Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra

The starting point of the Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest, founded in 1918, was unusual enough. Initially, professional musicians who played in cafés and cinemas, for example, came together out of an idealistic desire to perform symphonic works at all. Soon fees could be paid and the loose association developed into a professional orchestra. Under the aegis of conductor Eduard Flipse, appointed in 1930, it became known for its performances of contemporary Dutch works, especially those by Rotterdam composer Willem Pijper. In 1935, the Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest was given its own 1300-seat concert hall, De Doelen, which was completely destroyed during the devastating German bombardment of Rotterdam in May 1940. It was not until 1966 that the orchestra was able to move into a new venue, again named De Doelen, but now almost twice as large and acoustically excellent.

In the 1970s, the Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest gained international renown through concert tours and a whole series of award-winning recordings. More recently, the appointment of Valery Gergiev as principal conductor, who officiated in Rotterdam from 1995 to 2008 and from whom the orchestra has since distanced itself despite his merits, ushered in a golden era. The courageous choice of the then 33-year-old Canadian Yannick Nézet-Séguin as his successor proved to be a stroke of luck. Nézet-Séguin introduced new concert series, made the Rotterdamer even better known on international tours, and recorded numerous critically acclaimed recordings with his orchestra. His work has been continued since 2018 by Lahav Shani, with whom the Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest chose an even younger conductor as its artistic director. After just a few concerts, the orchestra and conductor agreed to continue working together until 2026. The international reputation that the Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest now enjoys is also reflected in the soloists who enter into closer collaboration with the orchestra as artists in residence. In the 2021/22 season, the pianist Yuja Wang assumed this function, and in 2022/23 she will be followed by the pianist Daniil Trifonov.

As of August 2022