Philippe Herreweghe facts for kids
Philippe Maria François Herreweghe (born May 2, 1947) is a famous Belgian conductor and choirmaster. He is known for leading musical groups and performing classical music.
Herreweghe founded two important groups: La Chapelle Royale and Collegium Vocale Gent. He is especially good at playing Baroque music, like the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. His musical range goes from very old Renaissance music to early Romantic classical music.
Early Life
Philippe Herreweghe was born in Ghent, Belgium. He was the first of three children. His mother gave him his first piano lessons.
When he was at the University of Ghent, Herreweghe studied two things at once. He studied medical science and psychiatry. At the same time, he studied music at the Ghent Conservatory. His piano teacher there was Marcel Gazelle.
Career
In 1970, Herreweghe started a group called the Collegium Vocale Gent. He formed it with some friends from university. Famous conductors Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Gustav Leonhardt noticed his talent. They invited him and his group to help record all of Bach cantatas.
Herreweghe's way of performing Baroque music quickly became popular. In 1977, he started another group in Paris. This group was called La Chapelle Royale. They played music from the French Golden Age. This included composers like Campra, Lully, and Charpentier. From 1982 to 2002, he was the artistic director of the Académies Musicales de Saintes.
During this time, Herreweghe created several other musical groups. With these groups, he performed music from different periods. He made sure the music sounded as it would have originally. This included music from the Renaissance to more modern classical music. One group, the Ensemble Vocal Européen, focused on Renaissance polyphony. Another, the Orchestre des Champs-Élysées, started in 1991. This orchestra played Classical and Romantic music. They used original instruments from those times.
Since 2009, Herreweghe and Collegium Vocale Gent have been working on a big European choir. This choir is for symphonic music. The Accademia Chigiana in Siena invited them to do this. The European Union's Cultural Programme has supported them since 2011.
Herreweghe also conducts big symphonic works. These include pieces by Beethoven and Gustav Mahler. He has been the main conductor of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra since 1997.
As a guest conductor, Herreweghe has led many famous orchestras. These include the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras. He was also the artistic director of the Festival of Saintes. From 2008 to 2013, he was a regular guest conductor for the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic.
Herreweghe is best known for conducting the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. Many experts see him as a leader in the "authentic practice" movement. This means performing Baroque music using instruments and styles from that time. He has recorded over 60 albums with the record label Harmonia Mundi.
Selected Recordings
Herreweghe has made more than 100 recordings with his groups. These recordings are on labels like Harmonia Mundi and Pentatone.
Some important recordings include:
- Bach's St Matthew Passion
- The complete symphonies of Beethoven and Schumann
- Mahler's song cycle Des Knaben Wunderhorn
- Bruckner's Symphony No. 5
- Fauré's Requiem
- Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms
In 2010, he started his own record label called φ (PHI). Some recordings from this label include:
- 2010: MAHLER, Gustav: Symphony no. 4
- 2011: BACH, Johann Sebastian: Motets BWV 225-230
- 2011: BACH, Johann Sebastian: Mass in B minor
- 2012: BEETHOVEN, Ludwig van: Missa Solemnis
- 2012: MOZART, Wolfgang Amadeus: The Last Symphonies 39, 40 & 41 Jupiter
- 2013: HAYDN, Joseph: Die Jahreszeiten
- 2014: DVORAK, Antonin: Requiem
- 2017: BRAHMS, Johannes: Symphony no. 4
He also made recordings for PRIMEPHONIC, often with the Royal Flemish Philharmonic:
- Schubert – Symphonies (2012)
- Beethoven – The 9 Symphonies (2011)
- Mendelssohn Bartholdy – The Piano Concertos (2011)
- Stravinsky – Monumentum • Mass & Symphonie de Psaumes (2010)
Honours and Awards
Philippe Herreweghe has received many awards and honours for his musical work.
Honours
- 1994: He was made an Officer of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. This is an important award from France for arts and literature.
- 2000: King Albert II of Belgium made him a knight.
- 2003: He received the Knight of the Legion of Honour, another high French award.
Awards
- In 1990, music critics in Europe named him "Musical Personality of the Year."
- In 1993, Herreweghe and Collegium Vocale Gent became "Cultural Ambassadors of Flanders."
- In 1997, he received an honorary doctorate from the Catholic University of Leuven. This is a special degree given to honor his achievements.
- In 2010, the city of Leipzig gave him its Bach-Medaille. This was for his great work performing Bach's music.
- He won the Royal Academy of Music Bach Prize in 2016.
See also
In Spanish: Philippe Herreweghe para niños
