Brussels Philharmonic & Ono, Volkov, Rundel

What to expect

Brussels Philharmonic performs Karlheinz Stockhausen's Gruppen twice, and the audience sits among the three orchestras.

Conductor Ilan Volkov divides the Brussels Philharmonic into three groups and lets sound fragments fly between the ensembles.

The title Gruppen does not refer to the three orchestral groups; it refers to the components that build the composition.

At the 1958 Cologne premiere, Stockhausen conducted one orchestra; Pierre Boulez and Bruno Maderna conducted the other two.

• Gruppen is rarely performed.
• Size, technical demands and acoustics make it rare.
• It uses 109 musicians in total.
• One of Stockhausen's most iconic works.
• Part of the Total Immersion festival.