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The Concertgebouw opens in the middle of nowhere
The Amsterdam classical music lover should be grateful to the Meininger Hofkapelle and their conductor Hans von Bülow! Although plans were already in progress, it was after their concert in 1885 that a group of Amsterdam entrepreneurs realized that their city was in serious demand of a good concert hall and orchestra. They decided on the building of the now world famous Concertgebouw. Standing in the Concertgebouw neighbourhood today you can barely imagine that, upon it’s festive opening on April 11th 1888, the Concertgebouw was located in the middle of nowhere surrounded by meadows and small farms.
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Willem Kes – the orchestra’s first chief
Only one decade before Willem Kes started his short tenure as chief-conductor, Johannes Brahms said he liked the 'Amsterdammers' but thought they were lousy musicians. At that time Willem Kes was the conductor of the Parkschouwburg in Amsterdam. But right from the start of his career in 1888 he worked hard on discipline and ensemble playing. Kes developed the RCO into a respectable orchestra which was reflected in the guest appearances of great violinists Pablo de Sarasate en Joseph Joachim.
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“Waiter, one more tea please”
It was not only the young orchestra that the young principal conductor Willem Kes 'tortured' with a regime of severe training; the Amsterdam audience 'suffered' too. Willem Kes made the listeners gradually understand that: "They were part of performances at the highest artistic level: concerts in which one could neither talk nor walk, in which one could not drink their cup of tea as in their private lives". Graciously, Kes removed all bad habits of his audience and developed the Amsterdam classical music lover into the music expert for which they are nowadays renowned.
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The relationship between Organ and Acoustics
At the opening of the Concertgebouw, the acoustics were far from perfect. There was one dominant element missing in the Main Hall: the monumental Van Maarschalkerweerd Concert Organ. Music critics of the early Concertgebouw days declared that the great acoustics only came to life after the huge romantic organ was placed behind the orchestra stage.
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A better job for Kes
In 1895, Willem Kes left the RCO to take up a post with the Scottish Glasgow Symphony Orchestra, expecting to be moving to a 'better job'. He couldn't have been more wrong. Mengelberg, his successor, managed a quite amazing feat, transforming the formerly respectable RCO into a world-renowned orchestra within the next 10 years.
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The contradictional Mengelberg
A personal friend of Gustav Mahler and initiator of the Dutch Mahler tradition, Willem Mengelberg, was undoubtedly a man of contradiction. Under his reign, between 1895 and 1945, the RCO gained international respect and world fame, which remains until the present day. But Mengelberg was also very demanding, often rude toward the musicians, and had his own obstinate musical view. The Dutch newspaper "Algemeen Handelsblad' wrote of the young Mengelberg: "This young Bonaparte, the army commander". Nevertheless, he gained much popularity as a conductor, first in the Netherlands and later on in the rest of the world.
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Mengelberg and the St. Matthew Passion
In 1899, Willem Mengelberg starts a tradition that lasts until this day: on Easter Sunday he conducts the RCO in a performance of Johann Sebastian Bach's St. Matthew Passion. Although his musical views of the score and the music are now often regarded as grotesque and historically wrong (Mengelberg had a choir consisting of 450 singers), this performance in 1899 is the reason for more than 100 different performances of the annual St. Matthew Passion in the Netherlands each Easter.
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Richard Strauss - Ein Heldenleben
In 1898, the staff of the Concertgebouw replaced the name Gounod on one of the venue nameplates with golden letters that read the name 'R. Strauss'. The German composer-conductor Richard Strauss was a frequent guest in Amsterdam and was very fond of this orchestra and its chief conductor. To show his affection, he dedicated his "tone poem for large orchestra - Ein Heldenleben", to the 27-year old Willem Mengelberg and his RCO.
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The origin of the Dutch Mahler tradition
Invited by Willem Mengelberg, the famous conductor and composer Gustav Mahler guest-conducts the RCO in his own Symphonies No. 1 and No. 3. This was the beginning of a deep musical friendship between the two conductors. "I feel as though I found a second home in Amsterdam" Mahler writes to Mengelberg after this visit. He conducts premieres of several of his other symphonies in 1904, 1906 and 1909. This was the start of an everlasting relationship between the RCO and Gustav Mahler.
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The start of a world shocking Mahler campaign
Only four months after Gustav Mahler's sudden death, Willem Mengelberg and the RCO start an unprecedented campaign for Mahler's music. During nine concert seasons, Mengelberg dedicates between 10 to 34 concerts every season to his dear friend’s music, culminating in the Mahler Festival of 1920. The Symphonies No. 1 and No. 4 and Das Lied von der Erde are his favourites.
