The Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt or ''BSOF'' is a

symphony 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, ce ...

based in

Frankfurt (Oder) Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (), is a city in the German state of Brandenburg. It has around 57,000 inhabitants, is one of the easternmost cities in Germany, the fourth-largest city in Brandenburg, and the largest German ...

in Germany. It is the orchestra of the

state of Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 square ...

. From 2007 to 2019 its

leader Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...

has been Howard Griffiths. Since 2019 the orchestra is under the leadership of Jörg-Peter Weigle.

History

It was founded in 1842 and gave its first public appearance on 1 November that year at the opening of the Frankfurter Stadttheater (designed by

Karl Friedrich Schinkel Karl Friedrich Schinkel (13 March 1781 – 9 October 1841) was a Prussian architect, city planner and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed both neoclassica ...

and built by

Emil Flaminius Emil Karl Alexander Flaminius (1807, Küstrin - 7 October 1893, Berlin) was a Prussian architect and master builder. History Flaminius grew up in Küstrin during the Napoleonic Wars and the period of reconstruction after the departure of the Nap ...

at 22 Wilhelmsplatz), performing

Albert Lortzing Gustav Albert Lortzing (23 October 1801 – 21 January 1851) was a German composer, librettist, actor and singer. He is considered to be the main representative of the German ''Spieloper'', a form similar to the French '' opéra comique'', whic ...

Zar und Zimmermann ''Zar und Zimmermann'' (''Tsar and Carpenter'') is a comic opera in three acts, music by Albert Lortzing, libretto by the composer after Georg Christian Römer's ''Der Bürgermeister von Saardam, oder Die zwei Peter'', itself based on the French pl ...

. In 1871 the Philharmonischer Verein was founded, organizing three concerts a year as well as choral concerts at the

Singakademie A Singakademie - originally a phenomenon of the German-speaking realm - is a large mixed choral society A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifical ...

, before dissolving itself in 1895. The theatre was destroyed during the

Second World War 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and its ensemble and the orchestra both moved to the Musiklandheim, built in 1928-1929 by

Otto Bartning Otto Bartning (12 April 1883 in Karlsruhe – 20 February 1959 in Darmstadt) was a Modernist German architect, architectural theorist and teacher. In his early career he developed plans with Walter Gropius for the establishment of the Bauhaus. H ...

- in 1952 it was renamed the Kleist-Theater. Some of the theatre's musicians founded the separate Frankfurter Kulturorchester in 1953, which was renamed the Philharmonische Orchester Frankfurt (Oder) in 1971. The orchestra made its first appearance at the

Choriner Musiksommer The Choriner Musiksommer (literally, ''Chorin's Summer of Music'') is an outdoor music festival held in the ruins of the convent of Chorin Abbey in Chorin, Brandenburg, Germany. It originated as a single annual concert, established on 23 May 1964 ...

in 1973.

List of leaders

* 1971–1982 Wolfgang Bothe * 1982–1986 Heinz Struve * 1986–1989 Andreas Wilhelm * 1990–2000 Nikos Athineos * 2001–2007

Heribert Beissel Heribert Beissel (27 March 1933 – 11 June 2021) was a German conductor. While based in Bonn for decades, as conductor at the Bonn Opera and as founder and conductor of the Klassische Philharmonie Bonn, he also held leading positions in Halle ...

* 2007–present Howard Griffiths

Recordings

Education work

External links

Staatsorchester - official site
{{authority control Frankfurt (Oder) German symphony orchestras 1842 establishments in Germany