Dies Irae

A woman attacks a wooden box with a hammer as stormy piano chords erupt beside her. Eight double basses echo the same intense phrase repeatedly. Galina Ustvolskaya’s Dies Irae marks the apotheosis of the eponymous performance that concludes Klarafestival 2025. This powerful scenic concert is the brainchild of festival artist Patricia Kopatchinskaja, exploring the question: what answer does classical music have for today’s urgent crises? How can musicians respond to war and climate change? 

Joined by Aurora Orchestra and Vox Luminis, Kopatchinskaja gallops through music history, from the Gregorian Dies Irae (‘Day of Wrath’) to Ustvolskaya’s modern reimagining. Along the way, Biber’s baroque Battalia and Lotti’s moving Crucifixus stand side by side with George Crumb’s Black Angels. Both a protest and a call to action, this production leaves the audience inspired and empowered as the musical dust settles.  

With the support of the Tax Shelter of the Belgian Federal Government.