Just in: London orchestra hires German CEO
NewsThe Philharmonia Orchestra, headless since Alexander Van Ingen’s departure in January, has named Thorben Dittes as his successor, starting in August.
Dittes has been Director of the Royal Northern Sinfonia in Gateshead since 2014, and president of the Lakeland Sinfonia.
He says: ‘said: “The Philharmonia is one of the world’s great orchestras. It also was the first orchestra I experienced in London as a student over twenty years ago, when I fell in love with its distinctive sound.’
Looking at his CV he is clearly comfortable here and a committed person.I wish him well in his new post.
Isn’t he Swiss?
Good luck to him. I hope he knows what he’s taking on but I suspect not. Fantastic orchestra but it’s been mismanaged for years and it will take a lot to sort it out now.
Indeed, if you look at the constant comings and goings and general drift, allied to some questionable artistic decisions, you wonder who is most at fault here: the musicians who ultimately run the show and have to OK management personnel decisions or the calibre of the people they thought fit to appoint in the first place.
It has seen a lot of personnel changes since COVID within the Orchestra (Keith Bragg no longer on their roster for example) but they now sound as good, if not far better then they have for years! Last nights fantastic concert with Marin Alsop and Arabella Steinbacher (wonderful performance of Britten’s neglected Violin Concerto) is a recent example!