Martijn Dendievel, soon to be chief conductor of Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen, is very tall. We met on a sunny afternoon after a rehearsal with the talented young Dutch violinist, Noa Wildschut. Their performance of Saint-Saëns’ Third Violin Concerto with Phion orchestra later that evening is undoubtedly on his mind. But as we head to my favourite ice-cream parlour to talk about his rich and varied life as a conductor, his sincerity and towering presence feels very real as his powerful words rain down. This is a young man on a mission.
Dendievel first came to my attention as a finalist in Rotterdam’s inaugural International Conducting Competition (ICCR). His clarity was impressive, and it was clear to all that this was a man who knew exactly what he wanted. “The only thing that helps,” he explains, “is to be authentic, and I didn’t want to change or adapt my ways.”
You come from a musical family, your brother is also a professional bassoonist, but how did you start conducting, and how did you end up on the podium with Bernard Haitink aged just 16?
This story always feels really made up, but it is true. When I was young, my cello teacher was the principal cello of the Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen (SOV) and if last-minute tickets were available for concerts, he would always get me one for €7.
One night I went to hear Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto in Bruges. The opening is very quiet but when the conductor merely flicked his wrist to cue the first entrance of the timpani, I remember bursting out of my seat because the sound just exploded. His one small movement had a greater effect on the overall sound, than the cellist who was actually producing sound. I knew then what I wanted to do, and this is what I’ve been working towards ever since.
I told my mum (a professional pianist and violinist) that I wanted to be a conductor, so aged nine, she took me to see Belgian composer and conductor, Dirk Brossé to ask his advice. He told me to play lots of instruments and to learn some music theory.
I started private conducting lessons when I left school aged 14, before being accepted into Brussels Conservatory to study music theory and cello. Aged 18, I moved to Weimar to study conducting with Nicolás Pasquet and Ekhart Wycik. This home-schooling route was quite normal for talented young Belgian musicians at that time. Now, it’s a little more difficult.
And your time with Haitink?
My cello teacher encouraged me to apply for one of his masterclasses in Brussels even though I thought it was a level far above me. But I applied and was invited to audition. I was very relaxed because lots of older conductors like Lorenzo Viotti had also applied – Viotti is six years older, had already won some big competitions, and was already at the start of his career. I just enjoyed making some nice music, but when they announced my name, I was quite stressed!
You attended two further masterclasses with Haitink. What did you learn from him?
It’s funny, I was conducting Vaughan Williams’ Fifth Symphony with my German orchestra Hofer Symphoniker last month, and I thought of Haitink every day. It’s a shame he didn’t conduct more Vaughan Williams in concert because he recorded a fantastic cycle. I think he is the perfect Vaughan Williams conductor – he just let the music flow; not interfering too much but still being insistent on how he wanted things. He conducted Vaughan-Williams like no other.
However, if you look at videos of him as a young man, he was quite chaotic. His movements were very big, very wild. Of course, people only remember his last twenty years when he was the most reserved conductor ever. But he told me not to conduct like him, because the chemistry between an orchestra and an older conductor is very different. Orchestras generally trust an older face more!
Most importantly though, I learnt about his philosophy. In Mahler, he said, “Don’t slow down every five bars. It’s like walking your dog and you’re constantly saying, ‘Come on, come on!’ The dog needs to keep walking. And the music needs to flow”.
Who else inspires you? Whose words inhabit your mind?
Lessons with Paavo Järvi have been very helpful. He is more about conducting technique whereas Haitink was more about music philosophy and musicality. Paavo is a great musician, and I adore his performances. He is a technical master who really understands how movement can influence an orchestra; his calmness and energy is inspiring, and he totally trusts an orchestra. He is also a very funny man!
Competitions played quite a part in your early career. You were a finalist in both the Donatella Flick Competition (2021), and the International Conducting Competition Rotterdam (ICCR, 2022) alongside British conductors Chloe Rooke and Bertie Baigent. How has participation shaped your career?
The ICCR, Rotterdam, taught me a very valuable lesson. It reminded me of the importance of career planning and taking enough time to rest between projects.
In the heats, we conducted five different programs over ten days, with four different orchestras, each requiring a totally different way of conducting. That was too much for me – I was exhausted at the end. I’m not the type of musician to jump quickly between such diverse repertoire. You almost had to distance yourself from the music.
We would have a contemporary rehearsal in the morning and then head to Amsterdam in the afternoon to work with the Orchestra of the 18th Century. For me, it was crazy. I just felt tired and not as engaged with the music as I wanted to be. I was so invested in Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony that I found it a real challenge.
The ICCR have thought about these challenges and in the second edition this year, the whole process was longer, giving participants more free time between sessions.
How does your schedule work in real life? Do you try to take a week off in between engagements?
The ideal situation is that I work one week on, one week off. But of course, it never works that way. Just last month I got a call to step in for someone… Taiwan National Symphony Orchestra needed a replacement… I was at liberty to say, ‘No, I need to rest,’ but I felt rested enough to do it.
