Hessischer Rundfunk (HR; "Hesse Broadcasting") is the German state of

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...

's public broadcasting corporation. Headquartered in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

, it is a member of the national consortium of German public broadcasting corporations, ARD.

Studios

Dornbusch Broadcasting House, in Bertramstraße, Frankfurt am Main, is home to HR's principal radio and television studios. There are additional radio and television studios in

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...

and

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

, as well as further radio studios in

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a town in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the town hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. History ...

, and

Gießen Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (), is a town in the German state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of both the district of Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is approximately 90,000, with roughly 37,000 univers ...

. HR also maintains offices in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Eltville Eltville am Rhein (from ''Alta Villa'', Latin for "high estate, high town", corrupted to ''Eldeville'', ''Elfeld'' and later Eltville, ) is a town in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. It lies on ...

, Erbach,

Limburg an der Lahn Limburg an der Lahn (officially abbreviated ''Limburg a. d. Lahn'') is the district seat of Limburg-Weilburg in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Limburg lies in western Hessen between the Taunus and the Westerwald on the river Lahn. The to ...

, and

Marburg Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approximate ...

. In 2000, HR opened studios on the 53rd floor of the

Main Tower Main Tower is a 56-storey, skyscraper in the Innenstadt district of Frankfurt, Germany. It is named after the nearby Main river. The building is when its antenna spire is included. The tower has five underground floors and two public viewing ...

in Frankfurt city centre. The corporation is also responsible for the management of ARD's studios in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

and

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Finance

Licensing fees are currently €17.50 per month. Since 2013, every household has been liable for this fee, whether or not there are radio or TV receivers present. The fee is collected by ''

Beitragsservice von ARD, ZDF und Deutschlandradio The ( en, Contribution service of ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio), commonly referred to simply as , is the organization responsible for collecting the television and radio fee () from private individuals, companies and institutions in Germany. ...

''.

Programming

Television

HR contributes to the programming of the main German public-service broadcasting channel

Das Erste Das Erste (; "The First") is the flagship national television channel of the ARD association of public broadcasting corporations in Germany. ''Das Erste'' is jointly operated by the nine regional public broadcasting corporations that are member ...

, and also to that of the associated

3sat In logic and computer science, the Boolean satisfiability problem (sometimes called propositional satisfiability problem and abbreviated SATISFIABILITY, SAT or B-SAT) is the problem of determining if there exists an interpretation that satisfie ...

ARTE Arte (; (), sometimes stylized in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European public service channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based European Economic Interest Grouping ARTE, plus ...

KI.KA KiKA (contraction of ''Der KinderKAnal von ARD und ZDF'' ARD and ZDF">ARD_(broadcaster).html" ;"title="he Children's Channel of ARD (broadcaster)">ARD and ZDF]) is a German free-to-air television channel based in Erfurt, Germany. It is man ...

, and Phoenix (German TV station), Phoenix. Like other regional public broadcasting corporations in Germany, HR has its own, regional "channel three" (i.e. in addition to the national ARD and

ZDF ZDF (, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen; ; "Second German Television") is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is run as an independent nonprofit institution, which was founded by all fe ...

channels). From 1964 until 1983 this was known as ''Das Hessisches Fernsehprogramm'' ("The Hesse Television Programme"). It was then rebaptized as ''Hessen Drei'' ("Hesse Three"), before it was rebaptized ''hessen fernsehen'' ("Hesse Television") in 1997. Most recently, in October 2004 the channel became ''

hr-fernsehen hr-fernsehen is the regional television channel of Hessischer Rundfunk for the state of Hesse, Germany. Overview The channel focuses on regional reporting. In addition to the afternoon programme ''hallo hessen'' and the weeknightly tabloid magaz ...

''. Since December 2013 the channel has also been available in

HDTV High-definition television (HD or HDTV) describes a television system which provides a substantially higher image resolution than the previous generation of technologies. The term has been used since 1936; in more recent times, it refers to the g ...

Radio

hr1

hr1 plays almost exclusively middle of the road and

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

music, chiefly from the 1965 to 1985 era, and is aimed at a 40- to 60-year-old demographic. Until 2004 hr1 had been HR's main information channel.

hr2-kultur

hr2-kultur is HR's cultural and classical-music radio channel.

hr3

hr3 hr3 is a German, public radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radi ...

is an adult-oriented popular music programme. Relaunched in the early 80s as a service targeted principally at young people, the station has aged together with its audience.

hr4

hr4 is aimed at an older listenership. It broadcasts regional news and German popular music (''

schlagers Schlager music (, " hit(s)") is a style of European popular music that is generally a catchy instrumental accompaniment to vocal pieces of pop music with simple, happy-go-lucky, and often sentimental lyrics. Typical Schlager tracks are eith ...

'') and "evergreens", as well as instrumental music, folk, and light classical music.

hr-iNFO

hr-info hr-iNFO is a German, public radio station owned and operated by the Hessischer Rundfunk Hessischer Rundfunk (HR; "Hesse Broadcasting") is the German state of Hesse's public broadcasting corporation. Headquartered in Frankfurt, it is a member ...

is a 24-hour

news radio All-news radio is a radio format devoted entirely to the discussion and broadcast of news. All-news radio is available in both local and syndicated forms, and is carried on both major US satellite radio networks. All-news stations can run the ...

