The Radio Filharmonisch Orkest (''Radio Philharmonic Orchestra''; Dutch abbreviation RFO) is a Dutch

radio orchestra A radio orchestra (or broadcast orchestra) is an orchestra employed by a radio network (and sometimes television networks) in order to provide programming as well as sometimes perform incidental or theme music for various shows on the network. In ...

, based in

Hilversum Hilversum () is a city and municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is the largest urban centre in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes, and smaller towns. Hilvers ...

. The RFO performs under the aegis of the ''Muziekcentrum van de Omroep'' (Broadcasting Music Centre; NMBC), an umbrella organization bringing together the music departments of the various broadcasting associations affiliated to

Nederlandse Publieke Omroep The Dutch public broadcasting system ( nl, Nederlands publieke omroepbestel) is a group of organizations that are responsible for public service television and radio broadcasting in the Netherlands. It is composed of the Nederlandse Publieke Omroe ...

(''Dutch Public Broadcasting''). The RFO performs on

NPO Radio 4 NPO Klassiek is a public-service radio channel in the Netherlands, broadcasting chiefly classical music. It is part of the Netherlands Public Broadcasting system, NPO. History The channel began broadcasting on 28 December 1975 under the name ...

and gives public concerts 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 ...

and

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

. It has also served as the orchestra for 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 ...

. The RFO's programmes are decided by the above-mentioned Muziekcentrum, rather than directly by the orchestra's management and chief conductor. The current manager of the RFO is Wouter den Hond.

History

Albert van Raalte Albert Bernhard van Raalte (21 May 1890, Amsterdam – 23 November 1952) was a Dutch conductor, the son of Izak van Raalte and Carolina van Engel. He began music studies at age 7, from such teachers as Herman Meerlo and Arnold Drilsma (both viol ...

founded the orchestra in 1945 and served as its first chief conductor. Past chief conductors have included

Paul van Kempen Paul van Kempen (16 May 1893 – 8 December 1955) was a Dutch conductor. Personal life Van Kempen was born in Zoeterwoude, Netherlands. He studied at the Amsterdam conservatory from 1910 to 1913, including composition and conducting with Ju ...

Bernard Haitink Bernard Johan Herman Haitink (; 4 March 1929 – 21 October 2021) was a Dutch conductor and violinist. He was the principal conductor of several international orchestras, beginning with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in 1961. He moved to Lon ...

Jean Fournet Jean Fournet (14 April 1913 – 3 November 2008) was a French flautist and conductor. Fournet was born in Rouen in 1913. His father was a flutist who gave him some instruction on the flute and music theory. Fournet was then trained at the Con ...

Willem van Otterloo Jan Willem van Otterloo (27 December 190727 July 1978) was a Dutch conductor, cellist and composer. Biography Van Otterloo was born in Winterswijk, Gelderland, in the Netherlands, the son of William Frederik van Otterloo, a railway inspector, a ...

, Hans Vonk, and

Sergiu Comissiona Sergiu Comissiona (June 16, 1928 – March 5, 2005) was a Romanian-Israelis, Israeli-Americans, American Conducting, conductor and violinist. Biography Early life Born in Bucharest, Romania in a Jewish family, he began violin studies at the ag ...

Edo de Waart Edo de Waart (born 1 June 1941, Amsterdam) is a Dutch conductor. He is Music Director Laureate of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. De Waart is the former chief conductor of the Royal Flemish Philharmonic (2011-2016), Artistic Partner with the S ...

was chief conductor of the RFO from 1989 to 2004 and is now its conductor laureate.

Jaap van Zweden Jaap van Zweden (; born 12 December 1960) is a Dutch conductor and violinist. He is currently music director of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and of the New York Philharmonic, and music director-designate of the Seoul Philharmonic. ...

was chief conductor and artistic director of the RFO from 2005 to 2012, and now has the title of ''honorair gastdirigent'' (honorary guest conductor, or principal guest conductor). In August 2010, the RFO announced the appointment of

Markus Stenz Markus Stenz (born 28 February 1965, Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Rhineland-Palatinate) is a German conductor. He studied at the Hochschule für Musik Köln with Volker Wangenhein and at Tanglewood with Leonard Bernstein and Seiji Ozawa. Stenz has ...

as its eighth chief conductor, effective from the start of the 2012-2013 season, with an initial contract of three years. In October 2010, the coalition Dutch government announced plans for complete defunding of the ''Muziekcentrum van de Omroep'' by the year 2012, with the potential threat of the dissolution of the RFO. After protests, the Dutch Minister of Education, Culture and Sciences

Marja van Bijsterveldt Janneke Marlene "Marja" van Bijsterveldt-Vliegenthart (born 27 June 1961) is a Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA). She has been mayor of Delft since 2 September 2016. Early life Van Bijsterveldt attended nursing scho ...

announced in December 2010 a partial restoration of funds to the NMBC at a level of €12 million-14 million. In December 2012, the RFO named

as its patron, following his advocacy for the orchestra in the wake of the proposed defunding. Stenz concluded his tenure as the RFO's chief conductor in 2019. The current principal guest conductor of the RFO is James Gaffigan, since 2011. His RFO contract as principal guest conductor has most recently been extended through 2022. Gaffigan is scheduled to stand down as principal guest conductor of the RFO at the close of the 2022-2023 season. In January 2022. the RFO announced the appointment of Stéphane Denève as its next principal guest conductor, effective with the 2023-2024 season. Denève had first guest-conducted the RFO in 2014. In March 2018,

Karina Canellakis Karina Canellakis (born August 23, 1981) is an American conductor and violinist. Biography Born in New York City, of Greek and Russian background, Canellakis grew up in a family of musicians. Her parents met as music students at the Juilliard Sc ...

first guest-conducted the RFO, with concerts in Utrecht and Amsterdam. On the basis of these concerts, the RFO announced in May 2018 the appointment of Canellakis as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2019-2020 season, with an initial contract of 4 years. Canellakis is the first female conductor to be named chief conductor of the RFO. The RFO is the first Dutch orchestra ever to name a female conductor as its chief conductor. In September 2021, the RFO announced the extension of Canellakis' contract as its chief conductor through July 2027.

Principal conductors

(1945–1949) *

(1949–1955) *

(1957–1961) *

(1961–1978) * Hans Vonk (1978–1979) *

(1982–1989) *

(1989–2004) *

(2005–2012) *

(2012–2019) *

(2019–present)

References

External links

Official website of the RFO
{{Authority control Dutch orchestras Edison Classical Music Awards Oeuvreprijs winners Radio and television orchestras Musical groups established in 1945 1945 establishments in the Netherlands

History

Principal conductors

See also

References

External links