The Brandenburger Symphoniker is a German orchestra based in

Brandenburg an der Havel Brandenburg an der Havel () is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, which served as the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg until it was replaced by Berlin in 1417. With a population of 72,040 (as of 2020), it is located on the banks of the H ...

. Its home venue is the there. It is affiliated to the .

History

The orchestra was founded in 1810 by high-ranking Prussian military musicians from the

fusiliers Fusilier is a name given to various kinds of soldiers; its meaning depends on the historical context. While fusilier is derived from the 17th-century French word ''fusil'' – meaning a type of flintlock musket – the term has been used in co ...

and

grenadiers A grenadier ( , ; derived from the word ''grenade'') was originally a specialist soldier who threw hand grenades in battle. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when grenadiers were recruited from ...

regiments. From 1866, the successful music ensemble called itself the Orchestra of the Brandenburg Theatre. After the German reunification the orchestra got the name "Brandenburger Symphoniker". The orchestra is not only active as a symphony orchestra, but also in opera performances and for several years has been playing in productions for the

Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg (Schloss Rheinsberg chamber opera) is an international opera festival for young singers, founded and first directed by composer Siegfried Matthus. It takes place every summer at the historical Schloss Rheinsberg, in Br ...

festival. The Brandenburg Symphony Orchestra regularly performs in Berlin (

Konzerthaus Berlin The Konzerthaus Berlin is a concert hall in Berlin, the home of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin. Situated on the Gendarmenmarkt square in the central Mitte district of the city, it was originally built as a theater. It initially operated from ...

Berliner Philharmonie The Berliner Philharmonie () is a concert hall in Berlin, Germany, and home to the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. The Philharmonie lies on the south edge of the city's Tiergarten and just west of the former Berlin Wall. The Philharmonie is on ...

), Potsdam (), Frankfurt (Oder) (concert hall) and other cities in the Land of Brandenburg, but also gives guest performances throughout Germany and abroad. Guest performances have taken the orchestra through Europe, to the US, Japan, South Africa and China. The Brandenburg Symphony Orchestra is a regular guest at the in Palma. In 2020, Olivier Tardy had been appointed as chief conductor of the orchestra, with an initially intended starting date of the 2021-2022 season. In February 2021, the orchestra announced revised plans for Tardy to work with the orchestra as principal guest conductor in the 2021-2022 season, and to become chief conductor in the 2022-2023 season. Subsequently in 2021, Hardy declined a later contract offer from the ''Brandenburger Theater'', and never took up the post with the Brandenburger Symphoniker or the Brandenburger Theater. In October 2022, the orchestra announced the appointment of Andreas Spering as its next chief conductor, effective 1 August 2023, with an initial contract of 5 years. The

Jacaranda Ensemble Jacaranda is an instrumental ensemble founded in 1997 and composed of five musicians and soloists of the Brandenburger Symphoniker. With its music, the ensemble wants to build a bridge between the cultures of the world. Jacaranda play on alphorn ...

, founded in 1997, is a German

instrumental ensemble A musical ensemble, also known as a music group or musical group, is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrumentalists, ...

made up of musicians and soloists from the Brandenburg Symphony Orchestra.

Conductors

* 1945 – 1946 Martin Velins * 1946 – 1950 Paul Schwob * 1950 – 1955 Paul Diener * 1955 – 1956 Willi Bantelmann * 1957 – 1958 Hermann Josef Nellessen * 1958 – 1959 Hans-Werner Nicolovius * 1959 – 1964 Gerhard Wappler * 1964 – 1967

Jochen Wehner Jochen Wehner (7 March 1936 – 9 June 2020) was a German conductor, music producer, arranger and Lektor. Life Born in Göttingen, Wehner studied conducting in Halle and at the Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber Dresden and obtained ...

* 1967 – 1978 Rolf Rohde * 1978 – 1985 Andreas Wilhelm * 1985 – 1989 Christian Morgenstern * 1990 – 1999

Heiko Mathias Förster Heiko Mathias Förster (born 1966, Crivitz, East Germany) is a German conductor. Most notable for conducting the Munich Symphony Orchestra from 1999 to 2006, since 2014, he has been the chief conductor of the Ostrava-based Janáček Philharmonic ...

* 2000 – 2015 Michael Helmrath * 2015 – 2020

Peter Gülke Peter Ludwig Gülke (born 29 April 1934) is a German conductor and musicologist. Biography Born in Weimar, Gülke studied cello and musicology at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt, Weimar. He completed his doctorate in philosophy in Leipzi ...

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Brandenburg 1810 establishments in Germany German symphony orchestras