Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden
Encyclopedia
The Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden (Saxon State Orchestra, Dresden, commonly known as the Staatskapelle Dresden) is an orchestra
based in Dresden
, Germany
founded in 1548 by Kurfürst Moritz (Elector Moritz, or Maurice) of Saxony. It is one of the world's oldest orchestras. The precursor ensemble was Die Kurfürstlich-Sächsische und Königlich-Polnische Kapelle (The Saxony Elector and Royal Polish Chapel).
The orchestra is the musical body of the Sächsische Staatsoper (Saxon State Opera)
. Venue of the orchestra is the Semperoper
opera house.
was associated with it, and in the nineteenth century Carl Maria von Weber
and Richard Wagner
were both chief conductors.
In the twentieth century, Richard Strauss
became closely associated with the orchestra, as both a conductor and a composer, with several of his works being premiered by the ensemble. Karl Böhm
and Hans Vonk were notable among the orchestra's chief conductors in that they served as chief conductors of both the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden and the State Opera simultaneously. Herbert Blomstedt
was musical director of the Staatskapelle from 1975 to 1985.
was chief conductor from 1992 until his sudden death in 2001. In August 2002, Bernard Haitink
took up the post, until his resignation in 2004 over disputes with the Staatskapelle's Intendant, Gerd Uecker, on the orchestra's choice of successor. In August 2007 Fabio Luisi
began his tenure as chief conductor, having been named to the post in January 2004. He shared with Böhm and Vonk the historic distinction of being chief conductor of both the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden and the Sächsische Staatsoper simultaneously. Luisi was scheduled to step down as chief conductor in 2012, as of the October 2009 announcement of Christian Thielemann
as the orchestra's next chief conductor, effective with the 2012-2013 season. However, Luisi resigned from the Staatskapelle chief conductorship in February 2010, with immediate effect, after reports that the Staatskapelle's management had secured a contract with the ZDF
network for a scheduled televised concert on New Year's Eve, 2011, without consulting him at all in his capacity as the orchestra's GMD.
In 2007, the orchestra inaugurated the post of Capell-Compositeur or composer-in-residence, each appointed composer holding the post for one concert season. The first Capell-Compositeur was Isabel Mundry
. The current holder of the post is Johannes Maria Staud
. The orchestra has named Myung-Whun Chung
as its first-ever principal guest conductor, effective with the 2012-2013.
In April 2007, the European Cultural Foundation awarded the orchestra a prize "zur Bewahrung des musikalischen Weltkulturerbes" (for preservation of the world's musical heritage"). In June 2011, the orchestra was announced as the new resident orchestra of the Salzburg Easter Festival
, as of 2013.
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...
based in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, 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...
founded in 1548 by Kurfürst Moritz (Elector Moritz, or Maurice) of Saxony. It is one of the world's oldest orchestras. The precursor ensemble was Die Kurfürstlich-Sächsische und Königlich-Polnische Kapelle (The Saxony Elector and Royal Polish Chapel).
The orchestra is the musical body of the Sächsische Staatsoper (Saxon State Opera)
Semperoper
The Semperoper is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden and the concert hall of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden . It is located near the Elbe River in the historic center of Dresden, Germany.The opera house was originally built by the architect Gottfried Semper in 1841...
. Venue of the orchestra is the Semperoper
Semperoper
The Semperoper is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden and the concert hall of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden . It is located near the Elbe River in the historic center of Dresden, Germany.The opera house was originally built by the architect Gottfried Semper in 1841...
opera house.
History
The orchestra has had many eminent chief conductors. In its early years, Heinrich SchützHeinrich Schütz
Heinrich Schütz was a German composer and organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach and often considered to be one of the most important composers of the 17th century along with Claudio Monteverdi...
was associated with it, and in the nineteenth century Carl Maria von Weber
Carl Maria von Weber
Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber was a German composer, conductor, pianist, guitarist and critic, one of the first significant composers of the Romantic school....
and 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...
were both chief conductors.
In the twentieth century, 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...
became closely associated with the orchestra, as both a conductor and a composer, with several of his works being premiered by the ensemble. Karl Böhm
Karl Böhm
Karl August Leopold Böhm was an Austrian conductor. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century.- Education :...
and Hans Vonk were notable among the orchestra's chief conductors in that they served as chief conductors of both the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden and the State Opera simultaneously. Herbert Blomstedt
Herbert Blomstedt
Herbert Blomstedt is a Swedish conductor.Herbert Blomstedt was born in Springfield, Massachusetts and two years after his birth, his Swedish parents moved the family back to their country of origin...
was musical director of the Staatskapelle from 1975 to 1985.
