Musikkollegium Winterthur

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The town house in Winterthur, where the orchestra gives 40 concerts a year
Hermann Scherchen, under whose direction the orchestra became known throughout Europe

The Musikkollegium Winterthur is a professional Swiss symphony orchestra and one of the oldest music institutions in Europe. The orchestra gives around 70 concerts a year, 40 of them in the Winterthur town hall . In addition to the works of the 20th century, the focus of his repertoire is on the Classical and Romantic periods .

history

The Musikkollegium itself was founded in 1629 by clergyman Hans Heinrich Meyer and at that time had the goal of promoting church singing. At the beginning the music society consisted of around 30 to 40 people, the criteria for admission included a good voice and command of an instrument. The proportion of the Sulzers, Hegners and Steiners (the three most famous families of Winterthur at that time) and the clergy, which only declined in the 18th century, was striking. At the beginning the music college attended the services as a closed group. The focus of music also changed from church to instrumental music in the 18th century.

The orchestra was founded in 1875 by the conductor and then director of the Musikkollegium Georg Wilhelm Rauchenecker as the Stadtorchester Winterthur . In the first half of the 20th century, the city orchestra was then supported primarily by the patron Werner Reinhart and subsequently made famous across Europe under the conductor Hermann Scherchen . More than 120 world premieres date from this period; composers such as Hindemith , Honegger , Schoeck , Schönberg , Strauss , Stravinsky and Webern wrote pieces for the city orchestra. Today's Winterthur Oratorio Choir (before 2004 the Winterthur Mixed Choir ) has existed since 1874 and supports the city orchestra in oratorios , masses , passions and other large choral works.

In 2000 the Stadtorchester Winterthur was renamed the Musikkollegium Winterthur in order to return to its origins.

present

Today, around 50 musicians from over 20 nations are performing under the direction of their chief conductor Thomas Zehetmair as well as with numerous guest conductors, including Michael Sanderling , Mario Venzago , Heinz Holliger , Jac van Steen and Wladimir Fedossejew , to name just a few. Internationally sought-after soloists such as Sol Gabetta , Yuja Wang , Ian Bostridge , Sir András Schiff , Nelson Freire , Kit Armstrong , Teo Gheorghiu , Regula Mühlemann , Maurice Steger and Andreas Ottensamer perform regularly with the Musikkollegium Winterthur and appreciate continuous collaboration.

In addition, the Musikkollegium Winterthur always comes up with unconventional concert formats: first and foremost the annual Classic Openair in Winterthur's Rychenbergpark. The Musikkollegium Winterthur is also regularly invited to guest appearances in Switzerland and abroad and has a fruitful collaboration with the Zurich Opera House and the Winterthur Theater for opera productions. Numerous CD recordings, some of which have won prizes, including a cycle with all of the piano concertos and symphonies by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, testify to the high artistic standing of the Winterthur Music College.

Youth work

The Musikkollegium Winterthur has a strong commitment to children and young people. With its exemplary youth work, the Musikkollegium Winterthur has achieved a pioneering role in this area in recent years, for which it has already received several awards. The youth operas Fealan (2009), Das Verbotene Land (2012) and Drachencamping (2017), which were composed entirely by children, were very successful.

Conductors

Awards

  • 1975: Culture Prize of the City of Winterthur
  • 2008: Prize of the German Record Critics in the "Lied Einspielung" category together with Christianne Stotijn
  • 2011: ECHO Klassik in the "Concert Recording" category of 19th century music (organ)
  • 2013: ECHO Klassik in the “Concert Recording” category of 20th century music

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Andreas Wolfensberger, Martin Gmür: Winterthur. Zurich 1996, ISBN 3-905111-09-8 , p. 51.
  2. ↑ Michelle Ziegler: Thomas Zehetmair at the Musikkollegium Winterthur. The violinist who beats the beat. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . September 14, 2016.