Hof Symphony Orchestra
The Hofer Symphoniker are a symphony orchestra in the town of Hof in Upper Franconia . The orchestra has existed since 1945. It has 62 musicians from 19 nations. The Hofer Symphoniker see themselves as a cultural and educational company and have been run as a non-profit GmbH since January 1, 2007 . Under one roof, they unite a wide range of musical, social and educational projects that have made the Hof Symphony Orchestra into a cultural center of the region.
Companies
The Hof Symphony Orchestra has grown steadily since it was founded in 1945, has founded a music school, a Suzuki academy and an art school in addition to the orchestra, and cooperates with general schools and kindergartens. As a result, they are firmly anchored in city life. The Hofer Symphoniker music school was founded in 1978. The overall management of the institution was from 1965 to 2008 Wilfried Anton. Ingrid Schrader has been the artistic director and managing director of Hofer Symphoniker gGmbH since January 1st, 2009.
history
In 1945 Kapellmeister Karl F. Keller founded the Hof Symphony Orchestra under the name Hofer Konzertorchester . Most of the musicians came from the Sudetenland ; a few local musicians added to the orchestra. From 1965 Intendant Wilfried Anton was responsible for the orchestra. In its early years, the Hof Symphony Orchestra was mainly a theater orchestra. However, since they could not secure their existence with theater services alone, they also appeared as a spa orchestra in Bad Steben , Bad Kissingen (see: Spa orchestra Bad Kissingen ) and Bad Bocklet . In 1953 the Hofer Symphoniker still had 40 musicians in permanent positions. By 1979 they expanded and improved their quality, so that they could start playing all year round as a theater and symphony orchestra in Northern Bavaria . Appearances in the spas were no longer required and were therefore discontinued. In 1978 the Hofer Symphoniker founded their own music school, which is still the only orchestral music school in Germany today. This started the development into a culture and education company.
Concert activities and collaborations
The Hof Symphony Orchestra performs primarily in the Hof Freedom Hall and in various venues in Upper Franconia . Artists such as Mojca Erdmann , Julia Fischer , Hilary Hahn , Daniel Hope , Albrecht Mayer , Daniel Müller-Schott , Martin Stadtfeld and Jörg Widmann performed with the Hofer Symphoniker. In addition to the around 65 symphony concerts annually, the Hof Symphony Orchestra accompanies singers such as José Carreras , Lucia Aliberti and Jonas Kaufmann at the Thurn und Taxis Castle Festival in Regensburg. Guest performances have taken the orchestra to major concert halls in Germany, such as the Gewandhaus Leipzig for the opening of the 2004 Book Fair, the Alte Oper Frankfurt and the Konzerthaus am Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin. In November 2005, the Hofer Symphoniker could be seen in the ZDF program Eine Große Nachtmusik with Götz Alsmann . The Hofer Symphoniker are also active in the field of popular music and have performed with Joja Wendt , Quadro Nuevo , the rock band Radspitz, the Klazz Brothers and Maria Markesini . The repertoire also includes works from film, rock, classic pop and jazz.
The Hof Symphony Orchestra works closely with the Hof Theater . According to the contract for work, they provide 54 percent of the orchestral services possible under collective bargaining law for the organization of music theater (opera, operetta, musical, ballet) at the Theater Hof. This cooperation is economical for both partners.
management
Chief conductor
- 1945–1950: Karl F. Keller (Kapellmeister)
- 1950–1955: Karl Friderich
- 1955–1967: Werner Richter-Reichhelm
- 1967–1973: Peter Richter de Rangenier
- 1973–1974: Klaus Volk (provisional)
- 1974–1979: Lutz Herbig
- 1979–1980: Jaroslav Opěla (acting)
- 1980-1985: Gilbert Varga
- 1985-1989: Sergio Cardenas
- 1989-1996: Hikotaro Yazaki
- 1997–2001: Golo Berg
Guest conductors have led the Hof Symphony Orchestra since 2001. The Swiss conductor Daniel Klajner was the orchestra's “first guest conductor” from 2010 to 2016. Since 2016 Hermann Bäumer has been "Conductor in Residence" of the Hof Symphony Orchestra.
