year 4 - number 7 - november 2017
onderschrift?
Stunning season opener with star soprano Diana Damrau In the presence of all the orchestra’s
tra in a number of Mozart arias. After
Following the concert, audience mem-
business club De Salon and young pro-
Dvor ák’s Symphony No. 8, and Damrau
the musicians, Maestro Hengelbrock and
corporate partners, members of its
fessionals from corporates including
ING, Unilever, Accenture and PwC, the RCO kicked off its new concert season
in a festive atmosphere with the RCO
Opening Night on September 14. Her Majesty Queen Máxima, the orchestra’s patron, was also in attendance.
the interval, the programme featured returned to the stage to perform the very
fitting ‘Glitter and Be Gay’ from Leonard
Bernstein’s Candide as an encore, all under the baton of Thomas Hengelbrock, chief
conductor of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra in Hamburg.
bers were given the opportunity to meet Diana Damrau in the foyers. The evening concluded with an RCO Lounge afterparty in the Recital Hall.
Needless to say, expectations are high
for next season. Bring on RCO Opening Night 2018 on September 14!
Before the concert, an exclusive reception
for Salon members was held in the Recital Hall, completely transformed for the occasion, during which rising star soprano Laetitia Gerards, accompanied by current
and former members of the RCO Academy,
gave a live preview of the evening’s concert programme.
After the walking dinner in various foy-
ers of The Concertgebouw, the concert in the Main Hall got under way with the
Overture of Don Giovanni. Diana Damrau then starred in her first appearance with the Royal Concertgebouw Orches-
Unilever and ING, global partners of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. From left to right: Jan Zijderveld (President of Unilever Europe), Her Majesty Queen Máxima, Ralph Hamers (CEO of ING) and Jan Raes (Managing Director of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra).
1
De Salon - Revisited Founded in 2004, De Salon is the business
variety of events for specific target groups
concerts allow us to meet the needs of
Orchestra (RCO). Having started out as a
agement and executive officers. The Royal
companies the perfect opportunity to let
club
of
the
Royal
Concertgebouw
business circle for young professionals, it has since grown to become a network of leading companies and professionals. ‘We’re
proud
to
count
so
many
important corporate players among our
most committed partners,’ says Marc Bakker, board member of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra’s Stichting Donateurs.
In today’s rapidly changing world, it’s important to be agile, and that goes for De
Salon as well. But these days, that’s not enough: staying one step ahead and be-
ing innovative is essential. That’s why the
ranging from young professionals to manConcertgebouw Orchestra believes in being
relevant to the corporate community at every level. The newly revisited privileg-
es continue to give Salon members access to several exclusive networking events Crossover Evening and a regular concert.
meet the musicians.
of the year attended by all the movers and
Charlie dos Reis Borges Rodrigues,
shakers of the Dutch corporate sector, and one Essentials concert and correspond-
ing RCO Lounge. Designed particularly for young professionals, the Essentials
in the future. During this process, Salon members were regularly asked to provide feedback, and a number of components
were evaluated in terms of their added val-
ue. Members provided insight, and were open and honest about their experiences with De Salon. The exchange has resulted
in greater focus and a clearer mission and vision for De Salon and its privileges.
One significant improvement is that the
privileges De Salon offers now consist of a
New Salon members This season, we are welcoming the following new Salon members: the Korn Ferry and Boontje Advocaten.
Meanwhile, a number of businesses have renewed their Salon membership.
EY and Intertrust are among those the
up-close the magic of the orchestra and
If you would like more information or
opener RCO Opening Night, the gala event
lon is structurally ensured and enhanced
support
individual levels, and in doing so, witness
De Salon has added the orchestra’s season
beginning of 2017 so the relevance of De Sa-
to
all their employees network at their own
each year such as the Prix de Salon, the
RCO implemented a change process at the
continuing
this specific group. De Salon now gives
Royal
Concertgebouw Orchestra in this way.
2
have any questions, please contact
Account Manager, Corporate Partnerships,
at c.reisborges@concertgebouworkest.nl or on +31 (0)20 305 10 56.
RCO House laying new foundations under the orchestra As
many
of
Concertgebouw
you
know,
Orchestra
the is
Royal
Since the purchase of the property on
by
en. In the autumn of 2016, building plans
its very own house. A former school building
designed
prominent the
Dutch
property
is
in
1908
architect
ideally
Scheduling
getting
the
Berlage,
located
at
Museumplein, just a stone’s throw from The Concertgebouw. With RCO House, a
dream long cherished by the RCO has
become a reality: having its very own space, complete with rehearsal studios
and an ensemble hall for educational and chamber music activities.
