Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestre philharmonique du Luxembourg) |

Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra

The history of this collective, which celebrated its 80th anniversary last year, dates back to 1933, when the Luxembourg Radio Symphony Orchestra was formed. Since then, this orchestra has been an integral part of the national culture of their country. In 1996, he received the status of the state, and in 2012 – the Philharmonic. Since 2005, the permanent residence of the orchestra has been one of the best concert halls in Europe – the Grand Concert Hall of the Luxembourg Philharmonic.

The Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra has earned a reputation as a group with a sophisticated and unique sound. The high image of the orchestra is promoted by its constant performances in such prestigious halls as the Pleyel in Paris and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, participation in music festivals in Stasburg and Brussels (“Ars Musica”), as well as the exceptional acoustics of the Philharmonic hall, glorified by the greatest orchestras, conductors and soloists of the world.

The orchestra took its rightful place in the world largely thanks to the impeccable musical taste of its artistic director Emmanuel Krivin and fruitful cooperation with top stars (Evgeny Kissin, Yulia Fischer, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Jean-Guien Keira). Evidence of this is an impressive list of awards in the field of sound recording. In the last six years alone, the orchestra has been awarded the Grand Prix of the Charles Cros Academy, the Victoires, Golden Orpheus, Golden Range, Shock, Telerama, German Critics’ Prizes, Pizzicato Excellentia, Pizzicato Supersonic ”, “IRR Outstanding”, “BBC Music Choice”, “Classica R10”.

Emmanuel Krivin is currently the sixth artistic director of the orchestra. His predecessors were such conductors as Henri Pansy (1933-1958), Louis de Froment (1958-1980), Leopold Hager (1981-1996), David Shallon (1997-2000), Bramwell Tovey (2002-2006).

A student and follower of Karl Böhm, Emmanuel Krivin strives to create a universal symphony orchestra that can master all musical styles and have a large repertoire. Critics call the Luxembourg Philharmonic “an elegant orchestra with a rich palette of colors” (“Figaro”), “free from all decorativeness and nebulosity, possessing a certain style and detailed elaboration of each fragment” (West German Radio).

Along with classical and romantic music, an important place in the orchestra’s repertoire is given to works by contemporary authors, including: Ivo Malek, Hugo Dufour, Toshio Hosokawa, Klaus Hubert, Bernd Allois Zimmermann, Helmut Lachenmann, Georg Lenz, Philippe Gobert, Gabriel Piernet and others . In addition, the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra has recorded all the orchestral works of Janis Xenakis.

The breadth of creative interests is embodied in various programs with the participation of the orchestra. These are opera performances at the Grand Theater of Luxembourg, joint projects with the cinema “Live Cinema”, concerts of popular music “Pops at the Phil” with the participation of vocal stars such as Patti Austin, Diane Warwick, Moran, Angelica Kidjo, outdoor concerts with jazz bands or rock bands.

Recently, such well-known soloists as singers Anna Katerina Antonacci, Susanna Elmark, Eric Kutler, Albina Shagimuratova, Vesselina Kazarova, Anzhelika Kirschlager, Camilla Tilling have performed with the orchestra; pianists Nelson Freire, Arkady Volodos, Nikolai Lugansky, Francois-Frederic Guy, Igor Levit, Radu Lupu, Alexander Taro; violinists Renaud Capuçon, Veronica Eberle, Isabelle Faust, Julian Rakhlin, Baiba Skride, Teddy Papavrami; cellists Gauthier Capuçon, Jean-Guien Keira, Truls Merck, flutist Emmanuel Payou, clarinetist Martin Frost, trumpeter Tine Ting Helseth, percussionist Martin Grubinger and other musicians.

Behind the conductor’s podium of the Luxembourg Philharmonic were such maestros as Christoph Altstedt, Franz Bruggen, Pierre Cao, Reinhard Göbel, Jakub Grusha, Eliau Inbal, Alexander Liebreich, Antonio Mendez, Kazushi Ohno, Frank Ollu, Philip Pickett, Pascal Rofe, Thomas Sundergaard, Jonathan Stockhammer, Stefan Soltesz, Lukas Wies, Jan Willem de Frind, Gast Walzing, Lothar Zagroszek, Richard Egar and many others.

An important part of the orchestra’s activity is its constant work with the youth audience. Since 2003, as part of the Login Music educational program, the orchestra has been organizing educational concerts for children and schoolchildren, releasing DVDs, holding mini-concerts in schools and hospitals, arranging music master classes for schoolchildren, and coordinating the Dating project, within which listeners get acquainted with the work of the most famous composers.

The Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra is one of the cultural symbols of its country. The orchestra consists of 98 musicians representing about 20 different countries (two thirds of them come from Luxembourg and neighboring France, Germany and Belgium). The orchestra intensively tours Europe, Asia and the USA. In the 2013/14 season the orchestra performs in Spain and Russia. His concerts are regularly broadcast on Radio Luxembourg and the channels of the European Broadcasting Union (UER).

The material was provided by the Department of Information and Public Relations of the Moscow Philharmonic.