National Orchestra of Belgium
| National Orchestra of Belgium (NOB) | |
|---|---|
| Orchestra | |
| Founded | 1936 |
| Location | Brussels, Belgium |
| Website |
www |
The National Orchestra of Belgium (NOB, Dutch: Nationaal Orkest van België, French: Orchestre National de Belgique) is a Belgian orchestra, based in Brussels. Its principal concert venue is the Brussels Centre for Fine Arts. The orchestra also gives concerts outside of Brussels in such cities as Sankt-Vith and Hasselt.
The Orchestra was founded in 1931 by Désiré Defauw as the Brussels Symphony Orchestra, and later reorganized in 1936 into its present form. With its base in the Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels and subsidized by the Belgian government, the NOB performs 70 concerts each season in Belgium and abroad, employing 96 musicians. It specializes in the music of the 19th and 20th centuries and film scores. In 2003, contestants in the final round of the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition were accompanied by the orchestra, under the direction of Gilbert Varga.
Prior to the 1958 appointment of André Cluytens as its music director and permanent conductor, the NOB worked with various conductors including Karl Böhm, Désiré Defauw, Erich Kleiber, and Pierre Monteux. The orchestra's current music director is Walter Weller, since 2007. He stepped down from the post in 2012 and took the title of Honorary Conductor of the NOB. In September 2010, the NOB announced the appointment of Andrey Boreyko as its next music director, effective with the 2012-2013 season, with an initial contract of 5 years.[1] Boreyko is scheduled to conclude his NOB tenure at the end of the 2016-2017 season. In February 2016, the NOB announced the appointment of Hugh Wolff as its next music director, effective with the 2017-2018 season.[2]
Music directors
- André Cluytens (1958-1967)
- Michael Gielen (1969-1971)
- André Vandernoot (1974-1985)
- Georges Octors (1985-1989)
- Mendi Rodan (1983-1989)
- Ronald Zollman (1989-1993)
- Yuri Simonov (1994-2002)
- Mikko Franck (2002-2007)
- Walter Weller (2007-2012)
- Andrey Boreyko (2012-present)
References
- ↑ "Top Russian conductor Andrey Boreyko to be Music Director of the NOB from 2012-13" (Press release). National Orchestra of Belgium. 21 September 2010. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
- ↑ "Hugh Wolff becomes the new chief conductor of the Belgian National Orchestra" (Press release). National Orchestra of Belgium. 26 February 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-01.