Jonathan - profile

Jonathan Wegloop

horn

Interview
When and where was your first concert with the MCO?

My first concert experience with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra was actually from the audience! Listening to the MCO in Grafenegg (Austria), I was thrilled to see an overwhelming combination of dedication to the music and the joy of performing, the music was really alive!

What’s the best thing about playing with the MCO?

I find that in MCO there is the will to play together. To phrase together, breathe and move together and to listen to each other: however simple and self-evident that may sound, I think it is something special!

The most inspiring composer: 

That would probably be Robert Schumann, but I have to say that he shares this favourite position amongst many other composers! Schumann’s music can be very vivid with a great, almost nervous drive, yet it also has a personal, introverted side.

The first piece of music you fell in love with: 

Schubert’s string quintet that my father always played for us. 

What makes a “perfect” concert?

I’m not sure the perfect concert exists, but some concerts can be very fulfilling! These concerts occur for me when a couple of factors meet: when the orchestra is able to convey intense emotions for example and I also have to be happy with my own playing. A great hall, or an enthusiastic audience can be very helpful. Conductor, (horn) section and repertoire are key factors as well! 

Biography

Born in Amsterdam in 1986, Jonathan Wegloop began playing the horn at the age of ten.

A graduate of the Conservatorium van Amsterdam as a student of Jacob Slagter, he undertook his Masters of Music at both ArtEZ University of the Arts (Zwolle) and Musikhochschule Köln under the direction of Fokke van Heel and Paul van Zelm. 

He discovered his passion for orchestral playing through concert tours with the European Union Youth Orchestra and the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra, as well as performing with the Verbier Festival Orchestra.

As a soloist, Jonathan has performed both Strauss Concerti as well as the Concerto for horn and orchestra by Glière, and appeared as one of the soloists of Schumann's Konzertstück for four horns and orchestra under the baton of Kent Nagano in Spring 2018. Also an enthusiastic chamber musician, he performs regularly with horn quartet and also enjoys working with brass and wind ensembles.

Jonathan has been a member of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra since July 2017. In 2020, he joined the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln as a low horn. His first orchestral appointment was with the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg in 2011.

Jonathan is regularly invited to perform with many of the worlds' leading orchestras, such as the Berliner Philharmoniker, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra.