Hofer Symphoniker (''Hof Symphony Orchestra'') is a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

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

Hof, Bavaria Hof () is a town on the banks of the Saale in the northeastern corner of the Germany, German state of Bavaria, in the Franconian region, at the Czech Republic, Czech border and the forested Fichtelgebirge and Frankenwald upland regions. The town h ...

, Germany. The orchestra began its performing activity in 1945, when Kapellmeister

Karl F. Keller Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austria ...

founded it as ''Hofer Konzertorchester''. As a concert orchestra, Hofer Symphoniker gives concerts at Freiheitshalle Hof, an event building and concert hall, as well as at several locations in the region of

Upper Franconia Upper Franconia (german: Oberfranken) is a ''Regierungsbezirk'' (administrative 'Regierungs''region 'bezirk'' of the state of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region of Franconia, the others being Middle F ...

. The orchestra worked together with artists like

Elīna Garanča Elīna Garanča (born 16 September 1976) is a Latvian mezzo-soprano. She began to study singing in her hometown of Riga in 1996 and continued her studies in Vienna and in the United States. By 1999 she had won first place in a significant compe ...

Mojca Erdmann Mojca Erdmann (born 29 December 1975) is a German soprano who is particularly associated with the Mozart operas. She created the role of Ariadne in Rihm's ''Dionysos'' at the Salzburg Festival. Career Born in Hamburg, Erdmann sang in the chi ...

Julia Fischer Julia Fischer (born 15 June 1983) is a German classical violinist and pianist.Hilary Hahn Hilary Hahn (born November 27, 1979) is an American violinist. She has performed throughout the world as a soloist with leading orchestras and conductors and as a recitalist. She is an avid supporter of contemporary classical music, and several ...

Daniel Hope Daniel Hope (born 17 August 1973, Durban, South Africa) is a European classical violinist. Early life and education Hope was born in Durban, South Africa, and is of Irish and Jewish German descent, his maternal grandparents, formerly from Be ...

Albrecht Mayer Albrecht Mayer (born 3 June 1965) is a German classical oboist and conductor. The principal oboist of the Berlin Philharmonic, he is internationally known as a soloist and chamber musician and has made many recordings. Biography Born in Erlangen, ...

Daniel Müller-Schott Daniel Müller-Schott (born 1976) is a German cellist. Born in Munich, he studied with Walter Nothas, Austrian cellist Heinrich Schiff and British cellist Steven Isserlis. Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter personally coached him in her foundation, t ...

Martin Stadtfeld Martin Stadtfeld (born 19 November 1980 in Gackenbach) is a German pianist. Stadtfeld gave his first concert at age 9, and at age 14 enrolled at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts in Frankfurt under the tutelage of Russian-Am ...

and

Jörg Widmann Jörg Widmann (born 19 June 1973) is a German composer, conductor and clarinetist. In 2018, Widmann was the third most performed contemporary composer in the world. Formerly a clarinet and composition professor at the University of Music Freibu ...

. The orchestra also performs regularly at Thurn und Taxis Castle Festival in

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...

with singers like

José Carreras Josep Maria Carreras Coll (; born 5 December 1946), better known as José Carreras (, ), is a Spanish operatic tenor who is particularly known for his performances in the operas of Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini. Born in Barcelona, he made his de ...

Lucia Aliberti Lucia Aliberti (born 12 June 1957) is a Italian operatic soprano singer. She performed the bel canto roles of Bellini, Rossini, Donizetti, Verdi, Puccini, Vivaldi, Mercadante and so on. Life and career Aliberti was born in Messina (Sicily). ...

and

Jonas Kaufmann Jonas Kaufmann (born 10 July 1969) is a German operatic tenor. He is best known for the versatility of his repertoire, performing a variety of opera roles in multiple languages in recitalTommasini, Anthony (21 February 2014)"A Tenor Finds Energy ...

. As a theatre orchestra, Hofer Symphoniker performs at

Theater Hof Theater Hof is a theatre in the German city of Hof, Bavaria. External links Theater Hof: Homepage Theatres in Bavaria Hof, Bavaria {{Bavaria-struct-stub ...

which was newly built in 1994. It is the orchestra's home venue where it plays operas, operettas, musicals and ballets. The theatre also serves as a multi-purpose venue for drama productions and other performances. In 1978, Hofer Symphoniker opened its own music school, used to train future talents. As such, the Hofer Symphoniker Music School is the only music school in Germany that is attached to a professional symphony orchestra. As a cultural and educational centre, the corporation includes also a Suzuki Academy and an Art School. An important award was the prestigious

Echo Klassik The Echo Klassik, often stylized as ECHO Klassik, was Germany's major classical music award in 22 categories. The award, presented by the , was held annually, usually in October or September, separate from its parent award, the Echo Music Prize E ...

