Brahms' Derde en Elgars Vioolconcert met Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider

Brahms' Symphony No. 3 and Elgar's Violin Concerto

The highly sought-after Danish violin virtuoso Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider returns to the Netherlands Philharmonic for the first time since 2005 with Elgar's Violin Concerto , a deeply felt and melancholic work that is challenging for violinists. Elgar has been called the 'English Brahms,' so Brahms' Third Symphony fits in beautifully. The moving third movement of Brahms' symphony was an immediate crowd favorite at its premiere in 1883, partly thanks to the heartbreakingly beautiful opening melody in the cello section.

Sir Mark Elder conducts Butterworth's rhapsody for orchestra

Fitting Elgar's British Violin Concerto, Sir Mark Elder opens the program with a poignant rhapsody for orchestra by the English composer George Butterworth, a contemporary of Elgar. Butterworth wrote the rhapsody as a lament for all the soldiers who died in the First World War. A poignant detail: the composer himself perished at the front at the end of the war.