Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

Character[edit]

The orchestra enjoyed a close relationship with Gustav Mahler and championed many of his symphonies, with an especially worthy festival of his music being the 1920 Mahler Festival.^[23] Other conductors who worked closely with the Concertgebouw Orchestra included Pierre Monteux, Eugen Jochum, George Szell and Kirill Kondrashin, who was principal guest conductor from 1978, following his defection from the USSR, until his death in 1981. More recently, Nikolaus Harnoncourt served as Honorary Guest Conductor of the RCO, beginning in 2000, and leading his final performance with the RCO in October 2013.


Another factor in creating the orchestra's distinct character is that the Concertgebouw Orchestra has had only eight chief conductors, setting it apart from orchestras of similar age and caliber.^[24] The nearly one thousand recordings that the orchestra has to its credit have also contributed to this reputation. The orchestra also serves as one of the opera orchestras for productions of the Dutch National Opera.


Jan Raes served as executive director of the orchestra from December 2008 to December 2019.^[25] Prior executive directors included Jan Willem Loot. In January 2020, the orchestra announced David Bazen as its interim managing director, with immediate effect.^[26] In August 2020, the orchestra announced the appointment of a new three-person managing board, naming Dominik Winterling as Chairman.^[27]


Past artistic directors of the Concertgebouw Orchestra have included Rudolf Mengelberg (1925–1955), Marius Flothuis (1955–1974), Hein van Royen (1974–1991) and Peter Ruzicka, and more recently as head of artistic administration, Joel Ethan Fried. In August 2020, the orchestra announced the appointment of Ulrike Niehoff as its new artistic director, effective 1 January 2021.^[27] Niehoff stood down from the post at the close of the 2022-2023 season.^[28]


The RCO has issued CDs on its own label, RCO Live, as conducted by Jansons and Haitink among others.^[29]