Conductor Yutaka Sado’s return to The Hague is, in itself, something to look forward to. With his international flair and immediate musical energy, he leads a program that sweeps you along in one breath. From Copland’s imposing brass, we move on to the passionate sounds of Barber. We arrive in the dark world of Dmitri Shostakovich’s Tenth: a symphonic thriller full of menace, memory, and explosive liberation.

Today, Sado brings together a powerful array of styles. The afternoon opens with Copland’s iconic Fanfare for the Common Man; originally written in 1942 in honor of the “common man,” purely for brass and percussion, full of open, powerful sounds. Next, violinist Paul Huang shines in Barber’s lyrical, melancholic Violin Concerto. A work that balances between understated poetry and exuberant virtuosity, with a dramatic arc that is stretched ever further. Culminating in Shostakovich’s soundscapes of turmoil, power, and inescapable emotion, this concert forms a journey through hope, stillness, and release.