It is not often that Norman Lebrecht, author of the globally widely read blog Slipped Disc, two days in a row pays attention to conductors of the Orchestra of the East. First on the departure of principal conductor Jan Willem de Vriend, then on the appointment of former principal conductor Jaap van Zweden to the world-famous New York Philharmonic.
Naturally, Lebrecht delivered both pieces of news in his own clamorous manner with headlines: 'Troubled orchestra dumps conductor' and 'Breaking: New York Philharmonic appoints the wrong music director'. Two headlines that are deliberately "tendentious, unsubstantiated & needlessly offensive", incidentally not without substance. Because yes, Jan Willem de Vriend is leaving the Orchestra of the East and, to much surprise, Jaap van Zweden becomes the new chief conductor in New York. Together, they mark the absolute highs and lows of the Overijssel orchestra.
Straight to the top
Under the leadership of the then inexperienced Jaap van Zweden as conductor, the Orchestra of the East grew from 1991 (as guest conductor) and 1997 (as chief conductor) into an ensemble that could compete with the national - and thus - international top. Under its then director Pieter Prick, it toured the United States, among other places, culminating in a successful concert in Carnegie Hall, indeed, in New York. In 1999, he was also appointed chief conductor of the Residentie Orkest. In the process, Van Zweden simply stayed with the Orkest van het Oosten and a little later (2003) made his scenic opera debut with the Reisopera. And then things moved quickly: the Radio Philharmonic, Flanders, fantastic Wagner performances at the Concertgebouw. From a planned Ring together with the Reisopera unfortunately did not materialise, but his role was taken over with verve by Ed Spanjaard. Van Sweden, meanwhile, travelled to Hong Kong, Dallas and Chicago.
And now, therefore, New York.
Surprise
An appointment that comes as a surprise to many, but not for nothing was Van Sweden already named conductor of the year in the United States, were the reviews of his debut with the New York Philharmonic many times. positive and that orchestra mainly needs either a world star (which Van Zweden is not yet) or a conductor who shines especially in the iron repertoire and does not give the orchestra a chance to play on routine - the latter profile meets Van Zweden par excellence.
In the United States, the opinions Distributed, in the Netherlands Van Zweden is immediately put on a pedestal and everyone is proud. Typical of the way many people look at the standard-bearers of culture - in whatever field - in the Netherlands: you only count when you are taken seriously outside the Netherlands.
Previous surprise
While Van Zweden was making a global career, Prick had to make way for Harm Mannak in 2005, who, to everyone's surprise, presented Jan Willem de Vriend as the new chief conductor in 2006. After all, De Vriend, together with his Combattimento Consort, had mainly made a name for himself with early music, not with the late-romantic repertoire with which the Orchestra of the East had gained fame under Van Zweden.
The collaboration worked out wonderfully, especially in the beginning, but after Halbe Zijlstra's ouster, Mannak adopted an approach based more on the successes with Jaap van Zweden than a realistic one, however painful for the orchestra, focused on the future.
With dire consequences
The gaffe with the opera plans, the name change focused on sky-high ambitions and lost court cases, the failure to meet impossible targets and an inevitable bankruptcy - much has been written about it.
Since losing the "exclusively" own orchestra by merging with the Gelderland Orchestra - despite all the advantages for both orchestras - is perceived as a total loss of face by both provinces, a lifebuoy.
It seems surprising that Jan Willem de Vriend's voluntary announced departure at the very moment when, thanks to Overijssel province, the orchestra was saved, at least for the time being, but it was not. So he was closely involved in Harm Mannak's policy, though denied he did so just as easily. But the ill-conceived and towards Reisopera very hostile plan did make it unlikely that De Vriend will ever be able to conduct an opera at the Reisopera again. Pretty tricky, when both municipality, province and state are committed to closer cooperation between cultural institutions in Enschede.
With the Orkest van het Oosten, he can forget about CD recordings either - what is it, that every conductor, with whatever orchestra, wants to record a Brahms or Beethoven cycle for the umpteenth time? - and performing in school halls is, of course, not very appealing either.
Even more deadly is that in the new plans, his function as artistic director of the orchestra is severely restricted: in order to survive, it is no longer the artistic ambitions of the conductor that are leading, but first and foremost the available personnel. Add to this the fact that De Vriend is not exactly leading for a pittance either, and the conclusion is clear: orchestra and conductor are better off without each other.
There is no Van Zweden running around in Overijssel
Opinions are divided about De Vriend's qualities as a conductor, and especially in the last two years he has alternated good concerts with mediocre ones, but there is no doubt that he knows how to bring his orchestra and classical music in general to the attention of a large audience like few others, especially in popular television programmes - even if he occasionally gets carried away in his enthusiasm. In this role, he was of great importance to the Orchestra of the East, and in this he is hard to replace. And given the limited artistic freedom, a new chief conductor will not be a big name. If there will be a new chief conductor at all. Presumably, many guest conductors will be chosen, fitting within the limited programming, with a focus on Overijssel.
And there is no Jaap van Zweden running around there.
Who exactly was there the day the big news was announced? Ed Spanjaard. Together with the orchestra that finally again simply called Orkest van het Oosten, he immediately congratulated Jaap van Zweden. The clip below is touchingly played spontaneously, but the congratulations are sincere and justified.
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