Philippe Maria François Herreweghe, Knight Herreweghe (born May 2, 1947) is a Belgian conductor and choirmaster. He was born on May 2, 1947. He is a Belgian conductor and choirmaster. He started two groups called La Chapelle Royale and Collegium Vocale Gent. He is well-known as a conductor, and he performs music from the Renaissance period up to the early Romantic era. He specializes in Baroque music. He especially likes the music of Johann Sebastian Bach.

Early life

Herreweghe was born in Ghent as the oldest of three children to Edward Raymond Frans (1919–2006) and Elza Maria Augusta Herreweghe (née van Herrewege; 1919–1976). His mother taught him to play the piano when he was young.

During his time at the University of Ghent, Herreweghe studied medical science and psychiatry. At the same time, he received music training at the Ghent Conservatory. His piano teacher there was Marcel Gazelle, who also worked with the famous violinist Yehudi Menuhin.

Career

In 1970, Herreweghe started the Collegium Vocale Gent with a group of classmates. Musicians Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Gustav Leonhardt noticed his musical style and invited him and the Collegium Vocale Gent to join them in recording all of Johann Sebastian Bach’s cantatas.

Herreweghe’s way of performing Baroque music quickly gained attention. In 1977, he created another group in Paris called La Chapelle Royale to perform music from the French Golden Age, including works by composers such as Campra, Lully, Charpentier, Delalande, Dumont, and Gille. From 1982 to 2002, he served as the artistic director of the Académies Musicales de Saintes.

During this time, Herreweghe formed several other groups and ensembles. These groups performed music from the Renaissance to modern times using historically accurate methods. Examples include the Ensemble Vocal Européen, which focuses on Renaissance polyphony, and the Orchestre des Champs Élysées, created in 1991 to perform Classical and Romantic music on original instruments.

Since 2009, Herreweghe and Collegium Vocale Gent have worked on creating a large European symphonic choir. This project began with the invitation of the Accademia Chigiana in Siena and received support from the European Union’s Cultural Programme starting in 2011.

Herreweghe has performed many famous symphonic works, including compositions by Beethoven and Gustav Mahler. He has been the principal conductor of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra since 1997.

As a guest conductor, he has led several well-known orchestras, such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Dutch Broadcasting Orchestra, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras, and the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra. He was the artistic director of the Festival of Saintes and served as a permanent guest conductor of the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic from 2008 to 2013.

Herreweghe is best known for conducting the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. Leading experts on Bach today consider him a key figure in the Baroque authentic practice and original-instrument movement. He is also one of the most recorded artists for the label Harmonia Mundi, with over 60 albums to his name.

He is married to Ageet Zweistra.

Selected discography

Over time, Herreweghe has created a large collection of recordings with these groups, on labels such as Harmonia Mundi, Virgin Classics, and Pentatone. Important recordings include Lassus's Lagrime di San Pietro, Bach's St Matthew Passion, Beethoven and Schumann's complete symphonies, Mahler's Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Berlioz's L'enfance du Christ and Les nuits d'été, Bruckner's Symphony No. 5, Fauré's Requiem (1988 and 1901), Schoenberg's Pierrot lunaire, Weill's Violin Concerto, Berliner Requiem; Cantate vom Tod im Wald, and Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms. In 2010, he started his own label called φ (PHI) with Outhere Music. Since then, these recordings have been published:

