Klaus Mäkelä

Conductor Klaus Mäkelä connects Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto with a new work by Betsy Jolas and the Second Symphony of Austrian composer Thomas Larcher. The orchestra is thrilled to present the Dutch premiere of Betsy Jolas’ aptly named Latest; the 96-year-old Franco-American composer's first work for the Concertgebouw Orchestra. Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto occupies a special place within the clarinet repertoire. The piece demands the utmost of the soloist in terms of intonation, timing, and expression. Luckily, those are precisely solo clarinettist Olivier Patey’s strongest qualities.

Thomas Larcher

Thomas Larcher may write music with today’s ears, but his heart clearly lies in the Viennese classical-romantic tradition. Conductor Klaus Mäkelä calls Larcher ‘a Mahler of our times’ and his Second Symphony ’the best piece composed in the past twenty years.’ The work is a veritable burst of energy, containing clear hints of both the classics and Mahler.