The Bayreuth Festival Orchestra is a seasonal German orchestra based at the

Bayreuth Festspielhaus The ''Bayreuth Festspielhaus'' or Bayreuth Festival Theatre (german: link=no, Bayreuther Festspielhaus, ) is an opera house north of Bayreuth, Germany, built by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner and dedicated solely to the performa ...

for the annual summer festival

Bayreuth Festival The Bayreuth Festival (german: link=no, Bayreuther Festspiele) is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived ...

. It is reconstituted each season in order to perform Richard Wagner's ''

Der Ring des Nibelungen (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the '' Nibe ...

'' and other of his stage works, as envisaged by the composer and festival founder. The festival occurs annually, although in some years it was cancelled because of war or other reasons. Although otherwise entirely devoted to the works of Wagner, the inaugural festival in 1876 was opened with a performance of Beethoven's

Choral Symphony A choral symphony is a musical composition for orchestra, choir, and sometimes solo (music), solo vocalists that, in its internal workings and overall musical architecture, adheres broadly to symphony, symphonic musical form. The term "choral s ...

, and this practice has often been followed subsequently. It has become something of a tradition since

Wilhelm Furtwängler Gustav Heinrich Ernst Martin Wilhelm Furtwängler ( , , ; 25 January 188630 November 1954) was a German conductor and composer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. He was a major ...

reintroduced it in the 1930s. The Bayreuth Festival Orchestra does not have a permanent membership but each year the festival organisers recruit leading musicians from other German orchestras, depending on their availability. Some musicians always arrange their schedules so as to be available for the orchestra; other participate less frequently.Discography
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Conductors

Conductors of the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra at the Bayreuth Festival have been: * Hans Richter: 1876, 1896–97, 1901–02, 1904, 1906, 1908 *

Hermann Levi Hermann Levi (7 November 1839 – 13 May 1900) was a German Jewish orchestral conductor. Levi was born in Giessen, Germany, the son of a rabbi. He was educated at Giessen and Mannheim, and came to Vinzenz Lachner's notice. From 1855 to 1858 L ...

: 1882 (premiere of ''

Parsifal ''Parsifal'' ( WWV 111) is an opera or a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is loosely based on the 13th-century Middle High German epic poem ''Parzival'' ...

'') et al. *

Felix Mottl right Felix Josef von Mottl (between 29 July/29 August 1856 – 2 July 1911) was an Austrian conductor and composer. He was regarded as one of the most brilliant conductors of his day. He composed three operas, of which ''Agnes Bernauer'' (Weima ...

: 1896 *

Siegfried Wagner Siegfried Helferich Richard Wagner (6 June 18694 August 1930) was a German composer and conductor, the son of Richard Wagner. He was an opera composer and the artistic director of the Bayreuth Festival from 1908 to 1930. Life Siegfried Wagner ...

: 1896–97, 1899, 1901–02, 1906, 1928 * : 1904 (

Cosima Wagner Francesca Gaetana Cosima Wagner ( née Liszt; 24 December 1837 – 1 April 1930) was the daughter of the Hungarian composer and pianist Franz Liszt and Franco-German romantic author Marie d'Agoult. She became the second wife of the German co ...

's son-in-law) *

Michael Balling Michael Balling (27 August 1866 in Heidingsfeld, near Würzburg – 1 September 1925 in Darmstadt) was a German violist and conductor. He served as principal conductor of The Hallé, Manchester, England from 1912 to 1914. Balling studied violi ...

: 1909, 1911–12, 1914, 1924–25 * Franz von Hoesslin: 1927–28, 1940 *

Karl Elmendorff Karl Eduard Maria Elmendorff (October 25, 1891 – October 21, 1962) was a German opera conductor. Born in Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; ...

: 1930–31, 1933–34, 1942 *

Heinz Tietjen Heinz Tietjen (24 June 1881 – 30 November 1967) was a German conductor and music producer born in Tangier, Morocco. Biography Tietjen was born in Tangier, Morocco. At age twenty-three, he held the position of producer at the Opera House in ...

: 1934, 1936, 1938–39, 1941 *

: 1936-37 *

Hans Knappertsbusch Hans Knappertsbusch (12 March 1888 – 25 October 1965) was a German conductor, best known for his performances of the music of Wagner, Bruckner and Richard Strauss. Knappertsbusch followed the traditional route for an aspiring conductor in Germ ...

: 1951, 1956–58 *

Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan (; born Heribert Ritter von Karajan; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, wit ...

: 1951 *

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 ...

