The Bamberg Symphony (German: Bamberger Symphoniker – Bayerische Staatsphilharmonie) is a German orchestra based in

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castl ...

. It is one of the most prestigious orchestras in Germany. The orchestra was formed in 1946 mainly from German musicians expelled from

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

after

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, who had previously been members of the German Philharmonic Orchestra of

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. The orchestra received the title of ''Bayerische Staatsphilharmonie'' (Bavarian State Philharmonic) in 1993. The orchestra commemorated its 60th anniversary on 16 March 2006. Since 1993, the home of the orchestra is the ''Konzert- und Kongresshalle'' (Concert and Congress Hall), which has the nickname ''Sinfonie an der Regnitz'' (Symphony on the Regnitz). Concerts before 1993 were given at the ''Dominikanerbau''. The orchestra receives financial support from the Free State of

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

, the city of Bamberg, Oberfranken district and the district of Bamberg. The government of Bavaria retired the orchestra's financial debts in 2003.

Joseph Keilberth Joseph Keilberth (19 April 1908 – 20 July 1968) was a German conductor who specialised in opera. Career He started his career in the State Theatre of his native city, Karlsruhe. In 1940 he became director of the German Philharmonic Orches ...

was the orchestra's first principal conductor. Other principal conductors have included

James Loughran James Loughran CBE, DMus., FRNCM, FRSAMD (born 30 June 1931, Glasgow, Scotland) is a conductor. Early life Educated at St Aloysius' College in Glasgow, Loughran conducted at school and afterwards, while studying economics and law. When he so ...

Horst Stein Horst Walter Stein (born 2 May 1928 in Elberfeld, Germany; died 27 July 2008 in Vandœuvres, Switzerland) was a German conductor. Biography Stein's father was a mechanic. At school in Frankfurt, he studied piano, oboe, and singing. Later, ...

and

Jonathan Nott Jonathan Nott (born 25 December 1962, in Solihull, England) is an English conductor. Biography The son of a priest at Worcester Cathedral, Nott was a music student and choral scholar at St John's College, Cambridge, and also studied singing an ...

. In September 2016, Jakub Hrůša became the fifth Chief Conductor of the Bamberg Symphony, with an initial contract of four seasons. In June 2018, the orchestra announced the extension of Hrůša's contract as its chief conductor through the 2025–2026 season.

Herbert Blomstedt Herbert Thorson Blomstedt (; born 11 July 1927) is a Swedish conductor. Herbert Blomstedt was born in Massachusetts. Two years after his birth, his Swedish parents moved the family back to their country of origin. He studied at the Stockholm Ro ...

was named honorary conductor of the orchestra in March 2006.

Christoph Eschenbach Christoph Eschenbach (; born 20 February 1940) is a German pianist and conductor. Early life Eschenbach was born in Breslau, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland). His parents were Margarethe (née Jaross) and Heribert Ringmann. He was orphaned during ...

became honorary conductor of the orchestra in 2016. The orchestra is associated with the triennial

Gustav Mahler Conducting Prize The Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition is one of the most important music competitions of its kind worldwide and is held in Bamberg, Germany. Conductors no older than 35 years may enter. History The competition was founded by the Bamberg S ...

, established during Nott's tenure, and the first competition laureate in 2004 was

Gustavo Dudamel Gustavo Adolfo Dudamel Ramírez (born 26 January 1981) is a Venezuelan conductor and violinist who is the music director of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Paris Opera. Early life Dudamel was b ...

. The orchestra has made a number of recordings for

Vox Records Vox Records is a budget classical record label. The name is Latin for "voice." Some Vox releases such as Peter Frankl's Debussy Piano Works and György Sándor's Complete Prokofiev Sonatas were reissued in premium vinyl boxsets by the audioph ...

with Jonel Perlea and János Fürst, some of which have been reissued on CD. It also recorded music of Joaquin Turina for

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...

with conductor Antonio de Almeida.

