In Polderklanken (Sounds from the polder), four composers from the Dutch musical landscape take centre stage, each with a uniquely individual style. Their music captures the varied development of modern and contemporary music in the Netherlands from the 20th century to the present day. Under the baton of chief conductor Daniel Reuss, Cappella Amsterdam brings to life the richness and versatility of the Dutch choral tradition.

Rudolf Escher, influenced by French Impressionism and the Second Viennese School, wrote refined, layered music in which structure and poetry converge. Elmer Schönberger unites playfulness, irony and intellectual sharpness, with a keen ear for text and context. Mathilde Wantenaar represents the youngest generation. Her choral works combine emotional directness with an open, contemporary musical language. The work of Ton de Leeuw stands out for its serene simplicity, modal harmonies and subtle influences from diverse musical traditions.

Thumping sound systems and dancing bodies in the endless North African desert: composer Kangding Ray’s soundtrack forms the beating heart of director Oliver Laxe’s hallucinatory road movie Sirāt. In this concert, the Berlin-based producer brings the world of Sirāt to the Muziekgebouw, while Laxe projects live footage from the film alongside hitherto unreleased material.

Kangding Ray’s music spans a wide sonic spectrum: from exhilarating techno to ethereal ambient. As a DJ/producer, he blends an experimental drive with club music. This soundtrack, praised by The New Yorker as ‘magnificently transporting’, earned him the Cannes Soundtrack Award. With releases on influential labels like Raster-Noton and Invada, Kangding Ray has established himself as one of the leading names in contemporary electronic music.

Jo Johnson 
British artist Jo Johnson opens the evening with her intoxicating blend of ambient and electronic minimalism. Once a guitarist in the radical punk band Huggy Bear, she later immersed herself in London's techno scene. With her acclaimed debut album Weaving, she embarked on a third musical chapter, exploring transcendence through layered synthesizer sounds. Live, she blurs the boundaries between improvisation and electronic composition. 

Stichting Praemium Erasmianum has awarded artist film-maker Steve McQueen the Erasmus Prize 2026. This is the European Premiere of the live performance of Steve McQueen's End Credits (2012-2022), following a sell out run at The Shed, NY earlier this autumn.

Centering on the FBI’s files on legendary African American singer and political activist Paul Robeson, End Credits (2012-2022) features a continuous projection of digitally scanned files from the thousands of declassified, though highly redacted, documents kept on Robeson and his wife, Eslanda Goode Robeson.
For this special presentation four performers will read live sections from Robeson’s FBI files. Through meticulous archival research, McQueen creates a work that is both historical document and urgent contemporary warning for the health of our democracy.

Paul Robeson, a civil rights legend
A successful movie star and singer since the 1930s, Robeson became increasingly committed to political and social issues. A powerful voice for social justice, Robeson was actively involved with the Civil Rights Movement in America and is considered an important symbol of the fight against fascism abroad and racism at home. In 1946, together with W.E.B DuBois and Albert Einstein, Robeson organised the National Crusade to End Lynching. His advocacy of anti-imperialism and affiliation with communism resulted in him being blacklisted by the United States government during the McCarthy era and his career as a performer was derailed. FBI documents obtained by McQueen through the Freedom of Information Act reveal that United States surveillance agencies had begun investigating Robeson as early as 1941. This scrutiny continued throughout the rest of his life, and two years beyond his death.

With thanks to:
Stichting Praemium Erasmianum
Thomas Dane Gallery
Marian Goodman Gallery
Epson

Klangforum Wien, a regular at the Muziekgebouw, is arguably the finest new music ensemble in the world. Tonight, the group performs the world premiere of The Illuminated Grid by Catherine Lamb, an award-winning American composer who studied under James Tenney. Tuning and resonance play a major role in her work. While theoretically complex, the sophisticated processes Lamb sets in motion reach the ear as enchanting, multi-faceted clouds of sound that are constantly in flux.

And that’s right up Klangforum’s alley. Catherine Lamb once said about them: ‘It felt as if the ensemble operated as one organism.’ That will undoubtedly be the case in her own new work as well. Klangforum pairs Lamb with the living legend György Kurtág, whose hundreth birthday earlier this year was celebrated grandly at the Muziekgebouw. With the 1980 song cycle Messages of the late Miss R.V. Troussova, Kurtág cemented his status as a world-class composer of truly exceptional calibre.

Public rehearsal
Tip: Visit the public rehearsal this afternoon at 2:00 PM to experience the new work by Catherine Lamb.

‍Supported by funds from the Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs (BMEIA) and Ammodo Art.

     

In Storm, three distinct artistic voices converge: OFFprojects, the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw, and British multi-instrumentalist Shabaka Hutchings – a pivotal figure in the London jazz revival and a bridge-builder between traditions, renowned for his rhythmic intensity. Together, they explore the vitality of the unpredictable: an interdisciplinary work in which structure and improvisation constantly push each other’s boundaries. 

Drawing from minimalist structures and pattern music, choreographer Amos Ben-Tal and Hutchings lead dancers and musicians through a world of both strict precision and free exploration. Each performance creates a fresh, intense surge of energy and subtle friction. Storm explores the common ground between contemporary dance and jazz, demonstrating how both disciplines can amplify one another in both precision and poetry.

In collaboration with 

For over a decade, Raphaël Pichon and his ensemble Pygmalion have been a fixture at the Muziekgebouw, guaranteeing not-to-miss performances. ‘Applause has rarely been so well-deserved,’ wrote Trouw, awarding five stars to Pygmalion’s magnificent programme Welt Gute Nacht, performed at the Muziekgebouw in 2026. Now, the ever-surprising ensemble returns with another impressive masterpiece: Buxtehude’s Membra Jesu nostri.
  
Buxtehude’s Membra Jesu nostri is a cycle of seven deeply emotional cantatas. Each cantata addresses a part of Jesus’ crucified body. Buxtehude was a legend in his day, so much so that the young Bach risked his position in Arnstadt to undertake a long journey on foot to visit him in Lübeck. Now, Pygmalion shows us, in their own inimitable style, exactly whose shoulders Bach has stood on ever since.