Present
Giuseppe SinopoliGiuseppe Sinopoli
-Biography:Sinopoli was born in Venice, Italy, and later studied at the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory in Venice under Ernesto Rubin de Cervin and at Darmstadt, including being mentored in composition with Karlheinz Stockhausen...
was chief conductor from 1992 until his sudden death in 2001. In August 2002, Bernard Haitink
Bernard Haitink
Bernard Johan Herman Haitink, CH, KBE is a Dutch conductor and violinist.- Early life :Haitink was born in Amsterdam, the son of Willem Haitink and Anna Haitink. He studied music at the conservatoire in Amsterdam...
took up the post, until his resignation in 2004 over disputes with the Staatskapelle's Intendant, Gerd Uecker, on the orchestra's choice of successor. In August 2007 Fabio Luisi
Fabio Luisi
Fabio Luisi is an Italian conductor. On September 6, 2011, he was named Principal Conductor of the Metropolitan Opera....
began his tenure as chief conductor, having been named to the post in January 2004. He shared with Böhm and Vonk the historic distinction of being chief conductor of both the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden and the Sächsische Staatsoper simultaneously. Luisi was scheduled to step down as chief conductor in 2012, as of the October 2009 announcement of Christian Thielemann
Christian Thielemann
-Career:Thielemann studied viola and piano at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin and took private lessons in composition and conducting before becoming répétiteur aged 19 at the Deutsche Oper Berlin with Heinrich Hollreiser and working as Herbert von Karajan's assistant...
as the orchestra's next chief conductor, effective with the 2012-2013 season. However, Luisi resigned from the Staatskapelle chief conductorship in February 2010, with immediate effect, after reports that the Staatskapelle's management had secured a contract with the ZDF
ZDF
Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen , ZDF, is a public-service German television broadcaster based in Mainz . It is run as an independent non-profit institution, which was founded by the German federal states . The ZDF is financed by television licence fees called GEZ and advertising revenues...
network for a scheduled televised concert on New Year's Eve, 2011, without consulting him at all in his capacity as the orchestra's GMD.
In 2007, the orchestra inaugurated the post of Capell-Compositeur or composer-in-residence, each appointed composer holding the post for one concert season. The first Capell-Compositeur was Isabel Mundry
Isabel Mundry
-Biography:Isabel Mundry was born in Schlüchtern in 1963 and studied composition at the Hochschule der Künste and electronic music, musicology and history at the Berlin Technische Universität. From 1991 to 1994 she taught at the Hochschule der Künste Berlin and furthered her studies in Frankfurt...
. The current holder of the post is Johannes Maria Staud
Johannes Maria Staud
- Biography :Staud studied with, amongst others, Brian Ferneyhough and Michael Jarrell. He gained a publishing contract with Universal Edition in 2000, and since then has won numerous prizes, including a special music prize of the Austrian Republic , the composition award of the Salzburg Easter...
. The orchestra has named Myung-Whun Chung
Myung-Whun Chung
Myung-whun Chung is a South Korean pianist and conductor.His sisters, violinist Kyung-wha Chung, and cellist Myung-wha Chung, and he at one time performed together as the Chung Trio. He was a joined second-prize winner in the 1974 International Tchaikovsky Competition. Chung studied conducting at...
as its first-ever principal guest conductor, effective with the 2012-2013.
In April 2007, the European Cultural Foundation awarded the orchestra a prize "zur Bewahrung des musikalischen Weltkulturerbes" (for preservation of the world's musical heritage"). In June 2011, the orchestra was announced as the new resident orchestra of the Salzburg Easter Festival
Salzburg Easter Festival
The Salzburg Easter Festival is an annual festival of opera and classical music held in Salzburg, Austria during Easter week. Herbert von Karajan founded this festival in 1967 as a means of expanding the traditional Salzburg Festival during the summer...
, as of 2013.
