The Oslo-Filharmonien
(Oslo Philharmonic
) is a symphony orchestra based in Oslo, Norway. The orchestra was founded in 1919, and has since 1977 had its home in the Oslo Concert Hall. The orchestra consists of 69 musicians in the string section, 16 in the woodwinds, 15 in brass, 5 in percussionists, 1 harpist, and 1 pianist.
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OSLO PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA TICKETS
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History
The Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra's roots go to 1879, when
Christiania Musikerforening
(Christiania Musical Association) was founded by
Edvard Grieg and
Johan Svendsen, as a successor of The Philharmonic Society (Det Philharmoniske Selskab, 1847).
The orchestra was later conducted by
Ole Olsen,
Johan Selmer,
Iver Holter and
Otto Winter Hjelm, and it was under Holter that the orchestra was fused together with
Christiania Theatre Orchestra, which was on the verge of reductions. Holter suggested the founding of a city orchestra which could play at municipal festivities, concerts and in the theatre, and as a result of this, the orchestra gained municipal support from 1889.
In 1899 the
Nationaltheatret, which was to present both theatre and opera, was opened. Here the orchestra expanded to 44 musicians, and it was conducted by
Johan Halvorsen.
The orchestra served the
Nationaltheatret in two roles: providing music for the new theatre, and symphony concerts for the Music Society. During the First World War, the desire for symphonic music grew, along with inflation, leading to a dispute between the orchestra and the Nationaltheatret and a temporary collapse of the Musikerforening's concerts. Thus, in 1919, the orchestra was reformed as the
Filharmonisk Selskaps Orkester
(Orchestra of the Philharmonic Company) by private shareholders and initiative. The first season was shared by three conductors;
Johan Halvorsen,
Georg Schnéevoigt and
Ignaz Neumark.
Filharmonisk Selskaps Orkester's first concert took place in
Logen (Store Sal) on 27 September 1919, with 59 musicians on stage and with
Georg Schnéevoigt as conductor. On the repertoire was
Rikard Nordraak's
Ja, vi elsker dette landet
,
Johan Svendsen's
Fest polonaise
,
Christian Sinding's Symphony No. 1,
Edvard Grieg's
Piano Concerto in A minor, and finally
Landkjenning
, with the singer
Erik Bye as baritone soloist.
Among the guest musicians this first season were the pianists
Eugen d'Albert,
Edwin Fischer,
Wilhelm Kempff,
Ignaz Friedman and
Artur Schnabel, and the violinists
Bronislaw Huberman and
Carl Flesch, in addition to the internationally famous conductor
Arthur Nikisch.
Between September 1919 and May 1920, the orchestra gave 135 public concerts, most of which were sold out.
The next decades bore strong evidence of economic problems, which even led to the resignation of 15 musicians in one season. Still, artistically, progress was enormous, and the orchestra attracted several famous musicians and conductors, such as
Richard Burgin, who later became concertmaster for
Serge Koussevitzky in Boston;
Max Rostal;
Ernst Glaser;
Robert Soetens, for whom
Sergei Prokofiev's
2nd Violin Concerto was written; and others who were driven out of Germany by the Nazi regime -
Igor Stravinsky,
Fritz Busch,
Erich Kleiber, and
Bruno Walter.
The first Norwegian radio broadcast took place in April 1923, and shortly after, the first radio concert with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra. From 1925, there was a contract between the orchestra and the
Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (
NRK), ensuring weekly live broadcasted concerts. This contract with NRK, came to be what saved the orchestra from bankruptcy in the 1930s.
In 1931, Dobrowen left Oslo, and the position as chief conductor was divided between two Norwegians:
Odd Grüner Hegge and
Olav Kielland, and from 1933, by Kielland alone. Kielland kept the position until 1945.
During
Second World War, the musical life in Norway was going through a difficult period, with musicians coming from both sides, and with censorship, boycotts and fist fights in the concert halls. Still, Ernst Glaser kept the position as concert master until 1969, only interrupted by three years in exile.
In 1979 the name was changed to Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, and in 1996 the organization was made an independent foundation by an act of the
Norwegian parliament.
In 1953 Oslo hosted the ISCM Festival, which brought further international contacts in the awareness of new repertoire, which many of the Scandinavian countries had been deprived of during the years of World War I and World War II. The first performance of the Oslo Philharmonic outside Scandinavia took place in 1962, where it made a striking appearance on the international stage. Since then, the orchestra has much international acclaim.
Although the orchestra has maintained high standards of quality since its inception and under various renowned musical directors, many consider that it saw its largest leap forward during the tenure of
Mariss Jansons from 1979 to 2002. During this time the orchestra recorded readings of
Tchaikovsky's
symphonies, and went on international tours. The Oslo Philharmonic won international acclaim with its Tchaikovsky cycle and a very successful series of recordings for EMI. In 2000 the orchestra completed a cycle of
Bartók for Simax, and plans to follow this with a cycle of works by Mahler.
The Oslo Philharmonic holds an average of sixty to seventy symphonic concerts annually, the majority of which are broadcast nationally on the radio. The orchestra also performs chamber concerts frequently throughout the year. In the past decade, the Oslo Philharmonic has performed in a number of international venues, including but not limited to Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and the United States. Future tours are planned under the new director Saraste to locales such as the US, Great Britain, Austria, Germany, Spain and Romania.
Other awards won by the Oslo Philharmonic include
Grand Prix du Disque,
Diapason d’Or, and the
German Classical Music Award.
Music directors
- 1919-1920 Johan Halvorsen
- 1919-1921 Ignaz Neumark
- 1919-1921 Georg Schnéevoigt
- 1921-1927 José Eibenschütz
- 1927-1931 Issay Dobrowen
- 1931-1933 Odd Grüner-Hegge
- 1931-1945 Olav Kielland
- 1945-1962 Odd Grüner-Hegge
- 1962-1968 Herbert Blomstedt
- 1962-1969 Øivin Fjeldstad
- 1969-1975 Miltiades Caridis
- 1975-1979 Okko Kamu
- 1979-2002 Mariss Jansons
- 2002-2006 André Previn
- 2006-present
Jukka-Pekka Saraste
References