Discovering something new, being swept away, being surprised – that is the magic of classical music. Prokofiev’s famous and vibrant First Symphony ("the Classical") sets the tone: short, sparkling and full of humour. Next comes Spohr’s rarely performed Eighth Violin Concerto, a dramatic mini-opera for violin, featuring soloist Salomé Bonnema – winner of the 2024 Oskar Back Competition. The evening concludes with Pelléas et Mélisande, Sibelius' masterful musical painting of whispered tension and hidden desire.

This concert is all about music that plays with expectations: familiar in sound, yet surprising in character. Prokofiev nodded to Haydn and Mozart, but with a modern edge. Spohr, ahead of his time, made the violin sound like an opera singer, with recitatives, arias and dramatic twists. Bonnema’s expressive style fits perfectly with this. In Sibelius’ incidental music, conductor Leonard Elschenbroich unfolds a delicate, almost cinematic atmosphere that the Nieuwe Kerk's acoustics bring fully to life. In this concert, classical music takes on enchanting new shapes.