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The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra (RPhO; ) 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: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...
based in
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
. Its primary venue is the concert hall De Doelen. The RPhO is considered one of the Netherlands' two principal orchestras of international standing, second to the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
. In addition to symphony concerts, the RPhO performs as the opera orchestra in 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 ...
, as do other Dutch ensembles.


History

Several musicians founded the RPhO in 1918 as a private "Society of Professional Musicians for Mutual Cultivation of the Arts". It had paying members and the aim was to make music for personal pleasure without pursuit of gain. The first musical director was Willem Feltzer, who was the manager of two Rotterdam music schools. Alexander Schmuller succeeded Felzer as music director, for two years. In May 1930, Eduard Flipse was appointed principal conductor, and held the post until 1962. Under his stewardship, the amateur ensemble evolved into a professional orchestra. When Flipse took over from Feltzer and Schmuller, the orchestra was in poor shape both financially and artistically. However, Filpse had both managerial skills and musical vision. He established an "Instrument Fund" to raise funds for new instruments and other necessities, and the orchestra became known for its special attention to
contemporary music Contemporary music is whatever music is produced at the current time. Specifically, it could refer to: Genres or audiences * Adult contemporary music * British contemporary R&B * Christian adult contemporary * Christian contemporary hit radio * Con ...
, featuring the work of Dutch composers such as Johan Wagenaar,
Willem Pijper Willem Frederik Johannes Pijper (; 8 September 189418 March 1947) was a Dutch composer, music critic and music teacher. Pijper is considered to be among the most important Dutch composers of the first half of the 20th century. Life Pijper was b ...
and Alphons Diepenbrock. A 1300-seat concert hall, the Doelen, was built in 1935, and the orchestra was rewarded by rising attendance numbers. When the Rotterdam City Council began to subsidize the orchestra, its problems seemed to be in the past. On May 7, 1940 the orchestra played a concert of Bruch and Stravinsky in a celebration of Flipse's first ten years as conductor. In June 1940 Rotterdam was planning to celebrate its six hundredth birthday and the Rotterdam Philharmonic planned a special program. However, on May 14
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
bombed Rotterdam and nearly completely destroyed it, thereby launching its occupation of the Netherlands which lasted for the duration of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The Doelen was destroyed, as was a rehearsal facility, with most of the music library and all of the orchestra's instruments. Despite the problems, the orchestra season finished according to plan, thanks to several other Dutch orchestras who gave concerts to raise money and helped with equipment and sheet music. The Koninginnekerk, one of the few churches that survived the bombing, became the new concert hall. During the occupation, the rules of the new ''Cultuurkamer'', an organization meant to regulate the arts in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands, were severely restrictive and discriminatory. Every musician had to become a member of the ''Cultuurkamer'', Jewish musicians had to be fired, and music by Jewish composers was banned, as was music from countries at war with Nazi Germany. After the war, the orchestra lacked a permanent home until a new concert hall, also called the Doelen, was built in 1966. After Flipse retired as principal conductor in 1962, his successors were Franz Paul Decker (1962-1967) and Jean Fournet (1968-1973). In 1973, Edo de Waart became principal conductor, and served in the post until 1979. Under De Waart and David Zinman, who succeeded him as principal conductor from 1979 to 1982, the Rotterdam grew into an orchestra of international stature, making many recordings and successful international tours. From 1983 to 1991, James Conlon was the RPhO's principal conductor. Jeffrey Tate succeeded Conlon, from 1991 to 1995. From 1995,
Valery Gergiev Valery Abisalovich Gergiev (, ; ; born 2 May 1953) is a Russian conducting, conductor and opera company director. He is currently general director and artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre and of the Bolshoi Theatre and artistic director o ...
served as principal conductor, and featured the orchestra in his Gergiev Festival presentations. Gergiev stepped down as principal conductor in August 2008, and subsequently took the title of ''eredirigent'' (honorary conductor) of the RPhO. He held this title until March 2022, when the RPhO terminated its artistic relationship with Gergiev, rescinded his title of ''eredirigent'' and discontinued its Gergiev Festival, following Gergiev's lack of denunciation of the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
. In December 2006, the orchestra voted unanimously to name Yannick Nézet-Séguin as their 11th Principal Conductor, as of the 2008–2009 season, with an initial contract of 4 years. In April 2010, the RPhO announced the extension of Nézet-Séguin's contract through 2015. In June 2013, the RPhO further extended his contract through the summer of 2018. In May 2015, the RPhO announced the scheduled conclusion of Nézet-Séguin's tenure as principal conductor at the end of the 2017–2018 season. Nézet-Séguin now has the title of ''Eredirigent'' with the RPhO. In June 2016, Lahav Shani made his first guest-conducting appearance with the RPhO. On the basis of this concert, in August 2016, the RPhO unanimously elected Shani as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2018–2019 season, with an initial contract of 5 years. Shani is the youngest conductor ever to be named chief conductor of the RPhO. In March 2020, the RPhO announced the extension of Shani's contract as chief conductor through August 2026. In January 2023, the RPhO announced that Shani is to conclude his tenure as its chief conductor at the close of the 2025-2026 season. Past principal guest conductors of the RPhO included Jirí Belohlávek, who held the title from the 2012–2013 season until his death on 31 May 2017. In May 2022, Tarmo Peltokoski first guest-conducted the RPhO. On the basis of this appearance, the RPhO announced the appointment of Peltokoski as its next principal guest conductor, effective with the 2023-2024 season, with an initial contract of 4 years. The RPhO has made commercial recordings for such labels as Philips, EMI, BIS, and
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 ...
.


List of principal conductors

* Willem Feltzer (1918-1928) * Alexander Schmuller (1928-1930) * Eduard Flipse (1930-1962) * Franz Paul Decker (1962-1967) * Jean Fournet (1968-1973) * Edo de Waart (1973-1979) * David Zinman (1979-1982) * James Conlon (1983-1991) * Jeffrey Tate (1991-1995) *
Valery Gergiev Valery Abisalovich Gergiev (, ; ; born 2 May 1953) is a Russian conducting, conductor and opera company director. He is currently general director and artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre and of the Bolshoi Theatre and artistic director o ...
(1995-2008) * Yannick Nézet-Séguin (2008–2018) * Lahav Shani (2018–present)


References


External links


Official website of the Rotterdam Philharmonic


{{Authority control Dutch symphony orchestras Musical groups established in 1918 Musical groups from Rotterdam 1918 establishments in the Netherlands Organisations based in Rotterdam