ROYAL CONCERTGEBOUW ORCHESTRA

Established in 1888, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra—commonly known also as the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra—presented its debut program on November 3 of that year. The Dutch phrase Concertgebouw translates simply as concert hall, and the ensemble took its title from the grand building that has remained its home ever since. Celebrated for outstanding acoustics, the edifice contains two halls: the expansive Grote Zaal and the compact Kleine Zaal.

Willem Kes served as the orchestra’s inaugural conductor and introduced standards of audience behavior previously unknown in the Netherlands, forbidding food, tardy entries, and conversation during performances. Although he elevated the ensemble to a high level, it had not yet reached international stature by the time he stepped down in 1895. Willem Mengelberg then assumed the post of music director, a position he held for nearly five decades; under his leadership the group attained world-class status and produced numerous landmark recordings.

Mengelberg periodically took leaves to direct ensembles elsewhere in Europe and the United States, among them the New York Philharmonic, with Pierre Monteux and Bruno Walter engaged as interim conductors during his absences. Although widely esteemed, the orchestra under Mengelberg concentrated chiefly on the Germanic repertoire, especially Beethoven and Richard Strauss, while still presenting Gustav Mahler’s music and hosting Rachmaninov and Prokofiev in performances of their own compositions.

Mengelberg’s wartime alignment with the Nazis resulted in a six-year ban from leading the orchestra after 1945. Eduard van Beinum succeeded him that same year, expanded the programming, and upheld the ensemble’s performance level throughout his fourteen-year tenure, which ended with his death during a 1959 rehearsal. For the following four years, Eugen Jochum and Bernard Haitink shared leadership duties until Haitink became chief conductor in 1963, a role he fulfilled until 1988 and during which the orchestra undertook many acclaimed tours and recordings.

Riccardo Chailly succeeded Haitink and continued to enlarge the repertory while generating further critically praised discs. Mariss Jansons took the podium in 2004. The ensemble now numbers 120 musicians and ranks among the world’s preeminent orchestras.