Staatskapelle Weimar
Encyclopedia
The Deutsche Nationaltheater and Staatskapelle Weimar (DNT) is the most important musical and theatrical venue in Weimar
Weimar
Weimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It is a twin institution, consisting of the theatrical Deutsches Nationaltheater (German National Theatre, now solely based in Weimar) and the symphony orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
known as the Staatskapelle Weimar. It has a total of six stages across the city and also hosts touring orchestras and theatre companies from the German-speaking world, as well as making appearances in electronic media.
Venues
- the Main House or große haus, its traditional main stage on Theaterplatz (music and theatre)
- two additional venues, foyer I and foyer III, within the main house on Theaterplatz (music and theatre; cabaretCabaretCabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
) - two additional venues at e-werk Weimar, a former industrial site (music and theatre)
- the congresscentrum neue weimarhalle (concerts by the Staatskapelle Weimar)
The Staatskapelle Weimar
History
The precursor ensemble of Staatskapelle Weimar dates from 1482, with the formation of a musical ensemble in service of the Weimar FürstFürst
Fürst is a German title of nobility, usually translated into English as Prince.The term refers to the head of a principality and is distinguished from the son of a monarch, who is referred to as Prinz...
en (Prince). In 1602, the ensemble attained resident status at the Weimar court, as the Herzoglichen Hofkapelle (Ducal
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
Court Ensemble
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
). Notable musicians in the early history of the Staatskapelle Weimar included Johann Schein
Johann Schein
Johann Hermann Schein was a German composer of the early Baroque era. He was born in Grünhain and died in Leipzig...
(1615–1616) and Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
(1705, 1708–1717), both from the St. Thomas Church, Leipzig. Bach particularly worked as resident organist and Kapellmeister
Kapellmeister
Kapellmeister is a German word designating a person in charge of music-making. The word is a compound, consisting of the roots Kapelle and Meister . The words Kapelle and Meister derive from the Latin: capella and magister...
.
Johann Nepomuk Hummel
Johann Nepomuk Hummel
Johann Nepomuk Hummel or Jan Nepomuk Hummel was an Austrian composer and virtuoso pianist. His music reflects the transition from the Classical to the Romantic musical era.- Life :...
served as the ensemble's Kapellmeister from 1819 to 1837, on the appointment by the Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna. Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
began his tenure as Kapellmeister in 1842, and championed the music of Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
, Hector Berlioz
Hector Berlioz
Hector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer, best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Grande messe des morts . Berlioz made significant contributions to the modern orchestra with his Treatise on Instrumentation. He specified huge orchestral forces for some of his works; as a...
, Peter Cornelius
Peter Cornelius
Carl August Peter Cornelius was a German composer, writer about music, poet and translator. He was born and died in Mainz where his grave in the Hauptfriedhof survives....
. Through this and his teaching activities, Liszt enhanced the prestige of Weimar as a musical hub, notably conducting the world premieres of Wagner's Lohengrin
Lohengrin (opera)
Lohengrin is a romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner, first performed in 1850. The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach and its sequel, Lohengrin, written by a different author, itself...
in 1850 and Cornelius’s Der Barbier von Bagdad
Der Barbier von Bagdad
Der Barbier von Bagdad is a comic opera in two acts by Peter Cornelius to a German libretto by the composer, based on The Tale of the Tailor and The Barber’s Stories of his Six Brothers in A Thousand and One Nights...
in 1858.
After Liszt left in 1858, he was succeeded by Eduard Lassen
Eduard Lassen
Eduard Lassen was a Belgian composer and conductor of Danish birth who spent most of his career working as the music director at the court in Weimar. A moderately prolific composer, Lassen produced music in a variety of genres including operas, symphonic works, piano works, lieder, and choral...
who remained as director until his retirement in 1895. Lassen conducted several world premieres during his tenure, including the first performance of Camille Saint-Saëns
Camille Saint-Saëns
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony...
's Samson et Dalila
Samson and Delilah (opera)
Samson and Delilah , Op. 47, is a grand opera in three acts and four scenes by Camille Saint-Saëns to a French libretto by Ferdinand Lemaire...
in 1877. Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
served as second Kapellmeister under Lassen from 1889 to 1894 and led the premieres of his own Guntram
Guntram (opera)
Guntram is an opera in three acts by Richard Strauss with a German libretto written by the composer.It was Strauss' first opera and shows a strong Wagnerian influence. The music of Guntram is quoted in Strauss's tone-poem Ein Heldenleben...
and Engelbert Humperdinck
Engelbert Humperdinck
Engelbert Humperdinck was a German composer, best known for his opera, Hänsel und Gretel. Humperdinck was born at Siegburg in the Rhine Province; at the age of 67 he died in Neustrelitz, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.-Life:After receiving piano lessons, Humperdinck produced his first composition...
's Hänsel und Gretel.