Special Prize for youth education in 2010. Since 2007, the

International Violin Competition Henri Marteau The International Violin Competition Henri Marteau (german: Internationaler Violinwettbewerb Henri Marteau) is a violin competition named after the famous violinist and violin teacher Henri Marteau. It is open to violinists of all nationalities ...

, named after the famous violinist and violin teacher

Henri Marteau Henri Marteau (31 March 1874 – 3 October 1934) was a French violinist and composer, who obtained Swedish citizenship in 1915. Life and career Marteau was born in Reims. He was of German and French ancestry. His father, a Frenchman, was a well k ...

, takes place under the sponsorship of the District of

and is being organized by Hofer Symphoniker every three years in

Lichtenberg Lichtenberg () is the eleventh borough of Berlin, Germany. In Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it absorbed the former borough of Hohenschönhausen. Overview The district contains the Tierpark Berlin in Friedrichsfelde, the larger of Berlin's ...

and Hof.

Conductors

Chief conductors of Hofer Symphoniker were: * 1945–1950: Karl F. Keller (Kapellmeister) * 1950–1955: Karl Friderich * 1955–1967: Werner Richter-Reichhelm * 1967–1973:

Peter Richter de Rangenier Peter Richter de Rangenier, also Peter Richter, (25 March 1930 – 9 August 2021) was a German composer, conductor and university professor. Life Born in Prague, after attending the Gymnasium in Lübeck, Richter de Rangenier first worked as a f ...

* 1973–1974: Klaus Volk (temporary) * 1974–1979: Lutz Herbig * 1979–1980: Jaroslav Opěla (temporary) * 1980–1985:

Gilbert Varga Gilbert Varga (born 1952, London) is a British- Hungarian conductor and the Principal Conductor of the Taipei Symphony Orchestra. Varga studied violin from the age of four with his father, Tibor Varga, a famous Hungarian violinist and conducto ...

* 1985–1989: Sergio Cárdenas * 1989–1996: Hikotaro Yazaki * 1997–2001: Golo Berg Since 2001, guest conductors lead the orchestra instead of chief conductors. From 2010 to 2016, Swiss conductor

Daniel Klajner Daniel Klajner (born 26 December 1963) is a Swiss conductor. Life Born in Bülach (Switzerland), Klajner studied conducting and musical composition in Vienna. He completed his musical training with Gary Bertini (in Salzburg), Moshe Atzmon (i ...

was "Principal Guest Conductor". Since 2016, Hermann Bäumer is "Conductor in Residence".
Since 2003,

Enoch zu Guttenberg Georg Enoch Robert Prosper Philipp Franz Karl Theodor Maria Heinrich Johannes Luitpold Hartmann Gundeloh Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg (29 July 1946 – 15 June 2018) was a German conductor. He also owned the large winery estate Weingut Reichs ...

is Conductor Laureate.

General managers

* 1946−1965: August Mayer-Pabst was the orchestra's first general manager. * 1965−2008: Wilfried Anton was largely responsible for the reputation and success of the current cultural and educational corporation Hofer Symphoniker gGmbH. For his achievements, Anton was appointed "Honorary General Manager" on November 20, 2015. * since 2009: Ingrid Schrader develops the corporation further.

Sources

Ludger Stühlmeyer Ludger Stühlmeyer (born 3 October 1961 in Melle, West Germany) is a German cantor, composer, docent and musicologist. Biography Stühlmeyer was born to a family of cantors and made his first steps under the guidance of his father in the town chu ...

, ''Hofer Symphoniker''. In: ''Curia sonans. Die Musikgeschichte der Stadt Hof. Eine Studie zur Kultur Oberfrankens''. P. 277ff. Phil. Diss., Bayerische Verlagsanstalt Bamberg 2010, .

External links

Hofer Symphoniker official website

Hofer Symphoniker official Facebook account

{{Authority control German symphony orchestras Hof, Bavaria Musical groups established in 1945 1945 establishments in Germany