Nicholas presented his first concert as Principal Conductor of the Residentie Orkest at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw on 28 August 2016. The concert was part of the Concertgebouw’s 2016 Robeco Summer Nights series, which also features concerts by Bernard Haitink, Mariss Jansons and Valery Gergiev.
Nicholas said at the time of the position announcement in June 2015, “This wonderful orchestra has an extraordinary history, having played under most of the 20th century’s great conductors, from Toscanini to Bernstein. But more importantly, it has an exciting future; it is very important to me that orchestral music is accessible and relevant to as broad an audience as possible, and I see this ambition reflected in Residentie Orkest.”
The Romeo and Juliet-themed programme included works by Berlioz, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev and Bernstein, presenting four very different but complimentary takes on Shakespeare’s love story. Nicholas and the orchestra will repeat the programme in The Hague on 20 September as a focal event in their annual city-wide Prinsjesdag festival. Nicholas will conduct six weeks per year with the orchestra, and will focus on the core Romantic symphonies and on 20th and 21st century repertoire.