The Frankfurt Radio Symphony (german: hr-Sinfonieorchester) is the radio orchestra of Hessischer Rundfunk, the public broadcasting network of the German state of Hesse. From 1929 to 1950 it was named ''Frankfurter Rundfunk-Symphonie-Orchester''. From 1950 to 1971 the orchestra was named ''Sinfonie-Orchester des Hessischen Rundfunks'', from then to 2005 ''Radio-Sinfonie-Orchester Frankfurt''. Prior to 2015, the English translation ''Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra'' was used for international tours. The orchestra's range of musical styles includes the classical-romantic repertoire, discoveries in experimental new music, concerts for children and young people and demanding programming concepts.

History

Hans Rosbaud, its first conductor, put his stamp on the orchestra's orientation up to the year 1937 by focusing not only on traditional music but also contemporary compositions. '' Lindbergh's Flight'' was a piece of music specially commissioned for Radio performed by the orchestra with a text by

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...

and music by Paul Hindemith and

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fru ...

and produced by Ernst Hardt. After World War II, Kurt Schröder and Winfried Zillig committed themselves to rebuilding the orchestra and a broad musical repertoire.

Dean Dixon Charles Dean Dixon (January 10, 1915November 3, 1976) was an American conductor. Career Dixon was born in the upper-Manhattan neighborhood of Harlem in New York City to parents who had earlier migrated from the Caribbean. He studied conducting ...

and Eliahu Inbal turned the ensemble into an internationally acclaimed orchestra in the three decades from 1961 to 1990. The status of the orchestra has been repeatedly confirmed, especially during the "Inbal Era", with guest appearances around the world and major editions of recorded music, such as the very first recordings of the original versions of

Anton Bruckner Josef Anton Bruckner (; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer, organist, and music theorist best known for his symphonies, masses, Te Deum and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-Germ ...

Third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

, Fourth and Eighth Symphonies, awarded the Grand Prix du Disque, and the first digital recording of all of

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

's symphonies, which won the '' Deutscher Schallplattenpreis'' (German Record Award) in 1988. Inbal, who was chief conductor from 1974 to 1990, has been elected its conductor laureate since 1996. From 1990 to 1996, Dmitri Kitajenko was chief conductor of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. His work focused on the German and Russian traditions, as well as modern styles. The piano concertos of Sergei Prokofiev, with Vladimir Krainev, and a series of works by

Alexander Scriabin Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin (; russian: Александр Николаевич Скрябин ; – ) was a Russian composer and virtuoso pianist. Before 1903, Scriabin was greatly influenced by the music of Frédéric Chopin and composed ...

are but two of his projects documented on CD. Under Kitajenko, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony took extensive tours to such places as South America,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, the United States, and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Under the baton of Cristóbal Halffter, a CD project of his complete orchestral works was begun, as was a series of the orchestral works of the Second Viennese School in conjunction with the symphonies of

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

and Brahms with Inbal.

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...

's one-act opera, '' Von heute auf morgen'' (''From one day to the next''), with Michael Gielen, was released as a film by Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet and on CD. The American conductor Hugh Wolff was chief conductor of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1997 to 2006. "Flexibility" and "variety" were two important themes in his work with the orchestra. Wolff applied the experience of historical performance practices to the modern symphony orchestra, thereby regaining repertoire from the vast worlds of classical, early classical and baroque periods, as well as enriching the ensemble's literature in more contemporary aspects. The success of exciting interpretations and an unusually versatile programming were the trade marks of the collaboration of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra and Hugh Wolff. This success was reflected in the documentation of concert projects which reach far beyond the Hessian state and are resulting in guest appearances throughout Europe, Asia and North America. Frankfurter_Rundfunk-Symphonie-Orchester1

Frankfurter_Rundfunk-Symphonie-Orchester1

The Estonian Paavo Järvi held the position of music director for the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra from 2006 to 2013 and assumed the position of conductor laureate at the beginning of the 2013–2014 season. Paavo Järvi enriched the orchestra with new musical aspects: for example through his commitment to Nordic repertoire and great Romantic and post-Romantic literature. Paavo Järvi has enjoyed continued success with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra on an international level and together they have worked intensively to produce an extensive catalog of critically acclaimed recordings, which include Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem, Piano Concertos No. 1 and No. 2 (with

Nicholas Angelich Nicholas Michael Angelich (December 14, 1970 – April 18, 2022) was an American pianist. He was noted for performing internationally with ensembles from Europe and North America. Early life Angelich was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on December 14 ...

