Amsterdam: Candlelight Concert at Portuguese Synagogue – Amsterdam, Netherlands

EXPERIENCE

Make the most of your stay in Amsterdam and experience a wonderful concert in the unique setting of the 17th-century Portuguese Synagogue. Located in the Jewish Cultural Quarter of the city, the synagogue hosts a classical concert once a month.

Experience the beautiful acoustics as hundreds of burning candles form an enchanting backdrop for the candlelight concert series.

Arrive at central Amsterdam’s Portuguese Synagogue up to 30 minutes before the performance and proceed directly to your seat. Take advantage of your early arrival by enjoying the romantic atmosphere of this magnificent 17th-century Sephardic synagogue and its hundreds of burning candles. Once the musicians take the stage, relax and enjoy an enthralling hour-long concert of timeless compositions, brought to the life by the virtuoso players and the synagogue’s magnificent acoustics.

Please note: performances vary depending on the evening. The full concert listings are as follows:

Yehonatan Elazar and Christina Diaz (Thursday, February 20, 2020 at 7:30 PM)

With The Jazzphardic Project, Yehonatan Elazar and Christina Diaz present a combination of medieval Sephardic music, Latin jazz and contemporary music from the Middle East. Saxophone player Yehonatan Elazar comes from a Dominican-Sephardic family. He has performed with jazz greats like Melton Mustafa, James Moody, Victor Goines, and Saunders Sermons. Pianist Christina Diaz was born in Venezuela, started her musical career in the Dominican Republic, and currently lives in Paris. She has performed with, among others, David Sanchez, Eddie Gómez, and Pedro Pérez.

Zemtsov Viola Quartet (Thursday, March 19, 2020 at 7:30 PM)

In 2010, the Zemtsov family formed this successful viola quartet. The family members (father, mother, daughter, cousin) all have their own musical career, but have played together as a quartet since 2010. Their first album came out in 2014, with music of Max von Weinzierl, York Bowen, and Astor Piazzolla.

The Hague String Trio (Thursday, April 2, 2020 at 8:00 PM)

The trio plays a tribute to composers who have been persecuted in WWII with After the Darkness. On the program will be beautiful music that has been created under miserable circumstances, such as the compositions of Hans Krása and Gideon Klein, written in the Theresienstadt concentration camp .

Daahoud Salim (Thursday, June 25, 2020 at 8:00)

Daahoud Salim is a Spanish pianist, a virtuoso in both jazz and classical music. Salim was born in Sevilla in 1990, studied the piano there, and finished his studies in Amsterdam. He has been playing throughout Europe since and has released multiple albums. In the Portuguese Synagogue, he will play the music of Ervín Schulhoff, that Salim recorded earlier under the title “Forbidden Music.”

HIGHLIGHTS

Hear a beautiful concert of classical music by candlelight
Experience the breathtaking acoustics of the Portuguese Synagogue
Listen to music by Shostakovitch, Brahms, and other masters of the form

Discover more exciting & fun things to do in Amsterdam