About
The Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century is a Dutch symphony orchestra specialized in playing early music and music from the classical period. The orchestra was founded in 1981 by conductor, flautist and recorder player Frans Brüggen and violinist Lucy van Dael.
The orchestra consists of around 60 musicians from many different countries, all playing on authentic instruments or contemporary copies. In terms of design and size, the orchestra approaches the most luxurious "classical" orchestras from the 18th and 19th centuries in London, Paris and Vienna. The orchestra aims at the music of composers such as Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Henry Purcell, Johann Sebastian Bach and Jean-Philippe Rameau and other 18th and 19th century composers.
The orchestra has frequently toured and made a large number of CD recordings with Philips Classics, then Glossa. The orchestra received international prizes for various recordings. In 2010 the orchestra received the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Prijs. In 2018 the VSCD prize "De Ovatie" was awarded to the orchestra.
Frans Brüggen died in August 2014, leaving the orchestra to say goodbye to its founder, but his inspiration remains alive in the orchestra. They remain true to the tradition of doing five projects a year with guest conductors.