IVÁN FISHER CONDUCTS THE MATTHÄUS - PASSION BY JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH LIVE APRIL 1st 2012

The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
 In 1988, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands conferred the "Royal" title upon the orchestra In December 2008, a group of top critics invited by Gramophone ranked the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra as the top symphony orchestra in the world. The RCO is a symphony orchestra of international renown, whose character has been shaped by several generations of musicians, longstanding collaboration with each of the six chief conductors and the unique acoustic properties of the Concertgebouw’s main hall.

Collaboration with composers
During the fifty years of Willem Mengelberg’s reign, a wide variety of composers such as Richard Strauss, Gustav Mahler, Claude Debussy and Igor Stravinsky conducted the Concertgebouw Orchestra several times. Celebrities such as Béla Bartók, Sergey Rachmaninoff and Sergey Prokofiev performed their own works as soloists. This crucial bond with contemporary composers was continued with Bruno Maderna, Peter Schat, Luciano Berio, Hans Werner Henze, Luigi Nono and John Adams, and is still RCO policy.

Mahler and Bruckner
The Orchestra has gained international acclaim with its interpretations of the late romantic repertoire. The Mahler tradition, embedded in the many performances Mahler conducted here personally, achieved great heights during the Mahler Festivals in 1920 and 1995. Bernard Haitink made a huge impression with his complete recording of the Mahler symphonies and with the Christmas matinees. Bruckner, too, is a vital part of the Orchestra’s repertoire. After the war, it was Eduard van Beinum in particular who drew attention to French music and the Bruckner symphonies. With his interpretations in the concert hall and on CD recordings, Riccardo Chailly made a major contribution to contemporary music and opera. His Mahler interpretations also enjoyed wide popular and critical acclaim. With the arrival of Mariss Jansons in 2004 a new phase has started, with continued interest in composers such as Mahler, Bruckner and Richard Strauss as well as major twentieth-century composers such as Shostakovich and Messiaen. In Mariss Jansons’ first two seasons as chief conductor, he has conducted a broad repertoire ranging from Haydn and Mozart to contemporary Dutch compositions and a commisioned work by Henze.

MAESTRO IVAN FISCHER
Fischer is a founder of the Hungarian Mahler Society, and Patron of the British Kodály Academy. He received the Golden Medal Award from the President of the Republic of Hungary, and the Crystal Award from the World Economic Forum for his services to help international cultural relations. The French Government named him Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres. In 2006, he was honoured with the Kossuth Prize, Hungary’s most prestigious arts award. He is an honorary citizen of Budapest. In 2011, he received the Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award in the Conductor category.