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Orchestra of the East reinstated: HET Symphony Orchestra has 'new' name

From Dutch Symphony Orchestra with international ambitions back to provincial orchestra with as yet nothing at all. Now, except for the ironclad original name. It could be a commercial for Telfort. In between are many lost lawsuits, the grotesque protest name *****Symphony Orchestra and the equally garish HET Symphony Orchestra. It is the ultimate capitulation of the once by just about everything and everyone... 

Arnhem decides: who takes decisive lead in the battle of the orchestras?

Tonight, the Arnhem city council will take an important decision on the renovation of Musis Sacrum, the monumental concert hall located at a prominent point in the city. But the real news is not in what will be decided tonight, but in the far-reaching consequences. Musis Sacrum dates back to 1847 and is part of the cultural heritage. The venue complex is in dire need of refurbishment and with... 

Supervisory failure at HET Symphony Orchestra: drama that could have been avoided

The money at HET Symphony Orchestra has run out. Despite all the extra millions from the province and after years of writing off tons of general reserves, the end is in sight. And so the orchestra is scrapping concerts, will be seen less in theatres in Deventer and Zwolle, stops CD recordings and shuns any risky performances. To keep the... 

Orchestra finds name: the HET The Symphony Orchestra

Hooray! We have a new name. Nederlands Symfonieorkest was not allowed, *****Orkest everyone thought was a joke and reverting to the perfect name Orkest van het Oosten is not possible, because loss of face. What then?

Drum roll...

Simply, the symphony orchestra. Or THE Symphony Orchestra. The Symphony Orchestra.

Not That Orchestra, which would have been a cool name, not 'that', 'this' or 'the', but it. Just 'an' would have been even more meaningless, but don't despair: it does turn out to stand for something...

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Symphony orchestra seeks name. All suggestions are welcome.

Suddenly they are gone: the Dutch Symphony Orchestra's twitter account and facebook page. Searching for the new ***** name also yields nothing. Must have something to do with all sorts of lawsuits. But if you type in nederlandssymfonieorkest.nl, you happily end up at symfonieorkest.nl. Incidentally, if you type in orkestvanhetoosten.nl, that's also where you end up.

Timeless staging of St John Passion grips at throat

The main character of Bach's St John Passion? Jesus, of course. Wrong. It is the narrator, the evangelist, especially in Dale Duesing's wonderful staging, especially when interpreted by Robert Burt. Where in ordinary performances of the Johannes the evangelist's recitatives mainly interrupt the arias and choral passages, here they form the dramatic core. We truly see John's passion.

Director sues own orchestra to death

It was big news. One orchestra is seizing the instruments of another. Only it doesn't add up. Just as much does not appear to be right in conductor Jan Willem de Vriend's letter in last Thursday's Volkskrant.

Because we have been closely following the orchestral feud between the Netherlands Philharmonic and the Netherlands Symphonic for some time, we already knew that De Vriend was not telling the truth with his statement that, legally speaking, it was now 2-2 between the two orchestras. It st...

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Orchestra war escalates: Enschede's star orchestra has to hand in instruments

Seizure of the instruments of the former Netherlands Symphony Orchestra is imminent. The orchestra, which has been banned from using the word "Dutch" since a lost legal battle with Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, is thus not allowed to sell instruments or take them abroad. Pending a countermove from the former Orchestra of the East, they changed the name there to ***** Symphony Orchestra.

Jan Willem De Vriend, conductor of the troubled Enschede-based orchestra, wrote this morning in ...

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Star. Five times. And then Symphony Orchestra.

Five-star Symphony Orchestra. This is how the Dutch Symphony Orchestra will be called next season. The former Orkest van het Oosten tried to become 'Dutch' but faced a lawsuit from the Philharmonic Orchestra, which was already 'Dutch'. 'Politics should get involved in the legal process. Because it can't go on like this. This is costing tons of money.' Says Harm Mannak.

[Tweet "Director throws symphony orchestra name up for grabs"]

The director of the former Orchestra of the Oo...

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Nederlandse Reisopera with a musical. With Sanne Wallis de Vries. In Royal Theatre Carré.

No, the company is not afraid of competition. Nor of cooperation, as witness the jubilantly received Fairy queen with Veenfabriek and Combattimento, the orchestra led until recently by Jan Willem de Vriend.

Combattimento? That orchestra was supposed to quit, wasn't it?

Indeed, it looked like that for a while when Jan Willem de Vriend announced his intention to retire from the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra, but without its founder, the orchestra made a successful relaunch. Like the Reisope

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From Dutch to National and vice versa. DNO and NRO give lesson on name change and collaboration

A joint press conference by two companies. In the post-Zijlstra era, that often does not bode well. A merger then seems obvious, especially when it involves the two largest opera companies in our country: De Nederlandse Opera and the Nationale Reisopera. Only now we have to turn that around: the Netherlands Opera will become the National Opera. And the building will be called National Opera and Ballet.

A logical name change given the administrative merger of the Music Theatre, The Na...

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Dutch Symphony Orchestra loses lawsuit and name

We already wrote about  the name change of the Orchestra of the East into the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra (NedSym). The Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra (NedPho) was not amused and felt that the Enschede-based orchestra was infringing its trademark and trademark rights and demanded that the orchestra choose a different name. Summary proceedings followed and in April 2012 the court ruled that the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra could only not use the abbreviation NedSO, but did not have to change its name.

Götterdämmerung marks end and new beginning Reisopera

It is the first mass scene in Wagner's Ring: Siegfried leads Brünnhilde to the Gibichungenburg and Hagen summons all his men. From the side stage there is literally a deafening blare of horns, but conductor Ed Spanjaard lets it play on. And rightly so: the orchestra has a spark. The whole stage is filled in an instant and the choir swells in strength, louder and louder, ever louder, until the ecstatic apotheosis:

Gross Glück und Heil lacht nun dem Rhein

While the choir of...

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'Ajax states' in sudden war between Netherlands Symphony Orchestra and National Travel Opera

This week, the National Travel Opera begins rehearsals of Mozart's Le nozze di figaro. In the bin, the brand-new Netherlands Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jan Willem de Vriend. Business as usual, as both companies have been working closely together for years and are united in the National Music Quarter Enschede. Only: orchestra and opera company have not been talking to each other since last week.

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