Philippe Herreweghe

The Belgian Master conductor Philippe Herreweghe is considered internationally as one of the pillars in the interpretation of the baroque repertoire, in particular the work of Johann Sebastian Bach, of which he is one of the greatest specialists.

Philippe Herreweghe studied piano in Gent, his home town, at the same time as he studied medicine and psychiatry. That is when he founded the Collegium Vocale in Ghent, with which he developed new principles of interpretation of baroque music. Quickly noticed by Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Gustav Leonhardt, he was invited to the recording of the complete cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach, which left its mark on our era.

In 1977 Philippe Herreweghe founded the ensemble La Chapelle Royale, specialized in the interpretation of French music of the Golden Age (17th century). Later on, he was be the initiator of several formations with which he has been exploring a repertoire ranging from the Renaissance to contemporary music. Thus the Ensemble Vocal Européen, specialized in Renaissance polyphony, and the Orchestre des Champs-Élysées, devoted to the romantic and pre-romantic repertoires on period instruments, were born. Since 2011, Philippe Herreweghe has been collaborating with the Collegium Vocale to promote a great symphonic repertoire, from Beethoven to Gustav Mahler.

Philippe Herreweghe is Principal Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Flanders, and permanent guest conductor of the Radio Kamer Filharmonie in the Netherlands. He regularly performs with internationally renowned orchestras such as the Concertgebouworkest Amsterdam, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra.

In 1990 he was voted “Musical Personality of the Year” by the European music press and in 1993 he was named “Cultural Ambassador of Flanders”. He was awarded the Bach Medal by the City of Leipzig in recognition of his work as an interpreter of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach.

With a rich discography of more than one hundred recordings, the conductor founded his own label, “Phi”, in 2010.

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