Who we are
About the Residentie Orkest
The birth of the Residentie Orkest
On the afternoon of Sunday 20 November 1904, founder Henri Viotta conducted the first official performance of the Residentie Orkest at the Gebouw voor Kunsten & Wetenschappen.
The lawyer, conductor, composer and conservatoire director had spent twelve years advocating for the importance of music in society and forming a first-class orchestra in The Hague.
The programme included Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony and Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto. This photo shows the orchestra on its tenth anniversary.
Top musicians to The Hague
After a number of financially difficult years, the Residentie Orkest entered a golden age. In the summers, top musicians would travel to Scheveningen to perform with the orchestra at the Kurzaal.
Composers such as Richard Strauss, Igor Stravinsky, Maurice Ravel, Paul Hindemith and Béla Bartók came to conduct their own works. Guest conductors included Georg Szell, Bruno Walter, Antal Doráti and Hans Knappertsbusch.
Pictured here is Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini leading the orchestra at the Gebouw voor Kunsten & Wetenschappen (1938).
Leonard Bernstein
In 1947, just after World War II, the Residentie Orkest co-organised a one-time summer festival called High Arts in the Low Lands, the precursor of the annual Holland Festival.
In the same year, Leonard Bernstein – only 29 years old – made his Dutch orchestra debut with the Residentie Orkest. He memorably filled in for the soloist at the last minute, playing Ravel's Piano Concerto in G while conducting from the piano.
Chief conductor Willem van Otterloo
Chief conductor Willem van Otterloo and the Residentie Orkest were a perfect match. In the many years under his leadership, the orchestra gained a reputation for combining outstanding performance with innovative programming. He also introduced regular concerts for schoolchildren in The Hague.
Van Otterloo gained international recognition with his extensive concert tours, including a US tour in 1963. His vinyl recordings of 125 compositions with the Residentie Orkest are still relevant today.
Spuiplein
After the Gebouw voor Kunsten & Wetenschappen burned down in 1964, the Residentie Orkest moved from venue to venue for years. The new Nederlands Congresgebouw turned out to be a less than ideal home for the orchestra, and the idea of building its own concert hall arose. To pay for it, the orchestra organised fundraising campaigns like the Bouw Mee concerts.
In September 1987, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands opened the Dr. Anton Philipszaal. She attended the opening concert led by chief conductor Hans Vonk, featuring works such as Ravel's Second Suite from Daphnis et Chloé and Stravinsky's Sacre du Printemps.
Chief conductor Anja Bihlmaier
After chief conductors like Jean Martinon, Ferdinand Leitner, Hans Vonk, Evgenii Svetlanov, Jaap van Zweden, Neeme Järvi and Nicholas Collon, Germany's Anja Bihlmaier became chief conductor of the Residentie Orkest in 2021. Bihlmaier is considered a rapidly rising star in the international conducting world. In her first season, she conducted works such as Mahler's Fourth Symphony and Verdi's impressive Requiem.
Amare
In 2015, the Residentie Orkest moved again, to the temporary Zuiderstrandtheater in Scheveningen. Construction began on a new home for the Residentie Orkest, Nederlands Dans Theater, Royal Conservatoire The Hague and Stichting Amare on Spui.
This beating heart of The Hague's cultural life, named Amare, was completed in autumn 2021. It was opened by King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima. Its Concert Hall seats 1,500 people.
The birth of the Residentie Orkest
On the afternoon of Sunday 20 November 1904, founder Henri Viotta conducted the first official performance of the Residentie Orkest at the Gebouw voor Kunsten & Wetenschappen.
The lawyer, conductor, composer and conservatoire director had spent twelve years advocating for the importance of music in society and forming a first-class orchestra in The Hague.
The programme included Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony and Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto. This photo shows the orchestra on its tenth anniversary.
Top musicians to The Hague
After a number of financially difficult years, the Residentie Orkest entered a golden age. In the summers, top musicians would travel to Scheveningen to perform with the orchestra at the Kurzaal.
Composers such as Richard Strauss, Igor Stravinsky, Maurice Ravel, Paul Hindemith and Béla Bartók came to conduct their own works. Guest conductors included Georg Szell, Bruno Walter, Antal Doráti and Hans Knappertsbusch.
Pictured here is Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini leading the orchestra at the Gebouw voor Kunsten & Wetenschappen (1938).
Leonard Bernstein
In 1947, just after World War II, the Residentie Orkest co-organised a one-time summer festival called High Arts in the Low Lands, the precursor of the annual Holland Festival.
In the same year, Leonard Bernstein – only 29 years old – made his Dutch orchestra debut with the Residentie Orkest. He memorably filled in for the soloist at the last minute, playing Ravel's Piano Concerto in G while conducting from the piano.
