Netherlands Radio Symphony
Encyclopedia
The Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra (NRSO) was a Dutch radio orchestra
. It was founded in 1985 after a merger of the Promenade Orchestra and the Radio Orchestra (Omroep Orkest).
The orchestra participated in various operatic productions and in special musical projects as well as international competitions. It served as the regular accompanying orchestra of the Kiril Kondrashin
Conductors' Masterclasses, the Oscar Back Concours, and the International Vocalists' Competition. The orchestra appeared at the Holland Festival, the Gaudeamus Week, and in several educational projects.
The RSO's chief conductors included Henry Lewis
(1989-1991), Kees Bakels
(1991-1996) and Eri Klas
(1996-2003). Klas became Principal Guest Conductor in the 2003-2004 season. Hans Vonk held the title of Chief Conductor in the 2003-2004 season, the orchestra's last chief conductor. Vonk's neurodegenerative illness had debilitated him to the point that he conducted several NRSO concerts from a wheelchair.. Other guest conductors have included Jiří Kout, János Fürst
, Stanisław Skrowaczewski, Jaap van Zweden
, and Alexander Lazarev
, as well as Marc Soustrot, Armin Jordan
, and Jean-Bernard Pommier.
The NRSO had also served as the opera orchestra for a number of opera productions, including Rachmaninoff
's Aleko, Erich Wolfgang Korngold
's Die tote Stadt
, and several operas of Gaetano Donizetti
. It has also played in the Dutch première of Tri Sestri (Three Sisters) by Peter Eötvös
, in a co-production with the Netherlands Touring Opera Company.
In 2005, the NRSO was disbanded, and its functions were absorbed into the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic
and the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic. The NRSO's last concert took place on 7 July 2005.
Radio orchestra
A radio orchestra is an orchestra employed by a radio network in order to provide programming as well as sometimes perform incidental or theme music for various shows on the network. In the heyday of radio such orchestras were numerous, performing classical, popular, light music and jazz...
. It was founded in 1985 after a merger of the Promenade Orchestra and the Radio Orchestra (Omroep Orkest).
The orchestra participated in various operatic productions and in special musical projects as well as international competitions. It served as the regular accompanying orchestra of the Kiril Kondrashin
Kiril Kondrashin
Kirill Petrovich Kondrashin , was a Russian conductor.-Early life:...
Conductors' Masterclasses, the Oscar Back Concours, and the International Vocalists' Competition. The orchestra appeared at the Holland Festival, the Gaudeamus Week, and in several educational projects.
The RSO's chief conductors included Henry Lewis
Henry Lewis
Henry Jay Lewis was an African-American double-bassist and orchestral conductor.-Early life:Originally from Los Angeles, California, Lewis attended The University of Southern California and at age 16, joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic, becoming the first black instrumentalist in a major symphony...
(1989-1991), Kees Bakels
Kees Bakels
Kees Bakels is a Dutch conductor.Bakels began his musical career as a violinist, and later studied conducting at the Amsterdam Conservatory and the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy...
(1991-1996) and Eri Klas
Eri Klas
Eri Klas, is an Estonian conductor.Klas is of Jewish ancestry. Klas graduated as an opera and concert conductor in both Tallinn and Leningrad , beginning his conducting career at the Estonia Theatre in Tallinn and at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow...
(1996-2003). Klas became Principal Guest Conductor in the 2003-2004 season. Hans Vonk held the title of Chief Conductor in the 2003-2004 season, the orchestra's last chief conductor. Vonk's neurodegenerative illness had debilitated him to the point that he conducted several NRSO concerts from a wheelchair.. Other guest conductors have included Jiří Kout, János Fürst
János Fürst
János Fürst was a Hungarian-born conductor and violinist.János Fürst originally studied the violin at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in his native Budapest. After the 1956 Soviet invasion of Hungary, he continued studies at the conservatory in Brussels. He attended the Conservatoire de Paris...
, Stanisław Skrowaczewski, Jaap van Zweden
Jaap van Zweden
Jaap van Zweden is a Dutch conductor and violinist.-Biography:Van Zweden's father, a pianist, encouraged him to begin violin studies at age five, and he studied music in Amsterdam...
, and Alexander Lazarev
Alexander Lazarev
Alexander Lazarev is a Russian conductor. He studied at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, and later at the Moscow Conservatory with Leo Ginsbourg. In 1971, he was the first prize winner in a national conducting competition in the USSR...
, as well as Marc Soustrot, Armin Jordan
Armin Jordan
Armin Jordan , was a Swiss conductor known for his interpretations of French music, Mozart and Wagner.Armin Jordan was born in Lucerne, Switzerland. "Mr...
, and Jean-Bernard Pommier.
The NRSO had also served as the opera orchestra for a number of opera productions, including Rachmaninoff
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
's Aleko, Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Erich Wolfgang Korngold was an Austro-Hungarian film and romantic music composer. While his compositional style was considered well out of vogue at the time he died, his music has more recently undergone a reevaluation and a gradual reawakening of interest...
's Die tote Stadt
Die tote Stadt
Die tote Stadt is an opera in three acts by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. The libretto is by the composer and Paul Schott , and is based on Bruges-la-Morte, a short novel by Georges Rodenbach.-Performance history:When Die tote Stadt had its premiere on December 4, 1920, Korngold was just 23...
, and several operas of Gaetano Donizetti
Gaetano Donizetti
Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti was an Italian composer from Bergamo, Lombardy. His best-known works are the operas L'elisir d'amore , Lucia di Lammermoor , and Don Pasquale , all in Italian, and the French operas La favorite and La fille du régiment...
. It has also played in the Dutch première of Tri Sestri (Three Sisters) by Peter Eötvös
Peter Eötvös
Péter Eötvös is a Hungarian composer and conductor.Eötvös was born in Odorheiu Secuiesc/Székelyudvarhely, Szeklerland, Transylvania . He studied composition in Budapest and Cologne. From 1962, he composed for film in Hungary. Eötvös played regularly with the Stockhausen Ensemble between 1968 and...
, in a co-production with the Netherlands Touring Opera Company.
In 2005, the NRSO was disbanded, and its functions were absorbed into the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic
Netherlands Radio Philharmonic
The Radio Filharmonisch Orkest is a Dutch radio orchestra, based in Hilversum. The RFO performs under the aegis of the Muziekcentrum van de Omroep , an umbrella organization bringing together the music departments of the various broadcasting associations affiliated to Nederlandse Publieke...
and the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic. The NRSO's last concert took place on 7 July 2005.