volume 4 - number 2 - nov 2018
RCO House opens its doors in jan. ‘19! The renovations to RCO House are now
ral weekend trip at the end of September,
chair for the reception area in RCO House
hearsal studio’s and offices got under way
on, donating three pianos to RCO House.
crucial in our race to the finish line. A few
complete! Work on the ensemble hall, rein October. Orchestra staff moved to the
new location at the end of November, a
sign that RCO House would soon be opening its doors. Although saying goodbye to
Jacob Obrechtstraat – where the orchestra’s offices have been located for years – will fill
made their own very welcome contributiOur Belgian Friends have also committed a generous donation this year.
The enthusiastic response we have received regarding the opportunity to sponsor a
or a tile for the building’s facade has been chairs and tiles are still available. All RCO
Global Friends and donors who have dona-
ted a tile or chair will have received an invitation to attend a festive Open House on 20 January.
many of us with nostalgia, orchestra and
staff alike are looking forward to a new era in which musicians, members of staff and
other employees will, for the first time in
the orchestra’s 130-year-long history, all be under one roof.
FUNDRAISING It is certainly thanks to your contributions, too, that we have nearly met our fundrai-
sing goals for RCO House. Indeed, EUR 9.85 million of the EUR 10 million needed has
already been raised. Your generosity made
the 15 September visit to RCO House, organised exclusively for RCO Global Friends, all the more special. Our Swiss Friends,
who were in Amsterdam for the cultu-
Managing Director Jan Raes welcomes a group of RCO Global Friends to RCO House the day after RCO Opening Night
1
A FESTIVE SEASON OPENER The RCO Global Friends attending the
Global Friends. This year, RCO Opening
evening, with over 100 of our highly val-
Opening Night very much enjoyed it.
thusiastically received concert featured a
as the US, Luxembourg, the UK, Belgium,
exclusive
reception
preceding
RCO
It’s impossible to imagine kicking off the new concert season without RCO Opening Night. It’s also the perfect opportunity to lavish attention on our highly valued RCO
Night was held on 14 September. The en-
performance of Mendelssohn’s Sympho-
ny No. 4 and Franz Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with soloist Evgeny Kissin – all
under the direction of conductor Thom-
as Hengelbrock. It was one very festive
ued RCO Global Friends from as far afield France, Germany, Norway, Switzerland and even Singapore enjoying an exclusive
reception in the Soloists’ Foyer before the concert as special thanks for their unwavering support for the orchestra.
THE IMPORTANCE OF RCO GLOBAL FRIENDS Friends value being able to consider the
venture that is RCO House’. That’s why
all the many chamber music activities and
Opening Night to sponsor two tiles for
orchestra and its musicians as friends, as personal gatherings attest. Lawyer Sascha
Schmidt, who is based in Germany, says this is why he, too, wanted to become
an RCO Global Friend. His relationship with the orchestra, which dates back to 1995, also serves to celebrate the person-
al connection he has to the Netherlands through his Dutch wife. He first heard the RCO Global Friends Sascha Schmidt and Meta van der Zanden at the RCO Opening Night.
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
cherishes its RCO Global Friends. Not only are they vital in terms of the fi-
nancial support they provide to the or-
chestra and, accordingly, key to ensuring the continuity of programming and
quality, but they also serve as beacons
the orchestra can look to when outside the Netherlands.
The orchestra values having friends who are committed to supporting the orchestra in the countries in which it regularly performs, such as the US, Germany,
the UK, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Bel-
gium and France. By the same token, our
orchestra perform in Barcelona, where he
was studying at the time. Years later, a friend talked to him about supporting the
orchestra. Enthusiastic about supporting
he made a donation the day after RCO the facade of RCO House. ‘It’s something tangible,’ he explains. ‘We decided to have the tiles embossed with our two children’s
initials. Soon the whole family will be travelling to Amsterdam, so we’ll get the
chance to show them that the first letters of both their names have been immor-
talised in RCO House. We hope this will inspire them to support music, culture and especially the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.’
the orchestra as an RCO Global Friend, he says, ‘The orchestra is a leading cultural institution with a very impressive history. Even the founding of the orchestra is fascinating from an historical perspective.’
These days, he regularly hears the or-
chestra perform when visiting Amsterdam. ‘I’m very lucky that my employer,
Jones Day, has its Dutch headquarters right next to the Concertgebouw,’ he says with a smile.
Because he cares about the orchestra, he
also wanted to ‘participate in the new ad2
The tiles ‘E’ and ‘T’, the first letters of the names of their children, have just been placed on the building’s facade
Freundeskreis Schweiz celebrates its tenth anniversary Freundeskreis Schweiz, the Swiss society of friends of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, is ten years old. To mark the occasion, this very active society made a donation of no less than � 100.000,– to help make an RCO concert possible.