), the Cello Concertos by Dvořák and Herbert (with Gautier Capuçon), which was awarded the ECHO Klassik, as well as Hindemith's Trauermusik and Der Schwanendreher (with

Antoine Tamestit Antoine Tamestit (born 1979) is a French violist. Tamestit studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, and further with Jesse Levine at Yale University, and with Tabea Zimmermann. He won the 2001 Primrose International Viola Competition, the 2003 Yo ...

) and the Violin Concerto (with Frank Peter Zimmermann), which was awarded the ''Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik'', the quarterly critics choice award. The same prize was also received for their recordings of the Mendelssohn and Schumann Violin Concertos (with Christian Tetzlaff). Additional recordings include the symphony No. 2 and selected symphonic movements by Mahler, Mozart's Piano Concertos K. 467 and K. 595 (with Lars Vogt), Hans Rott's Symphony No. 1, the Shostakovich Piano Concertos (with Alexander Toradze) and Erkki-Sven Tüür's Symphony No. 7 and Piano Concerto (with

Laura Mikkola Laura Imola Mikkola (born 3 February 1974 in Helsinki) is a Finnish pianist. Laura Mikkola, having previously won Pretoria's UNISA TRANSNET and Helsinki's Maj Lind competitions, and been awarded the XII Paloma O'Shea Competition's contemporary m ...

), as well as a CD with pieces by Kagel, Furrer, Widmann and Ruzicka. Paavo Järvi and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra have also recorded complete Bruckner and Nielsen cycles for CD and a complete Mahler cycle for DVD. Colombian conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada became the orchestra's music director in 2014. In December 2019, the orchestra announced the appointment of Alain Altinoglu as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2021–2022 season, with an initial contract of three years.

Principal conductors

HR-Sinfonieorchester_(Frankfurt_Radio_Symphony)_2013

*1929–1937 Hans Rosbaud *1937–1945

Otto Frickhoeffer Otto Frickhoeffer (29 March 1892 – 9 April 1968) was a German composer and conductor. Life Born in Bad Schwalbach as the son of a medical officer, Frickhoeffer wanted to become a musician. Since the father insisted on studying medicine, Frickh ...

*1946–1953 Kurt Schröder *1955–1961 *1961–1974

*1974–1990 Eliahu Inbal *1990–1997 Dmitri Kitajenko *1997–2006 Hugh Wolff *2006–2013 Paavo Järvi *2014–2021 Andrés Orozco-Estrada *2021– Alain Altinoglu

Recent discography

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

–

Salome Salome (; he, שְלוֹמִית, Shlomit, related to , "peace"; el, Σαλώμη), also known as Salome III, was a Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II, son of Herod the Great, and princess Herodias, granddaughter of Herod the Great, an ...

. Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Frankfurt Radio Symphony. PENTATONE PTC 5186602. (2017) *

– Ein Heldenleben / Macbeth. Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Frankfurt Radio Symphony. PENTATONE PTC 5186582 (2016) *

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...

– The Rite of Spring & The Firebird (Suite 1919). Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Frankfurt Radio Symphony. PENTATONE PTC 5186556 (2016) * Saint-Saëns – Symphonies No. 1 & 2. Eliahu Inbal, Frankfurt Radio Symphony. PENTATONE PTC 5186157 (2005) * Vincenzo Bellini, Ignaz Moscheles, Bernard Molique, Julius Rietz,

Antonio Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widespread a ...

. Works for Oboe and Flute. Heinz Holliger,

Aurèle Nicolet Aurèle Nicolet (22 January 1926 – 29 January 2016) was a Swiss flautist. He was considered one of the world's best flute players of the late twentieth century. He performed in various international concerts. A number of composers wrote music ...

, Eliahu Inbal, Frankfurt Radio Symphony. PENTATONE PTC 5186129 (2004) * Rachmaninov – Piano Concerto No. 2 & Rhapsody on a theme by Paganini. Werner Haas, Eliahu Inbal, Frankfurt Radio Symphony PENTATONE PTC 5186114 (2003)

References

External links

hr-Sinfonieorchester official website

hr-Sinfonieorchester YouTube Channel
{{Authority control German symphony orchestras Hessischer Rundfunk Musical groups established in 1929 1929 establishments in Germany Radio and television orchestras