Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra

About

Official Site: http://www.oslophil.com/

How it all started ...
As with most of the other major orchestras of Scandinavia, the Oslo Philharmonic is relatively young. It all began in the 1870s, when Edvard Grieg and Johan Svendsen, in an attempt to raise the standard of orchestral music in Christiania (as Oslo was then known), founded the Musikforening (Music Society) from the ashes of the former Philharmonic Society. By the 1880s, the Musikforening’s orchestra was attracting municipal support, and when the National Theatre was opened at the turn of the century, the orchestra began to provide music for the new theatre in addition to its concerts for the Music Society.

During World War I the appetite for symphonic concerts grew as never before – but so did inflation. A financial dispute between the orchestra and the National Theatre management in 1918 led to the collapse of the Musikforening’s concerts, and in the following year the the Oslo Philharmonic as we know it was founded – on private initiative and financed by private shareholders.

Between the wars
The new symphony orchestra was warmly received, and numerous great musical figures visited Oslo and the orchestra, among them the conductors Weingartner, Nikisch, Fried and Monteux, and the composers Ravel, Nielsen, Hindemith and Szymanowski.

The orchestra’s leaders during the inter-war years included such soloists as Richard Burgin (later to become Koussevitzky’s concertmaster in Boston), Max Rostal and Robert Söetens (for whom Prokofiev wrote his second violin concerto) – an indication of the high regard in which the orchestra was held.

The 1930s saw visits by such giants of the musical world as Stravinsky, and a welcome procession of guests including many who had been driven out of Germany by the Nazis: Fritz Busch, Erich Kleiber and above all, Bruno Walter – who conducted the opening concert of the orchestra’s 20th anniversary season. Other visiting conductors included Sir Thomas Beecham and Sir Adrian Boult from London; and Wilhelm Furtwängler, whose guest appearance took place only a week before the Nazi fleet sailed into the Oslo fjord on 9 April 1940.

The post-war years
In 1945 there was much catching up to do. There were plans to increase the strength of the orchestra to 80 players, and to build a new concert hall. All the Nordic countries had been cut off from the major trends in new music, but in 1953 Oslo hosted the ISCM Festival, which brought it into closer contact with the European mainstream. Seven LPs of Norwegian music appeared on the Mercury label, with music by Svendsen, Irgens-Jensen, Valen, Sæverud, Egge and Fliflet Bræin. Another notable recording was the first commercial recording ever of Wagner’s Götterdämmerung with Kirsten Flagstad in 1956 (Decca, re-released in the 1990s).

During these years the Oslo Philharmonic hardly commanded the world stage in the way it does today, but during the joint stewardship of Herbert Blomstedt and Øivin Fjeldstad in the early 1960s the orchestra began to make waves abroad. Its first concert tour outside Scandinavia took place in 1962 and included venues such as Amsterdam/Concertgebouw, Berlin/Haus der Rundfunks, Bonn/Beethovenhalle and Frankfurt/Alte Oper. Critics noted the orchestra’s sound and style as “a new accent” within European music.

The challenge of building an orchestra of international standing was about to be met. Oslo Concert Hall opened to the public in 1977 and over the next few years ticket sales doubled. In 1979 the decision was made to expand the orchestra to 95 musicians by 1990 – a plan that would be pushed forward by Mariss Jansons.

The Mariss Jansons years
During the 1970s the renowned conductor Arvid Jansons was a frequent guest.in Oslo, and introduced his son Mariss to the orchestra in 1975. Their rapport was such that in 1979 he was appointed its music director.

During the early 1980s the Oslo Philharmonic was transformed into an orchestra of international standing. Its visits to London left Britain in no doubt as to its developing virtuosity. In 1985 it made its first major European tour with Jansons to Germany, Switzerland and Austria, and was immediately invited to return to Vienna’s Musikverein, The Edinburgh Festival, London’s Promenade Concerts and the Salzburg Festival also invited the orchestra to make prestigious guest appearances.

With concert fame came success on record: after the orchestra’s wildly successful Tchaikovsky Symphonies cycle on Chandos, in 1987 EMI gave Jansons and the orchestra an exclusive recording contract, renewed in 1992. From the late 1990s the Oslo Philharmonic and Jansons recorded for the Norwegian label Simax, with releases including live recordings of Stravinsky’s The Firebird (complete version)/Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben, and a cycle of Brahms’s symphonies – the latter receiving great international acclaim. After 22 years of leadership, Mariss Jansons announced his resignation as music director in February 2000; in May 2002 the Oslo public took a moving farewell with their beloved music director, and in June the Oslo Philharmonic embarked on their final tour with him, to Prague, Ljubliana and – of course – Vienna.

André Previn
When André Previn first visited the Oslo Philharmonic in March 2000, he had long been sought after as a guest conductor. The meeting between orchestra and conductor was a very happy one, with successful performances of Mahler and of Previn’s own work Honey and Rue, and in June 2001 the orchestra announced André Previn’s appointment as Principal Conductor from 2002. His great musical versatility is reflected in his programmes with the orchestra, both as a conductor and as soloist and chamber musician.

André Previn has also been instrumental in furthering the Oslo Philharmonic’s international career, most recently in connection with its successful tour of the USA in March 2005, with concerts in Washington (Kennedy Center), New York (Carnegie Hall), Chicago (Orchestra Hall), Philadelphia (Kimmel Center) and Ann Arbor (Hill Auditorium). This tour marked André Previn’s 75th birthday but was also an important part of Norway’s celebration marking 100 years of independence.

Looking to the future
Today the Oslo Philharmonic is made up of 107 musicians, of whom over one fifth are from outside Norway. As Norway’s national orchestra, it now tours more than ever before, with national tours being an important part of its work. It is part of a major recording initiative to mark Norway’s centenary celebrations. When the orchestra’s next Principal Conductor, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, takes up his post in September 2006 he will be the 87-year-old orchestra’s 12th music director. It will be exciting to see what the future brings.

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