Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra

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The Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra ( Norwegian Oslo Filharmonie , English Oslo Philharmonic ) is a Norwegian symphony orchestra based in Oslo , Norway . The orchestra was founded in 1919 and has been based in the Oslo Concert Hall ( Oslo Konserthus ) since 1977 . The orchestra consists of 69 musicians in the string section, 16 in the woodwinds, 15 in the brass section, 5 in the percussionists, 1 harpist and 1 pianist. The orchestra gives an average of sixty to seventy symphony concerts a year, most of which are broadcast nationwide on radio.

Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vasily Petrenko in 2011

history

The roots of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra go back to 1879, when Edvard Grieg and Johan Svendsen founded the Christiania Musicians' Forum (Christiania Musikverein) as successors to the Philharmonic Society ("Det Philharmoniske Selskab", 1847) .

The orchestra was later led by Ole Olsen, Johan Selmer, Iver Holter and Otto Winter-Hjelm. Under Holter, the orchestra was merged with the Christiania Theater Orchestra, which was about to be downsized. Holter proposed the establishment of a city orchestra to play at city festivals, concerts and in the theater, and so the orchestra gained the support of the city from 1889.

In 1899 the Nationaltheatret, which was to present both theater and opera, was opened. Here the orchestra expanded to 44 musicians, and it was conducted by Johan Halvorsen.

The orchestra served the Nationaltheatret in two roles: it provided music for the new theater and gave symphony concerts for the music society. During the First World War, the desire for symphonic music grew, which, together with inflation, led to a dispute between the orchestra and the Nationaltheatret and to a temporary collapse of the concerts of the musicians' forum. The orchestra was reformed in 1919 by private shareholders and on its own initiative to become the Filharmonisk Selskaps Orkester (orchestra of the Philharmonic Society). The first season was shared by three conductors: Johan Halvorsen, Georg Schnéevoigt and Ignaz Neumark.

The first concert of the Filharmonisk Selskaps Orkester took place on September 27, 1919 in Logen (Store Sal), with 59 musicians on stage and with Georg Schnéevoigt as conductor. The repertoire included Rikard Nordraak's " Ja, vi elsker dette lands ", Johan Svendsen's festival polonaise, Christian Sinding 's Symphony No. 1, Edvard Grieg 's piano concerto in A minor and finally Landkjenning with singer Erik Ole Bye as baritone soloist .

The guest musicians of this first season included the conductor Arthur Nikisch , the pianists Eugen d'Albert , Edwin Fischer , Wilhelm Kempff , Ignaz Friedman and Artur Schnabel as well as the violinists Bronisław Huberman and Carl Flesch . Between September 1919 and May 1920 the orchestra gave 135 public concerts, most of them sold out.

The next few decades were marked by various economic problems that led to the resignation of 15 musicians in one season. Nevertheless, the orchestra continued to attract renowned musicians and conductors, such as Richard Burgin , who later became the concertmaster of Serge Koussevitzky in Boston, Max Rostal , Ernst Glaser, Robert Soetens , for whom Sergei Prokofiev's 2nd Violin Concerto was written, and others who were supported by the Nazi regimes were expelled from Germany - Igor Stravinsky , Fritz Busch , Erich Kleiber and Bruno Walter .

The first Norwegian radio broadcast began in April 1923, and shortly afterwards the first radio concert with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra. From 1925 there was a contract between the orchestra and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK), which provided for weekly concerts broadcast live. This contract with the NRK saved the orchestra from bankruptcy in the 1930s. Issay Dobrowen joined the orchestra in 1927; when he left the orchestra in 1931, the position of chief conductor was split between two Norwegians: Odd Grüner-Hegge and Olav Kielland . After 1933 Kielland became sole chief conductor until 1945.

Oslo Concert Hall (Oslo Konserthus)

In 1953 the ISCM festival took place in Oslo, which brought further international contacts in awareness of the new repertoire that had been withheld from many Scandinavian countries during the First and Second World Wars. The first performance of the Oslo Philharmonic outside Scandinavia took place in 1962. Since then the orchestra has enjoyed great international recognition.

In 1979 the orchestra officially changed its name to the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra . In 1996 the orchestra became an independent foundation by a resolution of the Norwegian Parliament.

Although the orchestra has maintained high standards of quality since its inception and under various renowned conductors, many believe it saw its greatest advance during Mariss Jansons' tenure from 1979 to 2002. During this time the orchestra recorded Tchaikovsky's symphonies and went on international tours. The Oslo Philharmonic achieved international recognition with its Tchaikovsky cycle and a very successful series of recordings for EMI . In 2000 the orchestra completed a cycle by Bartók for Simax. Other awards that the Oslo Philharmonic received include the Grand Prix du Disque , the Diapason d'Or and the German Music Prize .

Later music directors were André Previn (2002–2006) and Jukka-Pekka Saraste (2006–2013). Saraste now has the title of æresdirigent (honorary conductor) of the orchestra. In February 2011 the orchestra announced the appointment of Vasily Petrenko as the next chief conductor for the 2013–2014 season with an initial contract of 4 years. In November 2015, the orchestra announced the extension of Petrenko's contract until 2020. It is planned that Petrenko will step down as chief conductor of the orchestra at the end of the 2019-2020 season.

In May 2018, Klaus Mäkelä conducted the orchestra for the first time as a guest conductor. Based on this performance, the orchestra announced in October 2018 the appointment of Mäkelä as the next chief conductor with effect for the 2020-2021 season, with an initial contract of 3 seasons.

Chief conductor

credentials

  1. ^ Vasily Petrenko and the Oslo Philharmonic sign long-term agreement. Retrieved April 9, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Vasily Petrenko extends Oslo contract to 2020. Accessed April 9, 2020 .
  3. ^ Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Announced Vasily Petrenko as Music Director from 2021-22 Season. Retrieved April 9, 2020 .
  4. ↑ Hilde Bjørhovde Journalist: 22-aring blir ny sjefdirigent i Oslo Filharmonien. Retrieved April 9, 2020 (nb-NO).
  5. ↑ Klaus Mäkelä new Chief Conductor from 2020. Accessed on April 9, 2020 (English).

Web links

Commons : Oslo Philharmonic  - collection of images, videos and audio files