On 27, 28 and 30 September, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, under the baton of French conductor Stéphane Denève, performed Honneger’s oratorio Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher. “It’s a fantastic work by
a Swiss composer, and to be performed by an orchestra of such a cal-
ibre – now that’s what I call a gift for us friends,’ says Jaap Verbeek, a board member of Freundeskreis Schweiz. Naturally, our Swiss friends also took the opportunity to visit RCO House, where they presented the orchestra’s managing director Jan Raes with a very special donation of three pianos for the RCO’s new home.
The Freundeskreis members in the entrance hall - under contruction - of RCO House
Enjoying the orchestra’s chamber-like qualities The chamber music concerts given by
intimate setting and to get to know a few
the National Youth Orchestra of the Unit-
end of September were an exciting fore-
The orchestra plans to give more of these
first of such performances outside the EU,
a select group of RCO musicians at the taste of the orchestra’s upcoming US
tour in February 2019, but they were also the perfect opportunity to give our
of the orchestra’s individual musicians.
chamber music performances for its RCO Global Friends in the future.
RCO Global Friends something special
USA TOUR
new friends.
again be visiting the US in February 2019.
and a chance to spark the interest of
On 25, 26 and 27 September, violinists Ben-
jamin Peled and Jae-won Lee, violist Jeroen Woudstra, cellist Johan van Iersel and pia-
nist Nicolas van Poucke gave an outstand-
ing presentation of the individual cham-
ber-like qualities of the orchestra. For enthusiastic audiences in Grand Rapids,
Princeton and New York, the group performed Antonín Dvorák’s Terzetto in C major, op. 74 and César Franck’s Piano Quin-
tet. Thanks to the efforts of the members
of the RCO USA Committee, including Robbert Dijkgraaf, Pia de Jong, John Pirovano and Consul General Dolph Hogewoning, as
well as Rosemary and Paul Heule, this representation of the orchestra in miniature was a great success, as well as a nice way to enjoy the qualities of the orchestra in an
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra will This time, though, the whole orchestra will be making the journey. It promises to be a very special tour. The RCO will be bringing along the ever-exciting English
conductor Daniel Harding, who is leading the tour, and artist in residence Pierre-Lau-
rent Aimard. The programme it is giving in New York also happens to feature a very
special Side by Side component. From 2016
to November 2018, the orchestra toured all the member states of the European Union,
ed States of America will be giving the very at New York’s Carnegie Hall on 14 February 2019. The programme includes Schu-
mann’s Overture to Manfred. Side by Side represents such an exciting opportunity
for these young musicians as they perform
on an equal footing with the members of the renowned Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra – and it’s a real treat for audiences,
too. While in the US, the orchestra will be
performing various programmes featuring Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5, Mo-
zart’s riveting Symphony No. 40, Johannes Brahms’s Symphony No. 4 and Richard Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben, a work dedicated to the Concertgebouw Orchestra and its then chief conductor Willem Mengelberg.
performing an opening work side by side
The programme it is giving on 10 February
in each country. The enormous impact and
Florida, where the orchestra is perform-
with a delegation from a youth orchestra success of this initiative certainly haven’t escaped the attention of other countries ei-
ther. After many requests to perform a Side by Side programme elsewhere, the Royal
Concertgebouw Orchestra and members of
The ensemble at Robbert Dijkgraaf and Pia de Jong’s home on 26 September
in the beautiful coastal city of Naples in ing for the very first time, will feature the
world premiere of Eiréné by French com-
poser Guillaume Connesson. Please see the concert schedule for the complete tour programme.
The concert given at the Links Club in New York on 27 September
3
RCO MEETS EUROPE SIDE BY SIDE CONCLUDED With the concert conducted by Philippe Herreweghe in the Croatian capital of Zagreb on 24 November, the extensive RCO meets Europe/Side by Side project that got under way back in August 2016 came to an end.
RCO LAUNCHES INTERNATIONAL YOUTH ORCHESTRA The RCO is pursuing the work it undertook with the youth orchestras in
all the member states of the European Union as part of RCO meets Europe and
Side by Side by launching a very special initiative: it is founding RCO Young, its very own affiliate international youth
With no less than seven concerts per-
which the concert was given – the Kouri-
many EU member states in Poland, the
indeed. ‘The combination of the beautiful
RCO Young is made up of young, tal-
the background the occasional sound of
fourteen and seventeen representing
formed between 6 and 13 November in as
Baltic States and Scandinavia, the final
legs of the tour were a considerable feat, but as always, it was well worth all the hard work. The project saw the orchestra
on amphitheatre – was a very special one music, the ancient amphitheatre and in the sea – it was magical,’ she recalls.
visiting all the member states of the Eu-
As was the case in every country, all those
enthusiasm – all the more so because the
about the Side by Side component. ‘Side
ropean Union and generated enormous
orchestra performed an opening work
with a delegation from a youth orchestra in each country. The Side by Side component was made possible in large part by
the generous contributions of many private donors from every country in Europe.
