A triumphant start to the Brussels tour

June 26, 2025 | |

The Orchestre Métropolitain was greeted by not one, not two, but THREE standing ovations in Brussels, for the first concert of their European tour.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin had warned them that European audiences don’t usually stand up, even for exceptional performances. The musicians were therefore totally surprised by the enthusiasm.

The musicians delivered a performance of rare intensity. From Ravel’s La Valse onwards, their esprit de corps was palpable. Yannick Nézet-Séguin was able to give free rein to his rubato, slowing down and speeding up as he saw fit, with every member of the orchestra hanging on his baton, attentive to the slightest variation in tempo. Already, after this first work, the applause was warm and hearty, with several spectators raising their arms to show their appreciation.

But it was Saint-Saëns’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and Alexandre Kantorow’s spellbinding interpretation that led to the first standing ovation. Soloist, orchestra and conductor were one and the same, dancing and swaying to the music’s beat. The audience, too, let itself be carried along: many nodded their heads during the irresistibly danceable third movement.

In the second half, the orchestra succeeded in evoking the Nordic landscapes of Finland in the middle of a heatwave, with Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2, a work that is now part of OM’s DNA. Indeed, having performed it on the American tour in 2024 and recorded it a few months earlier, the orchestra now has a perfect command of this score, which allows it great freedom in its interpretation.

The hearts of the 70 musicians seemed to beat in unison. This perfect union was even apparent to the naked eye: in the symphony’s great melodic outbursts, it was as if Yannick himself were pulling all the bows upwards with the tip of his baton.

That’s all it took to trigger a second standing ovation!

The applause continued unabated, even after Yannick had hugged many of the musicians and greeted each section separately. He then proposed an encore to the Brussels audience – “a little Speculoos for the end”, as he humorously put it.

He had chosen the overture to Leonard Bernstein’s Candide for the occasion, to offer the audience a little joy and let them leave with a smile on their faces. And that’s how everyone left the BOZAR… but not without a third standing ovation!