Kapellemeisters and Chief Conductors
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Julius Rietz August Wilhelm Julius Rietz was a German composer, conductor and cellist. He was a teacher among whose students were Woldemar Bargiel, Salomon Jadassohn and Arthur Sullivan. He also edited many works by Felix Mendelssohn for publication.-Biography:He studied the cello under Schmidt, Bernhard... Franz Wüllner Franz Wüllner was a German composer and conductor. He led the premieres of Richard Wagner's operas Das Rheingold and Die Walküre, but was much criticized by Wagner himself, who greatly preferred the more celebrated conductors Hans von Bülow and Hermann Levi.Wüllner was born in Münster and studied... Ernst von Schuch Ernst Edler von Schuch, born Ernst Gottfried Schuch was an Austrian conductor, who became famous through his working collaborations with Richard Strauss at the Dresden Court Opera.... Fritz Reiner Frederick Martin “Fritz” Reiner was a prominent conductor of opera and symphonic music in the twentieth century.-Biography:... Fritz Busch Fritz Busch was a German conductor.Busch was born in Siegen, Province of Westphalia. He held posts conducting opera at Aachen, Stuttgart and Dresden. In 1933 he was dismissed from his post at Dresden because of his opposition to the new Nazi government of Germany... Karl Böhm Karl August Leopold Böhm was an Austrian conductor. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century.- Education :... Karl Elmendorff Karl Eduard Maria Elmendorff was a German opera conductor. Born in Düsseldorf, Elmendorff studied music at the Cologne College of Music and Hochschule für Musik Köln from 1913 to 1916 under Fritz Steinbach and Hermann Abendroth... Joseph Keilberth Joseph Keilberth was a German conductor who specialized in opera.He started his career in the State Theatre of his native city, Karlsruhe. In 1940 he became director of the German Philharmonic Orchestra of Prague. Near the end of World War II he became principal conductor of the Dresden... Rudolf Kempe Rudolf Kempe was a German conductor.- Biography :Kempe was born in Dresden, where from the age of fourteen he studied at the Dresden State Opera School. He played oboe in the opera orchestra of Dortmund and then in the Leipzig Gewandhaus orchestra, from 1929... Franz Konwitschny Franz Konwitschny was a German conductor and violist.He started his career on the viola, playing in the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra under Wilhelm Furtwängler. In 1925, he moved to Vienna, where he played the viola with the Fitzner Quartet. He also began teaching at the Wiener Volkskonservatorium... Lovro von Matacic Lovro von Matačić was a Croatian conductor and composer.-Biography:Lovro von Matačić was born in Sušak to a family that was granted a noble title in the early 17th century. Growing up, he was always surrounded by music and art: his father had a career as an opera singer, and his mother as an actress... Otmar Suitner Otmar Suitner was an Austrian conductor who spent most of his professional career in East Germany. He was born in Innsbruck and died in Berlin. He was Principal Conductor of the Staatskapelle Dresden from 1960 to 1964, and then Music Director at the Berlin State Opera from 1964 to 1990... Kurt Sanderling Kurt Sanderling, CBE was a German conductor.-Biography:Kurt Sanderling was born in Arys, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire to Jewish parents. After early work at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, he left for the Soviet Union in 1936, where he worked with the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra... Martin Turnovský Martin Turnovský is a Czech conductor.-Biography:Turnovský was born in Prague. His father was familiar with the conductor George Szell, who helped in the beginnings of Turnovský's career. During World War II, at the age of 16, Turnovský was imprisoned in German concentration camp, due to his... Herbert Blomstedt Herbert Blomstedt is a Swedish conductor.Herbert Blomstedt was born in Springfield, Massachusetts and two years after his birth, his Swedish parents moved the family back to their country of origin... Giuseppe Sinopoli -Biography:Sinopoli was born in Venice, Italy, and later studied at the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory in Venice under Ernesto Rubin de Cervin and at Darmstadt, including being mentored in composition with Karlheinz Stockhausen... Bernard Haitink Bernard Johan Herman Haitink, CH, KBE is a Dutch conductor and violinist.- Early life :Haitink was born in Amsterdam, the son of Willem Haitink and Anna Haitink. He studied music at the conservatoire in Amsterdam... Fabio Luisi Fabio Luisi is an Italian conductor. On September 6, 2011, he was named Principal Conductor of the Metropolitan Opera.... |
Composers-in-residence
- Isabel MundryIsabel Mundry-Biography:Isabel Mundry was born in Schlüchtern in 1963 and studied composition at the Hochschule der Künste and electronic music, musicology and history at the Berlin Technische Universität. From 1991 to 1994 she taught at the Hochschule der Künste Berlin and furthered her studies in Frankfurt...
(2007–2008) - Bernhard LangBernhard LangBernhard Lang is an Austrian composer of the experimental and avant-garde school, particularly advocating a style he has self-termed "repetition-perpetrator"....
(2008–2009) - Rebecca SaundersRebecca Saunders-Biography:Saunders studied violin and composition at the University of Edinburgh. This was followed by a scholarship from the DAAD from 1991 to 1994 to study composition at the Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe with Wolfgang Rihm, and in 1997 a doctorate in composition with Nigel Osborne.She has...
(2009–2010) - Johannes Maria StaudJohannes Maria Staud- Biography :Staud studied with, amongst others, Brian Ferneyhough and Michael Jarrell. He gained a publishing contract with Universal Edition in 2000, and since then has won numerous prizes, including a special music prize of the Austrian Republic , the composition award of the Salzburg Easter...
(2010–2011)
External links
- Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden website
- English-language history of the orchestra, official website
- Hompepage of the Semperoper
- Performances and ticket sales of the Semperoper
- "Europäische Kulturpreisverleihung am 26. April 2007 in Brüssel", European Cultural Foundation, photo posting, 31 December 2007