Reinoud Van Mechelen as our festival artist
For the first time, Klarafestival engages a festival artist. In 2022, we welcome the Belgian singer Reinoud Van Mechelen. He is a so-called 'haute-contre': a special type of tenor for which a lot of music was written in France during the 17th and 18th century. Reinoud Van Mechelen not only collaborated with almost all well-known baroque ensembles but also founded his own ensemble in 2016. 'A nocte temporis' performs historically informed music and has in the meantime grown into a real baroque orchestra.
During Klarafestival 2022, Reinoud Van Mechelen and a nocte temporis introduce the Requiem by French composer André Campra, a transitional figure between Lully and Rameau, in the concert of these, hope in Bozar. They will also perform the Te Deum by Marc Charpentier. The first eight bars of this 'grand motet' may sound familiar to you: it is, among others, the opening tune of the Eurovision Song Contest.
Reinoud Van Mechelen performs a second time during Klarafestival 2022. On 24 March, he will interpret Les nuits d'été by Hector Berlioz in Flagey together with the Brussels Philharmonic conducted by Thierry Fischer. This collection of six songs stands out for its exquisite orchestration. Also on the programme is the suite A Midsummer Night's Dream by Felix Mendelssohn.
Shostakovich and Schubert in Flagey
During Klarafestival, Flagey is also hosting two other concerts not to be missed. On 19 March, the Brussels Philharmonic will perform Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony, conducted by Russian conductor Mikhail Jurowski. This monumental work, which is known as 'Leningrad', has been shaped by history like no other. Written during the Siege of Leningrad, Shostakovich dedicated this symphony "to the struggle against fascism".
On 15 March, you can hear the world-famous Danish String Quartet in concert in Flagey. This season marks the start of their four-year project DOPPELGÄNGER. Four world premieres by as many well-known composers are paired with key works from Franz Schubert's chamber music oeuvre. In Flagey, they will be playing new music by Danish composer Bent Sørensen combined with Schubert's Fifteenth (and last) String Quartet.
Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla and The Gesulado Six
One of the last concerts of Klarafestival 2022 takes place in the Queen Elizabeth Hall in Antwerp. With the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Lithuanian star conductor Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla will not only perform Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony, but also works by Mieczysław Weinberg, a particularly interesting Polish-Jewish composer whom Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla has been highlighting for some years now. Stravinsky's Violin Concerto is also on the programme, performed by none other than Patricia Kopatchinskaja, one of the most headstrong and original violinists of our time.
Another concert taking place in a somewhat unusual setting is Fading on 22 March in the Sint-Jacop-op-Koudenberg, situated at the Place Royale in Brussels. The British vocal ensemble The Gesualdo Six, made up of some of England's best ensemble singers, will perform an ode to the compline, the so-called ‘Prayers at the End of the Day’ as part of the monastic tradition. Otherworldly music by Renaissance composers such as Byrd, Mouton and Gombert are alternated with works by contemporary composers.
