The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra ( nl, Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest, ) is a Dutch
symphony 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, ce ...
, based at the Amsterdam
Royal Concertgebouw (concert hall). Considered one of the world's leading orchestras,
Queen Beatrix
Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 1980 until her abdication in 2013.
Beatrix is the eldest daughter of Queen Juliana and her husband ...
conferred the "Royal" title upon the orchestra in 1988.
History
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 ...
opened on 11 April 1888. The Concertgebouw Orchestra was established several months later and gave its first concert in the Concertgebouw on 3 November 1888. This performance was conducted by the orchestra's first chief conductor,
Willem Kes
Willem Kes (Dordrecht, 16 February 1856 – München, 22 February 1934, was a Dutch conducting, conductor, composer, viola, violist, and violin, violinist. He was the first principal conductor of the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, holding t ...
.
1888–1945: Kes and Mengelberg
Kes served as the orchestra's chief conductor from its 1888 founding to 1895. In 1895,
Willem Mengelberg
Joseph Wilhelm Mengelberg (28 March 1871 – 21 March 1951) was a Dutch conductor, famous for his performances of Beethoven, Brahms, Mahler and Strauss with the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest s ...
became chief conductor and remained in this position for fifty years, an unusually long tenure for a music director. He is generally regarded as having brought the orchestra to a level of major international significance, with a particular championing of such then-contemporary composers as
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...
and
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...
.
![Concertgebouw](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Concertgebouw.jpg)
For approximately its first 75 years, the Concertgebouw Orchestra had a somewhat complicated roster of conductors. In addition to the chief conductor, the orchestra had conductor positions titled ''"eerste dirigent"'' ("first conductor"), who assisted the chief conductor with programming, and ''"tweede dirigent"'' ("second conductor"), who did "what he was told." During Mengelberg's time as chief conductor, several of these first conductors included
Karl Muck
Karl Muck (October 22, 1859 – March 3, 1940) was a German-born conductor of Classical music. He based his activities principally in Europe and mostly in opera. His American career comprised two stints at the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO). M ...
(1921–1925),
Pierre Monteux
Pierre Benjamin Monteux (; 4 April 18751 July 1964) was a French (later American) conductor. After violin and viola studies, and a decade as an orchestral player and occasional conductor, he began to receive regular conducting engagements in ...
(1924–1934),
Bruno Walter
Bruno Walter (born Bruno Schlesinger, September 15, 1876February 17, 1962) was a German-born conductor, pianist and composer. Born in Berlin, he escaped Nazi Germany in 1933, was naturalised as a French citizen in 1938, and settled in the Un ...
(1934–1939), and
Eugen Jochum
Eugen Jochum (; 1 November 1902 – 26 March 1987) was a German conductor, best known for his interpretations of the music of Anton Bruckner, Carl Orff, and Johannes Brahms, among others.
Biography
Jochum was born to a Roman Catholic family in ...
(1941–1943), each of them internationally respected and holding positions at other orchestras as well. Musicians who served as "second conductor" were all Dutch and included the composer
Cornelis Dopper
Cornelis 'Kees' Dopper (7 February 1870, Stadskanaal – 19 September 1939, Amsterdam) was a Dutch composer, Conductor (music), conductor and teacher.
Life
Born in the northern Dutch town of Stadskanaal, he came to study at the Leipzig con ...
, Evert Cornelis and
Eduard van Beinum
Eduard Alexander van Beinum (; 3 September 1900 – 13 April 1959, Amsterdam) was a Dutch conductor.
Biography
Van Beinum was born in Arnhem, Netherlands, where he received his first violin and piano lessons at an early age. He joined the A ...
.
In 1945, because of the controversy over his relationship with the Nazi occupying forces during the German occupation of the Netherlands during World War II, Mengelberg was removed as chief conductor and subsequently banned from conducting in The Netherlands. The ban was initially imposed for the remainder of his life, but after an appeal, reduced to six years, applied retroactively from 1945. Mengelberg died in 1951 just before the end of his sentence, thus never conducting the orchestra after 1945.