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Matthijs Vermeulen expelled from Concertgebouw
Without doubt, one of the most entertaining scandals in the orchestra's history is the banishing of the rebellious composer and music critic Matthijs Vermeulen. In the Dutch broadsheet the ‘Telegraaf’ he heavily criticized the policy of Willem Mengelberg as being too German orientated. After a performance of Cornelis Dopper's Seventh Symphony Vermeulen screamed: "hail Sousa", referring to the superficial music of the American March composer. Not unsurprisingly, he was banned from his favourite concert hall and left the country for Paris soon after.
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All Mahler Symphonies in 11 days
'The Netherlands, and foremost of all, the Queen, are most proud of Willem Mengelberg'. This homage by H.R.H. Prince Hendrik of The Netherlands officially started the Silver Jubilee of the immensely popular Mengelberg with the Concertgebouw Orchestra. In an unprecedented Mahler Festival of worldwide significance Mengelberg performs the entire body of his dear friend and kindred spirit, Gustav Mahler; an eleven-day tour-de-force by both conductor and orchestra.
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The First Recording session
The first Mengelberg recording with the Concertgebouw Orchestra takes place in May 1926 for the label British Columbia. They record fragments of Wagner, Berlioz, Beethoven and an impressive Adagietto from Mahler's 5th Symphony: a milestone in recording history, and, still available on CD.
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The Guest Conductors
Herbert von Karajan walks up the stage, takes up his baton and conducts the RCO for the first time. He was no exception: many renowned conductors have led the RCO throughout its history. A short summary: Wilhelm Furtwängler, Claude Debussy, Paul Hindemith, Richard Strauss, Leonard Bernstein, Gustav Mahler, Darius Milhaud, Maurice Ravel, Arnold Schoenberg, Leopold Stokowski, Igor Stravinsky and more recently: Zubin Mehta, Daniel Harding, Gustavo Dudamel, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Kurt Masur, Sir Colin Davis and Nikolaus Harnoncourt, have all led the RCO at one time or another.
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WW II
A dark period in the history of both the Netherlands and the RCO: the Second World War. As the Nazi's invaded and occupied the Netherlands, normal life became harder and harder for the Jewish musicians of the RCO. In 1941 the Nazi government ordered that only people of the 'Aryan race' were allowed to play in orchestras, thereby making work impossible for every Jewish musician. Many of the abandoned Jewish RCO musicians found a place in the Jewish Symphony Orchestra, which gave their concerts in the Jewish Theatre in Amsterdam until 1942, when tragically, the Theatre was used as a deportation centre for the Jews.
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Mengelberg and the Third Reich
The most controversial aspect of Willem Mengelbergs life centres around his behaviour preceding and during the German occupation of The Netherlands, between 1940 and 1945. In his view, music and politics were two worlds apart and he continued to conduct when the Nazi's invaded and occupied the Netherlands, exposing himself as prime propaganda material. Explanations for his behaviour have ranged from naiveté to indifference. After the Second World War Mengelberg was banned from the Dutch stage and stripped of his passport. Originally Mengelberg was banned for life but his attorneys later managed to get this sentence reduced to a six-year ban. Just two month before his exile ended Mengelberg died in Switzerland.
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Eduard van Beinum - a musicians man
After the Second World War, Eduard van Beinum took over from Willem Mengelberg. Van Beinum was a long-time favourite of the orchestra and served the RCO from 1931, as assistant to Mengelberg. Social changes post WWII also affected conductor-musician relationships. Instead of a 'dictator’-like conductor as his predecessors Mengelberg and Kes, he was more of a musician’s man: loved by the members of the orchestra as well as the audience. Or, as one RCO-member pointed out: "You played under the baton of Mengelberg, but you played with Van Beinum".
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The first Philips recording
The Dutch conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Paul van Kempen had the honour of leading the first recording sessions of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra with the Philips label in a performance of Tchaikovsky's Overture 1812. This was the start to an enduring relationship between Philips Classics and the Amsterdam orchestra, which lasted until the 1990s. Under chief-conductors Eduard van Beinum and Bernard Haitink Philips documented the quality of the RCO in numerous numbers of recordings, many of which are re-released on CD.
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Eduard van Beinum dies on his favourite stage
On the morning of April 13 1959, rehearsing Brahms First Symphony with the RCO, a fatal heart attack suddenly ends Van Beinum's life and a successful career. His funeral was broadcast on the Dutch television and was followed the same night by a memorial concert directed by Van Beinum's favourite young conductor: Bernard Haitink.
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The two chief-conductors
Van Beinum’s sudden death left the RCO in search of a new conductor. A few months before his death, Van Beinum pointed out the young Bernard Haitink as his successor, but before Haitink could claim the sole conductorship of the RCO, he shared the post of chief conductor with Eugen Jochum from 1961 to 1963.
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Concertmasters Olof-Krebbers
The RCO could always rely on the strength of very talented concertmasters: sometimes even more than one. An example of a successful joint concert master position was the partnership of Herman Krebbers and Theo Olof. They knew each other from the age of nine and also shared a common career as soloists. The Bach Double Concerto was a speciality of the two violinists; they performed it together all over the world.
