Matthäus-Passion 2025

Mendelssohn en Mozart

Binnenkort te beluisteren in de concertzaal

Onze concerten

Al onze concerten op een rij:

Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest

Om te blijven doen wat wij doen is steun nodig. Van iedereen die het orkest een warm hart toedraagt. Dat gaat zeker niet alleen om grote gebaren, ieder bedrag telt.

Om te blijven doen wat wij doen is steun nodig. Van iedereen die het orkest een warm hart toedraagt. Dat gaat zeker niet alleen om grote gebaren, ieder bedrag telt.

Dit orkest is van iedereen

Voor iedereen van 4 tot 104 jaar: het leukste uitje voor jong en oud!

Voor iedereen van 4 tot 104 jaar: het leukste uitje voor jong en oud!

Kindervoorstellingen

Lezen, luisteren en bekijken: laat u verwonderen door het Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest!

News & Wonder

Onze concertseries bieden een selectie uit het brede aanbod van seizoen 2025-2026, met een aantrekkelijke korting ten opzichte van de prijs voor losse kaarten.

Concertseries

Occulte praktijken in de zoektocht naar onsterfelijkheid.

Anima Obscura

Joe Hisaishi in Concert

Clara-Jumi Kang speelt Prokofjev

Mahler 9 met Lahav Shani

Sjostakovitsj' Leningrad

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone™ in Concert

Martha Argerich speelt Schumann

Lahav speelt Sjostakovitsj

Yannick Nézet-Séguin: Siegfried

Trifonov speelt Brahms

Zo'n 3.000 betrokken Vrienden zetten zich in voor het temperamentvolle en avontuurlijke Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest.

Vrienden van het Orkest

Concerttoelichting

Concertpodcast

Het ultieme meesterwerk over liefde, verlies en troost: muziek van tijdloze, universele zeggingskracht.

over de Matthäus-Passion

Publiek

De uitvoering van de Matthäus-Passion met het Rotterdams Philharmonisch orkest is een krachtige en ontroerende ervaring die zeker de moeite waard is om bij te wonen.

Yuja Wang plays Ligeti

A cosmic dance by Yuja Wang where  she shines with Ligeti’s sparkling piano concerto.

on Yuja Wang

De Volkskrant

If Yuja Wang isn’t the most virtuosic pianist on earth, she is certainly the most sensational.

Informatie over kaarten bestellen en kortingen

Bestelinformatie

Mendelssohn and Mozart

Banned repertoire during the occupation years with the music of Mendelssohn and Mozart.

on the piece De theorie van alles

The National Opera & Ballet

With her playful compositions Carlijn Metselaar creates a colourful sonic landscape.

<h2>Wie is Fazil Say?</h2>
Beleef in 2025 een muzikaal hoogtepunt wanneer de wereldberoemde pianist <a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fazıl_Say" target="_blank">Fazil Say</a> zijn opwachting maakt met een bijzonder concert. Deze Turkse meesterpianist staat bekend om zijn uitzonderlijke virtuositeit, persoonlijke interpretaties en onmiskenbare charisma. Zijn optredens zijn niet zomaar concerten, maar diep doorleefde muzikale ervaringen waarin emotie en vakmanschap samenkomen.
Geboren in Ankara in 1970, ontwikkelde Say zich al op jonge leeftijd tot een muzikaal wonderkind. Zijn studie aan onder andere het Robert Schumann Instituut in Düsseldorf vormde de basis voor een indrukwekkende internationale carrière. Sinds zijn doorbraak in de jaren '90 is hij een graag geziene gast op de grootste podia ter wereld, waar hij zowel klassiek repertoire als eigen composities uitvoert. Zijn muziek is een unieke samensmelting van oosterse en westerse invloeden.
Wie Fazil Say in 2025 live hoort spelen, mag zich verheugen op een avond waarin bekende meesterwerken en verrassende nieuwe klanken elkaar afwisselen. Zijn recente opname van Bachs Goldbergvariaties toont opnieuw zijn vermogen om klassieke werken te benaderen met verfrissende diepgang en poëtische kracht. Of hij nu een subtiele Chopin speelt of een energiek eigen werk, Say weet altijd te raken.
Een concert van Fazil Say in 2025 is meer dan een voorstelling; het is een kans om een levende legende van dichtbij mee te maken.&nbsp;

Wie is Fazil Say?

Lees meer

Verboden repertoire tijdens de bezettingsjaren met de muziek van Mendelssohn en Mozart.

over het stuk De theorie van alles

De Nationale Opera & Ballet

In haar speelse compositie creëert Carlijn Metselaar een bontgekleurde klankenwereld.

