Philippe Tondre (born in 1989) is a French-British classical

oboist An oboist (formerly hautboist) is a musician who plays the oboe or any oboe family instrument, including the oboe d'amore, cor anglais or English horn, bass oboe and piccolo oboe or oboe musette. The following is a list of notable past and p ...

. He has served as Principal Oboist of the

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...

since 2020, and a professor of Oboe at the

Curtis Institute of Music The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on full scholarship. Hi ...

since 2022.

Early days

Born in

Mulhouse Mulhouse (; Alsatian: or , ; ; meaning ''mill house'') is a city of the Haut-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region, eastern France, close to the Swiss and German borders. It is the largest city in Haut-Rhin and second largest in Alsace af ...

, Philippe Tondre started studying the

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. ...

at the age of six in Yves Cautrès's class at the Mulhouse National School of Music before joining the Conservatoire de Paris in David Walter's class where he won his Prize of oboe as well as his master's degree in music interpretation. He also followed lessons by teachers such as

Heinz Holliger Heinz Robert Holliger (born 21 May 1939) is a Swiss virtuoso oboist, composer and conductor. Celebrated for his versatility and technique, Holliger is among the most prominent oboists of his generation. His repertoire includes Baroque and Classic ...

Maurice Bourgue Maurice Bourgue (born 6 November 1939) is a French oboist, composer, and conductor. Biography Maurice Bourgue studied at the Conservatoire de Paris in the oboe class of Étienne Baudo and chamber music of Fernand Oubradous. He won a First Pri ...

, Jacques Tys, Jean-Louis Capezzali and

Ingo Goritzki Ingo Goritzki (born 22 February 1939 in Berlin, Germany) is a German oboist, pianist, and flautist.Orchestre français des jeunes and the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester under the direction of Sir

Colin Davis Sir Colin Rex Davis (25 September 1927 – 14 April 2013) was an English conductor, known for his association with the London Symphony Orchestra, having first conducted it in 1959. His repertoire was broad, but among the composers with whom h ...

and

Herbert Blomstedt Herbert Thorson Blomstedt (; born 11 July 1927) is a Swedish conductor. Herbert Blomstedt was born in Massachusetts. Two years after his birth, his Swedish parents moved the family back to their country of origin. He studied at the Stockholm Ro ...

. At the age of eighteen, he was appointed solo oboe of the

Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra The Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (German: ''Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR'') was a German radio orchestra based in Stuttgart in Germany. History The ensemble was founded in 1945 by American occupation authorities as the orchest ...

(''

Südwestrundfunk Südwestrundfunk (SWR; ''Southwest Broadcasting'') is a regional public broadcasting corporation serving the southwest of Germany , specifically the federal states of Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate. The corporation has main office ...

'') under the direction of Sir

Roger Norrington Sir Roger Arthur Carver Norrington (born 16 March 1934) is an English conductor. He is known for historically informed performances of Baroque, Classical and Romantic music. In November 2021 Norrington announced his retirement. Life Nor ...

and

Georges Prêtre Georges Prêtre (; 14 August 1924 – 4 January 2017) was a French orchestral and opera conductor. Biography Prêtre was born in Waziers ( Nord), and attended the Douai Conservatory and then studied harmony under Maurice Duruflé and conductin ...

, a position he held from 2008 to 2016. At the age of 19, he was spotted by

Seiji Ozawa Seiji (written: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , or in hiragana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese ski jumper *, Japanese racing driver *, Japanese politician *, Japanese film directo ...

in Japan and became in 2010 a member of the ''

Saito Kinen Orchestra The Saito Kinen Orchestra is an orchestra formed annually during the Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto, which is held every August and September in Matsumoto city, Nagano, Japan. The orchestra is managed by the Saito Kinen Foundation. History In S ...

'' of

Matsumoto Matsumoto (松本 or 松元, "base of the pine tree") may refer to: Places * Matsumoto, Nagano (松本市), a city ** Matsumoto Airport, an airport southwest of Matsumoto, Nagano * Matsumoto, Kagoshima (松元町), a former town now part of th ...

and then, in 2012, the Mito Chamber Orchestra under his direction. Since then, he has undertaken international tours with these two bands. As a guest solo oboe, Philippe Tondre has performed regularly with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam,

Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France The Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France is a French radio orchestra, affiliated with Radio France. The orchestra performs principally at the auditorium of the Maison de la Radio in Paris, along with several concerts at the Philharmonie de P ...

, and the

Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra The Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (''Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin'') is a German symphony orchestra based in Berlin. In Berlin, the orchestra gives concerts at the Konzerthaus Berlin and at the Berliner Philharmonie. The orchestra has also ...

. He had the opportunity to perform as a soloist with the Orchestre de chambre de Genève, the New Mozart Orchestra London, the , the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, the

, the

Orchestre de la Suisse Romande The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (OSR) is a Swiss symphony orchestra, based in Geneva at the Victoria Hall. In addition to symphony concerts, the OSR performs as the opera orchestra in productions at the Grand Théâtre de Genève. History E ...

, the Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Thailand, the Budapest Festival Orchestra, the Munich Chamber Orchestra, the "Ensemble La Folia", the

Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (german: Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, BRSO) is a German radio orchestra. Based in Munich, Germany, it is one of the city's four orchestras. The BRSO is one of two full-size symphony orchestr ...