• 2010: MAHLER, Gustav: Symphony no. 4 (LPH 001)
• 2011: BACH, Johann Sebastian: Motets BWV 225–230 (LPH 002)
• 2011: BRAHMS, Johannes: Werke für Chor und Orchester (LPH 003)
• 2011: BACH, Johann Sebastian: Mass in B minor (LPH 004)
• 2011: DE VICTORIA, Tomas Luis: Officium Defunctorum (LPH 005)
• 2012: BACH, Johann Sebastian: Ach süsser Trost (LPH 006)
• 2012: BEETHOVEN, Ludwig van: Missa Solemnis (LPH 007)
• 2012: DVORAK, Antonin: Stabat Mater (LPH 009)
• 2012: GESUALDO, Carlo: Responsoria 1611 (LPH 010)
• 2012: MOZART, Wolfgang Amadeus: The Last Symphonies 39, 40 & 41 Jupiter (LPH 011)
• 2013: BACH, Johann Sebastian: Ich elender Mensch – Leipzig Cantates (LPH 012)
• 2013: HAYDN, Joseph: Die Jahreszeiten (LPH 013)
• 2013: BYRD, William: Infelix ego – Mass for 5 voices (LPH 014)
• 2014: DVORAK, Antonin: Requiem (LPH 016)
• 2014: HAYDN, Joseph: Die Schöpfung (LPH 018)
• 2014: SCHUBERT, Franz: Symphonies 1, 3 & 4 (LPH 019)
• 2016: STRAVINSKY, Igor: Threni; Requiem canticles (LPH 020)
• 2016: GESUALDO, Carlo: O dolce mio tesoro (LPH 024)
• 2017: BRAHMS, Johannes: Symphony no. 4; Alt-rhapsodie; Schicksalslied (LPH 025)
• 2017: BACH, Johann Sebastian: Du treuer Gott – Leipzig Cantates (LPH 027)
• 2017: MONTEVERDI, Claudio: Vespro della Beata Vergine (LPH 029)
• 2022: BEETHOVEN, Ludwig van: Christus am Ölberge

• Schubert – Symphonies. Philippe Herreweghe, Royal Flemish Philharmonic. PENTATONE PTC 5186446 (2012).
• Beethoven – The 9 Symphonies. Philippe Herreweghe, Royal Flemish Philharmonic. PENTATONE PTC 5186312 (2011).
• Mendelssohn Bartholdy – The Piano Concertos & Rondo brilliant. Martin Helmchen, Philippe Herreweghe, Royal Flemish Philharmonic. PENTATONE PTC 5186366 (2011).
• Schubert – Symphony No. 9 in C, D. 944, "The Great". Philippe Herreweghe, Royal Flemish Philharmonic. PENTATONE PTC 5186372 (2011).
• Beethoven – Symphonies Nos. 4 & 7. Philippe Herreweghe, Royal Flemish Philharmonic. PENTATONE PTC 5186315 (2011).
• Stravinsky – Monumentum • Mass & Symphonie de Psaumes, Bach & Stravinsky – Choral-Variationen. Philippe Herreweghe, Royal Flemish Philharmonic, Collegium Vocale Gent. PENTATONE PTC 5186349 (2010).
• Beethoven – Symphony No. 9 "Choral". Philippe Herreweghe, Christiane Oelze, Ingeborg Danz, Christoph Strehl, David Wilson-Johnson, Royal Flemish Philharmonic, Collegium Vocale Gent, Academia Chigiana Siena. PENTATONE PTC 5186317 (2010).
• Beethoven – Symphonies Nos. 5 & 8. Philippe Herreweghe, Royal Flemish Philharmonic. PENTATONE PTC 5186316 (2007).
• Beethoven – Symphonies Nos. 2 & 6. Philippe Herreweghe, Royal Flemish Philharmonic. PENTATONE PTC 5186314 (2009).
• Beethoven – *Symphonies Nos. 1 &

Honours and awards

• 1994: Named Officer of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
• 2000: Named a knight by King Albert II's royal decree.
• 2003: Awarded the Legion of Honour.

• In 1990, European music publications named him "Musical Personality of the Year."
• In 1993, Herreweghe and Collegium Vocale Gent were appointed "Cultural Ambassadors of Flanders."
• In 1997, he received an honorary doctorate from the Catholic University of Leuven.
• In 2010, the city of Leipzig awarded him the Bach Medal for his work as a performer of Bach's music.
• In 2016, he was awarded the Bach Prize by the Royal Academy of Music.