Württemberg Philharmonic Reutlingen
The Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen (WPR) is a symphony orchestra based in Reutlingen .
With currently 66 posts it is an orchestra of tariff group B . The WPR has three major concert series in Reutlingen: the symphony concerts, the factory concerts and the matinées in the studio. There are also various special concerts and children and family concerts.
Most of the concerts take place outside of Reutlingen, for example on tours through Japan, Hungary / Austria or Switzerland.
history
The WPR was founded in 1945 as the “Reutlingen Municipal Symphony Orchestra” under Hans Grischkat , the director of the Reutlingen Singing Circle. In 1949 the orchestra was renamed "Schwäbisches Symphonieorchester eV" and Wernerülle was appointed managing director. Due to the wide popularity of the Reutlingen population, the concerts were always well attended from the start. In the 1959/60 season the orchestra played in front of an audience of 98,000. In 1974 the orchestra under Dimitri Agrafiotis organized the first children's concert, two years later a student concert.
To this day, the WPR is intensely committed to the next generation of listeners and has around 8,000 children and young people annually. Since May 1983 the orchestra has been called "Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen". In 1998, the WPR was one of the first orchestras in Germany to be converted into a legal foundation under civil law .
particularities
To alleviate the orchestra's financial distress in the post-war years, concerts were organized for which local businesses bought larger ticket contingents for their employees. On January 31, 1949, the first “popular concert for Reutlingen companies” took place. These so-called “Werkkonzerte” exist to this day in the form of a series of concerts with a higher proportion of light music and crossover projects.
General Music Directors
- Hans Grischkat (1945–1950)
- Rudolf Kloiber (1951–1959)
- Hans-Jürgen Walther (1959–1968)
- Dimitri Agrafiotis (1968–1978)
- Samuel Friedmann (1979–1983)
- Klaus Nagora, acting head (1983–1985)
- Salvador Mas i Conde (1985–1991)
- Roberto Paternostro (1991-2000)
- Norichika Iimori (2001-2007)
- Ola Rudner (2008-2017)
- Fawzi Haimor (since 2017)
literature
- Sautter, Klaus (ed.), "Festschrift for the 50th anniversary", Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen, 1995.