When collecting the best classical concerts of 2023, a striking number of operas and decorated concerts were reviewed: Innocence, Animal Farm, Wozzeck, Orpheus in the Underworld, Julius Caesar: each unforgettable for a different reason. And Mahagonny, Mary Stuart, The Rosenkavalier, Picture a day like this, That’s what they all do, The Faggots and Their Friends, The Earth Factory in the Rheingold than? They didn’t even fit in the list!

Of course, there were also a lot of great ‘normal’ concerts, but this year you had to look a little harder for specials or surprises. You had already seen that in the concert agendas; you chose sharply this year. During these expensive times you came to ‘try out’ less unknown repertoire or unknown musicians. This resulted in some unjustifiably poorly filled halls. You preferred to buy the increasingly expensive concert tickets for well-known names. In that light, the thinning out programming of important venues such as De Doelen in Rotterdam and the brand new Amare in The Hague are less surprising.

Another consequence: festivals became more established as a serious concert alternative. After all, for the price of a first-class ticket at the Concertgebouw Orchestra you can hear three whole days of concerts at Wonderfeel. This continued festivalization of classical music has again produced fun experiments this year, such as the Night of the Violin, the String Festival, and the student science festival around (the opera!). Doctor Atomic.

Rahul Gandolahage

10 Bertrand Chamayou plays Vingt Regards Messiaen

Bertrand Chamayou played the mighty piano cycle Twenty looks from Messiaen. Such two-hour pieces demand the utmost from you as a listener; they break you down – but it is the good musicians like Chamayou who gradually build you up again.

Seen: 4/11, Muziekgebouw Amsterdam

Also read: Only when the audience is finally fully attentive does pianist Bertrand Chamayou give it his all

9 Kafka from Cappella Amsterdam

The show Kafka by Cappella Amsterdam has well-chosen music, but what is most impressive is the eerie tension that director Nina Spijkers manages to maintain.

Conducted by Daniel Reuss. Director: Nina Spijkers. Played by Roeland Fernhout and Anne-Chris Schulting. Seen: 26/10, Muziekgebouw Amsterdam

Also read: Josef K. looks around desperately. ‘Kafka’ by Cappella Amsterdam is terribly impressive

Joep Stapel: What gives me hope for the future of classical music was a concert by Jo Sporck. I was recently blown away by his new piano concerto Into silence. I didn’t know Sporck (mea culpa), but his piece was overwhelmingly good. That makes me hopeful. As you read this, composers and musicians are dabbling under the radar on outrageous music that no one can yet imagine. Music – thanks to adventurous festivals such as November Music and Gaudeamus, where it can be heard – that unexpectedly blows us away today or tomorrow.

Read more articles and reviews from Joep Stapel

8 Into silence new piano concerto by Jo Sporck

The 70-year-old Dutch composer Jo Sporck is rarely played. Hence his new piano concerto Into silence at November Music in ‘s-Hertogenbosch was such a crushing surprise.

Heard: 8/11, November Music Grote Kerk ‘s-Hertogenbosch.

Also read: Fantastic piano concerto by Jo Sporck is a highlight of November Music

7 Tito’s clemency Mozart, at Opera Flanders

A good opera can have a lot, even destructive direction. In his opera debut, director Milo Rau Tito’s clemency in an overwhelming wealth of images. The Roman story, Mozart’s revolutionary time and today’s were constantly intertwined.

Director: Milo Rau. Musical direction: Alejo Pérez. Seen: 10/9 Opera Antwerp

Also read: Opera is a raw, magical machine in Milo Rau’s debut

Anne Stuart: The trend of 2023 that can be carried over to 2024 is that of the classical concert as a compelling performance. In my opinion, classical concerts were more often dynamic cross-pollination with other, more visual art forms this year, and as far as I’m concerned, that should remain the case. Yes, there are risks: the audience is ‘watching TV’ while an orchestra plays wildly in the background, music could become an afterthought. But often theatre, visual and light art can give the music that extra push.

Read more articles and reviews from Anne Stuart

6 Julius Caesar Handel

Director Calixto Bieito played with Handel’s opera Julius Caesar a play with dreams and the disillusionment of power and wealth. He gave the cast so much freedom of movement that the characters acquired a authenticity rarely found in the stylized opera world.

From National Opera. The Astrée Concert olv Emmanuelle Haïm. Director: Calixto Bieito. Gezien: 16/1 Amsterdam

Also read: Handel’s ‘Giulio Cesare’ as a raw and topical psychodrama

5 Animal Farm van Alexander Raskatov

Fast-paced, exciting music, the leading role for percussion and brass instruments. A slaughterhouse full of meat hooks, with animals in enormous cages. Alexander Raskatov’s indictment of inhumanity for the Opera Forward Festival became an almost unbearably intense masterpiece.