1945–1988: Van Beinum and Haitink
From 1945 to 1959, the orchestra's principal conductor was
Eduard van Beinum
Eduard Alexander van Beinum (; 3 September 1900 – 13 April 1959, Amsterdam) was a Dutch conductor.
Biography
Van Beinum was born in Arnhem, Netherlands, where he received his first violin and piano lessons at an early age. He joined the A ...
, who had debuted with the orchestra in 1929. He had become the second conductor of the orchestra in 1931, and co-principal conductor in 1938. One of his specialties was the symphonies of
Anton Bruckner
Josef Anton Bruckner (; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer, organist, and music theorist best known for his symphonies, masses, Te Deum and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-Germ ...
, and Van Beinum made commercial recordings with the orchestra of Bruckner's Eighth and Ninth Symphonies for the
Philips Records
Philips Records is a record label founded by the Dutch electronics company Philips. It was founded as Philips Phonographische Industrie in 1950. In 1946, Philips acquired the company which pressed records for British Decca's Dutch outlet in A ...
label. Van Beinum served as sole chief conductor of the orchestra after World War II until his sudden death on the Concertgebouw podium from a heart attack in April 1959.
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 Lond ...
made his debut with the Concertgebouw Orchestra on 7 November 1956. After Van Beinum's death, from 1961 to 1963, Haitink and
Eugen Jochum
Eugen Jochum (; 1 November 1902 – 26 March 1987) was a German conductor, best known for his interpretations of the music of Anton Bruckner, Carl Orff, and Johannes Brahms, among others.
Biography
Jochum was born to a Roman Catholic family in ...
shared the post of chief conductor of the orchestra. Haitink became sole chief conductor in 1963, and served in this post until 1988. At some point during Haitink's time, the conductor system was simplified to have an assistant conductor instead of first- and second-conductors. Conductors who served in this capacity included
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 ...
and
Hans Vonk. The recording profile of the orchestra increased most dramatically under Haitink, with many recordings for
Philips Records
Philips Records is a record label founded by the Dutch electronics company Philips. It was founded as Philips Phonographische Industrie in 1950. In 1946, Philips acquired the company which pressed records for British Decca's Dutch outlet in A ...
, as well as
EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...
and
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
. In the early 1980s, the Dutch government threatened the orchestra with reductions in its government subsidy that could potentially have led to the dismissal of 23 musicians from the orchestra. Haitink threatened to resign in protest, and the financial situation was eventually settled. In 1999, Haitink was named the orchestra's conductor laureate (''eredirigent''), following a rapprochement negotiated by the then-new managing director of the orchestra,
Jan Willem Loot. In March 2014, Haitink suggested to the Dutch newspaper ''
Het Parool
''Het Parool'' () is an Amsterdam-based daily newspaper. It was first published on 10 February 1941 as a resistance paper during the German occupation of the Netherlands (1940–1945). In English, its name means ''The Password'' or ''The Motto' ...
'' that he wished to renounce the title of RCO conductor laureate and no longer to guest-conduct the orchestra, in protest at the orchestra's current administrative management. In September 2015, the orchestra announced a rapprochement with Haitink, with a scheduled guest-conducting engagement with the RCO in the 2016–2017 season. Haitink retained the title of ''eredirigent'' with the orchestra through his 2019 retirement and until his death in October 2021.
1988–2018: Chailly, Jansons and Gatti
Riccardo Chailly made his debut with the Concertgebouw Orchestra in 1985, and was elected that year as their next chief conductor to succeed Haitink. As the first non-Dutchman to hold the post, Chailly served as chief conductor from 1988 to 2004. His recordings with the orchestra include complete Mahler and Brahms symphony cycles and several Bruckner symphonies. He is a strong advocate of modern music and recorded shorter works of Shostakovich, the complete ''Kammermusiken'' of
Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the ''Ne ...
, and the orchestral works of
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...
,
Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex; harmonically ...
and
Edgard Varèse
Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse (; also spelled Edgar; December 22, 1883 – November 6, 1965) was a French-born composer who spent the greater part of his career in the United States. Varèse's music emphasizes timbre and rhythm; he coined ...
