Philharmonic Orchestra Erfurt

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The old Erfurt opera house , seat and venue of the orchestra from 1894–1997

The Erfurt Philharmonic Orchestra is a German theater and symphony orchestra founded in 1894 and based in Erfurt . It has been called the "Erfurt Philharmonic Orchestra" since 1981.

profile

Historically and organizationally, the orchestra is closely linked to the Erfurt Theater , which is run by the city of Erfurt as the city's own directing company. It has 59 posts and belongs to TVK category B / F. In addition to participating in operas, operettas, musicals and the cathedral stage festival , it organizes ten symphony concerts and one open air event at the Krämerbrückenfest per season . Musicians of the orchestra also take part in the "Philharmonic Chamber Concerts " organized by the Erfurt Chamber Music Association in the Erfurt Town Hall , as well as in concerts by the Erfurt Salon Orchestra .

history

Organized bourgeois musical life in Erfurt began in 1826 with the establishment of a music association, which gradually developed into a choral society, an orchestra for lovers and a string quartet.

The Erfurt Orchestra was founded as a professional company in 1894 in connection with the establishment of a permanent and independently operating three-part theater, the " Stadttheater " in Erfurt. Two years earlier, the city had taken over the Erfurt Opera House , initially operated as a private guest theater in 1877 , and converted it into a music theater with 1,025 seats.

After the First World War and the inflation in 1923 , the city took over the financial security of the opera house and thus also the orchestra. The stage was expanded structurally in the following years and additional rehearsal rooms were created. In February 1933 the orchestra took part in the world premiere of Kurt Weill's play Der Silbersee .

After the seizure of power , the city theater was renamed "Deutsches Volks-Theater". The city still remembers the death sentence on December 14, 1944 for the orchestra musician Ernst Fink for “ decomposing military strength ” because he is said to have cut up two pictures of the “Führer”.

The opera house remained undestroyed during the Second World War and resumed theater as early as 1945. A year later, the Erfurt Chamber Music Association was founded out of the orchestra, with Kurt Kunert as chairman. Moving the play into its own building made it possible to rename the city theater to “Opera House” and to enlarge the “Orchester der Stadt Bühnen Erfurt”. 1951–53 Kurt Masur was the orchestra's first conductor under Franz Jung . In 1958 Ude Nissen from Leipzig came to Erfurt as musical director and became general music director the following year . The focus remained on musical theater, alongside classical operas and operettas, there was also participation in musicals such as Porgy and Bess , West Side Story and Cabaret . There were also regular symphony and chamber concerts. In 1969 the Erfurt Chamber Orchestra was founded out of the orchestra and led by violinist Margit Börner . In April 1981 the former "Orchestra of the Erfurt Municipal Theaters" was renamed "Erfurt Philharmonic Orchestra" in a ceremony.

Wolfgang Rögner succeeded Nissen in 1988. The orchestra had around 80 posts at the time. After 1989/90 the orchestra made guest appearances in Konstanz , Munich , Bregenz , Linz and several times in the Tonhalle Zurich . In 1992, the Philharmonic Festival was launched on the occasion of the 1250th anniversary of the city of Erfurt . In 1994 the orchestra took part in the newly founded Domstufen Festival for the first time. At the same time, the number of posts was reduced from 80 to 59 and the company was converted into a GmbH, which was reversed in 1998. One focus of the concert planning was the choral symphony with performances of Joseph Haydn's Creation , Ralph Vaughan Williams ' A Sea Symphony and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Requiem . The soloists of the symphony concerts included u. a. Giora Feidman .

In 2000 Walter Gugerbauer was appointed as the new general music director. By cultivating the traditional classical and romantic repertoire in particular, he was able to increase the quality of the orchestra. In 2003 the orchestra moved to the newly built Theater im Brühl . There, under the leadership of the artistic director Guy Montavon, a new focus was placed on the staging of great operas from the baroque to the modern . On December 21, 2010, Gugerbauer announced that he would not extend his contract in Erfurt.

In September 2012 there was public criticism of the intention of the theater and the city of Erfurt to fill the vacant position of general music director without a public advertisement. In the summer of 2013, Joana Mallwitz was hired as the new general music director.

Recordings

Awards

Chief Conductors / General Music Directors

Sources and web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Frauke Adrians: Retreat , Thüringer Allgemeine , Erfurt, December 21, 2010
  2. ↑ Birgit Kummer: General Music Director should start in August 2013 , Thüringer Allgemeine, Erfurt, September 29, 2012
  3. ↑ Ursula Mielke: Joana Mallwitz becomes the new general music director in Erfurt , Thüringer Allgemeine, Erfurt, July 2, 2013