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Nikolaj Skinhøj, Klassisk, 2nd May 2026

Conductor Jonathan Ofir and Copenhagen Soloists celebrate an anniversary with a concert that moves into Romanticism and challenges the image of how Brahms should sound.

When Copenhagen Soloists celebrate their twentieth anniversary in May, it will be with a concert that both holds on to the ensemble's musical roots and looks forward. At the center is Brahms' Violin Concerto performed on historical instruments in an interpretation that challenges the notion of how romantic music can sound.

For conductor and artistic director Jonathan Ofir, the concert is not just a celebration, but a natural next step in a longer artistic development.

"We started twenty years ago with Baroque. We actually started with Handel's 'Messiah.' It doesn't get more mainstream Baroque than that," he says.

Copenhagen Soloists was founded at a time when historically informed performance practice was particularly associated with Baroque music. In the beginning, the ensemble worked with works by J.S. Bach and Handel, which, among others, Concerto Copenhagen also performed on historical instruments here in Denmark.

Since then, the repertoire has been expanded to also include classical composers such as Beethoven, whose symphonies the ensemble has continuously worked on. But moving further into the Romantic period is still relatively new territory.

“I don’t think I would have done Brahms’ Violin Concerto five years ago, when we hadn’t even done Beethoven’s symphonies yet. I see it as a collective journey, and we are making that development slowly,” says Ofir.

According to Ofir, playing historical instruments is not about creating a perfect copy of the past, but about opening up new musical possibilities. Historical instruments provide a different tonal starting point than modern instruments.

"I am not that interested in knowing exactly what tempo was played in Brahms' time"

Jonathan Ofir, Copenhagen Soloists

»It is a completely different sound than what you get from a modern classical orchestra. It is a softer soundscape«.

And precisely in Brahms' music it is interesting to keep the historical instruments in mind, because although he was a Romantic composer, there is a clear connection to earlier music in his works.

"Even though Brahms is a late composer in the 19th century, I see him as someone who has something classical about him. There is something structural in his thinking, something in the spirit, that feels old-fashioned classical, even though he is simultaneously romantic."

Not a museum exhibition
A central element in the work with Brahms is the use of natural instruments – especially within the brass section.

"Brahms is a special case because he preferred natural instruments, that is, horns and trumpets without valves, at a time when these instruments were already well on their way to being developed and played with valves," explains Ofir.

It means that the ensemble not only plays the notes but also reconsiders the very ideal of sound behind the music.

Although the work is based on historical knowledge, Ofir distances himself from the idea that the concert is some kind of reconstruction.

"It's not a museum exhibition, it's a concert. I want to convince people with our product. And it shouldn't just be about them thinking that it's exciting to hear that it's different."

He emphasizes that the concept of 'authenticity' today has often been replaced by 'historically informed practice'.

He emphasizes that the concept of 'authenticity' today has often been replaced by 'historically informed practice'.

A physical challenge
Playing romantic repertoire on historical instruments is not without challenges. On the contrary, it often demands more from the musicians than modern instruments do.

"When you have metal strings, it is much easier to produce lots of sound, but when you have gut strings, you can't press too hard, or the sound will become ugly."

The wind instruments also encounter new difficulties. The transition from natural instruments to valves in the 19th century means that many works are situated in a technical borderland.

"Several of the wind players told me that Schumann's 4th Symphony was some of the hardest they have ever played. They also play modern music, which may be more difficult, but on the historical instruments, they have to stretch themselves technically. But that is also what makes it exciting," says Ofir.

The anniversary concert thus does not mark an ending, but rather a new chapter. The ensemble already has plans to continue working with romantic repertoire and to move even further forward in time.

"We are approaching a point around the year 1900, where the instruments begin to resemble those we know today. But there is still a lot of music from that time by Brahms and Tchaikovsky, and I feel intuitively that it is also exciting for the musicians to play."

Copenhagen Soloists live
9th May The Black Diamond 4PM
10th May Musikhuset Aarhus 4PM
Conductor Jonathan Ofir and the Copenhagen Soloists perform Brahms' Violin Concerto in D major with soloist Anna Markova as well as Beethoven's Symphony No. 2.

Brahms as you rarely hear him | KLASSISK Magazine about opera and classical music