The Brussels Philharmonic is a Belgian

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 ...

located in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. Formerly known as the Groot Symfonie-Orkest, BRT Philharmonic Orchestra, and later as the Flemish Radio Orchestra, the orchestra has been linked to the Flemish

public broadcaster Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

NIR/INR (the present VRT).

History

The orchestra was founded in

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...

as a studio ensemble of public broadcasting with the name of Groot Symfonie-Orkest. In 1998, it began its independent existence as the VRT Radio Orkest (Flemish Radio Orchestra). From 2008, the orchestra took the new name of the Brussels Philharmonic.

Description

Since 2005, the residence of the orchestra has been Studio 4 of the renovated

Flagey Building The Flagey Building (french: Bâtiment Flagey, nl, Flageygebouw) also known as Radio House (french: Maison de la Radio, nl, Radiohuis) is a building located in Ixelles, a municipality of Brussels, Belgium, housing the Flagey cultural centre. ...

in Brussels. The orchestra also gives concerts in the BOZAR, Centre for Fine Arts. The orchestra also plays elsewhere in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

, as well as abroad in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. The orchestra also performs as accompanying ensemble with the

Royal Ballet of Flanders The Royal Ballet of Flanders is a dance company based in Antwerp, Belgium, specializing in classical, neoclassical and contemporary ballet. In its current incarnation, the company was established in 1969. It tours internationally. History The ...

. The orchestra's current music director is Stéphane Denève, as of the 2015–2016 season. One new initiative scheduled for Denève's tenure is the establishment of CffOR (Centre for Future Orchestral Repertoire), for commissioning new compositions. With the orchestra, Denève has commercially recorded music of

Guillaume Connesson Guillaume Connesson (One can hear Connesson pronouncing his name in thiinterview) is a French composer born in 1970 in Boulogne-Billancourt. Biography Connesson studied the piano, music theory, music history and choir conducting at the Conserva ...

, and

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...

. In 2017, the orchestra and Denève accompanied the finale of the

Queen Elisabeth Competition The Queen Elisabeth Competition ( nl, Koningin Elisabethwedstrijd, french: Concours musical international Reine Élisabeth) is an international competition for career-starting musicians held in Brussels. The competition is named after Queen ...

for

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

. In March 2019, the orchestra made its debut at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

in New York under the baton of Denève. In September 2020, the orchestra started

live-stream Livestreaming is streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real-time over the internet. It is often referred to simply as streaming. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, but no ...

ing its concerts in Brussels in collaboration with MotorMusic and Evil Penguin TV. Denève is scheduled to conclude his music directorship of the orchestra at the close of the 2021-2022 season. In 2021,

Kazushi Ōno (born 1960) is a Japanese conductor. He is currently music director of the Brussels Philharmonic and of the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, and artistic director of New National Theatre Tokyo. Biography Ōno studied at the Tokyo Nationa ...

first guest-conducted the orchestra. In September 2021, the orchestra announced the appointment of Ōno as its next music director, effective with the 2022-2023 season. In February 2022, the orchestra announced the appointment of

Ilan Volkov Ilan Volkov ( he, אילן וולקוב; born September 8, 1976, Tel Aviv) is an Israeli orchestral conductor. Biography Volkov's father, Alexander Volkov, was a concert pianist. He studied with the conductor Mendi Rodan at the Rubin Academy in ...

as principal guest conductor, effective with the 2022–2023 season, following three guest-conducting appearances with the orchestra, the first in March 2021.

Music Directors

* Fernand Terby (1978–1988) *

Alexander Rahbari Ali (Alexander) Rahbari ( fa, علی رهبری; also Romanized as "Alī Rahbarī", ; born 1948) is an Iranian composer and conductor, who has worked with more than 120 European orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic and the Mariinsky Op ...

(1988–1996) * Frank Shipway (1996–2001) *

Yoel Levi Yoel Levi (Hebrew: יואל לוי) (born 16 August 1950) is an Israeli musician and conductor. Early life Born in Romania, Levi grew up in Israel. He studied at the Tel Aviv Academy of Music, receiving a Master of Arts degree with distinction. ...

(2001–2007) *

Michel Tabachnik Michel Tabachnik (born November 10, 1942) is a Swiss conductor and composer with an international career. Promoter of contemporary music, he has premiered a dozen works by Iannis Xenakis, among others. He is also the author of essays on music ...

