Belgian National Orchestra, Schønwandt & Steckel

The evening opens with Hector Berlioz’s Roman Carnival: brilliance, theatricality, and bubbling energy. The orchestra showcases playful colours and exuberant motion in a French celebration full of vitality and sparkle. In the cello concerto Before We Fall, Anna Thorvaldsdottir explores a world of tension and vulnerability. The solo cello does not confront the orchestra but is embedded within it: a voice that balances, searches, and moves profoundly. Julian Steckel gives this music an intensely physical presence, with a touch of silvered brilliance. After the intermission, Béla Bartók takes over with his Concerto for Orchestra, a celebration of collective strength, rhythmic precision, and uncompromising energy. Under Michael Schønwandt’s direction, this Friday Masterpieces concert unfolds with the orchestra in the starring role: bold, virtuosic, and full of fire.