. After his departure in 2004, Chailly was named Conductor Emeritus of the RCO.
Mariss Jansons
Mariss Ivars Georgs Jansons (14 January 1943 – 1 December 2019) was a Latvian conductor best known for his interpretations of Mahler, Strauss and Russian composers such as Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich. During his lifetime he w ...
made his RCO debut in 1988. On 22 October 2002, the RCO elected Jansons as its next chief conductor. His tenure officially began on 1 September 2004, with an initial contract of three years. Premières during Janson's tenure have included
Hans Werner Henze
Hans Werner Henze (1 July 1926 – 27 October 2012) was a German composer. His large oeuvre of works is extremely varied in style, having been influenced by serialism, atonality, Stravinsky, Italian music, Arabic music and jazz, as well as t ...
's ''
Sebastian im Traum'', a RCO co-commission. In April 2014, the orchestra announced the scheduled conclusion of Jansons' tenure as chief conductor after the 2014–15 season. Jansons subsequently held the title of conductor emeritus of the RCO until his death in 2019.
Daniele Gatti
Daniele Gatti (born 6 November 1961) is an Italian conductor. He is currently chief conductor of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, artistic advisor of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and music director of the Orchestra Mozart.
Biography
Gatti was born i ...
first guest-conducted the RCO in 2004. In October 2014, the RCO announced the appointment of Gatti as its seventh chief conductor, effective in 2016. On 2 August 2018, the orchestra dismissed Gatti as chief conductor with immediate effect, following complaints of "inappropriate" behaviour with female musicians.
2020-present
In October 2020, the RCO announced the appointment of
Iván Fischer
Iván Fischer (born 20 January 1951) is a Hungarian conductor and composer.
Born in Budapest into a musical family of Jewish heritage, Fischer initially studied piano, violin, cello and composition in Budapest. His older brother, Ádám Fisc ...
as its honorary guest conductor (''honorair gastdirigent''), effective with the 2021-2022 season.
In September 2020,
Klaus Mäkelä
Klaus Mäkelä (born 17 January 1996) is a Finnish conductor and cellist. He is currently chief conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic, music director of the Orchestre de Paris, and artistic partner and chief conductor-designate of the Royal Concertg ...
first guest-conducted the RCO. The RCO re-engaged Mäkelä twice in the 2020-2021 season, and subsequently in the 2021-2022 season for further guest-conducting appearances, including tours to Hamburg and Reykjavík. In June 2022, the RCO announced the appointment of Mäkelä as an artistic partner for the period of 2022-2027, and subsequently as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2027-2028 season, with an initial contract of 5 years.
Character
The orchestra enjoyed a close relationship with
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...
and championed many of his symphonies, with an especially worthy festival of his music being the 1920 Mahler Festival. Other conductors who worked closely with the Concertgebouw Orchestra included
Pierre Monteux
Pierre Benjamin Monteux (; 4 April 18751 July 1964) was a French (later American) conductor. After violin and viola studies, and a decade as an orchestral player and occasional conductor, he began to receive regular conducting engagements in ...
,
Eugen Jochum
Eugen Jochum (; 1 November 1902 – 26 March 1987) was a German conductor, best known for his interpretations of the music of Anton Bruckner, Carl Orff, and Johannes Brahms, among others.
Biography
Jochum was born to a Roman Catholic family in ...
,
George Szell
George Szell (; June 7, 1897 – July 30, 1970), originally György Széll, György Endre Szél, or Georg Szell, was a Hungarian-born American conductor and composer. He is widely considered one of the twentieth century's greatest condu ...
and
Kirill Kondrashin
Kirill Petrovich Kondrashin (, ''Kirill Petrovič Kondrašin''; – 7 March 1981) was a Soviet Union, Soviet and Russian Conducting, conductor. People's Artist of the USSR (1972).
Early life
Kondrashin was born in Moscow to a family of orchestra ...