Enoch zu Guttenberg (1946-2018) was honorary conductor from May 16, 2003 until his death in 2018.
1st concertmaster
- [19 ..] - 1999: Anke Schittenhelm, born in Bruchsal
- 1999–2007: Alexia Eichhorn, born in Bamberg
- Since 2007 is the of Assisi originating Lorenzo Lucca
Intendancy and management
- 1946–1965 August Mayer-Pabst was the orchestra's chief executive officer.
- 1965–2008, Artistic Director Wilfried Anton developed the Hof Symphony Orchestra to a significant extent into today's cultural and educational company. On November 20, 2015, Anton was appointed honorary director for his services.
- Ingrid Schrader has been artistic director and managing director since 2009.
music school
The Hof Symphony Orchestra is the only orchestra in Germany that runs a music school. The students are instructed in all instrumental subjects that occur in the symphony orchestra by the orchestra's own musicians. Many students have already been awarded the “Jugend musiziert” competition and the German Music Prize for accordion soloists. In addition to classical instruments, modern instruments such as rock guitar, electric bass, rock-pop singing, saxophone, folk and vocal music as well as early musical education are taught. Particularly good students have the opportunity to perform with the Hofer Symphoniker orchestra and to attend a remedial class to prepare for studying at a music college.
The Hofer model
The symbiosis between the professional orchestra and the orchestra's own music school is known as the Hofer model : the musicians in the symphony orchestra also act as teachers in their own music school. The Hof model also includes special forms of teaching and cooperation models :
- The musical branch at the Jean-Paul-Gymnasium Hof (with advanced music course) since 1994 and the musical branch at the secondary school Naila since 2009: The cooperation with the secondary school and the secondary school is unique in Germany, because the instrumental lessons are given by the Hof Symphony Orchestra Concerts are organized jointly and the youth symphony orchestra is carried jointly.
- Wind classes and symphonic wind orchestra at the Schiller-Gymnasium Hof
- Life cycle : Percussion class at the Sophienschule Hof (elementary and secondary school) as a musical and social project in a socially disadvantaged area of the city
- Intergenerational music-making in cooperation with a day care center and a nursing home in Helmbrechts
- Basic musical training and initial instrumental lessons in elementary schools
- Concerts for children and parents; Music education as a family experience
- Performance opportunities for winners of the annual “Jugend musiziert” competition, partly as a sponsorship award from the Hof Symphony Orchestra as part of the “Stars of Tomorrow” award concerts
Suzuki Academy
The Hof Symphony Orchestra use the Suzuki method in early instrumental music lessons . It is a special form of instrumental lessons for children from the age of three and tailored to the children's learning process. The Hofer Symphoniker's music school has had the Suzuki Academy since 1994, which is organized in cooperation with the German Suzuki Society. V. also trains music teachers to become Suzuki teachers. The Suzuki Academy of the Hofer Symphoniker is now the largest of its kind at a German music school with around 100 children who are taught by nine Suzuki teachers. The Bavarian Suzuki Days have been held in Hof every two years since 1999. They are a great international workshop for Suzuki students and teachers and anyone interested in the Suzuki method. The Suzuki Academy of the Hofer Symphoniker is unique in Germany with its upbringing and educational mission for children and young people and its advanced training and qualification programs for adults.
Eminent former students
- Vivi Vassileva (percussionist)
Art school
In 1982 an art school was added, at that time still under the name Malschule . Here those who want to work artistically in a musical environment are supported. This concept of interdisciplinary work within a company has proven itself and is also practiced in a similar form elsewhere. Today around 60 pupils from first graders to retirees receive lessons in painting and drawing in the courses Children's Art I , II , III , Youth Art and Art for Adults . The lecturers are trained art teachers or qualified designers. The students present their work to the public in five to seven exhibitions a year.
