Jaap van Zweden
He is the great conductor that the Netherlands was waiting for, in the line of an Eduard van Beinum, a Willem van Otterloo or a Bernard Haitink. Nominated as the musical director of the New York Philharmonic, where he will take the reins in 2018, this workaholic force of nature has risen in just ten years to be one of the greatest modern conductors. Jaap van Zweden worked fast: at just 19 years old, he was the youngest solo violinist of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra which perhaps he will conduct one day - certainly we hope that he does. From 1979 to 1995 he got a front-row seat, as a main player, and as an observer of all the conductors who came and performed, concert after concert, at the head of this famous phalanx which is a part of that tightly-closed circle of the world’s greatest orchestras. Well-liked in his homeland, he is adored in the US, where he was named "conductor of the year" by Musical America (the oldest classical music magazine in the states) in 2012, in recognition of his critically-acclaimed work as musical director of the Dallas Symphonic, and as the visiting conductor at some of America's most prestigious orchestras.
Van Zweden's art is possessed with an uncommon conviction, and it expresses it with flamboyant force, and a sunny energy shot through with a warm lyricism. He loves to direct great cycles of later romanticism: Brahms, Wagner, Bruckner, Mahler, not forgetting Mozart and Beethoven. Hailed unanimously by enthusiastic audiences, these concerts have been very quickly followed up by recordings which now constitute a vast discography which is utterly thrilling and very high-level. The power of his performances remains irresistible to audiences the world over.
Recently named as director of the Gstaad Festival Orchestra in Switzerland, he is going to assemble a team of around 15 young conductors, following the work already done by Neeme Jäarvi over three seasons. In 1997, Jaap van Zweden and his wife Aaltje set up the Papageno Foundation, which aims to support the families of autistic children. Over the years, the Foundation's work has seen the creation of several programmes in which professional musical therapists and musicians receive additional training in using music as a major tool to work with autistic children. Papageno House, a new house for autistic children and young adults, was opened in Laren, in the Netherlands, in August 2015, with the patronage of Her Majesty Queen Maxima.
Jaap van Zweden's high-quality discography covers the complete symphonies of Beethoven and Bruckner, Mahler, Tchaïkovsky, Shostakovitch, alongside Stravinsky as well as lesser-known composers like Verbey or Wallin. His love of orchestra and the Germanic repertoire have made him an excellent performer of Wagner, whose Meistersinger, Lohengrin and Parsifal he has recorded. A complete recording of the Ring, with his Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, is set to come out on NAXOS.
Before becoming the great international conductor who is applauded today, this consummate musician, curious to a fault, recorded several albums as a violinist. At ease in all styles, van Zweden offers up Vivaldi's Four Seasons and Samuel Barber's Concerto via The Art of the Violin by Locatelli and concert pieces by Shostakovitch or Rihm.
François Hudry/QOBUZ/November 2017
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Bruckner: Symphonies No. 1-9
Symphonies - Released by Challenge Classics on Sep 9, 2016
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Britten: War Requiem
Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Jaap van Zweden
Classical - Released by Challenge Classics on Apr 20, 2012
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Wolfe : Fire in my mouth
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Classical - Released by UMC - Decca Gold on Aug 30, 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade / Stravinsky: Scherzo fantastique
Riccardo Chailly, Jaap van Zweden, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Sep 1, 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bruckner: Symphony No. 6
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24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
David Lang: prisoner of the state
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Classical - Released by UMC - Decca Gold on Jun 26, 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Padding: Softly Bouncing
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Classical - Released by Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra on May 13, 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Four Seasons
Jaap van Zweden, Jan Willem de Vriend, Combattimento Consort Amsterdam
Classical - Released by Challenge Classics on Sep 16, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, Op. 95, B. 178 "From the New World" (Live)
Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Jaap van Zweden
Classical - Released by DSO Live on May 12, 2015
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bruckner: Symphony No. 1
Classical - Released by Challenge Classics on Apr 30, 2015
Gramophone Editor's Choice16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bruckner: Symphony no. 3
Classical - Released by Challenge Classics on Jan 11, 2013
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Symphony No. 3 in D Minor
Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Kelley O'Connor, Jaap van Zweden, Dallas Symphony Chorus, Children's Chorus of Greater Dallas
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16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Symphony No. 6 (Jaap Van Zweden)
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16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Symphonies n°5 et n°7
Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Jaap van Zweden
Classical - Released by DSO Live on Apr 1, 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Musique pour violon
Jaap van Zweden, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Edo de Waart, Zoltan Pesko
Classical - Released by Naxos on Sep 30, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Symphonie n°4 - Suite n°4 "Mozartiana"
Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Andres Cardenes, Jaap van Zweden
Classical - Released by DSO Live on Apr 1, 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
WALLIN, R.: Act / Das war schon! / Tides (Oslo Philharmonic)
Oslo-Filharmonien, Martin Grubinger, Kroumata Percussion Ensemble, Jaap van Zweden, John Axelrod, Jukka-Pekka Saraste
Classical - Released by Ondine on Nov 26, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
4 Poèmes symphoniques d'après A. Böcklin - Variations & Fugue sur un thème gai de Johann Adam Hiller
Jaap van Zweden, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Neeme Järvi
Symphonic Poems - Released by Chandos on Oct 1, 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Symphonie n°5 - Capriccio italien, op.45
Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Jaap van Zweden
Classical - Released by DSO Live on Apr 1, 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Symphony No. 3
Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Jaap van Zweden
Classical - Released by Brilliant Classics on Mar 22, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Symphony No. 4
Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Jaap van Zweden
Classical - Released by Brilliant Classics on Feb 1, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo