German State Philharmonic of Rhineland-Palatinate

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Philharmonie in Ludwigshafen (administration, rehearsal and concert building)

The German State Philharmonic of Rhineland-Palatinate is the largest and leading symphony orchestra in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate and is based in Ludwigshafen am Rhein . She gives concerts in Rhineland-Palatinate as well as in Germany and abroad.

The orchestra has 87 musicians from 16 nations (as of the 2018/2019 season). Karl-Heinz Steffens was the chief conductor until the 2017/2018 season . For the 2019/2020 anniversary season, Michael Francis became the orchestra's chief conductor.

Michael Kaufmann was artistic director from 2011 to 2018 , and Beat Fehlmann took over the orchestra’s directorship on September 1, 2018 .

Historical review

In 1919 an orchestral association was founded in Landau (Palatinate), consisting of representatives of several Palatinate cities, music associations and private patrons, the "Landes-Sinfonie-Orchester für Pfalz und Saarland". After the inflation in 1923, the orchestra had to be renovated and converted into a GmbH. The “Landes-Sinfonie-Orchester” became the “Pfalzorchester” based in Ludwigshafen am Rhein. The restructuring initiated a phase of artistic success. Musicians of international renown came to Ludwigshafen as soloists and conductors. a. the violinists Adolf Busch and Georg Kulenkampff , also conductors such as Hermann Abendroth and Richard Strauss . In 1933 the name was changed to "Saarpfalzorchester" in the course of a new distribution of tasks, and from 1941 to "Landessymphonieorchester Westmark" until the war-related termination of performance in 1944.

Soon after the end of the war, the orchestra was reorganized and a renewed artistic boom began - from 1967 under the name “Philharmonic Orchestra of the Palatinate”. Instead of the orchestra association, the state of Rhineland-Palatinate took over the sponsorship in 1974 - with the corresponding change of the orchestra name to "Palatinate Philharmonic, State Orchestra Rhineland-Palatinate". After the departure of conductor Christoph Stepp, who had been in charge since 1960, after a brief interregnum in 1978/1979, with the appointment of Christoph Eschenbach as artistic director, the orchestra operations were further consolidated under the name of the State Philharmonic of Rhineland-Palatinate , as previously under the sponsorship of the federal state of Rhineland - Palatinate.

Eschenbach intensified contacts with international celebrities, followed from 1983 by the conductor Leif Segerstam with concert performances of operas (Ludwigshafen does not have its own opera company), highly regarded world premieres of works of new music and the further expansion of orchestral guest performances, for example to Russia and to England. In 1985, still in Segerstam's time, the orchestra moved into its new domicile - the Philharmonie in Ludwigshafen am Rhein.

From 1992 Bernhard Klee intensified his commitment to works of new music as orchestra leader , after him, from 1997, Theodor Guschlbauer , who as "Palatinate General Music Director" trained his Philharmonic to become internationally recognized versatility. On January 1, 1998, the State Philharmonic of Rhineland-Palatinate was finally converted into a state company.

After Theodor Guschlbauer left in the summer of 2001, the following season had to be bridged by the engagement of guest conductors. From 2002 to 2009 the Finn Ari Rasilainen was chief conductor of the orchestra. The French-American George Pehlivanian, born in Beirut, was the first guest conductor from 2002 to 2012 .

Since January 1, 2007, the orchestra has been called the German State Philharmonic of Rhineland-Palatinate .

From August 2009 until the end of the 2017/2018 season, Karl-Heinz Steffens directed the artistic fortunes of the orchestra as General Music Director. For the first time as GMD he stood at the podium on September 14, 2009 in the Art Nouveau festival hall in Landau on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the State Philharmonic. In 2019, the Briton Michael Francis, with a five-year contract, became the orchestra's chief conductor.

