deFilharmonie (known also as the Koninklijke Filharmonie van Vlaanderen, English translation as the Royal Flemish Philharmonic) is a Belgian symphony orchestra, with its principal home base in Antwerp. Founded by Gaston Ariën, Jef Maes, J.A. Zwijsen and Steven Candael in 1956 as the Antwerpse Philharmonie (Antwerp Philharmonie), it operates under the auspices of the government of Flanders.