Jaap van Zweden (born 1960) has had two careers in succession: as a violinist (and winner of the Oscar Backconcours) and as the youngest ever concertmaster of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (at 19 years of age).
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Portret Jaap van Zweden, photo by Erwin Olaf
Jaap van Zweden
- Conductor
From 1995, he devoted himself entirely to conducting, starting in the Netherlands with the Orkest van het Oosten. He is now a world-renowned and much sought-after guest conductor. In 2008, Van Zweden became the permanent conductor of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and also holds a permanent position with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. He has made recordings of all of the symphonies by Beethoven, Brahms and Bruckner.
Van Zweden and his wife Aaltje are committed to the Papageno foundation, which focuses on the development and education of children with autism. He is very interested in music education and child development.
Van Zweden received Musical America's Conductor of the Year Award in 2012.