Evenitto's guide · the whole of Belgium
Belgium packs a remarkable number of concert halls into a country you can cross by train in an afternoon: the Henry Le Boeuf Hall in Bozar and the studios of Flagey in Brussels, the Queen Elisabeth Hall in Antwerp, the Concertgebouw in Bruges and the former infirmary of De Bijloke in Ghent.
Home of Nationaal Orkest van België
The Henry Le Boeuf Hall is the concert hall of Bozar, the Palais des Beaux-Arts designed by Victor Horta and finished in 1928. It is the home of the Belgian National Orchestra, and the finals of the Queen Elisabeth Competition are played here.
Home of Brussels Philharmonic
A modernist landmark on Place Sainte-Croix in Ixelles, built in the 1930s as the national broadcasting house. Studio 4, a former radio studio, is the home of the Brussels Philharmonic, and the first rounds of the Queen Elisabeth Competition are played here.
The Brussels opera house on Place de la Monnaie, in a building from 1819, known as De Munt and as La Monnaie. It is the royal opera house of Brussels, and its orchestra and chorus also give concerts.
The Augustinus Muziekcentrum, in the former Augustinian church of 1618, is Antwerp's home of early music and the venue of the summer festival Laus Polyphoniae.
Home of Antwerp Symphony Orchestra
Antwerp's concert hall, rebuilt and reopened in 2016 next to the zoo. The Antwerp Symphony Orchestra is its orchestra in residence, and visiting orchestras and soloists fill the rest of the season.
Home of Symfonieorkest Opera Ballet Vlaanderen
The house of Opera Ballet Vlaanderen in Antwerp, with its opera and ballet productions in a building on the Frankrijklei. The company also plays in other Flemish cities.
De Bijloke is Ghent's music centre, with a concert hall in the medieval infirmary of the old Bijloke abbey. Orchestras, choirs and period-instrument ensembles play here, and Ghent's opera has used it while its own house is being renovated.
Home of Anima Eterna Brugge
The Concertgebouw Brugge opened in 2002, when Bruges was a European Capital of Culture. Anima Eterna Brugge, the period-instrument orchestra of Jos van Immerseel, is its orchestra in residence.
A multi-hall arts campus in Antwerp, designed by Léon Stynen, with a concert hall, a theatre hall and a conservatoire, where international orchestras and chamber music play in a season of their own.
The halls, churches and stages with the most classical concerts in the next twelve months.