Peter Raabe
Peter Raabe
Peter Raabe was a German composer and conductor. Graduated in the Higher Musical School in Berlin and in the universities of Munich and Jena. In 1894-98 Raabe worked in Königsberg and Zwickau. In 1899-1903 he worked in the Dutch Opera-House . In 1907-20 Raabe was the 1st Court Conductor in Weimar...
became Kapellmeister in 1907. With the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and the dismantling of the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
, the ensemble was renamed the Weimar Staatskapelle. Ernst Praetorius directed concert and opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
programming from 1924 to 1933. Because his wife was Jewish, Praetorius left the post after the National Socialists ascended to power in Germany in 1933. Paul Sixt directed activities there during the Nazi regime.
After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the end of the Nazi regime, Hermann Abendroth
Hermann Abendroth
Hermann Paul Maximilian Abendroth was a German conductor.-Early life:Abendroth was born on 19 January 1883, at Frankfurt, Germany, belonging to a family which had already produced other artistic figures of divers disciplines...
became Generalmusikdirektor (GMD) and chief conductor of the ensemble, serving from 1945 to 1956. Successive GMD's of the ensemble have included Gerhard Pflüger (1957–1973), Lothar Seyfarth (1973–1979), Rolf Reuter (1979–1980), Peter Gülke (1981–1982), Hans-Peter Frank (1988–1996), George Alexander Albrecht
George Alexander Albrecht
George Alexander Albrecht is a German conductor. His brother Ernst Albrecht is a politician. His son is the conductor Marc Albrecht....
(1996–2002), Jac van Steen
Jac van Steen
Jac van Steen is a Dutch conductor. He studied music theory, as well as orchestral and choral conducting, at the Brabants Conservatory of Music....
(2002–2005) and Carl St.Clair
Carl St.Clair
Carl Ray St.Clair is an American conductor.St.Clair attended the University of Texas. He later studied conducting with Gustav Meier at the University of Michigan and Leonard Bernstein at Tanglewood...
(2005-2008). Oleg Caetani
Oleg Caetani
Oleg Caetani is a conductor of Ukrainian and Italian descent. He is the son of Igor Markevitch and Donna Topazia Caetani, Markevitch's second wife, who is descended from a Roman family that included the early 14th-century Pope Boniface VIII. Caetani has chosen to use his mother's family name to...
was principal guest conductor of the ensemble from 1984 to 1987. The ensemble was officially renamed the Staatskapelle Weimar in 1988.
In September 2009, the Swedish conductor Stefan Solyom
Stefan Solyom
Stefan Solyom is a Swedish conductor and composer. He is the nephew of the pianist János Solyom.Solyom studied horn and conducting at the Royal College of Music, Stockholm and the Sibelius Academy. His conducting teachers included Jorma Panula and Leif Segerstam...
became GMD of the ensemble. His initial contract is for 5 years.
General Music Directors
- Hermann AbendrothHermann AbendrothHermann Paul Maximilian Abendroth was a German conductor.-Early life:Abendroth was born on 19 January 1883, at Frankfurt, Germany, belonging to a family which had already produced other artistic figures of divers disciplines...
(1945–1956) - Gerhard Pflüger (1957–1973)
- Lothar Seyfarth (1973–1979)
- Rolf Reuter (1979–1980)
- Peter Gülke (1981–1982)
- Hans-Peter Frank (1988–1996)
- George Alexander AlbrechtGeorge Alexander AlbrechtGeorge Alexander Albrecht is a German conductor. His brother Ernst Albrecht is a politician. His son is the conductor Marc Albrecht....
(1996–2002) - Jac van SteenJac van SteenJac van Steen is a Dutch conductor. He studied music theory, as well as orchestral and choral conducting, at the Brabants Conservatory of Music....
(2002–2005) - Carl St.ClairCarl St.ClairCarl Ray St.Clair is an American conductor.St.Clair attended the University of Texas. He later studied conducting with Gustav Meier at the University of Michigan and Leonard Bernstein at Tanglewood...
(2005–2008) - Stefan SolyomStefan SolyomStefan Solyom is a Swedish conductor and composer. He is the nephew of the pianist János Solyom.Solyom studied horn and conducting at the Royal College of Music, Stockholm and the Sibelius Academy. His conducting teachers included Jorma Panula and Leif Segerstam...
(2009-present)
The Deutsche Nationaltheater and Staatskapelle Weimar (DNT) is the most important musical and theatrical venue in Weimar
Weimar
Weimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It is a twin institution, consisting of the theatrical Deutsches Nationaltheater (German National Theatre, now solely based in Weimar) and the symphony orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
known as the Staatskapelle Weimar. It has a total of six stages across the city and also hosts touring orchestras and theatre companies from the German-speaking world, as well as making appearances in electronic media.
Venues
- the Main House or große haus, its traditional main stage on Theaterplatz (music and theatre)
- two additional venues, foyer I and foyer III, within the main house on Theaterplatz (music and theatre; cabaretCabaretCabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
) - two additional venues at e-werk Weimar, a former industrial site (music and theatre)
- the congresscentrum neue weimarhalle (concerts by the Staatskapelle Weimar)
