio 4 and, from 10.15pm, on TV channel NPO2. Maria Fiselier will present the television broadcast from Westerpark.

The festive concert, conducted by Alain Altinoglu, will feature two brilliant soloists: the Swedish clarinettist Martin Fröst, who is the Concertgebouw Orchestra’s artist-in-residence this season, and Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson.

After an energetic kick-off with John Adams’s Short Ride in a Fast Machine, Ravel’s sultry, jazz-influenced Piano Concerto in G Major is blending seamlessly with a sunny mosaic of dances for clarinet and orchestra. The concert closes with the warm-blooded Latin sounds of Bernstein’s ever-popular West Side Story.

Alain Altinoglu conducts the Concertgebouw Orchestra

Under the direction of Alain Altinoglu, the orchestra is teaming up with the virtuoso clarinettist Martin Fröst and the idiosyncratic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson. The concert will be shown live on Dutch national radio channel NPO Radio 4, and on television channel NPO 2 at 10.15pm with Maria Fiselier presenting the event. The concert is free and no tickets are required. Why not bring a picnic blanket and a drink to celebrate the opening of the new season?

Concert programme and featured artists

Here's an overview of the concert programme:

• John Adams - Short Ride in a Fast Machine
• Maurice Ravel - Piano Concerto in G Major
• Brahms / G.Fröst / Hillborg / Bartók - Dance Mosaic
• Leonard Bernstein - Symphonic Dances from West Side Story

And these are the featured artists at the concert:

• Alain Altinoglu - conductor
• Víkingur Ólafsson - piano
• Martin Fröst - clarinet

The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra’s Opening Night 2022 is made possible thanks to the support of its Global Partners ING and Unilever, with the ambition of making classical music accessible to the widest possible audience. All up-to-date information about this concert may be found on the orchestra's website.

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra was founded in 1888. Its distinctive sound has made it one of the world’s leading orchestras. The orchestra is famous for its renditions of works by Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss and Anton Bruckner, and for its long-standing concert traditions such as the St Matthew Passion in the week before Easter and the Christmas Matinee. It has always worked closely with contemporary composers.

World-famous guest conductors such as Riccardo Chailly, Iván Fischer, Daniel Harding and Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla will be coming to Amsterdam to lead the orchestra next season. The Concertgebouw Orchestra has had just seven chief conductors to date. The eighth was announced on June 10, 2022: Klaus Mäkelä. He will be joining as an artistic partner starting in the 2022-23 season and he will become chief conductor in 2027. The coming season sees five extraordinary programmes with Klaus Mäkelä at the helm.

Plan your visit

Plan your visit to this one-of-a-kind free open-air concert presented by the iconic Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra along with world-class guests. No need to book tickets, but it's worth checking out the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra website to find out how to get there and when the concert starts.