Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg (Symphony Orchestra)

Founded: 1933 - Luxembourg

The orchestra of the Grand Duchy, the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg (= OPL; Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra), represents a very dynamic part of the culture of its country. Since its high-profile debut in 1933 under the aegis of Radio Luxembourg (RTL), the orchestra has been present all over Europe. Publicly administered since 1996, the OPL has, since 2005, been resident at the Philharmonie Luxembourg, one of the most prestigious concert halls in Europe. In January 2012 the two institutions merged both artistically and administratively.

The acoustics of its residence, praised by great orchestras, conductors and soloists from all over the world, its long-standing relationships with other prestigious halls and festivals as well as its close collaboration with first-rate musical personalities have contributed to making the OPL an orchestra renowned for the elegance of its sonority. Its standing has been confirmed by an impressive list of prizes awarded for some twenty CDs, all released in the last few years: Grand Prix Charles Cros, Victoires de la musique classique, Orphée d’Or de l’Académie du Disque Lyrique, Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, Télérama ffff, Pizzicato Excellentia, IRR Outstanding, BBC Music Choice, as well as several Diapasons d’Or, Choc du Monde de la Musique, Pizzicato Supersonic, Classica R10 and many others.

Diversity

In the 2015-2016 season, Gustavo Gimeno becomes the eighth Music Director of the OPL (after Henri Pensis, Carl Melles, Louis de Froment, Leopold Hager, David Shallon, Bramwell Tovey und Emmanuel Krivine). Alongside the classical and romantic repertoire, the orchestra’s programme reserves an important place for music of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries: works by Olivier Messiaen, Wolfgang Rihm, Helmut Lachenmann, Luciano Berio, Ivo Malec, Hugues Dufourt, Toshio Hosokawa, Klaus Huber, Bernd Alois Zimmermann, Georges Lentz, Philip Glass, Michael Jarrell, Arthur Honegger and many others are regularly performed. The orchestra has also recorded the complete orchestral works of Iannis Xenakis.

The orchestra demonstrates its diversity with concert formats such as «Aventure+»; regular opera productions staged at the Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg; film concerts like «Live Cinema» in collaboration with the Cinémathèque de la Ville de Luxembourg; «Pops at the Phil» evenings with such stars as Patti Austin, Kurt Elling, Ute Lemper, Gregory Porter, Dionne Warwick, Maurane and Angélique Kidjo, and open-air concerts with jazz and rock groups as part of the Fête de la Musique.

The 2015-2016 season will include musical partnerships with soloists such as Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Kit Armstrong, Alena Baeva, Cameron Carpenter, Stefan Dohr, Isabelle Faust, Gilberto Gil, Anja Harteros, Leonidas Kavakos, Johannes Moser, Ann Petersen, Mikhail Pletnev, Menahem Pressler, Vadim Repin, Edicson Ruiz, Frank Peter Zimmermann and Jean-François Zygel, and conductors such as Pierre Cao, Carl Davis, Leopold Hager, Timothy Henty, Eliahu Inbal, Richard Kaufman, Emmanuel Krivine, Andris Nelsons, Emilio Pomàrico, Adrian Prabava, Jamie Phillips, Roberto Rizzi Brignoli, Case Scaglione, Clemens Schuldt, Lahav Shani, Alexander Shelley, Stefan Soltesz, Maxime Tortelier, Juraj Valčuha, Christian Vásquez and Gast Waltzing.

Alongside its extensive repertoire and wide-ranging audiences, as well as the esteem of high calibre musicians, one further point links the OPL and the Philharmonie Luxembourg: the importance they both attach to innovative education and outreach activities for children, teenagers and adults. Since 2003, the orchestra has created concerts and workshops for schools, children and families as well as DVD productions. It also performs in schools and hospitals, and, in addition, prepares school classes for subscription concerts with music appreciation workshops. Furthermore, it invites audiences to discover orchestral music with the help of remarkable presenters such as Jean-François Zygel in its «Dating:» cycle.

Openness

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the OPL share a common spirit of openness towards Europe and the world. The 98 musicians hailing from some 20 different nations (two thirds from Luxembourg and its neighbour countries France, Germany and Belgium) are active throughout the Greater Region with numerous concerts and activities. Tours take the orchestra to many music venues in Europe as well as in Asia and the USA. In 2015-2016, the orchestra performs in France, Germany and the Netherlands. OPL concerts are regularly broadcast by Luxembourg radio 100,7 and internationally by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).

