Collegium Musicum Basel
The Collegium Musicum Basel is a Swiss orchestra from the city of Basel . It plays in the music hall of the Stadtcasino Basel , which is one of the best concert halls in the world.
history
The Collegium Musicum Basel was founded in 1951 on the initiative of members of the Basel theater orchestra and its conductor , Albert E. Kaiser .
When Albert E. Kaiser switched to the then still young medium of television in 1955, the CMB was contractually committed as the orchestra of Swiss television, which led to the realization of a large number of musical series. From 1961 onwards, the CMB took part in the performance of operas and orchestral works for eleven years as part of the Interlaken Mozart Weeks and worked together with the most important singers.
The over 30 annotated youth concerts that were held from 1963 and were financed by the Federation of Migros Cooperatives met with a great response . In addition, there were numerous guest performances and tours that the CMB u. a. several times to Italy , Besançon , Vienna , Bregenz , Israel , Czechoslovakia and Leipzig and Dresden .
Since 1956, the CMB has established a permanent place in Basel's musical life with its subscription cycle of six concerts in the Casino Basel. After more than 50 years of service, Albert E. Kaiser handed over the management of the orchestra to the young conductor Simon Gaudenz , who was both artistic director and chief conductor from 2004 to 2011. He expanded the repertoire with composers from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 2011 Kevin Griffiths took over the musical direction. Johannes Schlaefli has been the orchestra's chief conductor since 2018 .
Continuity of the program philosophy
The main focus is on maintaining classical and romantic music of the 18th and 19th centuries. However, this does not exclude the performance of contemporary composers, especially works by Swiss composers.
Orchestra formation and promotion of young talent
The inclusion of young professional musicians in the orchestra and the care of the next generation of musicians are other important focuses of the CMB. In addition to the annual prize winners concert with young soloists who have won an international competition (in recent years mostly the ARD Munich International Music Competition and the Geneva International Music Competition ), talented young soloists were repeatedly engaged before their skills were recognized internationally , for example Anne-Sophie Mutter , Martha Argerich , Daniel Barenboim , Sol Gabetta , Noëmi Nadelmann or Arabella Steinbacher .
The pre-concerts, which were added to the program for the 2006/07 season and which immediately met with a great response, also serve to promote young talent. Young up-and-coming musicians from the Music Academy of the City of Basel have the opportunity to show their skills. Attending the pre-concerts is free. The costs for sharing the infrastructure required for the pre-concerts, including the associated higher advertising costs, will be borne by the CMB.
From the 2007/2008 season onwards, contacts with children are to be further strengthened in the context of educational projects and youth concerts in schools, thus awakening their enjoyment of classical music.
Since the 2007/08 season, it has been agreed with the Zurich University of the Arts to hold conducting workshops, which enable prospective conductors to participate in rehearsals for the CMB concerts and to work with an experienced symphony orchestra.
Programming
Six subscription concerts are performed in Basel every year. There are also extra concerts, guest performances abroad and participation in festivals.
numbers
| founding | 1951 by Albert E. Kaiser |
| Goal setting |
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| Chief conductor |
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| orchestra | 60 musicians (supplemented by permanent staff as required) |
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| Support association | Association of Friends of the Collegium Musicum Basel |
literature
- Lukas Ott : 50 years of the Collegium Musicum Basel - yesterday, today, tomorrow. Basel 2001.
Web links
- Official website
- Johannes Schlaefli (website of the chief conductor)