With the LAB SERIES, the Brussels Philharmonic brings together musical experimentation, interaction, and total experience. Expect bold and eclectic concert nights with unique programmes, pre- and post-concert talks, interactive installations, and immersive listening sessions.
This season, in the LAB SERIES, conductor and sound explorer Ilan Volkov expands the orchestra’s sound world with electronics. This creative friction opens up a fascinating universe of sonic experimentation, ready to be heard and experienced across a series of concerts, culminating in the Brussels premiere of the TECTONICS festival on 19 and 20 June 2026. Take the leap, open your ears, and discover where your curiosity might lead you.
Tickets available from 24 May – Abo: LAB available from 11 June (3 concerts: €60)
Music stripped to its essence—where sound meets silence, and silence becomes sound. In a world full of noise, minimalism creates space for stillness, and that’s where its power lies.
With this programme, Ilan Volkov questions the idea of ‘minimal’: what do we label as such, and what else—seen from another angle—might also be considered minimal? An experimental evening with electronics and voice as key elements.
Electronics in the concert hall? Think of it as a spark of invisible magic—something mechanical yet alive, opening up the symphonic sound, enriching it, or pushing back against it. Ilan Volkov brings together four composers who let two sound worlds clash and collide—or seamlessly blend.
With Ilan Volkov at the helm, the Brussels Philharmonic presents the Second and Sixth Symphonies by Luc Brewaeys: in the latter, Brewaeys brings together everything he stands for - the vibrant coloration of 20th-century spectralism, a bold orchestral configuration and a confrontation with electronics. Clearly influenced by that élan, Daan Janssens composed a new concerto for violin, orchestra and surround electronics.