Competitions
International Violin Competition Henri Marteau
The Henri Marteau International Violin Competition takes place every three years in the Haus Marteau International Music Meeting Center in Lichtenberg and in the Freiheitshalle in Hof. 2002 by the Friends of the Music Meeting Center Haus Marteau e. V., the district of Upper Franconia took over the sponsorship of the competition in 2007. The cultural and educational company Hofer Symphoniker was entrusted with the overall artistic and organizational management.
Regional competition "Jugend musiziert"
The “Jugend musiziert” competition is an important and effective instrument for promoting young talent. The regional competition “Jugend musiziert” for the districts of Hof and Wunsiedel has been organized by the culture and education company Hofer Symphoniker since 2008. Every year the regional competition takes place in one of the two districts at a different location.
“Piano across borders” - German-Czech competition for four-hand piano playing
In November 2002, the culture and education company Hofer Symphoniker organized the first German-Czech competition for four-hand piano playing “Piano across borders”. After a Czech and a German national round, the international final round followed. Since then, the competition has been held every three years.
Scientific projects
Study A different tone - the Hofer model
A musical education is the ideal start into a fulfilling life for children. This finding is the conclusion of a scientific study that the brain researcher Ernst Pöppel carried out with the musicologist Lorenz Welker on behalf of the cultural and educational company Hofer Symphoniker at the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich. In the investigation it was possible for the first time to use psychological tests and standardized measuring methods (magnetic resonance imaging) to demonstrate that learning an instrument and making music together create the best conditions for young people to grow into mentally and emotionally mature people. The study also showed that memory, attention, intelligence, performance motivation and social behavior developed significantly better in music students than in their peers who did not make music. From the results of the study it is possible to derive transfer effects that have so far hardly been considered, which can not only give new impulses to the school and education system, but also offer innovative solutions for many social problems.
Study joy of learning
The theses of the Munich scientists in the study A different tone - the Hofer model show innovative ways in which urgent social problems can be solved meaningfully in the long term through systematic music education. For this reason, the culture and education company Hofer Symphoniker has had a scenario developed by Michael von Brück as a practical consequence of the study Joy of Learning , in which the new findings flow - with all the social consequences that result for education and school. Increased musical training at kindergartens and schools should make life easier for future generations.
Hofer Symphoniker Foundation
In December 1999 the Hofer Symphoniker Foundation was established. It is the first foundation in Germany that works exclusively for the benefit of an orchestra. The culture and education company Hofer Symphoniker reacted early on to the increasingly difficult financial situation of the public sector. The Hofer Symphoniker Foundation is a new way of securing the long-term existence of the cultural company. It offers the economy and citizens the opportunity to do more for a large and important cultural institution in their home town and region.
Awards
- In 2004, Federal President Johannes Rau honored the youth work of the Hof Symphony Orchestra and its orchestra's own music school with the Inventio 2004 prize .
- In 2005 the Hof Symphony Orchestra received an award from the national initiative Germany - Land of Ideas as one of the 365 representative locations in the Land of Ideas . The Hofer Symphoniker are exemplary for outstanding ideas in Germany.
- In 2006 the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich awarded the Friedrich Baur Prize 2006 for music to the Hof Symphony Orchestra.
- On October 17, 2010, the culture and education company Hofer Symphoniker was awarded the jury's special prize for promoting young talent in the field of classical music as part of the ECHO Klassik .
- In November 2010, the company received the 2010 Culture Prize from the Bavarian State Foundation .
- In 2011 the company was awarded the Bavarian Culture Prize of E.ON Bayern AG .
- In April 2016, the culture and education company Hofer Symphoniker received the Bavarian Home State Prize from the Bavarian Minister of Home Affairs, Markus Söder .
literature
- Ludger Stühlmeyer , Hof Symphony Orchestra . In: Curia sonans. The music history of the city of Hof. A study on the culture of Upper Franconia. From the foundation of the Bamberg diocese to the present . Phil. Diss., Bayerische Verlagsanstalt Bamberg 2010, ISBN 978-3-89889-155-4 , pp. 277ff.
- Inka Stampfl, Hof Symphony Orchestra. Portrait of an extraordinary music company , Hof 1995.