, who was principal guest conductor from 1978, following his defection from the USSR, until his death in 1981. More recently,
Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Johann Nikolaus Harnoncourt or historically Johann Nikolaus Graf de la Fontaine und d'Harnoncourt-Unverzagt; () (6 December 1929 – 5 March 2016) was an Austrian conductor, particularly known for his historically informed performances of music ...
served as Honorary Guest Conductor of the RCO, beginning in 2000, and leading his final performance with the RCO in October 2013.
Another factor in creating the orchestra's distinct character is that the Concertgebouw Orchestra has had only eight chief conductors, setting it apart from orchestras of similar age and caliber. The nearly one thousand recordings that the orchestra has to its credit have also contributed to this reputation. The orchestra also serves as one of the opera orchestras for productions of the
Dutch National 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 most recent executive director of the orchestra was Jan Raes, from December 2008 to December 2019. Prior executive directors included Jan Willem Loot. In January 2020, the orchestra announced David Bazen as its interim managing director, with immediate effect. In August 2020, the orchestra announced the appointment of Dominik Winterling as the new chairman of its managing board.
Past artistic directors of the Concertgebouw Orchestra have included
Rudolf Mengelberg (1925-1955),
Marius Flothuis (1955–1974), Hein van Royen (1974-1991) and
Peter Ruzicka
Peter Ruzicka (born 3 July 1948) is a German composer and conductor of classical music. He was director of the Hamburg State Opera, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Hamburg and the Salzburg Festival. Ruzicka was managing director and Intendant of ...
, and more recently as head of artistic administration, Joel Ethan Fried. In August 2020, the orchestra announced the appointment of Ulrike Niehoff as its new artistic director, effective 1 January 2021.
The RCO has begun to issue CDs on its own label, RCO Live, as conducted by Jansons and Haitink among others.
Chief conductors
*
Willem Kes
Willem Kes (Dordrecht, 16 February 1856 – München, 22 February 1934, was a Dutch conducting, conductor, composer, viola, violist, and violin, violinist. He was the first principal conductor of the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, holding t ...
(1888–1895)
*
Willem Mengelberg
Joseph Wilhelm Mengelberg (28 March 1871 – 21 March 1951) was a Dutch conductor, famous for his performances of Beethoven, Brahms, Mahler and Strauss with the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest s ...
(1895–1945)
*
Eduard van Beinum
Eduard Alexander van Beinum (; 3 September 1900 – 13 April 1959, Amsterdam) was a Dutch conductor.
Biography
Van Beinum was born in Arnhem, Netherlands, where he received his first violin and piano lessons at an early age. He joined the A ...
(1945–1959)
*
Eugen Jochum
Eugen Jochum (; 1 November 1902 – 26 March 1987) was a German conductor, best known for his interpretations of the music of Anton Bruckner, Carl Orff, and Johannes Brahms, among others.
Biography
Jochum was born to a Roman Catholic family in ...
(1961-1963; co-chief conductor with Bernard Haitink)
*
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 Lond ...
(1961–1988)
*
Riccardo Chailly (1988–2004)
*
Mariss Jansons
Mariss Ivars Georgs Jansons (14 January 1943 – 1 December 2019) was a Latvian conductor best known for his interpretations of Mahler, Strauss and Russian composers such as Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich. During his lifetime he w ...
(2004–2015)
*
Daniele Gatti
Daniele Gatti (born 6 November 1961) is an Italian conductor. He is currently chief conductor of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, artistic advisor of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and music director of the Orchestra Mozart.
Biography
Gatti was born i ...
(2016–2018)
*
Klaus Mäkelä
Klaus Mäkelä (born 17 January 1996) is a Finnish conductor and cellist. He is currently chief conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic, music director of the Orchestre de Paris, and artistic partner and chief conductor-designate of the Royal Concertg ...
(designate, effective 2027)
References
External links
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra official websiteRoyal Concertgebouw official website
{{Authority control
1888 establishments in the Netherlands
Amsterdam-Zuid
Culture in Amsterdam
Dutch orchestras
Musical groups established in 1888
Organisations based in Amsterdam
Organisations based in the Netherlands with royal patronage