IG Wismut orchestra
The IG Wismut orchestra, based in Chemnitz, or from 1950 to 1990 Karl-Marx-Stadt, was a leading professional orchestra in the GDR in the field of symphonic light music . The orchestra was supported by the industrial union (IG) Wismut .
history
Originating from the Wolfgang Grellmann dance orchestra , which is regionally important in the Chemnitz area , the IG Wismut orchestra was founded in 1950 with the primary goal of providing relaxation and entertainment to the miners working in uranium mining of the SAG Wismut (later SDAG Wismut) and their relatives.
In the course of the peaceful revolution in 1989 and the social and structural upheavals that went with it, the SDAG Wismut was dissolved and the orchestra came under the new name of the State Orchestra of Saxony in 1990 under the sponsorship of the city of Chemnitz. In 1993 the orchestra was dissolved. The remaining musicians found a new artistic home with the Riesa Symphony Orchestra (today: Elbland Philharmonie Sachsen ) and the orchestra of the Freiberg Theater (today: Central Saxon Philharmonic).
Venues
The performance areas were mainly the southern districts of the GDR, Dresden , Gera and Chemnitz with their mining locations, such as Aue , Schlema and Stollberg . There were also regular series of concerts in the city hall of Chemnitz , in Eisenhüttenstadt , Gera , Crimmitschau , Bad Elster , Zwickau , Freiberg and in the Wismut-Kurbad Warmbad . Traditionally, the orchestra stayed twice a year for several weeks at spa concerts in the Wismut spa in Zinnowitz on the Baltic Sea . The orchestra's area of responsibility also included organizing major events in the district cities of the GDR and Berlin . An important focus of the orchestra's activities were appearances on television in the GDR as well as recordings for radio, television and film. For years, the orchestra played live in the television programs Between Breakfast and Roast Goose and Small Premiere . The orchestra was a permanent guest in the recording studios of the GDR radio in Nalepastrasse in Berlin and in Springerstrasse in Leipzig .
repertoire
The repertoire of the IG Wismut orchestra encompassed the entire spectrum of so-called “ upscale popular music”, that is, music that is stylistically positioned between the pure dance music of the big bands and the operetta . Concerts with operetta and musical melodies were played , which were dressed in contemporary clothing with the help of excellent arrangers such as Heinz Rudolph , Günter Joseck (chief conductor of the orchestra from 1967 to 1982), Gerhard Kneifel or Manfred Grafe (chief conductor of the orchestra from 1987 to 1993) . For example, slightly outdated operetta hits were underlaid with modern dance rhythms at the time. The result was a sound typical of the IG Wismut orchestra, which connoisseurs recognized immediately when listening to recordings. The creation of this special sound was supported by a legendary disciplined way of making music, which arose, among other things, from the cultivated playing of the orchestra's soloists and set leaders, which was still the school of the famous big bands and dance orchestras of the post-war period (for example the Karl Walter orchestra, which was known in the Chemnitz area , from which the later famous trumpet soloist Horst Fischer came). Contemporaries characterize the IG Wismut orchestra as one of the very few orchestras in the GDR that had its own, recognizable sound. In addition to this “upscale popular music”, opera concerts were also given, for example in Crimmitschau , where this was repeatedly requested by the audience. On festive occasions, “light” classical music was also played, such as smaller symphonies and overtures . There has been a fruitful collaboration over the years with the Singakademie Chemnitz , which culminated in several performances of Carmina Burana under the direction of Franz-Peter Müller-Sybel . In addition, in the earlier years there was regular play for dance and dance tournaments .
Aftermath
The work of the IG Wismut orchestra is gratefully remembered by the many people in the new federal states , whom it had brought joy and entertainment over decades. Colleagues, singers who were accompanied by him, but also musicians who made music with him, are still praised today for the joy of playing, the discipline and the culture of playing that was displayed when recording.
List of conductors
- Wolfgang Grellmann 1950–1961
- Rolf Schellenberg 1961–1965
- Günter Blumhagen 1965–1967 and 1982–1987
- Günter Joseck 1967–1982
- Manfred Grafe 1987-1993
literature
- Karl-Peter Fleischer: The IG Wimut orchestra and its conductors . Self-published, Chemnitz 2009, ISBN 978-3-00-026661-4 .
- Helmut Steffens: Music country GDR . Verlag Neue Musik, Berlin 1977, DNB 790027275 .