
Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège
Orchestra
- Friday, July 4, 8:00 PM
- Basilique Saint-Remi, Reims
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Liège
General Manager: Aline Sam-Giao
Musical Director: Gergely Madaras
Music Director Designate: Lionel Bringuier
Founded in 1960, the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège (OPRL) is the only professional symphony orchestra in French-speaking Belgium.
Supported by the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, the City of Liège and the Province of Liège, the OPRL performs in Liège, in the prestigious Salle Philharmonique (1887), throughout the country (Brussels, Bruges, Charleroi, La Louvière, Namur, Saint-Vith, Tournai, Turnhout), in Europe's major concert halls and festivals (Amsterdam, Paris, Vienna, Spain, Switzerland), as well as in Japan, the United States and South America.
Under the impetus of its founder Fernand Quinet and its Musical Directors (Manuel Rosenthal, Paul Strauss, Pierre Bartholomée, Louis Langrée, Pascal Rophé, François-Xavier Roth, Christian Arming), the OPRL has forged a sound identity at the crossroads of Germanic and French traditions. This work will be continued by Gergely Madaras from September 2019. In addition to a strong commitment to supporting creative work, promoting Franco-Belgian heritage and exploring new repertoires, the OPRL has a strong recording policy, with over 130 recordings.
His current recordings include Franck's complete symphonies and Les Béatitudes (Fuga Libera), Franck's opera Hulda (Bru Zane Label), Respighi (BIS), Ernő Dohnányi's complete symphonies (Alpha Classics), Abbey Road Concerto (Alpha Classics), Liszt (BIS) and Ysaÿe's concertante works (Musique en Wallonie).
For 20 years, OPRL has been committed to bringing the best in music to as many people as possible, through original formulas (Music Factory, Family Sundays, Happy Hour!, OPRL+) and dedicated series (Early Music, World Music, Piano 5 étoiles, Organ). Since 2016, it has enjoyed a partnership with the TV channel Mezzo Live HD (Europe, Asia, Canada) and, since 2021, with Medici.tv.
The OPRL is also committed to its civic role throughout the year, reaching out to audiences further away from classical culture. It particularly targets young people, through activities in schools, themed concerts (including L'Orchestre à la portée des enfants), the Symphokids Festival and, since 2015, by setting up neighborhood orchestras with the ReMuA association (El Sistema Liège). In a spirit of participation, OPRL musicians have been involved since 2016 in the design of two concert series (Happy Hour! and Musique à midi) and an original educational project (PédaHOP).