The Year 1919 (Concerts in January 2019)
E. M. Domenech – Divertimento for Orchestra (world premiere)
E. Elgar – Cello concerto (premiered 1919)
K. Atterberg – 4th symphony (premiered 1919)
M. Weinberg – Polish Tunes (Weinberg was born in 1919)
„The Rotterdam Philharmonic responded to his every gesture and truly rose to the occasion in this performance of the highly emotional last two movements of Tchaikovsky’s 6th symphony. A very controlled crescendo where he really held the orchestra back, confirmed to all that his interpretation would reign supreme.“
Belgian conductor Martijn Dendievel is the winner of the 2021 German Conductors’ Award and the first Conductors’ Academy of the Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich, as well as a laureate of the LSO Donatella Flick Competition. In June 2022, he became a prizewinner at the first International Conducting Competition Rotterdam. He currently serves as Associate Conductor of Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen and was Principal Guest Conductor of the Academic Orchestra Halle from 2016 to 2020. He is a fellow in the Forum Dirigieren of the German Music Council, which supports him as ‘Maestro von Morgen’ since 2021.
He regularly appears with orchestras and theatres such as Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen, Teatro Comunale Bologna and Philharmonie Zuidnederland, amongst others. In the current season, Martijn will make his debut with the Tonkünstler-Orchester Wien, Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana, Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, Sinfonia Varsovia, and will return to the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, Hofer Symphoniker, and the Belgian National Orchestra. In recent years he has conducted the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Gürzenich Orchester Köln, Staatskapelle Weimar, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, and the Rotterdam Philharmonic.
Growing up in family of musicians, he showed a great interest for music during his childhood and took his first musical steps on the violin at the age of three. A few years later, he switched to the cello and started playing the recorder, percussion, and the harpsichord. As an instrumentalist, he gained orchestral experience in various youth orchestras, and has performed in halls such as the Konzerthaus Berlin, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and BOZAR in Brussels.
At the age of 14 he was exceptionally admitted to the Royal Conservatory in Brussels, where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in music theory with distinction, whilst studying cello with Jeroen Reuling. Martijn then moved to Germany to study conducting at the HfM Franz Liszt Weimar with Prof. Nicolás Pasquet and Prof. Ekhart Wycik. In July 2022, he finished his master’s degree in orchestral conducting. Martijn has been mentored by Bernard Haitink, Paavo Järvi, Christian Thielemann and Iván Fischer.
Apart from the music language, he is fluent in Dutch, German, English and French, and has an extensive knowledge of Italian and Swedish.
„Something was about to happen here that would be talked about for a long time to come. Not so much about the works themselves, but about that unknown young conductor’s approach to those works, his collaboration with the orchestra members, with the soloists, the fusion, his expressive facial expression, …. Martijn Dendievel, remember the name. He is one of these rare great conductors.“
Classical music is facing the big challenge of keeping up with the pace of a fast-changing society. Most orchestral concerts still serve the same three-course menu of an overture, a concerto, and a symphony by Beethoven, Brahms or Bruckner. Whilst this format has proven its success and should without doubt be continued in the future, there are more concert formats and program combinations worth exploring, which can help to both attract new audiences as well as diversify the standard orchestral repertoire.
One way in which a program combination can take shape, is through storytelling – in Martijn’s words:
“Telling a story with a program and curating the whole concert as a unique experience is the key in dissolving the subconscious dogma that a concert will only be good with known repertoire on the program, and gradually building up the audience’s trust in the artistic vision of an orchestra.”
Shifting the focus of a concert to a certain theme creates the necessary space for seldomly played works to become part of a program; something which is crucial to broaden the classical tradition.
Some examples are:
Re-thinking classical music doesn’t stop at creative programming. Changing other variables of a concert, such as the location, setting, length and/or combining music with other art forms, are elements to play around with.
Adams, John
Short Ride in a Fast Machine
The Chairman Dances
Saxophone concerto
Adams, J. L.
