Residentie Orchestra

Het Residentie Orkest (literal translation, The Residence Orchestra; known also in English as The Hague Philharmonic) is a Dutch orchestra based in The Hague. Its primary venue is the Zuiderstrandtheater (since 2015).

Henri Viotta founded the orchestra in 1904. Its early home was the Gebouw voor Kunsten en Wetenschappen (K & W). The orchestra received its first acclaim during the 1911 Richard Strauss Festival, in which the composer himself conducted some of his works. The orchestra soon attracted other composers such as Igor Stravinsky, Max Reger, Maurice Ravel, and Paul Hindemith.

In 1915 the Residentie Orchestra took over the summertime performances of the Kurzaal Concerts in Scheveningen from the Lamoureux Orchestra. The orchestra's second chief conductor was the composer and conductor Peter van Anrooy, from 1917 until his resignation in 1935. Frits Schuurman became the next chief conductor, holding the post through World War II. After the war, Willem van Otterloo led the orchestra as chief conductor from 1949 to 1973.

After the K & W was destroyed in a fire in 1964, the orchestra played in various venues around the city without a permanent home. A fund-raising campaign, which included the release of several recordings known as "bouw-mee" ("build along") recordings, culminated in the construction of a new hall for the orchestra, the Dr. Anton Philipszaal — named after Anton Frederik Philips, co-founder of Philips Electronics — where the orchestra began to reside in September 1987 and which was formally opened in the presence of Queen Beatrix.

Succeeding Van Otterloo as chief conductors were Jean Martinon, Ferdinand Leitner, Hans Vonk, and Evgeny Svetlanov. Jaap van Zweden, chief conductor from 2000 to 2005, now has the title of honorary guest conductor (ere-gastdirigent) with the orchestra. Neeme Järvi was the orchestra's most recent chief conductor, from 2005 to 2012. Järvi now has the title of chief conductor emeritus. In April 2013, the orchestra appointed Richard Egarr its principal guest conductor (vaste gastdirigent) for an initial period of 3 years. In March 2014, the orchestra announced the elimination of the post of chief conductor and the formation of a new conductor hierarchy. In parallel, the orchestra announced the appointment of Jan Willem de Vriend to the post of vaste dirigent, effective 1 August 2015, for approximately 6 weeks per season with an initial contract of 4 years. In June 2015, the orchestra announced the appointment of Nicholas Collon as co-principal conductor, effective 1 August 2016, for a minimum term of 3 years, with an estimate of 6 weeks of appearances per season.

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