The Radio Philharmonic Orchestra dedicates its assistant conductorship to honorary conductor Edo de Waart. The Edo de Waart Assistant Conductorship was presented April 28, 2021, in honor of De Waart's 80th birthday.

Warm bond
Edo de Waart was chief conductor of the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra from 1989 to 2004 and has thus played a crucial role in the ensemble's artistic development. In 2005, De Waart was appointed honorary conductor because of his warm ties with the orchestra. Since then, De Waart has returned to the podium of 'his' RFO on numerous occasions.
In honour of his 80th birthday, the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra has now entrusted the position of assistant conductor to Edo de Waart. The Edo de Waart Assistant Conductorship was presented to him today during the orchestra rehearsal. This underlines the enormous contribution that De Waart has made to the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and to Dutch musical life, and ensures that his name remains linked to the training of a new generation of conductors.

Young talent
The position of assistant conductor arose during De Waart's period as principal conductor with the RFO, and with The Edo de Waart Assistant Conductorship the orchestra and De Waart remain committed to the development of young musical talent. Assistant conductors will be associated with the orchestra for a minimum of one year and a maximum of two years. The assistant conductor works with the orchestra for about 20 weeks a year, making an active artistic contribution to the concerts in the broadcasting series by assisting the chief conductor and guest conductors, and by leading rehearsals. In addition, the assistant conductor also leads a number of own productions.

Edo de Waart 80 years
In addition to presenting this assistant conductorship, Edo de Waart also celebrated his 80th birthday on the concert stage with the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra. On April 30, De Waart led the RFO and the Groot Omroepkoor in the AVROTROS Friday Concert with music by one of his favorite composers: Brahms. On the program were his Gesang der Parzen, Nänie and Second Symphony.