The Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century ( nl, Orkest van de Achttiende Eeuw) is a Dutch

early music Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad musical era for the beginning of Western classical m ...

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

Frans Brüggen Franciscus ("Frans") Jozef Brüggen (30 October 1934 – 13 August 2014) was a Dutch Conducting, conductor, recorder player and baroque flautist. Biography Born in Amsterdam, Brüggen was the last of the nine children of August Brüggen, a textile ...

and

Lucy van Dael Lucy van Dael (born in 1946) is a Dutch baroque violinist and member of the faculty of the Amsterdam Conservatory. Her principal violin studies were at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. Originally a classically trained violinist, she began h ...

co-founded the orchestra in 1981. Sieuwert Verster became financial manager in 1984. Although he did not have a formal title with the orchestra, Brüggen served as the ''de facto'' principal conductor of the orchestra from its founding until his death in 2014. Verster has served as the orchestra's manager since its founding. As of August 2014, the orchestra consisted of 55 members, from many different countries, who all play on

period instrument In the historically informed performance movement, musicians perform classical music using restored or replicated versions of the instruments for which it was originally written. Often performances by such musicians are said to be "on authentic ...

s. The group was formed as a

collective A collective is a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest, or work together to achieve a common objective. Collectives can differ from cooperatives in that they are not necessarily focused upon an ...

, so all orchestra members and the conductor receive equal shares of concert earnings. The orchestra does not audition its members, but receives them through word-of-mouth invitations. The orchestra has toured widely both in Europe and America and recorded extensively with

Philips Classics Philips Classics Records was started in the 1980s as the new classics record label for Philips Records. It was successful with artists including Alfred Brendel, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fie ...

, including symphonies of

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...

and

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

. In more recent years, the orchestra has recorded for the Glossa label.

References

External links

Official Website of the Orchestra of the 18th Century

Glossa Music interview with Sieuwert Verster, 24 September 2008
{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1981 Early music orchestras Dutch orchestras Musical collectives 1981 establishments in the Netherlands