Range of activities

Building view from the northeast

The orchestra plays around 100 public concerts per season. As a state orchestra, the German State Philharmonic of Rhineland-Palatinate is particularly present in the southern part of Rhineland-Palatinate and the extended Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region . With a subscription you can regularly experience the State Philharmonic, including a. at the Philharmonic Concerts in the Ludwigshafener Pfalzbau , the Mannheim Master Concerts in the Rosengarten , at the concert series of the city of Ludwigshafen and BASF SE as well as at the Mainz Master Concerts in the Mainz Rheingoldhalle , the State Theater Mainz or, since the season 15/16, at the Heidelberg Master Concerts in the Heidelberg city hall . New series and projects sharpen the profile of the orchestra, such as the three-year cycle “Bruckner in the Cathedrals of Rhineland-Palatinate”, the series KathedralKänge as well as all Bruckner symphonies in the four large domes as part of the cultural summer of Rhineland-Palatinate des Landes - Speyer, Worms, Trier and Mainz - to perform. The aim of the new concert series REBELLION IN QUADRAT, which combines compositions from the Mannheim School with works by the “Karlsruhe School” around Wolfgang Rihm, is to spark the spark between old and new. “The world is never enough” - this is the motto under which the Modern Times music festival, which spans all styles and cities, has been tracking down places of longing in music since 2013. Under the direction of chief conductor Karl-Heinz Steffens, Modern Times takes place across cities in joint cooperation between the State Philharmonic and the Mannheim Capitol . The program is supplemented by guest concerts in the renowned concert halls in Germany, among others. a. in the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden , Konzerthaus Dortmund , Tonhalle Düsseldorf , Philharmonie Essen , Frankfurt Alte Oper and invitations to numerous festivals. The orchestra is also on tour and has recently played in South America, China, Finland, Spain and Austria. In the 2010/2011 season, the State Philharmonic performed for the first time in the USA and gave 13 concerts along the American east coast.

The State Philharmonic maintains an intensive preoccupation with film music and silent films, initiated by the close collaboration with the conductor Frank Strobel and the establishment of the European Film Philharmonic . In June 2009 the orchestra recorded the music for the Sönke Wortmann film Die Päpstin, which has meanwhile received international awards .

In addition, the German State Philharmonic of Rhineland-Palatinate regularly realizes ambitious projects, such as the “RING Halle Ludwigshafen” on the initiative of General Music Director Karl-Heinz Steffens on the occasion of Richard Wagner's 200th birthday . It is a new production of the " Ring des Nibelungen " (staging and equipment by Hansgünther Heyme , coproduction of the Halle Opera and the Theater im Pfalzbau Ludwigshafen in cooperation with the German State Philharmonic of Rhineland-Palatinate). The individual parts of the opera tetralogy were played from 2010, followed by an en-suite performance of the entire work in 2013.

Regular concert recordings by Südwestrundfunk and Deutschlandradio Kultur as well as a large number of CD productions, etc. a. for the labels cpo , Claves Records and Sony Classical , complete the extensive range of activities of the German State Philharmonic of Rhineland-Palatinate. In January 2014 a multi-year collaboration with the CD label Capriccio began under the title Modern Times in cooperation with Deutschlandradio Kultur.

Concert pedagogy

Every season several thousand children and young people come into contact with classical music through the educational activities of the German State Philharmonic. The range of education activities is wide: crawling and children's concerts, concerts for pregnant and breastfeeding women, an interactive website, instrument presentations in the KlangReich, in schools and kindergartens, guided rehearsal visits (audio guides) and a sponsorship with the Erich Kästner School in Ludwigshafen . The pioneering and multiple award-winning DVD orchestral expedition gives an overview of the structure and functionality of an orchestra and the various groups of instruments. Andrea Apostoli, who has been concert pedagogy advisor to the Staatsphilharmonie since the 2014/15 season, has not only come up with new concert formats for the youngest, but also focuses on promoting the orchestra's musicians and multipliers with a special training program in the field of concert pedagogy.

Award

Chief conductor since the orchestra was founded

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ VRM GmbH & Co. KG: Future State Philharmonic Director Beat Fehlmann has to increase the workload. Retrieved November 21, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Michael Francis becomes chief conductor of the State Philharmonic of Rhineland-Palatinate. In: Music Today. December 6, 2018, accessed April 22, 2020 .
  3. ↑ interactive website
  4. ↑ Echoklassik.de Klassik Prize Winner 2014 ( Memento from January 21, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on October 26, 2014
  5. ↑ echoklassik.de - Prize Winners 2015 ( Memento from September 19, 2015 in the web archive archive.today )
  6. ↑ Best concert program. Retrieved October 19, 2018 .
  7. ↑ OPUS KLASSIK. Retrieved on October 19, 2018 (German).