Royal Chapel Copenhagen

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Royal Chapel Copenhagen
The opera in summer 2014
The opera in summer 2014
General information
Genre (s) Classical music , opera , ballet
founding 1448 as trumpeter corps Christian I.
Website http://theworldsoldestorchestra.com/

The Royal Chapel Copenhagen , Danish Det Kongelige Kapel ( English The Royal Danish Orchestra ) is a leading symphony orchestra . It is the oldest orchestra in the world and the largest Danish orchestra with 120 musicians .

The orchestra, which has existed since 1448, is based in Copenhagen . It plays opera and concerts both in one of the most modern opera houses in the world, the Royal Opera ( Danish Operaen ) on the island of Holmen in Copenhagen and in the Old Opera House, which was opened in this form after the example of the Opéra Garnier in Paris in 1874. Both houses are the Danish National Opera . Institutionally, the orchestra is part of the Royal Theater .

history

The oldest orchestra in the world was initially founded by King Christian I as a trumpet corps. Christian IV hired the famous lutenist and composer John Dowland (member No. 140) for his court music and he composed important works for the court. This king also sent his choristers to Venice for training with Giovanni Gabrieli . In 1634 he received - because of his marriage to the Saxon Princess Magdalena Sibylla - Heinrich Schütz (No. 259) as Kapellmeister and court composer as a "loan" from the Saxon King Johann Georg I. According to Schütz 'own words, he composed "some of his best pieces" for the King of Denmark.

1665 can be seen as a turning point in court music, when Friedrich III. hired the French violinist Pascal Bansse (No. 308) to modernize the chapel. The first independent opera house in Sophie Amalienborg burned down when it opened in 1689, and the new King Frederick IV decided in 1699 to have his fortress builder Dominicus Pelli build a new house in Bredgade . This went hand in hand with the substantial expansion of the orchestra around 1700. As the Dresden court music director Johann Gottlieb Naumann (No. 432) came to Copenhagen in 1786. He not only cultivated the predominant French music, but also put on the program alongside his own Italian music and was the first to consistently promote Danish musicians in the “Chapel of Lands Children”. He expanded the orchestra to the then unusual size of 45 musicians and founded the opera choir as a permanent ensemble. A separate orchestra school was founded around 1790, which became a model for many other orchestras in Europe. Johann Abraham Peter Schulz (No. 455) came to Copenhagen in 1787 as a conductor and court composer. In the eight years of its activity, Copenhagen finally grew to become the leading music city in Europe. In Schulz's time, the devastating fire of Christiansborg Palace in 1794, in which a large part of the music library and numerous instruments fell victim to the flames. Schulz and the clarinetist Joseph Rauch (No. 418) saved what they could. The castle fell victim to fires again in 1828 and 1884.

The opera Holger Danske by Friedrich Ludwig Æmilius Kunzen (No. 473) triggered a (verbal) revolution against German domination. Independently of this, the Allgemeine musical newspaper stated in 1815 about the Royal Chapel that it is "one of the best orchestras in Europe". The first conductor of the Royal Chapel who no longer conducted with the violin bow but with the baton was Claus Schall (No. 422). He fought for the orchestra to be independent. Composers like Christoph Willibald Gluck and Franz Xaver Neruda were drawn to Copenhagen. Mozart's widow wrote: “As far as the orchestra is concerned, Mozart's works are nowhere better performed than in this capital”. Holger Simon Pauli (No. 551) brought the first Wagner operas to Copenhagen: Lohengrin in 1870 , Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in 1872 and Tannhäuser in 1875 . Egisto Tango , who previously worked at Scala and the MET, brought the orchestra back to the center of music since he took office in 1931.

Many great musicians of their time were drawn to Copenhagen. Carl Maria von Weber had his Freischütz overture premiered here, as he preferred the quality of the Royal Chapel in Copenhagen to the Berlin court orchestra. Composers such as Niels Wilhelm Gade and Carl Nielsen (was a member for 16 years), as well as the composer of the famous romance Johan Svendsen , come from this orchestra. Jean Sibelius conducted the orchestra, as did Arnold Schönberg and Igor Stravinsky . The orchestra has had its own series of symphony concerts since 1788.

The members of the orchestra have been using the title "Königlicher Kapellmusicus" since 1842. All orchestra members and conductors are therefore also employees of the royal court. A list of all musicians goes back to the founding year 1448. Over 1,060 musicians have now been entered on this list. King Frederik IX conducted the orchestra herself and Queen Margrethe II is now often a guest of this orchestra, which owes its special sound to the continuation of a great tradition and also to a unique fund of valuable old Italian string instruments that today form the sound foundation of the orchestra. Among them are two Stradivari : the “Yoldi Moldenhauer” (1714) and the “Red Cross Knight” (1691).

Tours

The orchestra celebrated success on tours in Australia, the Baltic Republics, Germany, England, Finland, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Austria, and the USA.

Conductors

Ballet conductor

Important guest conductors

Honorary members of the Royal Chapel

CD / DVD (selection)

Varia

Many musicians in the Royal Band take care of the training of the next generation of musicians and organize numerous musical activities for children. Major chamber music ensembles have emerged from the ranks of the Royal Chapel: in 1892 the Vikkelsöe string quintet, in 1909 the brass quartet "Ramsøe" was founded, since 1903 the wind quintet, in 1924 the Thorvald Nielsen quartet was founded. 1935 the Carlo Andersen Quartet, 1943 the Chamber Quintet, 1945 the Koppel Quartet, 1950 the Danish Quartet, 1956 the Royal Wind Instruments Quintet, 1957 the Copenhagen String Quartet, 1973 the Dania Quartet, 1974 the "Violon Band" on historical instruments, The Royal Danish Brass was formed in 1977, the Copenhagen Chamber Trio in 1979, the Arild Quartet in 2008 and the Royal Danish Percussion Group in 2014. Mette Hanskov, double bass player in the Royal Orchestra, founded an audience orchestra with members aged 12–99.

literature

  • Troels Svendsen and Morgens Andresen: Royal Danish Orchestra - The World's Oldest Orchestral Institution. Gads Forlag, 2014, ISBN 978-87-12-05053-7
  • Axel Kjerulf, Kongelig Majestæts Musikanter. Boghallen, 1952.
  • Kyle J. Dzapo: Joachim Andersen: A Bio-Bibliography (Bio-Bibliographies in Music). Greenwood, 1999, ISBN 978-03-13-30889-5

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Double appointment at the Royal Danish Opera. Gramophone on May 22, 2012. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  2. ^ Katy Wright: Royal Danish Opera appoints Alexander Vedernikov as chief conductor. In: Rhinegold. November 25, 2016 (English).;