Importance Although orchestral rehearsals are held at The Concertgebouw, there are no spac-
es where our musicians can practise individually or rehearse in smaller groups. They currently have no choice but to do
so at home or in studios which are often far away and expensive to rent. With the construction of ten rehearsal studios, RCO House will meet this pressing need.
23 August 2016, many steps have been tak-
were drawn up and planning permission
also be crucial in helping us raise the re-
Build with us
milestone. In the summer of 2017, demo-
Will you join us? Why not consider becom-
in the spring of 2017, which was a major
Together we’re building our home base.
lition work began, and the construction of
ing a donor and help us make this dream a
ten soundproof rehearsal studios, foyers, instrument storage and a space for physio-
therapy will get under way in the autumn.
The next step will involve the restoration and renovation of the Berlage monument, which will feature a reception room and
offices, a soundproof ensemble space for
small concerts, masterclasses, lectures,
reality. We would be happy to discuss the various options with you for making donations to RCO House and enjoying signifi-
cant tax benefits. Naturally, you can also
opt to support a specific part of RCO House
together with a group of donors, we would gladly discuss the possibilities with you.
and educational activities for schoolchildren. We hope to be able to start using the building by the end of 2018, around the
orchestra’s 130th anniversary, on November 3.
chamber music and, crucially, will be a ha-
Royal
For more information or to make a
The total project costs €12.5 million. The
ven not only for the orchestra, but also for
will be investing €2.5 million. We have
cluding our corporate partners.
foundations and the corporate sector will
sterdam granted the planning permission
and development. The municipality of Am-
our aims in the areas of education and
committed to supporting the orchestra, in-
lion. The support of individual donors,
maining amount.
Funding
House will be a meeting place for all those
funds have together pledged over €6.3 mil-
was requested for renovation, restoration
In addition, RCO House can help us achieve
RCO staff and the Academy. Finally, RCO
ing donors and a number of institutional
Concertgebouw
Orchestra
itself
launched a major recruitment campaign
to raise the remaining €10 million and are truly delighted with the support for RCO
House so far. To date, many new and exist3
donation to RCO House, please contact Anne Christin Erbe or Barbara Ruding at a.c.erbe@concertgebouworkest.nl
or b.ruding@concertgebouworkest.nl, or on +31 (0)20 305 10 10.
www.concertgebouworkest.nl/en/ rco-house
Interview with Artistic Director Joel Ethan Fried 4
continued from page 4
Jansons and of course Daniele Gatti.
on many things. One of those is the con-
Artistic Director Joel Ethan Fried has
Which concerts can you recommend in
musicians. Just playing in an orchestra is
gebouw Orchestra’s musical program-
I find it quite difficult to select a few high-
been responsible for the Royal Concertming since 1999. With the new season
now under way, we asked him to look
back on last season, and about what we can expect and shouldn’t miss out on this season.
How do you look back on the past season? Which concerts and projects do you regard as absolute highlights?
It’s difficult to pick a few highlights, since there were many concerts that stood out for
the level of the orchestra’s performance, for the work of soloists, for unusual rep-
particular?
lights of the season, but I will do my best.
Daniele Gatti will conduct Mahler’s First (9 and 11 May 2018) and Fourth (8 and 9 November 2017) Symphonies, and Bruckner’s
Ninth Symphony (5 and 7 January 2018).
Honorary Conductor Bernard Haitink will
conduct Mahler’s Ninth Symphony (7, 8
and 10 June 2018), and guest conductor Jaap van Zweden will conduct Bruckner’s
Eighth Symphony (2, 3 and 6 May 2018).
chief conductor of the RCO. Our orchestra’s excellence is due to many factors, but one is the fact that we’ve had only six chief
conductors in our first 128 years! Another highlight was our orchestra’s performance
However, our orchestra works hard every
months after the Brexit vote, this concert, part of our ‘Side by Side’ project, provided new hope for the ideals of European unity.
What are some of the central themes
this season, and what makes this season unique?
We will present ‘War and Peace’, a threeweek project in April 2018, including one
week conducted by chief conductor Daniele Gatti. Rather than just looking back to 1918, the programmes refer to historic
events in the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The repertoire ranges
chronologically from music by Händel to a newly commissioned work by the French composer Guillaume Connesson.
