Philippe Herreweghe facts for kids
Philippe Maria François Herreweghe, Knight Herreweghe (born 2 May 1947) is a famous Belgian conductor and choirmaster. He is well-known for leading musical groups that perform classical music.
Herreweghe started two important musical groups: La Chapelle Royale and Collegium Vocale Gent. He is celebrated for conducting a wide range of music, from very old Renaissance pieces to early Romantic classical music. He is especially good at performing Baroque music, and he loves the music of Johann Sebastian Bach.
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Early Life and Music
Philippe Herreweghe was born in Ghent, Belgium. He was the first of three children. His mother gave him his first piano lessons, which started his musical journey.
When he was a student at the University of Ghent, Herreweghe studied both medical science and psychiatry. At the same time, he also studied music at the Ghent Conservatory. His piano teacher there was Marcel Gazelle, who was a famous accompanist for the violinist Yehudi Menuhin.
A Career in Music
In 1970, Herreweghe and some friends from school started a group called the Collegium Vocale Gent. Two very famous conductors, Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Gustav Leonhardt, noticed his special way of performing music. They invited him and his group to help them record all of Bach cantatas.
People quickly praised Herreweghe's way of performing Baroque music. In 1977, he started another group in Paris called La Chapelle Royale. This group focused on playing music from the "French Golden Age" by composers like Campra, Lully, and Charpentier. From 1982 to 2002, he was the artistic director for the Académies Musicales de Saintes, a music festival.
During this time, Herreweghe created several other musical groups. With these groups, he made careful and historically accurate performances of music. This included music from the Renaissance period all the way to modern classical music. Some of these groups were the Ensemble Vocal Européen, which played Renaissance music, and the Orchestre des Champs Élysées. He started the Orchestre des Champs Élysées in 1991 to play Classical and Romantic music using original instruments from those periods.
Since 2009, Herreweghe and Collegium Vocale Gent have been working to create a large European choir. This project was supported by the Accademia Chigiana in Siena and later by the European Union.
Herreweghe has also conducted many large symphonic works, from Beethoven to Gustav Mahler. He was the main conductor of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra starting in 1997.
As a guest conductor, Herreweghe has led many famous orchestras. These include the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic, and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras. He was also a regular guest conductor for the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic from 2008 to 2013.
Herreweghe is most famous for conducting the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. Many Bach experts see him as a pioneer in performing Baroque music using original instruments and styles. He has recorded over 60 albums with the record label Harmonia Mundi.
He is married to Ageet Zweistra.
Selected Recordings
Over the years, Herreweghe has made more than 100 recordings with his groups. These recordings are on labels like Harmonia Mundi, Virgin Classics, and Pentatone. Some important recordings include Bach's St Matthew Passion, Beethoven's complete symphonies, and Mahler's Des Knaben Wunderhorn. In 2010, he started his own record label called φ (PHI).
Some of his recordings 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: HAYDN, Joseph: Die Schöpfung
- 2017: MONTEVERDI, Claudio: Vespro della Beata Vergine
He has also made recordings for PRIMEPHONIC, including:
- Schubert – Symphonies with the Royal Flemish Philharmonic.
- Beethoven – The 9 Symphonies with the Royal Flemish Philharmonic.
- Stravinsky – Monumentum • Mass & Symphonie de Psaumes.
Awards and Recognition
Philippe Herreweghe has received many honors and awards for his contributions to music.
Honors
- 1994: He was made an Officer of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, a French award for arts and literature.
- 2000: King Albert II of Belgium made him a knight.
- 2003: He received the Legion of Honour, a very high award in France.
Awards
- In 1990, music critics in Europe named him "Musical Personality of the Year."
- In 1993, he and Collegium Vocale Gent were named "Cultural Ambassadors of Flanders."
- In 1997, he received an honorary doctorate from the Catholic University of Leuven.
- In 2010, the city of Leipzig gave him its Bach-Medaille for his excellent work performing Bach's music.
- He received the Royal Academy of Music Bach Prize in 2016.
See also
In Spanish: Philippe Herreweghe para niños
