What inspires you about the MCO? I am inspired by the orchestra’s dynamism and curiosity and by the way it travels so naturally through the world. The impressions of each new place are enhanced by the special flavour of the program being played: discovering Tokyo with Brahms and Mahler is pretty fascinating.
What is your most memorable moment with the orchestra? AA concert tour of India in January 2012 with a chamber ensemble from the MCO. Planning this trip definitely involved some sleepless nights. Just two months before, we still didn’t know if it was going to take place. It was a huge lesson in intercultural communication and, in the end, our perseverance paid off. It was a fantastic tour. The first piece of music you fell in love with: Brahms' Symphony no. 1 with Daniel Harding in Tokyo. Six months later I fell in love again: Brahms’ Clarinet Quintet on our India tour – unbelievably beautiful! Oh, apparently I’m a Brahms fan.
Which are your Desert Island Discs? A Desert Island? That could be a great concert format. We’re always open for new ideas.
When and where did you first see the MCO in concert? March 2011 at the Konzerthaus in Dortmund. Berlioz, Chopin, Kurtág and Schumann.
BIOGRAPHY Friso van Daalen has worked for the MCO since February 2011. As Development Manager he is responsible for creating concepts for sponsoring partnerships as well as for collaboration with sponsors at the orchestra’s concerts worldwide.
Friso studied sociology in Bielefeld with a focus on the organisation of cultural institutions. While he was still at university, his passion for music led him to an independent music label in Berlin, where he gained experience as an intern in the marketing and production of electronic and independent music. Following his graduation in Bielefeld, Friso returned to the capital city, where he worked in sponsoring and development at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, first as an intern and later as deputy department director. He sees his path to the MCO as an unforeseeable but lucky coincidence. Friso is convinced that there is no other place where classical music comes alive with the same passion, intensity and energy as at the MCO.