The National Opera/Ned. Chamber Orchestra/New Vocaal Amsterdam conducted by Bassem Akiki. Directed by Damiano Michieletto. Seen 5/3 Amsterdam

Also read: Opera Animal Farm is masterful and hard-hitting: you leave the hall with shaky legs

Joost Galema: What I would like to see more of in 2024 are compelling song recitals. Usually, song recitals are known as an art for classical connoisseurs, who listen with the ear rather than with the heart. But the American soprano Julia Bullock (Concertgebouw) and the Dutch mezzo Olivia Vermeulen (Wonderfeel) really became the characters they sang about: with them no feelings of hearsay, no rehearsed reflections, no second-hand stories, but an unpolished inner reality of the here and now. Not only good singing, but also compelling acting.

Read more articles and reviews from Joost Galema

4 Orpheus in the Underworld by Opera Zuid

The Romans and Greeks already knew it: those gods and their complacency are us. Successful fun with singers, dancers, orchestra and decor is mastered Orpheus in the Underworld. Despite the choice to simply situate the Orpheus story on the god mountain Olympus and in the underworld of Hades, the play feels surprisingly modern with some text adjustments.

With the South Netherlands Philharmonic conducted by Enrico Delamboye. Seen: 21/5 Parktheater, Eindhoven

Also read: Opera Zuid turns ‘Orphée aux Enfers’ into a contemporary distorting mirror

3 Wozzeck in Aix-en-Provence

Christian Gerhaher sang one Wozzeck who grabbed you by the throat. Director Simon McBurney came up with icy images. And when the London Symphony Orchestra also plays terrifyingly well, all you can say is: sometimes everything is perfect.

Director: Simon McBurney. The London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Simon Rattle. Seen: 7/7, Grand Théâtre de Provence in Aix-en-Provence.

Also read: Wozzeck is the icy highlight of the Aix-en-Provence opera festival

Mischa Game: The trend I discovered in 2023 was major feature films about classic greats. As a classical lover, you mainly discuss your passion with fellow enthusiasts. That makes it extra fun when a classic topic of conversation is at the coffee machine. Conductor epic Warehouse made this year of female conductors and wokeism a hot topic. This Christmas, Netflix will release the Bernstein film ‘Maestro’ and a Callas film with Angelina Jolie is in the making. The silver screen as a democratizer of ‘elitist’ music: that trend may continue. Special wish: a Willem Mengelberg biopic.

Read more articles and reviews from Mischa Game

2 The Requiem for Nature by Tan Dun

Composer Tan Dun conducted the Concertgebouw Orchestra in his own great new one, defying all genre boundaries Requiem for nature: an hour and a half long tour of imagination and vitality that will last us for a long time to come.

Concertgebouw Orchestra, Laurens Symphonic (choir) & soloists conducted by Tan Dun. Heard: 30/6 Gashouder Amsterdam (Holland Festival)

Also read: Tan Dun’s ‘Requiem for Nature’ is something incredible

Eva Peek: In 2023 I was surprised by an opera of which I had no idea how it would end. I usually know the story of old operas, and with most new operas you get the idea if you read up. Not at Innocence by Kaija Saariaho, about the aftermath of a high school shooting. I didn’t see the plot twist coming at all! And he also had amazing music and singers. Good resolution for 2024: find new work more often.

Read more articles and reviews from Eva Peek

1 Innocence van Kaija Saariaho

The minor perpetrator who shot ten fellow students and a teacher at an international school does not speak. But thirteen characters surrounding the perpetrator are, all of them indispensable stones in the complicated architecture of guilt. With the opera Innocence we have a contemporary masterpiece that will resonate in the ears and heart for a long time, and that thoroughly questions us as people and society.

The National Opera. Residence Orchestra conducted by Elena Schwarz. Seen: 7/10, Amsterdam

Also read: Innocence is a masterpiece about murdered innocence


Rahul Gandolahage: The trend of 2023 that does not have to carry over to 2024 is concerts that are too short. I know, it’s an unpopular opinion, but I’ve had it a bit with one of the last corona remnants: one-hour concerts. I have less and less desire to get off the couch for an hour. A concert must be an evening-filling total experience, with a dramaturgical structure, an artistic balance of surprise and recognition, and – essential! – the chance to slowly sink deeply into it. Concerts are not snacks, concerts are there to disconnect you from the real world.

Read more articles and reviews from Rahul Gandolahage

A version of this article also appeared in the December 28, 2023 newspaper.

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