The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (german: Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, BRSO) is a German radio orchestra. Based in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, it is one of the city's four orchestras. The BRSO is one of two full-size symphony orchestras operated under the auspices of
Bayerischer Rundfunk
Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR; "Bavarian Broadcasting") is a public-service radio and television broadcaster, based in Munich, capital city of the Free State of Bavaria in Germany. BR is a member organization of the ARD consortium of public broadcas ...
, or Bavarian Broadcasting (BR). Its primary concert venues are the ''Philharmonie'' of the
Gasteig Cultural Centre and the ''Herkulessaal'' in the
Munich Residenz.
History
The orchestra was founded in 1949, with members of an earlier
radio orchestra
A radio orchestra (or broadcast orchestra) is an orchestra employed by a radio network (and sometimes television networks) in order to provide programming as well as sometimes perform incidental or theme music for various shows on the network. In ...
in Munich as the core personnel.
Eugen Jochum
Eugen Jochum (; 1 November 1902 – 26 March 1987) was a German conductor, best known for his interpretations of the music of Anton Bruckner, Carl Orff, and Johannes Brahms, among others.
Biography
Jochum was born to a Roman Catholic family in ...
was the orchestra's first chief conductor, from 1949 until 1960. Subsequent chief conductors have included
Rafael Kubelík
Rafael Jeroným Kubelík, KBE (29 June 1914 – 11 August 1996) was a Czech conductor and composer.
Son of a well-known violinist, Jan Kubelík, he was trained in Prague, and made his debut with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of ...
,
Sir Colin Davis
Sir Colin Rex Davis (25 September 1927 – 14 April 2013) was an English conductor, known for his association with the London Symphony Orchestra, having first conducted it in 1959. His repertoire was broad, but among the composers with whom h ...
and
Lorin Maazel. The orchestra's most recent chief conductor was
Mariss Jansons
Mariss Ivars Georgs Jansons (14 January 1943 – 1 December 2019) was a Latvian conductor best known for his interpretations of Mahler, Strauss and Russian composers such as Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich. During his lifetime he w ...
, from 2003 until his death in 2019. Jansons regularly campaigned for a new concert hall during his tenure.
In 2010, Sir
Simon Rattle first guest-conducted the BRSO. In January 2021, the BRSO announced the appointment of Rattle as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2023–2024 season, with an initial contract of 5 years.
The orchestra participates in the "Musica Viva" concerts, founded by the composer
Karl Amadeus Hartmann
Karl Amadeus Hartmann (2 August 1905 – 5 December 1963) was a German composer. Sometimes described as the greatest German symphonist of the 20th century, he is now largely overlooked, particularly in English-speaking countries.
Life
Born in ...
, to this day.
The orchestra has recorded for a number of commercial labels, including
Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...
, RCA, and EMI. The orchestra received the
2006 Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance for its recording of
Shostakovich's 13th Symphony. The orchestra has recently begun to produce recordings under its own BR-Klassik label.
Chief conductors
*
Eugen Jochum
Eugen Jochum (; 1 November 1902 – 26 March 1987) was a German conductor, best known for his interpretations of the music of Anton Bruckner, Carl Orff, and Johannes Brahms, among others.
Biography
Jochum was born to a Roman Catholic family in ...
(1949–1960)
*
Rafael Kubelík
Rafael Jeroným Kubelík, KBE (29 June 1914 – 11 August 1996) was a Czech conductor and composer.
Son of a well-known violinist, Jan Kubelík, he was trained in Prague, and made his debut with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of ...
(1961–1979)
*
Sir Colin Davis
Sir Colin Rex Davis (25 September 1927 – 14 April 2013) was an English conductor, known for his association with the London Symphony Orchestra, having first conducted it in 1959. His repertoire was broad, but among the composers with whom h ...
(1983–1992)
*
Lorin Maazel (1993–2002)
*
Mariss Jansons
Mariss Ivars Georgs Jansons (14 January 1943 – 1 December 2019) was a Latvian conductor best known for his interpretations of Mahler, Strauss and Russian composers such as Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich. During his lifetime he w ...
(2003–2019)
*
Sir Simon Rattle (designated, from 2023)
See also
*
Radio orchestra
A radio orchestra (or broadcast orchestra) is an orchestra employed by a radio network (and sometimes television networks) in order to provide programming as well as sometimes perform incidental or theme music for various shows on the network. In ...
References
External links
Official website of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
{{Authority control
APRA Award winners
Bayerischer Rundfunk
German symphony orchestras
Music in Munich
Musical groups established in 1949
Radio and television orchestras
1949 establishments in Germany