Philippe Herreweghe was born in Ghent and studied at both the university and music conservatory in his hometown. During his student years, in 1970, he founded and began conducting Collegium Vocale Gent.
Philippe Herreweghe’s energetic and authentic approach to Baroque music soon drew praise. In 1977 he founded La Chapelle Royale in Paris, with whom he performed French music of the 17th century. From 1982 to 2002 he was artistic director of the Académies musicales de Saintes. He also founded several other ensembles, making historically appropriate interpretations of repertoire stretching from the Renaissance to the present day, including Ensemble Vocal Européen de la Chapelle Royale, specializing in Renaissance polyphony, and, in 1991, the Orchestre des Champs-Élysées, created with the aim of playing pre-Romantic and Romantic repertoire on original instruments.
Philippe Herreweghe is a sought-after guest conductor with orchestras such as the Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra.
Highlights of the 2021/22 season have included guest appearances with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra dell’ Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, the Munich Philharmonic, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. In May 2022 Philippe Herreweghe celebrated his 75th birthday with a European tour of Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with the Orchestre des Champs-Élysées; during spring 2022 he also conducted performances of Bach’s St Matthew Passion with Collegium Vocale Gent in cities including Paris, Vienna, Cologne and Munich.
Over the years he has made more than 120 CD recordings with his ensembles, including the symphonies of Ludwig van Beethoven and Robert Schumann, Johann Sebastian Bach’s St Matthew Passion, Gustav Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Arnold Schoenberg’s Pierrot lunaire and Igor Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms.
Philippe Herreweghe has received numerous awards for his artistic innovations and commitment. In 1990 the European music press named him musical personality of the year. Philippe Herreweghe and Collegium Vocale Gent were appointed cultural ambassadors of Flanders in 1993. A year later, Philippe Herreweghe was awarded the Belgian order of Officier des Arts et des Lettres. In 2003 he received the French title of Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur. In 2010 the City of Leipzig awarded him its Bach Medal for his services as an interpreter of Bach’s music. Philippe Herreweghe has been awarded honorary doctorates from the universities of Leuven and Ghent.
