In 1958, Lola Bobesco created “Les Solistes de Bruxelles” [Brussels Soloists], renamed “Ensemble d’archets Eugène Ysaÿe” [Eugène Ysaÿe String Ensemble], now known as the ‘Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie’ [Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia]. Following the last Music Directors, Augustin Dumay (2003-2013) and Frank Braley (2014-2019), Vahan Mardirossian took the baton to continue their work of excellence.
The orchestra has worked together regularly with the biggest names in music on the most important international stages, as well as performing regularly in Mons, the Cultural Capital of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation and the European Capital of Culture 2015 : José Van Dam, Mstislav Rostropovitch, Aldo Ciccolini, Mischa Maisky, Maurice André, Arthur Grumiaux, Philippe Hirschhorn, Georges Octors, Jean-Pierre Wallez, Gidon Kremer, Louis Lortie, Jian Wang, Ivry Gitlis, Antoine Tamestit, Henri Demarquette, Richard Galliano, the Modigliani Quartet, Jean-Philippe Collard, Gérard Caussé, Renaud and Gautier Capuçon, Augustin Dumay, Maria-João Pires ; in Paris, Beijing, Abu Dhabi, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Bucharest, Bayreuth, Munich, Luxembourg, Zurich, Geneva, Saint Petersburg, Brussels, etc.
The orchestra is a regular partner of the Queen Elisabeth Competition since more than twenty years, the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, and many Belgian and international music festivals. The Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia performs often under the direction of Jean-François Chamberlan, its principal violinist.
In Mons, with Mars (Mons Arts de la Scène) [Mons Performing Arts], and the support of the City of Mons, the orchestra gives concerts with a diversified and original repertoire. It presents concerts for young audiences and offers services to young artists from the Mons Academy of Music and ARTS2 (École Supérieure des Arts).
www.orcw.be

After spending nine years at the head of the Caen Orchestra (2010-2019), Vahan Mardirossian was appointed Chief Conductor of the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong in September 2019 and Music Director of the Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia in January 2020. He has also been Music Director of the National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia since 2011.
Internationally renowned pianist and conductor, Vahan Mardirossian has been combining his two passions for several years by simultaneously playing and conducting piano concertos (including Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Grieg and Shostakovich). As a soloist, he has performed under the direction of great conductors such as Kurt Masur, Paavo Järvi, Yutaka Sado, John Axelrod and Yuri Ahronovith. He has also recorded several CDs of Schubert, Brahms, Bach, Händel, Beethoven, Tanguy, and Mulsant.
Meeting Kurt Masur was a decisive point in Vahan Mardirossian’s working life. He was invited by Masur to conduct the Manhattan School Orchestra at an orchestra conducting seminar in New York. This opportunity was the start of his conducting career.
In 2005, Vahan Mardirossian founded the ‘Maestria’ orchestra, performing throughout France, including in Paris at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and in Toulouse at the Halle aux Grains.
He is regularly invited to conduct prestigious orchestras such as the NHK Symphony Orchestra, the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, the National Orchestra of the Pays de la Loire, the Sanremo Sinfonica Orchestra, the Royal Seville Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonie Südwestfalen and the Orchestre Colonne.
He has collaborated with internationally renowned soloists including Ivry Gitlis, Alexander Markov, Augustin Dumay, Akiko Suwanai, Sergeï Babayan, Alexandre Kantorow, Lars Vogt, Vladimir Sverdlov-Ashkenazy, Diemut Poppen, Brigitte Engerer, Xavier Phillips, Kun Woo Paik, Richard Galliano, Viktoria Postnikova, Daishin Kashimoto, Sergueï Nakariakov, Gary Hoffmann, Alexander Chaushian, Roland Pidoux, Alexandra Soumm, Alexander Ghindin, Igor Tchetuev, Polina Leschenko, Ashley Wass, Jean-Marc Phillips-Varjabedian, le Trio Wanderer, Jean-Claude Pennetier, Jacques Rouvier, Svetlin Roussev, Marc Coppey, Pavel Vernikov, Nicolas Dautricourt, Stéphane Béchy, Guy Touvron and Stéphanie-Marie Degand.
His wide repertoire ranges from baroque masterpieces to contemporary works (including Tanguy, Saariaho, Rautavaara, Hersant, Dutilleux, Rihm, Kagel, Crumb, Ligeti, Mulsant and Canat de Chizy).

The Brussels Philharmonic was founded in 1935 by the Belgian public broadcaster (INR/NIR) and worked from the start with leading international conductors and soloists. The orchestra was and is renowned as a pioneer in performing contemporary music - a reputation that brought such world-renowned composers as Bartók, Stravinsky and Messiaen to Brussels. Its historic home base is Flagey.
The vision of leading Japanese conductor Kazushi Ono, music director of Brussels Philharmonic, has much in common with that of the orchestra: he shares its open and adventurous spirit and its unshakeable belief in the necessary cross-pollination between art, life and society.
Brussels Philharmonic has earned its place on the international stage, with regular engagements at renowned venues worldwide such as the Carnegie Hall in New York, Philharmonie de Paris and Musikverein Wien, among others. The orchestra has also built up an international reputation for recording soundtracks, including the Oscar-winning music for The Artist (music by Ludovic Bource). In its home country, Brussels Philharmonic focuses resolutely on bringing people together through symphonic music. Under the heading EXPLORE, the orchestra organises a variety of initiatives that invite listeners on a journey of discovery: meetings, podcasts, walks, educational sheets, workshops, post-concert discussions, digital initiatives and more.
The many successful recordings for labels like Deutsche Grammophon have received international acclaim and have been honoured with many awards, including an ECHO Klassik, a Cecilia Prize, a Choc de Classica de l'année and a Diapason d'Or de l'année. Brussels Philharmonic is an institution of the Flemish Community.
www.brusselsphilharmonic.be

Kazushi Ono's musical personality was formed by the cultures of both Japan, where he was born, and Europe, where he studied, and his work has reflected both influences ever since.
He trained in Europe under Wolfgang Sawallisch and came to public attention winning First Prize in the 1987 Toscanini Competition. He has worked at opera houses and concert halls all over the world, holding important positions at the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, Karlsruhe Opera, La Monnaie, the Opéra National de Lyon and the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, among others. Early on in his career, Kazushi Ono also became principal conductor of the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. He is currently music director of Brussels Philharmonic while also serving as music director of the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra and artistic director at the New National Theatre Tokyo.
His passion and curiosity for repertoire takes him in different directions - the standard classics but also to new music. He has commissioned several works, such as Mark- nthony Turnage’s Hibiki, which won a Royal Philharmonic Society award, Asters by Akira Nishimura and Dai Fujikura’s A Dream of Armageddon.
In 2017 Kazushi Ono was appointed Officier de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres, adding to the prestigious Asahi Prize in 2015, for his contribution to the development and progress of Japanese society.
www.kazushiono.com