History of OPRL

1960-1964: Fernand QUINET. The beginnings of the Orchestre de Liège

- Founded in October 1960 by Fernand QUINET (1960-1964), director of the Liège Conservatoire, the Orchestre de Liège has 71 musicians.

- It is financed by the City of Liège and the National Ministry of Public Education. Until 1983, it was managed by UDAM (Union pour la Diffusion de l'Art Musical).

- When it was founded, the Orchestre de Liège played mainly for the Société des concerts du Conservatoire. It explores the classical and romantic repertoire (from Mozart to Brahms), French music, in particular Ravel and Debussy (including different versions of the opera Pelléas et Mélisande in concert performances) and Russian and Eastern composers (Shostakovich, Khatchaturian and Lutoslawski).

- Its first international engagements were in The Hague, Eindhoven, Cologne and Katanga (a tour of 8 concerts in 1961).

- The Orchestre de Liège played under the direction of Charles Munch, Kirill Kondrachine and Bruno Maderna.

- It has accompanied soloists such as David Oïstrakh, Leonid Kogan, Henryk Szeryng, Lola Bobesco, Mstislav Rostropovitch, Wilhelm Kempff, Julius Katchen, Claudio Arrau and Wilhelm Backaus.

Photo: The Orchestre de Liège at Zaventem airport before its departure for Katanga, July 1961 (Archives Gabrielle L'Herbon de Lussat)

1967-1977: Paul STRAUSS. The time of the Romantics

- Under Paul STRAUSS (1967-1977), the Orchestra grew to 89 musicians.

- It returns to the classical-romantic repertoire (Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky).

- It explores for the first time the works of Mahler, Bruckner, Scriabin and the works of American composers (Barber, Harris, Copland, Ives).

- Belgian music (Legley, van Rossum, Boesmans, Pousseur) is also at the heart of its work.

- The Orchestra extended its international reach to Lille, Rotterdam, Amsterdam (Concertgebouw, 12 December 1972), Germany, Switzerland and Sicily (five concerts at the Taormina Music Estate in July 1969).

- It made its first commercial recordings for Alpha, Musique en Wallonie (Gossec) and above all EMI (Enesco, Franck, Brahms, Grétry, Vieuxtemps, Kodaly, Kersters). It also recorded four Léo Ferré songs under the composer's direction (CBS).

- The Orchestra regularly invites soloists such as Arthur Grumiaux, Ruggiero Ricci, Bruno Leonardo Gelber, Nikita Magaloff and Clifford Curzon.

Photo: Paul Strauss and the Orchestre de Liège perform Beethoven's 9th Symphony at the Taormina Theatre in July 1969 (Archives Michèle Babey)

1999-2014 : OPRL, a cultural enterprise

- At the end of 1999, Jean-Pierre ROUSSEAU was appointed Managing Director of OPRL, a position he held until 2014.

- Under his leadership, the Orchestra became a cultural enterprise, with 97 musicians. Since 2000, the Orchestra has also managed the Salle Philharmonique de Liège, broadening the range of concerts to include baroque music, chamber music, major piano and organ recitals and non-classical music.

- Rousseau's tenure was marked by an openness to new audiences, alternative concert formats (Family Saturdays, Dessous des quartes, Écouter la musique, themed festivals, film music, short concerts) and an expanded repertoire. These objectives were continued and reinforced by successive music directors, Louis LANGRÉE (2001-2006), Pascal ROPHÉ (2006-2009), François-Xavier ROTH (2009-2010) and Christian ARMING (2011-2019).

Under the guidance of these four music directors, the OPRL made thirty recordings between 1999 and 2014 (Escaich, Mernier, Franck, Chausson, Ravel, Schulhoff, Schumann, Saint-Saëns, Jongen, Bruch, Mantovani, complete solos by Dusapin, complete violin concertos by Vieuxtemps, Berlioz, Barber, Britten, Korngold, Tchaikovsky, complete concerts for violin and cello by Saint-Saëns, etc.) It also undertook 8 tours during this period (South America, Vienna Musikverein, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, Germany, Spain, Central Europe, etc.).