Trailer

Beleef de magie van Harry Potter™ in de concertzaal: filmvertoning met live muziek door een groot orkest.

Trouw

Je krijgt de live-beleving die je normaal alleen bij toneel of een concert ervaart. Het komt heel dichtbij.

Vacancies

Chef-dirigent van het Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest

Lahav Shani

How did you become a violinist? 
I grew up in a musical family, both of my parents are professional musicians. I have always been surrounded by music. When my mother was teaching, I crawled under the piano. So, I got everything into my system very early on. I was three years old when I started playing the violin. From that moment on I was sure about what I would be doing in life. I didn’t need to discover everything: I was simply a violinist. I knew that very early on.
Is there anything you needed to give up for your life in music? 
Music always comes in the first place. If I haven’t practised yet, I can easily feel guilty about that. And when I have a concert in the evening, it keeps me busy the whole day. I still can do some useful things, but enjoying something like going out, that’s something I find very difficult. It’s only after finishing my violin-related activities that I find tranquillity in my mind for doing other things.
What does your study room at home look like? 
For years I have studied at the kitchen table. I have four children, there was not so much room for myself. Sometimes I just studied among the playing kids. Nowadays I have a room upstairs where I can study. There are some beautiful paintings there, but also my rowing machine, an ironing board and a trampoline. So that’s my study.
What makes a good day? 
I think it’s important to do something with passion each day. It doesn’t need to be sophisticated, as long as you do it with love. Cooking a meal, but with inspiration: putting something from yourself into it. Writing a letter that you have procrastinated for a long time because you found it difficult to start with. Giving a concert, doing a chore, going for a walk: it can be anything. What matters is that you create something beautiful, something you value.
What makes a great concert? 
When you see that someone in the public has been touched by the music we make.&nbsp;
What is a characteristic of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra? 
Someone once told me: when you play in the Concertgebouw, it's like driving a Rolls Royce, but when you play in Rotterdam, it's like driving a Ferrari. I think it's very characteristic of the orchestra that it shares artistic responsibility. Everyone gives their all to get the most out of it. We take musical risks, we are very quick to adapt, and we can really do anything. We are very versatile.

Charlotte Potgieter

Principal 2nd Violin

I think it's very characteristic of the orchestra that it shares artistic responsibility. We take musical risks, we are very quick to adapt, and we can really do anything. We are very versatile.

Emanuele Silvestri

Principal Cello

The flex series of our people behind the scenes.

The favourites of Cobi Paalvast

Joanna Pachucka

Associate Principal Cello

Daniel Petrovitsch

Do you come from a musical family yourself? 
Not really. My parents thought it was important for us to play a musical instrument, but they were not musicians themselves. My father played the violin a little, but you don't want to know how. They only knew that knowing music and playing an instrument can be important for children.
How old were you when you knew you wanted to do this? 
I think from the moment I started playing with youth orchestras. Then it was really fun and it became special. From that moment on I no longer had the feeling that it was an obligatory thing, but that it would be really nice to be able to do it. I was maybe fifteen or sixteen years old and of course I couldn't yet know that I would become a cellist, but I found it super fascinating and exciting.
What makes a concert a phenomenal or fantastic concert for you? 
In principle, all concerts should be equal, because the music speaks for itself and should not be more important at certain moments than others. Music is always important. There are concerts where you feel that it is more shared, more understood, between the audience and the orchestra.
I had a teacher who said ‘You notice it in the quality of the moment just after the last bar, not the applause.’ Just that moment in between is what counts.
What lesson in your musical life has impressed you the most? 
My very first teacher, he was actually born in 1899, so he was very old when I started with him. He used to say, ‘I'm a beginner every day.’ And that might be a good attitude. I think about this phrase very often. It just shows that we can recreate anything, every day.
Is there anything you have given up for your life in music? 
If I know I have to rehearse on Monday, then I can't think about it all weekend and just come to work on Monday. However, sacrifice comes naturally, so you don't think much about it. You must be prepared. You have to be in shape. You should already be in the mood for what's to come. I can't just wake up, sit down and do my job. That is sometimes difficult, because it takes away a bit of your free time. But that's part of the job.

Mario Rio

Cello

My very first teacher used to say, ‘I'm a beginner every day.’ I think about this phrase very often. It just shows that we can recreate anything, every day.

Programme Notes

Memorial Concert 2024

In the Laurenskerk, one of the few remaining buildings after the bombing during the Second World War, we remember Rotterdam's destruction, and its recovery.

