Dear music lovers, dear friends of our work,

After two turbulent years, we are looking forward full of energy to the coming season, which will include one or two more experimental items. Many of the artists are world-famous, while some are hitherto unknown.

We will have two encounters with the Collegium Vocale Gent: The opening of musik+ (17 October 2022, specchio) offers an exceptional experience, with a combined performance of the vocal ensemble and Het Collectief conducted by James Wood in a musical merger of two periods – the 16th and the 21st centuries (Orlando di Lasso and Johannes Schöllhorn, Austrian premiere). The second concert given by the Collegium Vocale Gent will be J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion conducted by Philippe Herreweghe (2 April 2023). Further Passion music by an equally gifted but less frequently performed contemporary of Bach, J.D. Zelenka, will be interpreted by Collegium 1704 conducted by Václav Luks (6 April 2023).

Combining different cultures and musical worlds is the goal of both the Hathor Consort, and Clara Frühstück and Oliver Welter. In Dhrupad Fantasia, North Indian classical music is interwoven with the 16th century fantasia (25 March 2023). Clara Frühstück and Oliver Welter will venture an experiment in reinterpreting Schubert’s Winterreise for the 21st century, travelling with us to the end of Pop (18 November 2022).

This season we are launching our new cycles – Scriabin’s Universe and A Portrait: Schönberg. With the development of his own harmonic language, Alexander Scriabin became a pioneer of modernism. In addition to

Scriabin’s early works, Michael Schöch sheds light on the music scene of his time (4 May 2023). The most influential composer of the 20th century was Arnold Schönberg. On the occasion of the upcoming 150th anniversary of his birth, we are presenting his extensive oeuvre in collaboration with Haus der Musik (3 June 2023).

Focus on the quartet: The unique Hagen Quartet is performing Mozart’s Prussian Quartets No. 2 and No. 3 and Shostakovich’s No. 11 (29 January 2023). The Barcelona-based Cosmos Quartet will offer a varied programme: from Brahms and Webern to García-Tomás (Austrian premiere, 9 November 2022). The pianist Alexander Melnikov is also bridging the times, interpreting fantasias from the Baroque to the 20th century on five pianos (22 February 2023).

Early Music is on the concert programmes of Lorenzo Ghielmi, Reinoud van Mechelen and Hopkinson Smith. Italian Christmas will be brought to us by La Divina Armonia conducted by Lorenzo Ghielmi with works by Corelli and Vivaldi, and Alessandro Scarlatti’s Cantata pastorale per la nascita di Nostro Signore and others (22 December 2022). With the A nocte temporis ensemble and traditional Irish and French music of the 18th century, we bring the year to a quiet close (31 December 2022). Hopkinson Smith takes us to the beginnings of notated lute music and breathes life into numerous stories for our ears (15 & 16 May 2023). The season finale with Raquel Andueza & La Galanía will be “crazy and amazing” (28 June 2023).

Enjoy your read! We are looking forward to evenings spent together with you.

Hannah Crepaz and the team