Chief conductor Willem van Otterloo
Chief conductor Willem van Otterloo and the Residentie Orkest were a perfect match. In the many years under his leadership, the orchestra gained a reputation for combining outstanding performance with innovative programming. He also introduced regular concerts for schoolchildren in The Hague.
Van Otterloo gained international recognition with his extensive concert tours, including a US tour in 1963. His vinyl recordings of 125 compositions with the Residentie Orkest are still relevant today.
Spuiplein
After the Gebouw voor Kunsten & Wetenschappen burned down in 1964, the Residentie Orkest moved from venue to venue for years. The new Nederlands Congresgebouw turned out to be a less than ideal home for the orchestra, and the idea of building its own concert hall arose. To pay for it, the orchestra organised fundraising campaigns like the Bouw Mee concerts.
In September 1987, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands opened the Dr. Anton Philipszaal. She attended the opening concert led by chief conductor Hans Vonk, featuring works such as Ravel's Second Suite from Daphnis et Chloé and Stravinsky's Sacre du Printemps.
Chief conductor Anja Bihlmaier
After chief conductors like Jean Martinon, Ferdinand Leitner, Hans Vonk, Evgenii Svetlanov, Jaap van Zweden, Neeme Järvi and Nicholas Collon, Germany's Anja Bihlmaier became chief conductor of the Residentie Orkest in 2021. Bihlmaier is considered a rapidly rising star in the international conducting world. In her first season, she conducted works such as Mahler's Fourth Symphony and Verdi's impressive Requiem.
Amare
In 2015, the Residentie Orkest moved again, to the temporary Zuiderstrandtheater in Scheveningen. Construction began on a new home for the Residentie Orkest, Nederlands Dans Theater, Royal Conservatoire The Hague and Stichting Amare on Spui.
This beating heart of The Hague's cultural life, named Amare, was completed in autumn 2021. It was opened by King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima. Its Concert Hall seats 1,500 people.
"The score, telling the musical story – it's everything to me. Because it doesn't need any words, music is an endless source of inspiration and imagination."
- Wouter Vossen - concertmaster
Meet our conductors
Meet the Orchestra
Lucian-Leonard Raiciof
Wouter Vossen
Ilya Warenberg
Pieter van Loenen
Naomi Bach
Orges Caku
Yuki Hayakashi
Agnes Houtsmuller
Alexandra Bons
Momoko Noguchi
Mara Oosterbaan
Francisca Portugal
Pieter Verschuijl
Justyna Briefjes
Gerard Spronk
Remus Rimbu
David Bellido Herrero
Barbara Krimmel
Ben Legebeke
Abel Rodriguez Garcia
Sergiy Starzhynskiy
Cato Went
Diederik van Wassenaer
Hannah Strijbos
Timur Yakubov
Jacomine Punt
Moira Bette
Jan Buizer
Elisabeth Runge
Tanja Trede
Iteke Wijbenga
Roger Regter
Gideon den Herder
Iedje van Wees
Justa de Jong
Miriam Kirby
Tom van Lent
Sven Weyens
Frank Dolman
Jos Tieman
Astrid Schrijner
Martine van der Loo
Eline van Esch
Dorine Schade
Rieneke Brink
Roger Cramers
Bárbara Patrício
Hilje van der Vliet
Hans Colbers
Arno Stoffelsma
Jasper Grijpink
Dorian Cooke
Gretha Tuls
Erik Reinders
Simon Vandenbroecke
René Pagen
Ron Schaaper
Elizabeth Chell
Mariëlle van Pruijssen
Mirjam Steinmann
Erwin ter Bogt
Robert-Jan Hoffman
Timothy Dowling
Arno Schipdam
Wouter Iseger
Elias Gustafsson
Martin Ansink
Chris Leenders
Murk Jiskoot
Mathilde Wauters
Meet the Staff
Sven Arne Tepl
Miranda van Drie
Jolita Juffermans
Sana van Iddekinge
Marie-Noëlle Spaan
Sebastiaan van Kempen
Patrick Kockelkoren
Harm Jan Schwantje
Evelien van der Weijden
Nadia Frissen
Albert Scholte
Gijs Oudshoorn
Jos van den Bogert
Ruth van de Putte
Marieke Meliesie
Wenny Roeffen
Maaike van der Wel
Linda Grau
Maartje Verhoeven
Annemieke Quast
Jan Jaap Zwitser
Anne Kruiter
Inge Kluin
Sarah Kriek
Voline van Teeseling
Michiel Hazeleger
Lizette ten Katen-Brak
Céu Lopes
A place where talent thrives
Would you like to be part of our talented orchestra? We're often looking for new talent!
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