Following the requiem masses of Dvorák and Mozart in previous seasons, this performance of Brahms' German Requiem would have been the third in a long series of Requiems conducted by Mariss Jansons. Unfortunately, the 'new tradition' was cut short by Jansons's departure as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra's chief conductor during the 2014/2015 season.

The performance was dedicated to Kurt Sanderling, one of the orchestra's most beloved guest conductors. He passed away the year before and would have turned 100 that very month. It proved to be a very moving performance, a fitting salute to a great conductor.

"Gerald Finley is a baritone that combines gritty presence and clarity of diction ... Soprano Genia Kühmeier moved the audience with the purity of her timbre" - Mischa Spel, NRC

“Perfectly proportioned strings, smooth as silk, yet capable of a devastating loudness, world famous wind soloists that together sound like an organ, crisp and warm at the same time. The RCO in Brahms leaves one speechless.” - Hildegart Maertens, Kwadratuur

“Kühmeier achieved an almost magical effect with her subdued timbre. And Finley ...enraptured the listener with his impressive voice” - Frederike Berntsen, Trouw

"The Concertgebouw Orchestra sounded incredibly beautiful. Jansons managed not only to have the violins whisper mysteriously about death, but also coloured all the separate wind parts in Brahms's masterful orchestral texture. Rarely a choir and an orchestra merge as well and rarely this Requiem is performed as beautifully as yesterday evening at the Concertgebouw." - Roeland Hazendonk, Het Parool