This is Stravinsky — Petrushka

This concert brings an intense Stravinsky weekend to a ceremonial climax. Funeral Song, the earliest surviving orchestral work by the composer, is a restrained tribute to his teacher Rimsky-Korsakov. The music unfolds like a shivering funeral procession: dark in colour, spare in gesture, yet charged with emotional intensity.

In the Symphony of Psalms, Stravinsky turns toward the sacred. Not romantic devotion, but a stern, collective expression of faith. Voices and orchestra merge into a mystical presence shaped by repetition, simplicity and archaic power.

For the finale, the theatre erupts with Petrushka. What begins as a vibrant folk celebration evolves into a hallucinatory dance of masks, puppets and fractured humanity. Rhythm drives forward, colours flash, irony and tragedy intertwine. For one final time this weekend, Matthew Halls leads the entire procession, joined by the Vlaams Radiokoor. We conclude as Stravinsky intended: sharp, vivid and unmistakably disruptive.

Thanks to the players of the National Lottery and to the Tax Shelter of the Federal Government of Belgium through Casa Kafka Pictures.