: 1952-56 *

Clemens Krauss Clemens Heinrich Krauss (31 March 189316 May 1954) was an Austrian conductor and opera impresario, particularly associated with the music of Richard Strauss, Johann Strauss and Richard Wagner. Krauss was born in Vienna to Clementine Krauss, the ...

: 1953 *

Rudolf Kempe Rudolf Kempe (14 June 1910 – 12 May 1976) 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 ...

: 1960-63 * Berislav Klobučar: 1964 *

Karl Böhm Karl August Leopold Böhm (28 August 1894 – 14 August 1981) was an Austrian conductor. He was best known for his performances of the music of Mozart, Wagner, and Richard Strauss. Life and career Education Karl Böhm was born in Graz. T ...

: 1965-67 *

Otmar Suitner Otmar Suitner (German pronunciation: �ɔtmaʁ zuˈiːtnɐ 16 May 1922 – 8 January 2010) 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 Conduct ...

: 1966-67 *

Lorin Maazel Lorin Varencove Maazel (, March 6, 1930 – July 13, 2014) was an American conductor, violinist and composer. He began conducting at the age of eight and by 1953 had decided to pursue a career in music. He had established a reputation in th ...

: 1968-69 *

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, h ...

: 1970-75 *

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 1925 – 5 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war Western classical music. Born in Mont ...

: 1976-80 (the centenary production ''

Jahrhundertring The ''Jahrhundertring'' (''Centenary Ring'') was the production of Richard Wagner's ''Ring Cycle'', ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'', at the Bayreuth Festival in 1976, celebrating the centenary of both the festival and the first performance of the comp ...

'') *

Georg Solti Sir Georg Solti ( , ; born György Stern; 21 October 1912 – 5 September 1997) was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor, known for his appearances with opera companies in Munich, Frankfurt and London, and as a long-servin ...

: 1983 * Peter Schneider: 1984-86 *

Daniel Barenboim Daniel Barenboim (; in he, דניאל בארנבוים, born 15 November 1942) is an Argentine-born classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin. He has been since 1992 General Music Director of the Berlin State Opera and "Staatskapellmeist ...

: 1988-92 *

James Levine James Lawrence Levine (; June 23, 1943 – March 9, 2021) was an American conductor and pianist. He was music director of the Metropolitan Opera from 1976 to 2016. He was terminated from all his positions and affiliations with the Met on March 1 ...

: 1994-98 *

Giuseppe Sinopoli Giuseppe Sinopoli (; 2 November 1946 – 21 April 2001) was an Italian conductor and composer. Biography Sinopoli was born in Venice, Italy, and later studied at the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory in Venice under Ernesto Rubin de Cervin ...

: 2000 *

Ádám Fischer Ádám Fischer (born 9 September 1949 in Budapest) is a Hungarian conductor. He is the general music director of the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra, chief conductor of the Danish Chamber Orchestra, and chief conductor of the Düsseldorfer Sym ...

: 2001-04 *

Christian Thielemann Christian Thielemann (born 1 April 1959) is a German conductor. He is currently chief conductor of the Staatskapelle Dresden. He was artistic director of the Salzburg Easter Festival from 2013 to 2022, and a regular conductor at the Bayreuth F ...

: 2006-10 *

Kirill Petrenko Kirill Garrievich Petrenko (russian: Кирилл Гарриевич Петренко, Latin script: ; born 11 February 1972) is a Russian-Austrian conductor. He is chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic. Early life Petrenko was born in Omsk ...

: 2013-15 *

Marek Janowski Marek Janowski (born 18 February 1939 in Warsaw) is a Polish-born German conductor. He is currently chief conductor of the Dresden Philharmonic. Childhood Janowski grew up in Wuppertal, near Cologne, after his mother traveled there at the st ...

: 2016-17 *

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French, ...

: 2018 (3 performances of ''

Die Walküre (; ''The Valkyrie''), WWV 86B, is the second of the four music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nibelung''). It was performed, as a single opera, at the National Theatre Munich on ...

'' only) *

Pietari Inkinen Pietari Inkinen (born 29 April 1980, Kouvola, Finland) is a Finnish violinist and conductor. Biography Inkinen began violin and piano studies at age 4. As a youth, he also performed in a rock band. He attended the Sibelius Academy and gradu ...

: 2022 A number of other notable conductors have conducted the orchestra for recordings and broadcasts.

References

{{reflist German symphony orchestras

Orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

Musical groups established in 1876 1876 establishments in Bavaria