Become River
Arutiunian, Alexander
Trumpet concerto
Atterberg, Kurt
Symphony 4 “Sinfonia Piccola”
Bach, Johann Sebastian
Johannespassion
Barber, Samuel
Violin concerto
Bartok, Bela
Concerto for Orchestra
Rumanian Folk Dances
Dance Suite
Violin concerto 2
Beethoven, Ludwig van
Symphonies 1 – 9
Piano concertos 1, 3, 4
Violin concerto
Ouverture to Egmont
Ouverture to Coriolan
Ouverture to Leonore (2 and 3)
Triple concerto for violin, cello and piano
Berg, Alban
Violin concerto
Berlioz, Hector
Symphonie Fantastique
Bernstein, Leonard
On the town: three dance episodes
Boulanger, Lili
D’un soir triste
Brahms, Johannes
Symphonies 1 – 4
Violin concerto
Double concerto for violin and cello
Academic Festival Ouverture
Tragic Ouverture
Piano Quartet (arr. Schönberg)
Britten, Benjamin
Simple Symphony
Variations on a theme by Frank Bridge
Sinfonia da Requiem
Four sea interludes from Peter Grimes
Violin concerto
Bruckner, Anton
Symphonies 4, 6, 7, 8
Chopin, Frédéric
Piano concertos 1, 2
Copland, Aaron
Fanfare for the common man
A letter from home
Debussy, Claude
Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune
Nocturnes
La Mer
Dvorak, Antonin
Symphonies 6, 7, 8, 9
Cello concerto
Violin concerto
Serenade for Strings
The Noon Witch
The Waterman
Carnival Overture
Dukas, Paul
Villanelle for horn and orchestra
The sorcerer’s apprentice
Elgar, Edward
Cello concerto
Serenade for Strings
Enigma variations
Fauré, Gabriel
Masques et Bergamasques Suite
Pelléas et Mélisande Suite
Pavane
Franck, César
Symphony in d minor
Freiberg, Daniel
Clarinet concerto (Latin American Chronicles)
de Frumerie, Gunnar
Horn concerto
Gaubert, Philippe
Violin concerto
Gade, Nils
Hamlet Overture
Gershwin, George
Porgy and Bess Phantasy (arr. I. Farrington)
Catfish Row (arr. S. Bowen)
Cuban Ouverture
Grieg, Edvard
Piano concerto
Peer Gynt Suites 1, 2
Gyöngyösi, Levente
Piccolo concerto
Henderickx, Wim
Le Visioni di Paura
Haydn, Joseph
Symphonies 49, 66, 90, 98 – 101, 104
Hindemith, Paul
Mathis der Maler Symphony
Honegger, Arthur
Symphony 3, 5
Pastorale d’été
Le Roi David
Ibert, Jacques
Bostoniana
Flute concerto
Divertissement
Ives, Charles
Variations on “America”
Janáček, Leoš
Lašské Tance
Glagolitic Mass
Suite for strings
Koppel, Anders
Marimba concerto 1
Korngold, Erich
Violin concerto
Cello concerto
Laporte, André
Transit (for 48 Strings)
Lekeu, Guillaume
Adagio for strings (Adagio pour quatuor d’orchestre)
Lutosławski, Witold
Symphony 4
Mahler, Gustav
Symphonies 1, 4, 6, 9
Martin, Franck
Symphonie pour grande orchestre
Polyptyque for violin and double string orchestra
Mendelssohn, Felix
Symphonies 1, 3, 4, 5
Violin concerto
A Midsummer night’s dream: Overture, Scherzo, Intermezzo, Notturno, March
Ouverture The Hebrides (Finals Cave)
Milhaud, Darius
Le Boeuf sur le Toit
Marimba concerto
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus
Symphonies 25, 29, 35, 39, 40, 41
Divertimenti for Strings
Clarinet concerto
Flute concerto 1 and 2
Violin concertos 3 – 5
Don Giovanni Ouverture
Zauberflöte Ouverture
Nozze di Figaro Ouverture
Mussorgksy, Modest
Pictures at an exhibition (orch. Ravel)
Pictures at an exhibition (orch. Gorchakov)
Nielsen, Carl
Symphony 2
Pan & Syrinx
Violin concerto
Pettersson, Allan
Symphonies 7, 8
Violin concerto (second version)
Prokofiev, Sergei
Symphony 5
Romeo and Juliet (all Suites as well as large parts of the ballet)
Piano concertos 1 – 2
Puccini, Giacomo
Crisantemi
Rachmaninov, Sergei
Piano concertos 2, 3
Raskatov, Alexander
Paradise Lost (for wind ensemble)
Ravel, Maurice
Piano concerto
Daphnis et Chloé Suite 2
Pavane pour une infante défunte
Ma mère l’oye (Suite and complete ballet)
Rimsky-Korsakov, Nicolai
Scheherazade
