Schoenberg, Wagner, and Mahler at the edge of the unspeakable.
What happens when music doesn’t aim to impress, but dares to feel? The great traditions fracture, making room for something rawer and deeply personal.
In Erwartung (Expectation), for which Belgian painter Jean Brusselmans designed the sets at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in 1936, Arnold Schönberg abandons all preconceived forms. A woman alone at night encounters the...
What happens when music doesn’t aim to impress, but dares to feel? The great traditions fracture, making room for something rawer and deeply personal.
In Erwartung (Expectation), for which Belgian painter Jean Brusselmans designed the sets at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in 1936, Arnold Schönberg abandons all preconceived forms. A woman alone at night encounters the lifeless body of her beloved. What follows is an uninterrupted stream of emotions: confusion, fear, grief, and rage. Schönberg stretches this single moment into a miniature novel of pure tension. Sung by soprano Ingela Brimberg, this monologue gives a voice to a profoundly unsettled inner world.
By contrast, Richard Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll is an intimate love gift, written for Cosima and their newborn. The notes bathe in tenderness and domestic bliss, a rare moment of warmth.
With the Adagio from his Tenth Symphony, Gustav Mahler reaches a fragile conclusion. Farewell, doubt, and stillness unfold here without compromise. Conductor Alpesh Chauhan adds subtle visual touches, giving the evening an extra layer of depth.
Thanks to the players of the National Lottery and to the Tax Shelter of the Federal Government of Belgium through Casa Kafka Pictures.
Concert with introduction
Enhance your experience beyond the concert with an introduction! The introduction starts at 7 pm and is free upon presentation of your concert ticket.
Programme
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Arnold Schoenberg
Erwartung, Op. 17 -
Richard Wagner
Siegfried Idyll, WWV 103 -
Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 10 in F-sharp major, Adagio
Artists
- Alpesh Chauhan Conductor
- Ingela Brimberg Soprano
Concert with introduction
Enhance your experience beyond the concert with an introduction! The introduction starts at 7 pm and is free upon presentation of your concert ticket.
Echoes of Brussels
What did Brussels sound like through the centuries? And what music is inextricably linked to the city on the River Senne? This concert series by Bozar dances up and down the timeline, lending its ear to memorable creations and residents. Be guided through the 15th century Palace of Coudenberg, find out how our capital competed with Paris as a cultural metropolis, and stroll through the immersive soundtrack of Expo 58.
Jean Brusselmans - Painter by Nature
The first major retrospective dedicated to Brusselmans since 1980, this exhibition curated by Bozar brings together nearly 120 works and invites you to immerse yourself in the original and daring world of this early 20th-century Belgian painter, at the crossroads of abstraction and figuration. Dialogues with contemporaries such as Paul Cézanne, Fernand Léger, and Piet Mondrian offer a fresh perspective on his work.
In co-production with
With the support of
Fête de la Musique 2027
City of Floating Sounds
Symphony of Sorrowful Songs
Shostakovich & Mozart
New Year’s Glow 2027
Winter Concert
Echoes of the North