The RCO is very grateful to these donors for their support, which gave young musicians from every country in the EU a look
behind the scenes at a top-rate orchestra. Both the rehearsal and the concert itself made a big impression on the young musicians, giving many of them a glimpse of a possible future.
who attended were very enthusiastic by Side gives our young musicians the im-
petus to carry on,’ Jaarsma says about the impact the project has had. ‘It’s a small
orchestra.
ented musicians between the ages of all the member states of the European Union and reflecting the diversity of Europe. This youth orchestra caters for
‘hidden talent’: young musicians who need extra support and who are cur-
rently under-represented in European orchestras.
island, so if one of them gets to partici-
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
around fast. In that way, the project gen-
being of the utmost importance. With
pate in something this special, word gets erates greater support and understanding for a possible career in music. During
the concert, I happened to be sitting just in front of Kathleen Doherty, the US ambassador. Suddenly, during the opening work on the programme, her partner ex-
claimed, “So this is what they mean by
sees the development of top talent as RCO Young, the orchestra aims to en-
courage personal development, democracy and social responsibility. The new
youth orchestra will serve as a bridge between society and a leading cultural institution.
Side by Side. How fantastic!”’
The first RCO Young summer camp is
Cyprus, where the orchestra gave its very
With the founding of the European youth
Akoesticum in the Dutch city of Ede.
no exception. Nathalie Jaarsma, the Dutch
the summer of 2019, the orchestra is tak-
first concert ever on 1 September 2018, was ambassador to Cyprus, says the setting in
orchestra RCO Young, to be launched in ing Side by Side to the next level.
taking place from 7 to 25 August 2019 at Participation is free, and travel and accommodation costs will be reimbursed.
Music teachers, conductors of local youth orchestras, school bands and en-
sembles, as well as other professionals,
are invited to nominate talented young
musicians for an audition. Audition applications for the first RCO Young
summer camp should be submitted before 31 January 2019. All the necessary
information can be found at www.concertgebouworkest.nl/en/rco-young.
‘An ancient amphitheatre and beautiful music…’
Side by Side in Cyprus was a resounding success.
4
Concerts abroad draw many Friends
Cocktail party in Lucerne after stunning concert After the last of two performances given
‘People really love these cocktail parties.
featuring Mahler’s Symphony No. 9 con-
we’ve had: “The past solo performances
by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra ducted by Bernard Haitink on 6 September
and masterclasses given by members of the orchestra at the Musikhochschule in Lucerne, the traditional cocktail party was
organised by the Freundeskreis Schweiz
and Bank J. Safra Sarasin. ‘It wasn’t some ordinary reception with more speeches than food, but a lively cocktail party for
musicians, the Swiss Friends and other
guests,’ says violinist Susanne Niesporek.
Here’s a selection of some of the feedback by colleagues, often on the occasion of receiving a new instrument donated by
the Swiss Friends, are touchingly beautiful in an intimate group of musicians and
Friends…” “Listening together connects musicians and Friends…” “It’s all about rediscovering your appreciation of the in-
credible talent we have in the orchestra…”
“At the end of the day, music says more than words ever could…”’
A chamber music concert given by members of the RCO for our Belgian Friends in Mechelen on 17 June
Chamber music concert in Mechelen, Belgium As always, there was a great deal of interaction between the Royal Con-
certgebouw Orchestra and its Global
Friends in the summer months and
at the beginning of the new season, including plenty of music exclusively for them.
