Concertgebouworkest Kerstmatinee met Klaus Mäkelä

Christmas matinee with Klaus Mäkelä

For over 50 years, the Concertgebouw Orchestra's Christmas Matinee has been broadcast live on television from the Main Hall every Christmas Day. It is even better to experience the Christmas concert in person. This time, future Chief Conductor Klaus Mäkelä conducts a program full of musical tributes.

Tchaikovsky

'It is thanks to Mozart that I have dedicated my life to music,' Tchaikovsky confessed in a letter. His veneration for the 'radiant genius' resonates clearly in his Rococo Variations for cello and orchestra. In this heavenly work, Sol Gabetta shines this afternoon. Tchaikovsky, in turn, was the great role model for Anton Arensky, as can be heard in the Variations on a Theme by Tchaikovsky by this composer who died far too young.

Mozart's Symphony No. 39

The 2026 Christmas Matinee is the first of a triptych centering on Mozart's last three symphonies. With their emotional range unprecedented at the time, they form a fascinating crowning achievement of his symphonic oeuvre. Symphony No. 39 was unusual for many reasons. For instance, no oboes are heard in it – Mozart's love for the clarinet is given full scope. In the ingenious final movement, the composer takes off his hat to 'Papa' Haydn – while at the same time already foreshadowing Romanticism.