Listen to the Spirited Away Suite

Japan's most famous film composer conducts the music from Studio Ghibli's classic Spirited Away.

Wondercast: De AI podcast die jouw concertbeleving persoonlijk maakt

How did the Cello come into your life? 
That was a long time ago, I'm now 60 and I was probably around eight or nine. You see all kinds of instruments then. My mother played the piano, my brother the violin, so I didn't want to do either. So then the cello seemed fun to me. In the end, it suits me, but it could just as easily have been something else. Still today.
What would you have become if you hadn't become a musician? 
Of course, that's always speculation. I'm a musician, but I'm also involved in many other things. Especially designing programs, creating texts. So if it had been a different profession, it would undoubtedly have been something to do with text or research.
Is there another instrument you would like to master? 
I rarely think about that. It would be fun to be able to master a wind instrument; like the saxophone or something, but it's not something I think about. That might be fun one day, then you also play a bit of different types of music.
Do you have a favourite place in Rotterdam? 
I love museums. I do miss Boijmans, I have to say. That neighbourhood is fun in general, the Witte de Withstraat. But I also love the St. Lawrence Church. I love the Noordereiland, being in between the water, experiencing the feeling of the harbor there a bit. That's part of Rotterdam for me.
When you're so busy with music, can it still touch you? 
That's difficult to compare, everyone enjoys things differently. You don't enjoy it less because you've done it more. I actually think it's the opposite, because you increasingly notice what's beautiful about the music and especially the music you play. You discover more and more, which actually makes it even more beautiful and satisfying.
Who or what inspires you? 
I'm generally inspired by artists. Great visual artists, musicians, but also authors, literature, and painting. I see a lot in that and I'm also very involved with it.
What makes a concert a phenomenal/fantastic concert for you? 
When a performance goes really well, you actually have no limits. Then the difference between conductor and orchestra, musician and audience, musician and music piece disappears. If all that is eliminated, if it runs as it develops, then you have the most beautiful performance.

Eelco Beinema

You don't enjoy it less because you've played it before. You discover more and more, which actually makes the music even more beautiful and satisfying.

Rondom Ravel

Een fantastische ode aan Ravel's Boléro, en zijn 150ste verjaardag.

over dirigent Han-na Chang

de Guardian

Een enorme drive... maar ook een overweldigend mooie, zoete vorm van zelfreflectie.

What makes a concert a phenomenal/fantastic concert for you? 
A great concert is one where the musicians and the conductor trust each other.
When you are so involved with music, can it still touch you? 
Yes, that's the beauty of the best classical works: you always hear new things. You pay less attention to your own part, but you hear things happening in other instruments. That remains fascinating.
Do you have a particular routine for a concert? 
No, but I do for a rehearsal day. Then I come very early, as one of the first, and then I start playing, doing stretching exercises. I always find the first rehearsal exciting. By the time the concert comes, I think: I've had all the rehearsals, it can't get any better.
Do you feel a connection with the audience while you are playing? 
Less than you would think. You are really 'in' the music, focused on your performance. You don't see much in the hall, but often the faces of the people in the front rows. It's nice when you can see that they are enjoying it. And the applause at the end always feels good.
What have you given up for a life in music? 
I come from Canada, so I had to give up my home country to come to the Netherlands. But I think in any profession where you have to deliver top performances, you have to give up something in your life. You also get a lot in return. I always think of a cartoon by the American cartoonist Gary Larson. You see dogs in a garden chasing a postman and biting his leg. And in the house, behind the window, you see a dog with a violin looking very sad, because he has to study instead of playing with the other dogs.
Besides classical music, what do you consider the best music? 
All pop music from the seventies. That's what I grew up with and I still think it's the best.
What is typical of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra? 
That we always go for it. Full of energy. That's what I think is typical of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra: that energy on stage.

Bob Bruyn

Second Violin

The beauty of the best classical works is that you always hear new things.

Explore the creators of wonder

Maak kennis met de mensen achter de magie

Lahav Shani speelt Prokofjev 

Klarinet

Romke Jan Wijmenga

Don Quixote is een van de hoogtepunten, met solisten uit eigen gelederen. Ik ondersteun met de basklarinet de rol van dommerik Sancho Panza. Karaktervol spelen, daar zie ik naar uit. 

The Firebird

Will Prince Ivan succeed in freeing the Firebird?

on our kids shows

Visitor

The story, the music, the interaction between orchestra and actor, it was right from beginning to end. What a great way to introduce children to classical music!

The Firebird

Programme & performers

All play dates of The Firebird

Watch, listen and marvel:

The nutcracker

Bolleke

Olli starts an orchestra