The OPL is subsidised by the Ministry of Culture of the Grand Duchy and receives further support from the City of Luxembourg. Its partners are BGL BNP Paribas as well as Banque de Luxembourg, CACEIS, Mercedes Benz and POST Luxembourg. Since December 2012 a cello made by Matteo Goffriller (1659-1742) called «Le Luxembourgeois» has been put at the OPL’s disposal by BGL BNP Paribas.

Music Directors

Henri Pensis
Carl Melles
Louis de Froment (1958-1980)
Leopold Hager (1981-1996)
David Shallon (1997-2000)
Bramwell Tovey (2002-2006)
Emmanuel Krivine (2006-2015)
Gustavo Gimeno (2015-Present)

AKA

Orchestra Of Radio Luxembourg, Das Grosse Symphonie Orchester Von RTL Radio Tele Luxemburg, Das Sinfonieorchester RTL, Grand 'Orchestre De Radio-Tele Luxembourg, Grand Orchestre De Radio Luxembourg, Grand Orchestre De Radio-Luxembourg, Grand Orchestre de Radio-Luxemburg, Grand Orchestre De Radio-Télé-Luxembourg, Grand Orchestre Radio Télé Luxembourg, Grand Orchestre Radio- Tele - Luxembourg, Grand Orchestre Symphonique de Radio-Télé-Luxembourg, Grande Orchestre De Radio-Télé-Luxembourg, L`Orchestre Symphonique De Radio-Télé Luxembourg, L'Orchestre De R.T.L., Le Grand Orchestre de Radio Luxembourg, Le Grand Orchestre RTL, Le Grand Orchestre Symphonique Du Luxembourg, Luxembourg Radio & TV Symphony Orchestra, Luxembourg Radio And TV Orchestra, Luxembourg Radio And TV Symphony Orchestra, Luxembourg Radio Orchestra, Luxembourg Radio Symphony, Luxembourg Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orch. Philharmonique De Radio-Télé Luxembourg, Orch. Symphonique R.T.L., Orchester Von Radio Luxemburg, Orchestra Di Radio Lussemburgo, Orchestra Of Radio / Television Luxembourg, Orchestra Of Radio Luxemberg, Orchestra of Radio Luxembourg, Orchestra Of Radio Luxemburg, Orchestra Of Radio/TV Luxembourg, Orchestra Sinfonica Di Radio Lussemburgo, Orchestra Symphonique De Radio-Tele Luxembourg, Orchestre De Radio Télé Luxembourg, Orchestre de Radio-Luxembourg, Orchestre Symphonique De Radio Luxembourg, Orchestre Symphonique De Radio Télé Luxembourg, Orchestre Symphonique De Radio Télé-Luxembourg, Orchestre Symphonique De Radio-Tele Luxembourg, Orchestre Symphonique De Radio-Télé-Luxembourg, Orchestre Symphonique De RTL, Orchestre Symphonique Du Luxembourg, Orquesta De Radio Luxemburgo, Radio Luxembourg Orchestra, Radio Luxembourg Symphony Orchestra, Radio Luxemburg Symphony Orchestra, Radio Symphony Orchestra Luxembourg, Radio Tele Luxemburg Symphonie Orchester, Radio-Symphonieorchester Luxemburg, Radio-Tele-Luxembourg Symphony Orchestra, RTL Orchester, RTL Sinfonie Orchester, RTL Sinfonie-Orchester, RTL Symphony Orchestra, RTL Symphony Orchestra Luxemburg, RTL-Sinfonie-Orchester, RTL-Sinfonieorchester, RTL-Symphonie Orchester, Sinfonieorchester Radio Luxemburg, Symphonic Orchestra Of The Luxembourg Radio, Symphonieorchester RaLuxemburg, Symphonieorchester Radio Luxemburg / Luxembourg Symphony Orchestra, Symphonieorchestra von Radio Luxemburg, Symphony Orchestra Of Radio Luxembourg, The Orchestra Of Radio Luxembourg, The Radio-Television Orchestra of Luxembourg

Sources:
Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg Website
Wikipedia Website (September 2015)
Discogs Website
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (January 2016)

Leopold Hager: Short Biography | Ensembles: Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg
Bach Discography: Recordings of Vocal Works

Links to other Sites

Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg (Official Website) [French/German/English]
Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg on Facebook
Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra (Wikipedia)
Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra (New World Classics)
Orchestra Of Radio Luxembourg Discography at Discogs