Moreover, our ‘Side by Side’ project continues, showing how much the countries of
be among the highlights of our season.
of our roster of conductors. For the first time ever, all four living chief conductors
of the RCO will appear in the same season: Bernard Haitink, Riccardo Chailly, Mariss
RCO House will also help us expand our ed-
ucational work. By providing an ‘ensemble
room’ that can be used for events such as
workshops with schoolchildren, concert previews for adults, open rehearsals and informal concerts, RCO House will make
activities feasible that are presently very difficult or impossible.
most important objectives. What proj-
for a wide range of music, from Bach to new works. In addition to the Mahler and Bruckner performances mentioned above, I think that the opportunity on 22 or 25 De-
cember to hear our orchestra play Johann
Sebastian Bach’s B Minor Mass, the ‘Hohe Messe’, (for the first time since 1972!) is
very special. For those who would like to bring friends or family who don’t regularly
attend classical music concerts, I would suggest the RCO Club Night on 10 February 2018, or our Essentials series. And, for
those who would like an inside look at the
interaction between a conductor and an or-
chestra, I can recommend our Conducting Masterclass with Daniele Gatti on 25 and 26 June 2018.
the future home of the orchestra and
sical languages. Lastly, we are very proud
individual
each audience member will develop a taste
the highest possible level. We hope that
heritage from one generation to the next.
show that, since we all speak the same mu-
for
The realisation of special artistic and
The orchestra has initiated a large-scale
Playing music together is a great way to
opportunities
practice and for chamber music rehearsals.
week to perform music from all periods at
the European Union have in common, and
helping to transmit our shared cultural
members
heritage to a new generation of musicians’
tional Youth Orchestra of Great Britain on
London, conducted by Gatti. Less than six
will give our musicians and our Academy
opportunity to transmit our shared cultural
For Mahler and Bruckner fans, these will
17 December 2016 at the Barbican Centre in
and chamber music repertoire. RCO House
countries have in common, and an
of Wagner’s overture to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg ‘Side by Side’ with the Na-
dividually and to play a wide variety of solo
show the things that people in different
historic occasion was RCO Opening Night investiture of Daniele Gatti as the seventh
not enough; musicians need to practice in-
‘Playing music together is a great way to
ertoire or for a combination of these. An on 9 September 2016, since it marked the
tinued musical growth of each of our 120
fundraising campaign for RCO House, its audience members. The orchestra hopes to be able to move to its new
house at the end of 2018, around the celebration of its 130th anniversary. What
is the added value of RCO House for the orchestra?
The artistic excellence of the RCO depends 5
educational projects is one of the RCO’s ects are planned for the 2017–18 season?
Our educational activities are primarily
in the categories of talent development
and the initiation of new audiences. In 2017–18, we will continue several successful large-scale activities in the develop-
ment of young musicians. Moreover, our
Orchestra Academy has welcomed seven new musicians for an intensive year of lessons, training, rehearsals and performances, and we will again present a conducting
masterclass with chief conductor Daniele Gatti. We will also continue smaller pro-
jects with South African musicians, with
the Sweelinck Academy (the young talent programme of the Conservatory of Amsterdam), with the National Master Orches-
tral Conducting and with conservatories in other countries. We work to initiate
young audiences through our family concerts, our family series, and a joint project
with the Royal Concertgebouw: Onstage and Backstage. We also offer a combination of initiation and participation (active
music-making) to young Dutch pupils via a joint project with the Royal Concertgebouw: Workshop with a Concert.
rco meets europe Concertgebouw Orchestra continues its concert tour In September, the Royal Concertgebouw
pet player in the orchestra summed up the
ty-eight EU member states as part of
could open up music to younger people …
Orchestra continued its tour to all twenRCO meets Europe project with performances in Berlin, Bucharest and Buda-
pest. Later in the season, it is continu-
experience as follows: ‘I think this tour
and also prove that Brexit (and all things like that) can be overpowered by music.’
ing the project with concerts in Spain,
With RCO meets Europe, the orchestra
Bulgaria and Malta. RCO meets Europe
and ideals which unite Europe and have
Portugal, the Czech Republic, France, will be entering its final stretch in the autumn of 2018.
The tour has attracted much international attention and garnered high praise. One of the highlights so far was the orchestra’s
performance in London with the National
Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. A trum-
hopes to highlight the fundamental ideas made it what it is today. Jan Raes, Managing Director of the Royal Concertgebouw
Orchestra, says, ‘The shared emotional experience through music can bring people together. Orchestral music in particular symbolises the true value of a “polyphonic” sense of diversity.’
6
RCO launches video platform The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra has launched a video platform offer-
ing free access to RCO Editions con-
cert recordings, interviews and factual films made over the last few years.
Now anyone anywhere in the world can access the recordings via the new
platform on the orchestra’s website.
From left to right: Bert Langenkamp, Miroslav Petkov, Jacco Groenendijk, Omar Tomasoni, Aldo Verbruggen
The platform is compatible with com-
(partner with Jones Day) and Marc Bakker (board member of the donors’ foundation Stichting Donateurs).
Salon summer drinks concludes 2016/17 concert season On June 29, De Salon, held a summer
Jacco Groenendijk provided the musical
to mark the end of the season.
