Annual report 2025: Production

Symphonic Sounds

In 2025, the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra confirmed its strong standing within the European musical landscape with a series of impressive performances of the symphonic canon (including symphonies by Tchaikovsky, Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, Mahler’s First, Second and Fifth Symphonies, Sibelius’s Violin Concerto and Gustav Holst’s The Planets). Led by its resident conductors and international guests, and joined by top-tier soloists, the orchestra offered a programme of great artistic depth.

A definitive highlight was the series of concerts with Conductor Emeritus Jaap van Zweden. With a monumental performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, he captivated sold-out audiences in Antwerp, Eindhoven, and Bruges. Furthermore, the orchestra benefitted from the expertise of Conductor Laureate Philippe Herreweghe on three occasions. Performing repertoire perfectly suited to him — including masterpieces by Beethoven, Schubert, and Schumann — he delivered moments of pure musical refinement.

Flemish heritage

As the Flemish symphonic orchestra and a recognised Cultural Institution of the Flemish Community, the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra is a proud ambassador for Flemish music. Through recordings, concerts, and commissions for Flemish composers, the orchestra actively contributes to the preservation, enrichment, and accessibility of our valuable musical heritage.

In 2025, the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra presented a blend of musical heritage and contemporary homegrown creations, featuring works by composers such as Piet Swerts, Erik Desimpelaere, and August De Boeck. In September, August De Boeck’s Dahomean Rhapsody was showcased as a flagship of Flemish musical heritage at the renowned George Enescu Festival.

Contemporary Repertoire

The Antwerp Symphony Orchestra keeps classical music vital and vibrant in the broadest sense of the word. In addition to honouring the great masterpieces of the past, we act as a driving force behind the music of tomorrow. By commissioning new works and providing a platform for new compositions, we enrich the symphonic repertoire and support the composers of our time.

In 2025, the orchestra brought six remarkable compositions to the Belgian stage for the first time. The year opened spectacularly on 31 January with Higgins’ Concerto Grosso for Brass Band and Orchestra. May saw the Belgian premieres of Victoria Borisova-Ollas (The Kingdom of Silence) and former Composer-in-Residence Giya Kancheli (Libera Me), followed by the virtuoso Piccolo Concerto by Levente Gyöngyösi. The autumn focused on Scandinavian and American mastery, featuring Anders Hillborg’s King Tide, the symphonic version of Kaija Saariaho’s Graal Théâtre, and John Corigliano’s impressive Conjurer concerto.

We are particularly proud of the four works that received their world premieres at the Queen Elisabeth Hall in 2025. As the commissioning body, the orchestra presented the world premieres of works by Piet Swerts (Le Tombeau de Josquin), Nico Muhly (Doom Painting), Erik Desimpelaere (Danses Macabres), and José María Sánchez-Verdú (Cancionero de Juana La Loca).

Baroque music

Every year around Easter, the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra pays tribute to the genius of Bach. In 2025, the St John Passion took centre stage. Through these Passion concerts, we apply our rich orchestral tradition to the profound depth of Baroque masterpieces. In addition to the performance in Antwerp, the orchestra took this programme abroad for the first time, with a concert at Amsterdam’s Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ.

Flemish cultural ambassador

As a recognised Flemish Art Institution, the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra performs on the most important stages in Flanders and also acts as a Flemish cultural ambassador abroad.

Dramaturgy

Each season, the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra builds its programme around a purposeful theme that keeps its finger on the pulse of our times. The year 2025 thus formed the turning point between two fascinating worlds.

In the first half of the year, we completed the ‘Surviving the Current’ season. In this theme, we reflected on the power of musical legacy and the inevitable cycle of endings and new beginnings. By focusing on the first and last compositions of grandmasters such as Beethoven, Mahler, and Rachmaninoff, we explored how their heritage continues to generate meaning across generations. With a symposium on musical legacy and performances of post-minimalist works, we connected tradition to the future in a relevant way.

From September 2025, the focus shifted to the theme ‘Eclipse’. This season explores what happens when the dominant light source fades and the shadow side becomes visible. ‘Eclipse’ sheds a much-needed light on works by female composers (including pieces by Amy Beach and Caroline Shaw) and brings symphonic masterpieces out of the darkness of the orchestra pit onto the concert stage. The artistic interpretation is broadened with fascinating fringe activities, such as lectures on astronomy and the workings of our consciousness under hypnosis – moments when the human mind also enters an ‘eclipse’.

Collaborations

In 2025, the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra established itself more than ever as a unifying force both within and beyond the cultural landscape. By combining the management of the classical programme at the Queen Elisabeth Hall with strategic alliances, such as the concert series featuring leading international orchestras in collaboration with Cofena, we are enhancing the experience for our audience.

Our artistic scope is broadened by the regular involvement of professional choirs such as the Flemish Radio Choir and the Choeur de Chambre de Namur, who collaborated for the first time – and with great success – on a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony conducted by Jaap van Zweden. For the performance of Holst’s The Planets, the orchestra also collaborated with the choir of Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, and for Mahler’s Second Symphony with the newly founded VOLT chamber choir.

In addition, the orchestra enjoys fruitful collaborations with educational institutions. For instance, the Youth Orchestra Flanders acts as a bridge between the conservatoires and the professional stage. Locally, too, the orchestra invested in talent through a special project with the Antwerp Youth Orchestra. With a masterclass by the leading American violinist Benjamin Beilman, we also created special learning opportunities for students of the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp, in the acoustics of the Queen Elisabeth Hall and in front of a live audience.

International festivals such as Europalia offered us the chance to connect historical heritage with new creations, such as the commission for Sánchez-Verdú centred on the marriage of Joanna of Castile and the Flemish Philip the Fair. Thanks to the support of partners such as the Korean Cultural Institute, BMW and Proximus (Pickx+), we are able to broaden our mission: from supporting international talent to making our concerts accessible to a wider audience via digital channels.