The Netherlands Chamber Orchestra (NKO;

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

, ''Nederlands Kamerorkest'') is a Dutch

chamber orchestra Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numbe ...

based in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. The NKO is part of the ''Stichting Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest'' (Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra Foundation), along with the

Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra The Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra (NedPhO; nl, Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest) is a Dutch symphony orchestra based in Amsterdam. History The NedPhO was formed in 1985 from the merger of three orchestras: the Amsterdam Philharmonic Orchestr ...

(NedPhO). The core of the NKO is a group of at least 20 string instrumentalists. The orchestra does not have wind, percussion and harp players as permanent orchestra members, but instead utilises such instrumentalists from the NedPhO. The orchestra is headquartered and rehearses at the

Beurs van Berlage The Beurs van Berlage is a building on the Damrak, in the centre of Amsterdam. It was designed as a commodity exchange by architect Hendrik Petrus Berlage and constructed between 1896 and 1903. It influenced many modernist architects, in par ...

, Amsterdam.

History

The NKO was established in 1955, and gave its first concert that year at the

Holland Festival The Holland Festival () is the oldest and largest performing arts festival in the Netherlands. It takes place every June in Amsterdam. It comprises theatre, music, opera and modern dance. In recent years, multimedia, visual arts, film and archite ...

. In 1985, the NKO was merged with the Amsterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and the Utrecht Symphony Orchestra to form the ''Stichting Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest''. The NKO still continues to give concerts under its own name, including a 50th anniversary commemorative concert in the

Concertgebouw The Royal Concertgebouw ( nl, Koninklijk Concertgebouw, ) is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" translates into English as "concert building". Its superb acoustics place it among the finest concert halls i ...

, Amsterdam. The first chief conductor and leader of the orchestra was

Szymon Goldberg Szymon Goldberg (1 June 190919 July 1993) was a Polish-born Jewish classical music, classical violinist and Conducting, conductor, latterly an American. Born in Włocławek, Congress Poland, Goldberg played the violin as a child growing up in Warsa ...

, from 1955 to 1979. During Goldberg's tenure, David Zinman served as the orchestra's "second conductor" (''tweede dirigent''). From 1979 to 1986,

Antoni Ros-Marbà Antoni is a Catalan, Polish, and Slovene given name and a surname used in the eastern part of Spain, Poland and Slovenia. As a Catalan given name it is a variant of the male names Anton and Antonio. As a Polish given name it is a variant of the fe ...

was chief conductor of the NKO. From 1986 to 2002, the first period of the merger of the NKO into the NPO Foundation,

Hartmut Haenchen Hartmut Haenchen (born 21 March 1943) is a German conductor, known as a specialist for the music of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, and for conducting operas in the leading opera houses of the world. Career Born in Dresden, Haenchen began his music ...

was chief conductor of both the NKO and the NedPhO.

Philippe Entremont Philippe Entremont (born 7 June 1934) is a French classical pianist and conductor. His recordings as a pianist include concertos by Tchaikovsky, Maurice Ravel, Rachmaninoff, Saint-Saëns and others. Early life Philippe Entremont was born in ...

has served as principal guest conductor of the NKO.

Yakov Kreizberg Yakov Kreizberg (russian: Яков Крейцберг; born Yakov Mayevich Bychkov, 24 October 1959 – 15 March 2011) was a Russian-born American conductor. Early years In the Soviet Union Yakov Bychkov was born in Leningrad into a family ...

succeeded Haenchen as chief conductor of the NKO and NedPhO in 2003, and held the posts until his death in March 2011. Since 2004,

Gordan Nikolitch Gordan Nikolitch, also spelled Gordan Nikolić, ( sr, Гордан Николић; born 1968) is a Franco-Serbian violinist. He was the first concertmaster of the London Symphony Orchestra for nearly 20 years, having stepped down in October 2017 to ...

has served as NKO concertmaster. In March 2009, the NKO announced the appointment of

Marc Albrecht Marc Albrecht (born 1964) is a German conductor who lives in The Netherlands. He was chief conductor of the Dutch National Opera, the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, and the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra from 2009 to 2020. Biography Born in ...

as the orchestra's fifth chief conductor, starting with the 2011-2012 season, for an initial contract of 4 years, in parallel with his appointment as chief conductor of the NedPhO and of Dutch National Opera. Albrecht concluded his NKO chief conductorship at the close of the 2019-2020 season. In April 2019, the NedPhO announced the appointment of

Lorenzo Viotti Lorenzo Viotti (born 15 March 1990) is a Swiss conductor. He is currently chief conductor of the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, and Dutch National Opera. Biography Born in Lausanne the son of conductor Ma ...

as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2021-2022 season. With this NedPhO appointment, Viotti is scheduled simultaneously to become chief conductor of the NKO. In Amsterdam, the NKO gives around 15 concerts per season at the Concertgebouw. The NKO also performs as one of several orchestras in productions at

De Nederlandse Opera The Dutch National Opera (DNO; formerly De Nederlandse Opera, now De Nationale Opera in Dutch) is a Dutch opera company based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its present home base is the Dutch National Opera & Ballet housed in the Stopera building, a m ...

Chief Conductors

(1955–1979) *

(1979–1986) *

(1986–2002) *

(2003–2011) *

(2011–2020) *

(2021-present)

References

External links

Official homepage of the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra
{{Authority control Dutch orchestras Musical groups established in 1955 1955 establishments in the Netherlands