Aldo Verbruggen, partner with Jones Day,
drinks party at Salon member Jones Day
While guests enjoyed a bite and a drink, trumpet
players
Omar
Tomasoni,
Miroslav Petkov, Bert Langenkamp and
entertainment. After a welcome speech by
puters, tablets and mobile phones regardless of the operating system.
The video productions were recorded in recent years by the Royal Concertge-
bouw Orchestra itself. Registered users can view, pause and resume recordings, share them on social media and create favourite listings. New concert recordings will be added regularly to the platform.
and Marc Bakker, board member of the
You can access the video platform at
foundation Stichting Donateurs, there
nl/video. To mark the launch, a new
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra’s donors’ was time for guests to mix and mingle.
https://www.concertgebouworkest.nl/ recording has just been made availa-
ble: that of Ottorino Respighi’s Fontane
di Roma, performed on RCO Opening
RCO performs at the BBC Proms The
Royal
Concertgebouw
Orchestra
the orchestra gave another BBC Proms
concerts at the BBC Proms in London’s
phony No. 82 (‘L’ours’) and Mahler’s Sym-
kicked off its 2017–18 season with two Royal Albert Hall, marking chief conductor Daniele Gatti’s first performance there with the orchestra.
On September 1, they performed Bruck-
ner’s unfinished Symphony No. 9 – one of
the most intensely expressive orchestral
performance
featuring
Haydn’s
Sym-
phony No. 4 with soprano Chen Reiss. The Guardian’s Andrew Clements praised the orchestra’s
performance
of
Bruckner’s
Symphony No. 9, remarking that ‘Gatti’s approach
underlined
the
symphony’s
monumentality more than anything else’.
works ever composed, a tour de force for
Representatives from the orchestra’s global
for the listener. Wolfgang Rihm’s In-Schrift
partners Stibbe and Arcadis also attended
the musicians and a unique experience was also programmed. On September 2,
partners Unilever and ING and corporate the London concerts.
7
Night 2016.
New staff appointments We are happy to announce that Patty Nobrega and Harmina Snoodijk joined the Corporate Partnerships Team on 1 September. Patty is overall respon-
sible for the coporate partnerships and is replacing Jan Meddens, who
after working for the RCO for many
years has embarked on a new adventure with World Press Photo. Harmina
has taken over Gerdine Niemans’s ac-
tivities and is focusing on organising events. The other members of the Corporate Partnerships Team are Charlie dos Reis Borges Rodrigues and Rike Blom.
upComing international concerts Frankfurt, Germany
Saturday, 11 November 2017
Seoul, Korea
Wednesday, 15 November 2017
Seoul, Korea
Thursday, 16 November 2017
Kyoto, Japan
Saturday, 18 November 2017
Kawasaki, Japan
Sunday, 19 November 2017
Tokyo, Japan
Monday, 20 November 2017
Tokyo, Japan
Tuesday, 21 November 2017
Nagasaki, Japan Osaka, Japan
Thursday, 23 November 2017 Friday, 24 November 2017
UPCOMING SALON EVENTS 9 December 2017
ESSENTIALS AND RCO LOUNGE 7 March 2018
New York, USA
Wednesday, 17 January 2018
New York, USA
Thursday, 18 January 2018
CROSS-OVER EVENING
Sunday, 18 February 2018
9 May 2018
Paris, France
Monday, 19 February 2018
Madrid, Spain
Tuesday, 20 February 2018
PARTNER DINNER AND CONCERT VISIT
Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Lisbon, Portugal
Brussels, Belgium
Wednesday, 21 February 2018
Saturday, 17 March 2018
Essen, Germany
Friday, 4 May 2018
Vienna, Austria
Monday, 14 May 2018
Praque, Czech Republic
Tuesday, 15 May 2018
Dresden, Germany Paris, France
3 June 2018
FAMILY CONCERT: ROMEO AND JULIET 14 September 2018
RCO OPENING NIGHT
Wednesday, 16 May 2018 Thursday, 17 May 2018
Concerts making up the RCO meets Europe project
Acknowledgements RCO Corporate is a publication of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra for its corporate contacts both in- and outside of the Netherlands. Photos Anne Dokter, Mladen Pikulic, Renske Vrolijk, Milagro Elstak Text and editing Marjolein Joosen, Charlie dos Reis Borges Rodrigues Translation Josh Dillon Design Atelier Rene Knip & Rens Martens Contact Patty Nobrega Senior Account Manager, Corporate Partnerships Tel. +31 (0)20 305 10 10 p.nobrega@concertgebouworkest.nl Charlie dos Reis Borges Rodrigues Account Manager, Corporate Partnerships Tel. +31 (0)20 305 10 10 c.reisborges@concertgebouworkest.nl 8