(2008–2015) * Stéphane Denève (2015–2022) *

(2022–present)

Selected recordings

CD series include CDs for Warner Classics and recordings for the ''French center of Romantic music, Palazzetto Bru Zane''. The orchestra has notably recorded the scores for '' The Aviator'', composed by

Howard Shore Howard Leslie Shore (born October 18, 1946) is a Canadian composer and conductor noted for his film scores. He has composed the scores for over 80 films, most notably the scores for ''The Lord of the Rings'' and ''The Hobbit'' film trilogies. ...

, and '' The Artist'', composed by

Ludovic Bource Ludovic Bource (; born 19 August 1970 in Pontivy) is a French composer best known for his work in film scoring. He rose to international critical acclaim in 2011 for composing the Golden Globe- and Academy Award-winning score for '' The Artist''. ...

. The orchestra received the ''Choc de Classica'' and the ''Diapason d'or'' of the year in 2016 for their Deutsche Grammophon recording of music of Guillaume Connesson, 'Pour sortir au jour'. Since 2015, the Brussels Philharmonic has made several recordings for

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

. * Connesson – ''Pour sortir au jour'' , Brussels Philharmonic & Mathieu Dufour conducted by Stéphane Denève, (2016) * Prokofiev – Romantic Suites , Brussels Philharmonic conducted by Stéphane Denève, (2017) * Connesson – ''Lost Horizon'' , Brussels Philharmonic &

Renaud Capuçon Renaud Capuçon (born 27 January 1976) is a French classical violinist. Since late 2016 he has been teaching at the Royal Northern College of Music. Biography Capuçon was born in Chambéry on 27 January 1976. He entered the conservatory in ...

Timothy McAllister Timothy McAllister (born October 21, 1972) is an American classical saxophonist and music educator, who, as of 2014, is Professor of Saxophone at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance. Career Born in 1972, he gave his solo ...

conducted by Stéphane Denève, (2017) *Voice of Hope , Brussels Philharmonic &

Camille Thomas Camille Thomas (born May 1988 in Paris, France) is a Franco-Belgian cellist. Biography Camille Thomas began studying the cello at the age of 4. At 10 years old, she studied under Marcel Bardon at the ''Conservatoire national de région de P ...

conducted by Stéphane Denève, (2020) Since 2011, the Brussels Philharmonic has been producing recordings through its own label, Brussels Philharmonic Recordings. *

Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

– '' La Mer'' , Brussels Philharmonic & het Vlaams Radio Koor conducted by

, (Brussels Philharmonic Recordings, March 2011) * Dvorák – Symphony No. 9 , Brussels Philharmonic &

, (Brussels Philharmonic Recordings, February 2012) *

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

– Symphony No. 6 , Brussels Philharmonic &

, (Brussels Philharmonic Recordings, September 2012) *

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 20th-century clas ...

– ''

Le sacre du printemps ''The Rite of Spring''. Full name: ''The Rite of Spring: Pictures from Pagan Russia in Two Parts'' (french: Le Sacre du printemps: tableaux de la Russie païenne en deux parties) (french: Le Sacre du printemps, link=no) is a ballet and orchestral ...

'' , Brussels Philharmonic &

, (Brussels Philharmonic Recordings, January 2013)

Scorings

* 2004 – '' The Aviator'' * 2011 – '' The Artist'' * 2012 – ''Parade's End'' * 2013 – ''The White Queen'' * 2015 – ''High Rise'' * 2015 – ''Marguerite'' * 2015 – ''Michiel de Ruyter'' * 2016 – ''A Quiet Passion'' * 2016 – ''Knielen op een bed violen'' * 2017 – ''Get Even'' (game) * 2017 – ''

Final Fantasy XV is an action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix. The fifteenth main installment of the ''Final Fantasy'' series, it was released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2016, Microsoft Windows in 2018, and as a launch title ...

: Episode Ignis'' (game) * 2018 – ''

El árbol de la sangre ''The Tree of Blood'' ( es, link=no, El árbol de la sangre) is a 2018 Spanish-French drama film written and directed by Julio Medem. It stars Úrsula Corberó and Álvaro Cervantes alongside Najwa Nimri, Maria Molins, Patricia López Arnaiz, Da ...

References

External links

Brussels Philharmonic official website
*
Stéphane Denève official website

Flagey Cultural Centre
{{Authority control 1935 establishments in Belgium Musical groups established in 1935 Belgian orchestras Organisations based in Brussels Music in Brussels