, the Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra, the Kammerakademie Potsdam, the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra, the MDR Sinfonieorchester Leipzig, the Saito Kinen Festival Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra and participates in many festivals in Asia, Europe and the United States. In 2013, Tondre played the German premiere of

James MacMillan Sir James Loy MacMillan, (born 16 July 1959) is a Scottish classical composer and conductor. Early life MacMillan was born at Kilwinning, in North Ayrshire, but lived in the East Ayrshire town of Cumnock until 1977. His father is James MacMi ...

's Oboe concerto under the direction of the composer in Stuttgart with his orchestra. In June of the same year, he played his "Debüt Konzert" at the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was f ...

with the Deutsche Sinfonie Orchester Berlin. He shared with Jacques Zoon the Japanese premiere of Gyorgy Ligeti's Double Concerto with Seiji Ozawa's orchestra in Matsumoto in 2013 and participated in the

ARTE Arte (; (), sometimes stylized in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European public service channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based European Economic Interest Grouping ARTE, pl ...

program "Stars de Demain" presented by

Rolando Villazón Rolando Villazón Mauleón (born 22 February 1972) is a Mexican operatic tenor, stage director, author, radio and television personality and artistic director. He now lives in France, and in 2007 became a French citizen. Villazón has published ...

in Berlin. He also leads numerous

masterclass Yanka Industries, Inc., doing business as MasterClass, is an American online education subscription platform on which students can access tutorials and lectures pre-recorded by experts in various fields. The concept for MasterClass was concei ...

es in the United States, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Taiwan, China and Japan. In 2015 he joins the Budapest Festival Orchestra as Principal Oboe under the baton of Ivan Fischer and one year later becomes the Solo Oboe at the Leipzig

Gewandhaus Gewandhaus is a concert hall in Leipzig, the home of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. Today's hall is the third to bear this name; like the second, it is noted for its fine acoustics. History The first Gewandhaus (''Altes Gewandhaus'') The f ...

with Andris Nelsons, position he will hold one season before deciding to return to Stuttgart, rejoining the new named "SWR Symphony Orchestra" currently led by Teodor Currentzis. Philippe Tondre is a teacher at the Hochschule für Musik Saar since 2015, becoming one of the youngest woodwind professor on German territory. Since March 2019, he has been the principal Oboe of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, succeeding Douglas Boyd, Francois Leleux and Kai Frömbgen. He is also guest professor at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England He is appointed, at the end of the recruitment process which ended on Sunday October 13, 2019, principal oboe of the Philadelphia Orchestra which he will join for summer festivals and then September 14, 2020 for the 2020–2021 season, following the retirement of Richard Woodhams. He thus perpetuates, following Marcel Tabuteau who held this same post from 1915 to 1954, the tradition of the presence of the French school of oboe in Philadelphia. Philippe Tondre was appointed a professor of Oboe at the

in April 2022, beginning with the 2022–2023 school year, succeeding Woodhams there as well. Since 2020, Tondre has been involved in the development of the new oboe model "Légende" from the famous french wind instrument maker Buffet Crampon. Following the success of the oboe, he was appointed head of research and development for the brand's oboe department during the summer of 2022. June of the same year marked his debut at Carnegie Hall, New York where he performed two concertos from Johann Sebastian Bach with the Orchestra of St Luke's.

Awards

Tondre is the winner of all major international competitions dedicated to oboe: Third Prize and Gustav Mahler Prize at the Prague International Spring Music Competition, First Prize at the Gillet-Fox competition of the

International Double Reed Society The International Double Reed Society (IDRS), is an organization that promotes the interests of double reed players, instrument manufacturers and enthusiasts. Services provided by the IDRS include an international oboe and bassoon competition, an ...

in the United States, Second Prize at the International Competition of Japan organized by the Sony Music Foundation and Third Prize at the

Geneva International Music Competition The Geneva International Music Competition () is one of the world's leading international music competitions, founded in 1939. In 1957, it was one of the founding members of the World Federation of International Music Competition (WFIMC), whose he ...

. In September 2011, he won the 60th

ARD International Music Competition The ARD International Music Competition (german: link=no, Internationaler Musikwettbewerb der ARD) is the largest international classical music competition in Germany. It is organised by the Bayerischer Rundfunk and held once a year in Munich. Si ...

in Munich as well as three special prizes, including the Public Prize and the Prize for the best interpretation of

Liza Lim Liza Lim (born 30 August 1966) is an Australian composer. Lim writes concert music ( chamber and orchestral works) as well as music theatre and has collaborated with artists on a number of installation and video projects. Her work reflects her in ...

's work composed for the competition, "Gyfu"."Gyfu"
on musikfabrik.eu The following year, in September 2012, following his concert at the Bonn International Festival, he was awarded the

Beethoven Ring Beethoven Ring is an annual award by the association "Citizens for Beethoven" of the city of Bonn. (Citizens for Beethoven) is Bonn’s largest cultural association. Its purpose is to promote Beethoven’s music and preserve his memory in the ci ...

, making him the first oboist to receive this prestigious award, which had previously been awarded to great musicians such as

Gustavo Dudamel Gustavo Adolfo Dudamel Ramírez (born 26 January 1981) is a Venezuelan conductor and violinist who is the music director of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Paris Opera. Early life Dudamel was ...

Julia Fischer Julia Fischer (born 15 June 1983) is a German classical violinist and pianist.Lisa Batiashvili.

Early days

Awards

References

External links