The coming live week runs from Thursday 15 through Sunday 18 October, yet Saturday 17 October carries an especially concentrated classical itinerary in Amsterdam. The Concertgebouw hosts three candidate concerts across its Grote Zaal and Kleine Zaal: two begin simultaneously at 14:15, then an evening programme starts at 20:15. It is a compact invitation to plan by scale, repertoire and room, with each choice presenting a distinct way of hearing familiar concert rituals.[1][2][3]

The useful angle lies in the timetable. The afternoon asks listeners to pick an orchestral-and-choral Poulenc programme or a piano trio recital by three brothers; there is no plausible dash between them. The evening then changes the frame completely, placing Armenian composers and the work of Komitas at the centre. Treat the day as three separate doors within one building, with enough time after the matinees for coffee, food and a return to the Kleine Zaal.[1][2][3]

14:15: Poulenc at orchestral scale

In the Grote Zaal, Stéphane Denève leads the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest and Groot Omroepkoor in Poulenc révisité. The programme is wholly devoted to Francis Poulenc and brings together the soprano-and-orchestra monologue La dame de Monte-Carlo, the suite Les animaux modèles, the Gloria and a prelude from Dialogues des Carmélites. Lauranne Oliva is the soprano, while actor Pierre Bokma appears as narrator, giving the afternoon voices beyond the standard conductor–orchestra arrangement.[1]

That variety is the draw. Poulenc’s catalogue here moves between theatrical monologue, fable-derived orchestral music, sacred choral writing and opera, so the concert offers changing colours inside a single-composer frame. The listed 14:15–16:00 time also makes it a defined Saturday matinee, suited to listeners who want a large ensemble programme without committing their entire evening. Denève’s programme is part of the NTR ZaterdagMatinee series, an additional clue to its broadcast-minded, carefully constructed shape.[1]

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14:15: three brothers in the Kleine Zaal

At the same 14:15 start time, the Kleine Zaal hosts the Akopian Trio: Emanuel on violin, Christian on cello and Adam on piano. Their announced programme includes Rachmaninoff’s Trio élégiaque No. 1, Sarasate’s Caprice basque, Cassadó’s Requiebros and Prokofjev’s Third Piano Sonata, alongside Mendelssohn and Rachmaninoff as billed for the recital. The setup offers a much closer proposition than the Grote Zaal event: three players, a compact room and repertoire that can shift quickly between shared trio texture and individual display.[2]

The family connection gives the programme its particular focus without needing to turn it into a novelty. Emanuel, born in 2014, has recently been featured by NPO Klassiek, which also identifies Adam and Christian as his fellow members of the trio. Their Concertgebouw appearance arrives as a chance to hear that working relationship in a full chamber programme, with violin, cello and piano constantly redistributing melodic and supporting roles. Choose this route for proximity and the fine-grained conversations built into piano-trio writing.[2][4]

20:15: Komitas and the Armenian composers programme

The Kleine Zaal opens again at 20:15 for Nieuwe Blik Terug: Armeense componisten, performed by Zartonk Consort under the artistic direction of Falcon-soprano Natali Boghossian. The ensemble brings duduk and shvi, qanun, kamancha, cello and piano into the room, a line-up that immediately sets the evening apart from either afternoon option. Raphaela Danksagmüller, Narine Hakobjan, Yervand Hakobjan, Ade Nicolas and Hans van Beelen join Boghossian in the listed personnel.[3]

The concert centres on Komitas, born Soghomon Gevorgi Soghomonian, whom the Concertgebouw describes as a priest, composer, choir leader and early ethnomusicologist. Its programme page foregrounds his collecting and study of Armenian folk melodies, presenting the evening as a context-rich encounter with Armenian musical history as well as a concert. Orville Breeveld’s Nieuwe Blik Terug series is designed to bring lesser-known composers and musicians into focus; this edition gives that premise a specific repertoire and instrumental sound world.[3]

Build the day around the room you choose

For Saturday 17 October, decide first between the 14:15 starts: the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest programme runs in the Grote Zaal until 16:00, while the Akopian Trio is listed in the Kleine Zaal until 16:15. Zartonk Consort follows at 20:15 in the Kleine Zaal and is listed through 21:45. Check the Concertgebouw’s official event pages again before travelling for current ticket availability, access information and any programme or timing changes.[1][2][3]

Sources

  1. Stéphane Denève: Poulenc révisité — Concertgebouw
  2. Akopian Trio speelt Mendelssohn en Rachmaninoff — Concertgebouw
  3. Nieuwe Blik Terug: Armeense componisten — Concertgebouw
  4. Live @ De Klassieken: Emanuel Akopian — NPO Klassiek