The April concert in London
Our Friends also enjoy visiting the
Dutch Masters Foundation (UK)
Netherlands. For instance, a delega-
The Dutch Masters Foundation (DMF)
the Wallace Collection, which was a great
followed the orchestra on tour to Vien-
exclusive performance in April by an en-
On Thursday, 29 November, the Dutch
orchestra when it tours outside the tion from the Freundeskreis Schweiz na in May of this year. Members of the
orchestra gave a fantastic chamber concert for its Belgian Friends in Mechelen. And the orchestra met its Global Friends in France on 29 November. The
organised several events in 2018, with an
semble from the Royal Concertgebouw
Orchestra in honour of the Dutch ambassador and DMF patron H.E. Simon Smits at his South Kensington residence.
reception for Freundeskreis Schweiz in
The foundation also organised its first
tional concerts in Lucerne were also a
on Saturday, 22 September. The Maurit-
Amsterdam and the orchestra’s tradigreat success.
family event at the Royal Picture Gallery
shuis organised an art masterclass for children and grandchildren of DMF donors at 5
success. Masters
Foundation
organised
their
eighth annual gala dinner at Christie’s
London, featuring presentations and per-
formances by all three Dutch Masters. At this occasion, orchestra members Arndt
Auhagen (violin) and Chris van Balen (cello) performed together with three RCO
Academy players Annemiek de Bruin (clarinet), Isobel Warmelink (violin) and Anna Maria Wünsch.
SAVE THE DATE 13 september 2019
CALENDAR OF RCO GLOBAL FRIENDS ACTIVITIES 11 January 2019 Palais des Beaux-Arts,
20 May 2019 Brussels
13 February 2019
Herbert Blomstedt conductor
residence
Daniel Harding conductor
Brussels
Felix Mendelssohn – Symphony No. 3 (‘Scottish’)
Wilhelm Stenhammar – Intermezzo from Sången
Johannes Brahms – Symphony No. 1 11 March 2019 Konzerthaus, Berlin
Private concert at the Ambassador’s
27 June 2019 London
Dutch Masters Foundation event 24 August 2019 Flagey, Brussels RCO Young concert
Iván Fischer conductor
3 and 4 September 2019 Culture and
Igor Stravinsky – Concerto in D
RCO concerts
Emanuel Ax piano
Igor Stravinsky – Capriccio
Congress Centre, Lucerne
Kennedy Center, Washington DC Pierre-Laurent Aimard piano
Ludwig van Beethoven – Piano Concerto No. 5 Richard Strauss – Ein Heldenleben
14 February 2019 Carnegie Hall, New York Daniel Harding conductor
Robert Schumann – Overture to Manfred Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Symphony No. 40, K 550
Johannes Brahms – Symphony No. 4
Igor Stravinsky – Petrushka
13 September 2019 Concertgebouw,
15 February 2019 Carnegie Hall, New York
9 to 12 March 2019
RCO Opening Night
Pierre-Laurent Aimard piano
Cultural trip to Berlin, Freundeskreis
Amsterdam
Guillaume Connesson – Eiréné
Schweiz
US tour
28 March 2019 London
9 February 2019, Artis-Naples, Naples
Dutch Masters Foundation event April 2019 Paris
Chamber music concert 8 May 2019 Frankfurt
Chamber music concert 9 May 2019 Philharmonie, Cologne Peter Eötvös conductor Sol Gabetta cello
Patricia Kopatchinskaja violin
Ludwig van Beethoven – Piano Concerto No. 5
To reserve your tickets, please contact
Symphony No. 40, K 550
at rcofriends@concertgebouworkest.nl
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Johannes Brahms – Symphony No. 4 10 February 2019 Artis-Naples, Naples Daniel Harding conductor
Pierre-Laurent Aimard piano
Guillaume Connesson – Eiréné
Ludwig van Beethoven – Piano Concerto No. 5 Richard Strauss – Ein Heldenleben 12 February 2019
and Orchestra (world premiere)
Daniel Harding conductor
Witold Lutosławski – Concerto for Orchestra 12 May 2019 London
Dutch Masters Foundation masterclass
Richard Strauss – Ein Heldenleben
Daniel Harding conductor
Peter Eötvös – Alle vittime senza nome
Michel van der Aa – Concerto for Violin, Cello
Daniel Harding conductor
Orchestra Hall, Chicago Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Symphony No. 40, K 550
Johannes Brahms – Symphony No. 4
with members of the RCO Academy
6
Henriette Henny
In case you would like to Unsubscribe for RCO Global Friends NEWS, please
click here or email rcofriends@concertgebouworkest.nl with “unsubscribe”as the email subject.
Acknowledgements Global Friends News is published by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. RCO Global Friends designated contact: Henriette Henny / +31 (0)20 305 1010 rcofriends@concertgebouworkest.nl Text and editing Paul Janssen, Translation Josh Dillon Photos Photos p.1 top Renske Vrolijk, bottom Henriette Henny, p.2 top left Milagro Elstak bottom Renske Vrolijk, p.3 top Hanna Philips, bottom right Henriette Henny, p.4 Peter Tollenaar p.5 left Henriette Henny, top Jaap Verbeek, bottom Anne Christin Erbe, p.6 Milagro Elstak Graphic design Atelier Rene Knip & Rens Martens