Discovering something new, being swept away, being surprised—that is the power of classical music. Prokofiev’s famous and vibrantFirst Symphony(the “Classical”) sets the tone: short, sparkling, and full of humor. Next, you’ll hear Spohr’s rarely performedEighth Violin Concerto, a dramatic mini-opera for violin, featuring soloist Salomé Bonnema—winner of the 2024 Oskar Back Competition. Finally, in hisPelléas et Mélisande, Sibelius masterfully paints a story of whispered tension and hidden longing.

This concert revolves around music that plays with expectation: familiar in sound, surprising in character. Prokofiev gave a nod to Haydn and Mozart, but with modern sharpness. Spohr did something radically new for his time and made the violin sound like an opera singer; with recitatives, arias, and dramatic twists. Bonnema’s expressive playing style fits perfectly with this. In Sibelius’s incidental music, conductor Leonard Elschenbroich unfolds a subtle, almost cinematic atmosphere that, thanks to the acoustics of the Nieuwe Kerk , has Nieuwe Kerk the space it needs to enchant. A concert in which classical forms take on new guises.