I assume you already knew the music…
No! I had to learn a new concerto – Szymanowski’s First Violin Concerto, which is very difficult especially with just two day’s rehearsal! But they changed the symphony for me because I said that I couldn’t learn Zemlinsky’s The Mermaid as well as a new concerto in five days. It’s too big. We did Dvorak’s Eighth instead which was much better.
Returning to the question of competitions, what does success really mean? Is it just a name on an award, or is it more importantly, finding a platform for your skills and gaining exposure; even having those hushed one-to-one conversations with agents and orchestra CEOs in the corridors in between heats?
It’s not just that simple. The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra is probably one of the top 20 orchestras in the world and attracts top soloists. However, young conductors need a completely different skillset to conduct, for example, smaller provincial orchestras which is where many of us start our careers.
In the media, everybody sees Klaus Mäkelä at the top of the profession after spending just two years as principal guest conductor of the Swedish Radio (which is still one of the world’s best orchestras). But this is not how most people start their career.
The actual competition that really changed my career was the German Conducting Award which I won in 2021. I had luck with the jury, because not only did it include people who had worked their way through the ranks, but they understood my work ethic and how German orchestras expect to be guided through the rehearsal process.
Of course, storytelling is important, but we had time to create an orchestra’s sound which I believe is really definitive. And this work happens in the rehearsal room, away from the audience.
You always look incredibly smart on stage – what’s your secret?
One of the prizes for winning the German Conducting Award was a Mandarin jacket from Woolwind – a clothing range originally designed for the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra. As brand ambassador I’ve recently helped them make some additional adjustments for conductors. The result is a nicely cut jacket with a transparent mesh which gives greater flexibility over the shoulders. And it’s machine washable. They even have special breathable trousers.
The fabric (a wool blend) is Turkish, but the suits are made in Germany. Whenever I can, I try to buy responsibly. I prefer to pay a bit more for good quality.
Moving closer to home, can you tell me more about your relationship with Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen (SOV), an orchestra you grew up with? How does it feel to conduct an orchestra you know so intimately?
This orchestra is so special – I think no other conductor has this kind of relationship because it’s the orchestra that sparked everything. As a teenager, I even volunteered in the cloakroom collecting audience members’ coats.
Their collaboration with British conductor Jan Latham-Koenig, (chief conductor 2013 – 19) was not without ripples, so my appointment as associate conductor in 2022 helped to change the story. Since that time, we’ve grown closer, and I will succeed departing chief conductor Kristiina Poska in January 2026.
I know the people so well, so it’s very easy for me to know exactly how far I can go with them.
- Can I ask for more from a certain musician?
- How interested are they?
- What type of language do they respond to? Are they better with musical ideas and imagery, or do they need concrete information about, for example, the length of notes?
These are the things you need to learn very quickly when you meet a new orchestra. Each orchestra is different. Each person is different, and you need to find a language which works for the people in front of you. With the SOV, I know what makes them tick and that’s really important. It makes my job there much easier.
Do you choose the repertoire? And what can we look forward to in your new role as chief conductor?
I love the Schumann and Mendelssohn symphonies. For me they are very closely connected to Beethoven and Mozart, but because they are so difficult, I rarely get a chance to perform them. You need the openness and clarity of Mozart’s phrasing, but also, to be able to play without vibrato which means doing more with the bow. So following on from Kristiina’s Beethoven cycle, I will do a Mendelssohn and Schubert cycle with a little bit of Tchaikovsky as a change from all the classical playing.
Final question… When not conducting or not hurtling down a black ski slope, what does Martijn Dendievel do?
Study scores! I think people still underestimate how much time goes into studying scores. Occasionally you’ll see an Instagram picture of me on a lake, but that’s just one hour of the day. Before that, I will have spent three or four hours in the hotel room, learning a score, answering emails and making rehearsal schedules. You need to plan ahead!
Sometimes orchestras ask for rehearsal schedules a year in advance so they can book extra musicians. And then you need to study these pieces, because you cannot make a rehearsal schedule if you don’t know how difficult the pieces are.
Away from music, I love cycling and being in nature to really disconnect.
Speaking again, prior to his UK debut in concert with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the BBC’s Maida Vale Studios (21st October 2025), I am curious to know more…
I’m very much looking forward to making my UK debut with the BBC SO, an orchestra I know from their many great recordings. We will perform Respighi’s Piano Concerto in A minor and Dvorak’s Symphony No. 7.
This will be my first time working with Slovenian pianist Alexander Gadijev who I understand is well known to British audiences from his time as a BBC New Generation Artist (2019-2021). I’ve recently conducted Respighi’s seldomly performed Concerto gregoriano – a violin concerto inspired by plainsong and Gregorian chant – but his piano concerto is a truly special work, as it is one of the rare few works in which Respighi looks forwards, rather than back.
And unlike more traditional classical piano concertos, there is no dramatic opening. But it still ends with a lovely, pompous finale.
Update: Watch Martijn in rehearsal with the BBC Symphony Orchestra
Dendievel’s inaugural concert as chief conductor of the SOV is on January 17th 2026 in Ghent. The programme will feature Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor with Liya Petrova and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 1.
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