Principal conductors

(1949–1968) *

(1979–1983) * Witold Rowicki (1983–1985) *

(1985–1996) *

(2000–2016) * Jakub Hrůša (2016–present)

World premieres

* Hans-Jürgen von Bose: ''Werther-Szenen. Ballett'' (1989) *

Moritz Eggert Moritz Eggert (born 25 November 1965 in Heidelberg) is a German composer and pianist. Life Moritz Eggert began his studies in piano and composition in 1975 at Dr. Hoch's Konservatorium in Frankfurt (with Wolfgang Wagenhaeuser and Claus Küh ...

: ''Adagio – An Answered Question'' (1996, conductor:

) *

Gottfried von Einem Gottfried von Einem (24 January 1918 – 12 July 1996) was an Austrian composer. He is known chiefly for his operas influenced by the music of Stravinsky and Prokofiev, as well as by jazz. He also composed pieces for piano, violin and organ. B ...

: ''Nachtstück'' (op. 29, 1962, conductor:

) *

York Höller York Höller (; born 11 January 1944) is a German composer and professor of composition at the Hochschule für Musik Köln. Biography Höller was born in Leverkusen. Between 1963 and 1970 he studied at the Cologne Musikhochschule: composition wi ...

: ''Aufbruch'' (1989, conductor:

Hans Zender Johannes Wolfgang Zender (22 November 1936 – 22 October 2019) was a German conductor and composer. He was the chief conductor of several opera houses, and his compositions, many of them vocal music, have been performed at international festival ...

) * Rudolf Kelterborn: Sinfonie Nr. 4 (1987, conductor: Horst Stein) * Ezra Laderman: Symphony No 2, ''The Luther Symphony'' (1 January 1970, conductor:

Alfredo Antonini Alfredo Antonini (May 31, 1901 – November 3, 1983) was a leading Italian-American symphony conductor and composer who was active on the international concert stage as well as on the CBS radio and television networks from the 1930s through the ...

) * Horst Lohse: ''Bamberg Symphony'' (1986, conductor: Horst Stein); ''Die vier letzten Dinge (Quasi una Sinfonia da Requiem)'' (1997, conductor: Aldo Brizzi) *

Bruno Mantovani Bruno Mantovani (born 8 October 1974) is a French composer. He has been awarded first prizes from the Conservatoire de Paris which he joined in 1993. His work has been commissioned by the French government as well as other organizations. In Septe ...

: ''Mit Ausdruck'' (2003, conductor:

); ''Time stretch (on Gesualdo)'' (2006, conductor: Jonathan Nott) *

Wolfgang Rihm Wolfgang Rihm (born 13 March 1952) is a German composer and academic teacher. He is musical director of the Institute of New Music and Media at the University of Music Karlsruhe and has been composer in residence at the Lucerne Festival and the ...

: ''Verwandlung 4'' (2008, conductor: Jonathan Nott) *

Mark-Anthony Turnage Mark-Anthony Turnage CBE (born 10 June 1960) is a British composer of classical music. Biography Turnage was born in Corringham, Essex. He began composing at age nine and at fourteen began studying at the junior section of the Royal College of M ...

: ''Juno'' and ''The Torino Scale'' (from: ''Asteroids'' for Orchestra) (2007, conductor: Jonathan Nott) *

Jörg Widmann Jörg Widmann (born 19 June 1973) is a German composer, conductor and clarinetist. In 2018, Widmann was the third most performed contemporary composer in the world. Formerly a clarinet and composition professor at the University of Music Freib ...

: ''Lichtstudie I'' (2001, conductor:

Christoph Poppen Christoph Poppen (born 9 March 1956) is a German conductor, violinist and academic teacher. Career Poppen was born in Münster. As a violinist, he was awarded first prize in the Kocian Violin Competition age 14. He studied the violin with Kur ...

), ''Lied für Orchester'' (2003, conductor: Jonathan Nott)

References

External links

Bamberger Symphoniker official German-language webpage

*

at the Bach Cantatas Website
CD/SACD Releases with the Bamberger Symphoniker by Tudor Recording Zurich
{{Authority control German symphony orchestras Musical groups established in 1946 1946 establishments in Germany