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Rebellion in the Concertgebouw
Nobody expected anything as radical as this could happen in the majestic Concertgebouw, but during the ‘60s, it did: a small group of young composers rebelled against what they thought the undemocratic structure of the RCO. Reinbert de Leeuw, Louis Andriessen and Peter Schat disturbed a RCO concert under the direction of Bernard Haitink with their own version of the Nutcracker Suite: their rattles and tooters trying to force dialogue and change. And they achieved their goal: a debate between the young composers and the RCO happened shortly afterwards, and the RCO listened to the wishes of these young 'Nutcrackers'.
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“I will never set foot on a Dutch stage again”
The Dutch government confronts the Concertgebouw Orchestra with a serious subsidy cut. This would necessitate the removal of 23 players from the world famous ensemble. For Bernard Haitink this ever-returning threat for the RCO is answered with his simple statement: "If this happens I will never set foot on a Dutch stage again.'' The government soon withdrew their disastrous plans.
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Mahler 9 – an ever dangerous farewell
Mahler's farewell symphony No. 9 has the same mythical status as Beethoven's Swansong No. 9. Not only did Mengelberg fear these intense and moving last words, the Symphony also marks several milestones in the RCO history: the final Christmas Matinee with Haitink in 1987, the farewell concert of Chailly in 2004 and the memorable reading Leonard Bernstein and the RCO gave in the 1988 Holland Festival. This DG recording is still regarded as the most incredible performance ever: replete with musicians crying on stage.
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New chief brings new repertoire to Amsterdam
Riccardo Chailly, the first foreigner ever to become the chief conductor of the RCO, brought a complete new repertoire to Amsterdam. Under his direction, the orchestra begins to play young, new and daring programmes, programmes until that moment unknown in Amsterdam. Contemporary masters like Schat, Berio and Varèse find their way to the stage but without ignoring the tradition of Mahler and Bruckner.
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Chailly & Dutch Music
Maestro Riccardo Chailly did not only restore the interest in modern and contemporary music, another special interest of his was Dutch music. Due to Chailly, the compositions of Rudolf Escher, Johan Wagenaar, Alphons Diepenbrock, Tristan Keuris, Peter Schat, Otto Ketting and many more, returned to the Dutch concert stage.
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Chailly's victory of 1995
"Gustav Mahler - The World Listens" is the title of the Mahler Festival commemorating the 75th anniversary of the 1920 Festival. Invited by the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the best orchestras (Amsterdam, Berlin, Vienna) perform Mahler's oeuvre featuring world class guest-conductors Bernard Haitink, Riccardo Muti, Claudio Abbado and Sir Simon Rattle. The biggest surprise of the festival however is the RSO chief-conductor Riccardo Chailly. His stunning Mahler interpretations set a new standard.
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Celebrated soloists
In June 2001, Mstislav Rostropovich opens the SLAVA! Festival: a three-week music festival dedicated entirely to this legendary Russian cellist. He isn't the only international celebrity to perform with the orchestra, so too have many soloists throughout the ages, from Joseph Joachim to Lang Lang, Yefim Bronfman, Murray Perahia, Dietrich Fischer Dieskau, Klaus Florian Vogt and Thomas Quasthoff, Artur Rubinstein, Krystian Zimmerman, Thomas Hampson, Christine Schäfer, Truls Mørk, Maria Callas, and many more.
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Mariss Jansons - a golden combination
His predecessors arrived at the RCO while still young, but Mariss Jansons was the first conductor who already achieved world fame when he was appointed chief conductor in 2004. His tutors, first Hans Swarowsky and later Herbert von Karajan, claimed of Jansons: "He can make an orchestra fall in love with the music they are playing". Jansons doesn't want to be an innovator, but wants to maintain the high level of music making the orchestra has achieved. And he has succeeded: Jansons and the RCO are considered a golden combination.
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One man, two orchestras
Since 2003, Mariss Jansons has served as principal conductor of another world famous orchestra: the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. In 2007, his contract was extended to August 2012, and his commitment with the BRSO is for 10 weeks per season. Jansons divides his time between Munich and Amsterdam, a phenomenon that occurs more and more amongst star-conductors.
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Number two
The French music magazine 'Le Monde de la Musique' awarded the RCO second place in a top 10 list of the symphony orchestras of Europe. According to the magazine, only the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra could hope to exceed the RCO.
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World’s Greatest Symphony Orchestra
In the leading British classical music magazine 'Gramophone', renowned music critics from Europe and North America name Amsterdam's Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra number one in a list of the world's best symphony orchestras. Gramophone editor James Inverne observes: "The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra is one of the last [orchestras] to really have an immediately identifiable sound, and to arguably (to an extent) plumb the character of composers in the way an actor will with his roles."
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