-  From 2009 onwards, Jean-Pierre Rousseau extended the Orchestra's activities to schools, academies, hospitals, IPPJ, special education and online.

- On 22 October 2010, it officially received the title of "Société Royale" and changed its name to Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège.

Photo: Louis Langrée's last concert as musical director in Beethoven's 9th Symphony , 24 June 2006 (Photo Benoît Mahaux)

1. Creation

Reviewing the concert experience in view of contemporary cultural practices: Daniel Weissmann, in cooperation with the energetic and imaginative Gergely Madaras since 2019, and with the OPRL teams, considered how to modernise orchestral practice. He created a collective of OPRL musicians called "HOP" in 2016, giving rise to a new sense of responsibility and a new team dynamic within the Orchestra. Following this iniative, he also proposed that OPRL musicians plan and produce their own chamber music concert series: "Musique à midi" and "Happy Hour!".

- The OPRL+ series, Family Sundays, educational concerts and certain one-off projects led to engaging with artistic partners and producers: theatre, dance, lighting, Symphonic Cinema, directors, narrators, animators, set designers, puppeteers and, of course, composers and musicians from outside the Orchestra have all been called upon to contribute to new creative experiences.

- Commissioning works from Belgian and European composers (from 2014-2015 to 2023-2024: 40 premieres, including 34 world premieres; 29 (co-)commissions, including 24 from Belgian composers).

- Creation of residencies for composers or musicians: György Kurtág, Adrien La Marca, Gwenaël Mario Grisi, Stéphane Orlando.

- Increased collaboration with a number of cultural organisations, including Les Nuits de Septembre, Opéra Royal de Liège, Théâtre de Liège, Cité-Miroir, Jeunesses Musicales, Les Nocturnales, ReMuA, etc.

- Programming of major works or landmark events as part of important festivals ("Portraits de femmes" 2016 with Jeanne au bûcher directed by Emmanuelle Cordoliani; "Exils" 2017 with Shostakovich's "Babi Yar" Symphony no.13 and Christian Arming; "Storytelling" 2019 with Peer Gynt, etc.) or as part of the season (Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle, Le sacre du printemps, Daphnis et Chloé, etc.).

- Numerous women conductors invited: Anu Tali, Alondra de la Parra, Chloé van Soeterstède, Valentina Peleggi, Elena Schwarz, Eímear Noone...

- César Franck Bicentenary 1822 - 2022: the OPRL as a key player in the anniversary of this composer, for whom it has been an ambassador for decades: Daniel Weissmann was the linchpin of a vast project consisting of numerous concerts, recordings, trips and broadcasts, which was unanimously hailed by European critics and project partners for its coherence and ambition.

- The partnership with Luc Petit (Les Nocturnales) and Bruno Coppens, for a landmark Carnival of the Animals, typified Daniel Weissmann's initiative: an unprecedented artistic and economic model for the OPRL which, thanks to the non-profit organisation HOP des musiciens, resulted in 19 consecutive sold-out dates.

3. Cultural activities

Daniel Weissmann wanted to significantly strengthen his influence in the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles: the OPRL presented a programme of diverse activity to support access to music for all and cultural engagement.

- Creation of El Sistema Liège in partnership with the non-profit organisation ReMuA (2015-2016 season).
> Each season, 200 children partcipate in the project
-  Increase in the number of weeks dedicated to educational activity in schools (with split orchestras).
> in 2014-2015, 38 concerts and 7,000 children reached across all educational activities, in ten different venues
> in 2022-2023, 51 concerts and 9,300 children reached in more than thirty venues.
- Creation of PédaHOP (2021-2022 season): small ensembles of OPRL musicians visit schools to introduce small groups to the instruments.
> More than 50 sessions and 350 children in 2022-2023.
- Increase of activities: preparatory workshops for concerts, interactive rehearsals, activities in schools, guided tours, etc.
- Increased funding for educational development, to support the creation of 'tailor-made' projects and partnerships with experienced presenters and creatives (directors, actors, designers, dancers, etc.).
- Creation of the Symphokids Festival (planned for 2020, effective in 2022) to share this creative work with family audiences.
> More than 2,100 audience each year, aged between 6 months and 10 years.

