Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra

The Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra (Luxembourgish: Lëtzebuerger philharmoneschen Orchester, French: Orchestre philharmonique du Luxembourg), abbreviated to OPL, is a symphony orchestra based in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. The orchestra formerly performed at the Grand Théâtre de la Ville de Luxembourg and the Conservatoire de Luxembourg. Its current home is the Philharmonie Luxembourg, a large concert hall opened in 2005 in the Kirchberg quarter in the northeast of the city.

The orchestra appears at the Quincena Musical de San Sebastián, 2017

History

The orchestra was founded in 1933 as the in-house orchestra of RTL Radio, named the RTL Grand Symphony Orchestra (French: Grand orchestre symphonique de RTL); Henri Pensis was its founder and first music director. After his initial tenure from 1933 to 1939, Pensis went into exile in the USA in the wake of World War II. He returned to Luxembourg in 1946 to resume direction of the orchestra. After Pensis died in 1958, Carl Melles was the orchestra's music director in 1958. Louis de Froment subsequently became music director and held the post from 1958 to 1980. Leopold Hager succeeded de Froment in 1981, and served for 15 years to 1996.

Following the 1991 privatisation of the Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Radiodiffusion, in 1995, RTL decided not to renew its contract with the orchestra. Subsequently, the Luxembourg government established the Henri Pensis Foundation to allow for the orchestra to continue its existence. In 1996, the orchestra acquired its current name under its new auspices.[1]

The orchestra's fifth music director, David Shallon suddenly died in 2000 while on tour in Japan.[1] Bramwell Tovey took over as music director in September 2002, and held the post until 2006.[2] The OPL appointed Emmanuel Krivine as their music director starting from the 2005–2006 season.[3] In May 2009, Krivine extended his contract with the orchestra through the 2014–2015 season.[4] Krivine concluded his OPL tenure at the end of the 2014–2015 season. In June 2014, the OPL announced the appointment of Gustavo Gimeno as its next principal conductor, as of the 2015–2016 season, with an initial contract of 4 years.[5][6] In March 2017, the OPL announced the extension of Gimeno's contract through the 2021–2022 season.[7] In February 2020, the OPL announced a further extension of Gimeno's contract through the 2024–2025 season.[8] Gimeno is scheduled to conclude his OPL tenure at the close of the 2024–2025 season.[9]

Music directors

Selected discography

References
  1. James C. Taylor (21 October 2004). "The Luxembourg Philharmonic Looks to Make Its Mark Anew". Andante.com. Archived from the original on 26 October 2004. Retrieved 23 December 2007.
  2. Ben Mattison (20 December 2004). "Conductor Bramwell Tovey Extends Vancouver Symphony Tenure, Steps Down From Luxembourg Post". Playbill Arts. Retrieved 23 December 2007.
  3. Ben Mattison (21 December 2005). "Conductor Emmanuel Krivine to Lead Luxembourg Philharmonic". Playbill Arts. Retrieved 23 December 2007.
  4. Agence France Presse (18 May 2009). "Emmanuel Krivine prolongé à la tête de l'orchestre du Luxembourg". Tageblatt. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  5. "Gustavo Gimeno to be new Principal Conductor of the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg" (Press release). Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra. June 2014. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  6. "Gustavo Gimeno takes over Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra". Luxemburger Wort. 21 June 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  7. "Gustavo Gimeno bleibt bis 2022". Luxemburger Wort. 2 March 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  8. "Gustavo Gimeno to remain as Music Director of the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg until 2025" (PDF) (Press release). Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg & KD Schmid. 13 February 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  9. "Gustavo Gimeno appointed as new music director of Teatro Real" (Press release). HarrisonParrott. 14 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.


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