The National Youth Orchestra with Harriet Krijgh

The Nationaal Jeugdorkest accompanies Harriet Krijgh
For more than 65 years, the Nationaal Jeugdorkest has been one of the leading youth orchestras in the Netherlands. For talented young musicians, it is an excellent opportunity to work with great conductors and soloists. They are regular guests on their annual Winter Tour at the AVROTROS Friday Concert. Tonight's soloist is Harriet Krijgh. In just a few years, this promising cellist has become one of the Netherlands' greatest virtuosos on her instrument. Elgar's Cello Concerto has a permanent place in her repertoire. She won the prestigious competition of the Cello Biennale with it in 2012. 'Seamless playing of lyrical beauty,' the press judged her performance of this work.

Martin Sieghart with Bruckner's Ninth Symphony
The National Youth Orchestra is conducted by Martin Sieghart in this concert. For many years he was chief conductor of the Arnhem Philharmonic Orchestra and the Linzer Bruckner Orchestra. With the latter orchestra, he recorded several of Bruckner's symphonies. He is considered one of the great Bruckner connoisseurs in Europe. Bruckner fills the second movement of this concerto with his Ninth and last symphony, a work he did not finish due to his death in 1896. But the three completed movements are Bruckner's ultimate legacy. Though rooted in the rich tradition of German late Romanticism, his bold structures and harmonies already point to a new century.