Jaap van Zweden
(c) Hans Vanderwoerd/IMG
Conductor Jaap van Zweden has been under discussion for days. In the Dutch television program Pointer, musicians from his orchestras have accused him of boundary-crossing behavior and creating a culture of fear.
Interviews with dozens of musicians and other insiders outline a pattern of fear in seven orchestras where the Dutch conductor was in charge. The interviews reveal Zweden’s harsh, sometimes intimidating demeanor. Individual musicians report that they were insulted and humiliated in front of their colleagues.
Jaap van Zweden is widely regarded as the most famous conductor in the Netherlands. After a period as concertmaster of the Concertgebouw Orchestra, he has been on the podium with around 50 orchestras worldwide over the past 30 years. From 1996 to 2000 he was chief conductor of the Orkest van het Oosten in Enschede. He then moved to the Residentie Orkest, where he was chief conductor until 2005. From 2005 to 2011, Van Zweden succeeded Edo de Waart as chief conductor and artistic director of the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra (and until 2010 also of the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic).
Between 2008 and 2012, Van Zweden was also Chief Conductor of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra in Antwerp and Music Director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
In 2012, Van Zweden was appointed Chief Conductor of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, where he remained until 2022.
From the 2018-2019 season and until 2024, Van Zweden was Principal Conductor of the New York Philharmonic.
A further appointment was announced in February 2024 by the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, where Van Zweden was appointed Principal Conductor with a five-year contract from the 2026-2027 season, succeeding Mikko Franck.
Jaap van Zweden refused to give an interview on the program. He merely sent a recording of a statement. In it he says: « I know that I can be demanding. (…) But that should never be an excuse for a working environment that leads to tenseness or the use of tranquilizers. Of course I am open to criticism. If my way of working can be improved, I would like to hear about it. »
According to reports in the Dutch press, the criticism of van Zweden is not universally shared.