Symphony 2 (Antar)
Rossini, Gioachino
Ouverture to Il Barbiere di Siviglia
Ouverture to L’Italiana in Algheria
Saint-Saëns, Camille
Cello concerto 1
Danse macabre
Schubert, Franz
Symphony 8 “Unfinished”
Symphony 9
Schumann, Robert
Symphonies 3, 4
Cello concerto
Piano concerto
Manfred Ouverture
Schoenberg, Arnold
Pierrot Lunaire
Kammersinfonie 1 (Opus 9)
Shostakovich, Dmitri
Symphonies 5, 7, 9, 11, 15
Cello concerto 1
Violin concerto 1
Festive Overture
Sibelius, Jean
Symphonies 1, 2, 5, 7
Violin concerto
Valse triste
Karelia Suite
En Saga
The Swan of Tuonela
Smetana, Bedrich
Ma Vlast: n°2 (Moldau), n°4 (From Bohemian Woods and Fields)
Three Dances from “The Bartered Bridge”
Strauss, Richard
Tod und Verklärung
Oboe concerto
Suk, Josef
Pohádka (Opus 16)
Stravinsky, Igor
Le Sacre du Printemps
Petrouschka
Jeu de Cartes
Firebird Suites 1919 and 1945
Concerto for strings
Symphonies for wind instruments
Tchaikovsky, Pjotr Ilych
Symphonies 1, 4, 5, 6
The Nutcracker Suite
Romeo and Juliet, fantasy ouverture
Violin concerto
Serenade for Strings
Wagner, Richard
Lohengrin: Prelude to Act I and III
Meistersinger: Prelude to Act I
Tannhäuser Ouvertüre
Siegfried-Idyll
Weber, Carl Maria von
Ouverture to Freischütz
Ouverture to Oberon
Clarinet concerto 1 (f minor)
Weill, Kurt
Symphony 2
Suite from “Der Silbersee”
Weinberg, Mieczyslaw
Symphony 1
Polish Melodies
Rhapsody on Moldavian Themes
Cello concerto
Widmann, Jörg
Messe für großes Orchester
Wienawski, Henryk
Violin concerto 2
Wolschina, Reinhard
Klangspiele für Flöte und Ensemble
Bizet, Georges
Carmen
Mozart, Wolfang Amadeus
Die Zauberflöte
Le Nozze di Figaro
Puccini, Giacomo
La Bohème
Rossini, Gioachino
Selections from Barbiere di Siviglia
Sondheim, Stephen
Company
Martijn was named associate conductor of Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen (Flanders Symphony Orchestra) in January 2022. He previously served as assistant conductor there from 2018 to 2021. He remains in charge of the youth orchestra SOV Young as well as the SOV Composers’ Academy and will also conduct one production per season from September 2023. In these concerts, he will conduct concert programs he has put together himself, themed around the personality of Antonin Dvořák.
The Forum Dirigieren (formerly Dirigentenforum) of the German Music Council was established for talented young conductors and promotes young orchestral and choral conductors. Artistic encounters of the young generation with nationally and internationally renowned conducting experts as well as with renowned orchestras is the central task of Forum Dirigieren. In addition, workshops on career planning, public relations, etc. are organized. Furthermore, the organisation and execution of the “German Conducting Award”, which Martijn won in 2021, is in the hands of Forum Dirigieren.
Since 2018, Martijn has been a scholarship holder of Forum Dirigieren and attended courses with Gabriel Feltz, Pavel Baleff, Simone Young, Marko Letonja and Enrico Delamboye. He conducted the Dortmund Philharmonic, the WDR Funkhausorchester, the Bremen Philharmonic and the Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie Koblenz.
In June 2021 he was nominated to the artist list “Konzertförderung Forum Dirigieren” (formerly “Maestros von Morgen”).
The Zirndorf-based company Woolwind produces concert clothing for musicians and conductors. At the start of 2022, Martijn joined Woolwind as a brand partner and advises the team behind the tailcoats and mandarin jackets on the specifics for conductors, such as increased freedom of movement in the chest area. In this way, he also supports the development of clothing made in the EU, an important matter for Martijn.