2019- : (R)evolution according to Gergely MADARAS

- From September 2019, the young Hungarian conductor Gergely Madaras became the 9th Music Director of the OPRL, proposing "(R)evolution" as the theme for his first season.

- Rooted in the core classical and romantic repertoire, he is also an ardent advocate of Bartók, Kodály and Dohnányi and has a keen interest in the music of today, working closely with composers such as Pierre Boulez, George Benjamin, Peter Eötvös and Gyögy Kurtág, a composer to whom the OPRL had the exceptional privilege of opening a residency in 2019-2020.

- He initiated OPRL+, the OPRL's new series of augmented concerts, which offers a dialogue between the great works of the symphonic repertoire and different forms of contemporary art.

- From September 2021 to December 2022, Gergely Madaras was involved in concerts and recordings relating to the César Franck 1822-2022 bicentenary organised by the OPRL, which was a key player in the anniversary. Daniel Weissmann was the linchpin of a vast project consisting of numerous concerts, recordings, trips and broadcasts, and was unanimously hailed by European critics and the partners for its coherence and ambition.

- In keeping with the British model of 'fellowship' (patronage, awarding of scholarships), which he favours for the richness of the exchange and the spirit of collegiality it engenders, Gergely Madaras created a new post of assistant conductor, appointed for one season and chosen by competition. The young French conductor Victor Jacob was appointed to this position for the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 seasons. From 2021 to 2022, the OPRL had two assistant conductors, Pascale Van Os and Ellie Slorach. In 2022-2023, the young Swiss conductor Laurent Zufferey took over, while in 2023-2024 it is the turn of Belgian Lars Corijn and Spaniard Celia Llácer.

Understanding the public's expectations also means being in tune with society, its changes, and contemporary societal concerns, from eco-responsibility, to inclusion and disability, to gender equality. These issues are also on the agenda at the OPRL, reflected in the forthcoming establishment of an eco-team, the planned renovation of the building, the visibility of female composers and conductors, and the wish to work with emerging Belgian and international artists. To achieve this, it's important to nurture existing partnerships and to forge new ones, whether in the cultural world or the business world, with creative and insipring start-ups, local flagship companies, not forgetting that the transformation of mobility in this city offers exciting opportunity for partnerships!

Maintaining and developing high artistic standards is another objective, which feeds into the first objective. The latter is a daily concern in the day to day work, during concert rehearsals and recordings, and is enhanced by the quality of the musicians recruited, the musical direction, the programming, and the conductors and soloists who collaborate with the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège. This policy is bearing fruit, with the OPRL now enjoying considerable public and professional recognition. Aline Sam-Giao is determined to further raise the profile of the Salle Philharmonique and the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège as benchmark cultural structures in Belgium and internationally.

She hopes to take advantage of Liège's strategic position at the heart of Europe to welcome local European audiences to Liège. She also intends to bring the OPRL to perform on the major international stages, primarily in Europe, by continuing its presence at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, renewing its presence at the Cologne Philharmonie and developing new relationships, such as at the Paris Philharmonie and the Easter Festival in Aix-en-Provence, which will be hosting concerts in the coming seasons.

Further, she is also intending to raise the profile of the magnificent Salle Philharmonique amongst foreign musicians by developing a policy of more regularly welcoming international orchestras to Liège, while continuing to host recording sessions by leading artists.

Like the Orchestra's discography, international tours contribute to the organisation's international visibility, and will continue in a way that considers critical ecological concerns, essential for a secure future.

It's clear proof of the need to aim very high. And it's no mean feat to have succeeded just as soon as she arrived. With consideration of the OPRL's artistic quality and visibility, the first commitment Aline Sam-Giao made on her arrival in autumn 2023 was to choose Lionel Bringuier as the OPRL's musical director to succeed Gergely Madaras, whose term expires in 2025. She has known the French conductor since his years as general manager of L'AO - L'Auditorium - Orchestre national de Lyon, and appreciates the seriousness of his work, his extensive international experience, his personal qualities and, above all, the musicality of his concerts.

The rest of the story will be written by several hands, not forgetting the artistic, technical and administrative teams, whose unfailing commitment is one of OPRL's strengths.