. On weekday daytime, it provides rolling news, with bulletins every 20 minutes. At all other times (except overnight), it broadcasts special in-depth-reports on a range of topics, alongside a quick news summary every half-hour.

YOU FM

YOU FM is HR's music programme for young people. It has also become famous outside of Hesse and Germany for its Saturday night techno music transmissions.

Former radio channels

* hr-klassik – classical music programme (closed September 2005) *

hr XXL hr XXL was a German, public radio station owned and operated by the Hessischer Rundfunk Hessischer Rundfunk (HR; "Hesse Broadcasting") is the German state of Hesse's public broadcasting corporation. Headquartered in Frankfurt, it is a member ...

– independent music programme for young people (1998–2003, now replaced by YOU FM) * hr-chronos – information programme (closed 2003) *

hr-skyline hr-skyline was a German, public radio station owned and operated by the Hessischer Rundfunk (HR). History Hr-skyline's main focus was on economic reporting. To underline this focus, the studios of ''hr-skyline'' was located in Frankfurt's Banken ...

– business-oriented information programme (1998–2004), now replaced by

)

Musical organizations

Hessischer Rundfunk maintains three resident ensembles: *

hr-Sinfonieorchester 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''. ...

(Frankfurt Radio Symphony) – Founded in 1929 by HR's predecessor, the Südwestdeutsche Rundfunkdienst (1924–33), the orchestra is an internationally renowned ensemble. Its 112 musicians perform the whole spectrum of symphonic music dating from the Baroque era to the present day, initiating various new forms of presentation as well as undertaking experimental projects. Although the orchestra is based in Frankfurt, working principally in the German State of Hesse, it is a frequent guest at important international festivals and regularly tours the world. Since the 2014/2015 season

Andrés Orozco-Estrada Andrés Orozco-Estrada (born 14 December 1977) is a Colombian violinist and conductor, with dual nationality in Colombia and Austria. Early life Born in Medellín, Orozco-Estrada studied music at the Instituto Musical Diego Echavarría and lea ...

has been the orchestra's chief conductor. Important predecessors have included

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 ...

Eliahu Inbal Eliahu Inbal (born 16 February 1936, Jerusalem) is an Israeli conductor. Inbal studied violin at the Israeli Academy of Music and took composition lessons with Paul Ben-Haim. Upon hearing him there, Leonard Bernstein endorsed a scholarship for ...

Dmitri Kitayenko Dmitri Georgievich Kitayenko (also spelled Dmitrij Kitajenko) (born 18 August 1940) is a Soviet and Russian conductor. He was bestowed the title People's Artist of the USSR (1984). He was born in Leningrad, Soviet Union and studied at the Glinka ...

Hugh Wolff Hugh MacPherson Wolff (born October 21, 1953, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France) is an American conductor. Biography Born in France while his father was serving in the U.S. Foreign Service, Wolff spent his primary-school years in London. He received his ...

, and

Paavo Järvi Paavo Järvi (; born 30 December 1962) is an Estonian-American conductor. Early life Järvi was born in Tallinn, Estonia, to Liilia Järvi and the Estonian conductor Neeme Järvi. His siblings, Kristjan Järvi and Maarika Järvi, are also mu ...

. *

hr-Bigband The hr-Bigband is the big band of Hessischer Rundfunk, the public broadcasting network of the German state of Hesse. Founded 1946 as Tanz- und Unterhaltungsorchester des Hessischen Rundfunks it was renamed to hr Big Band in 1972. Since 2005 it is ...

(Frankfurt Radio Big Band) – The Frankfurt Radio Big Band started life in 1946 as the Radio Frankfurt Dance Orchestra. Since the 1970s it has developed into a jazz big band with the focus on concerts. The Frankfurt Radio Big Band plays approximately 50 concerts every year, performing in every possible jazz-style as well as crossing over into classic, pop, ethno-, and electronic music. After three years as the band's artist in residence,

Jim McNeely Jim McNeely (born May 18, 1949) is a jazz pianist, composer, arranger and faculty. Biography Jim McNeely was born in Chicago, Illinois. He earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Illinois, and moved to New York City in 1975. ...

assumed the position of chief conductor in 2011. * hr-Jazzensemble – In 1958 the German All-Stars led by

Albert Mangelsdorff Albert Mangelsdorff (September 5, 1928 – July 25, 2005) was a German jazz trombonist. Working mainly in free jazz, he was an innovator in multiphonics. Early life Mangelsdorff was born in Frankfurt on September 5, 1928, as the son of the book ...

became the ''Jazztett des Hessischen Rundfunks'' or alternatively the ''Albert Mangelsdorff Jazztett'', then finally the ''Jazzensemble des Hessischen Rundfunks'', today called the hr-Jazzensemble. The initial idea for a steadily working studio jazz band came from Horst Lippmann. With regular studio recording dates but only seldom live appearances and album releases they initially played arrangements by

Joki Freund Walter Jakob "Joki" Freund (September 5, 1926, Höchst, Frankfurt am MainFebruary 15, 2012, Schwalbach am Taunus) was a German jazz saxophonist. Freund began playing the accordion as a child, switching to tenor saxophone after World War II ...

but increasingly original compositions by

Heinz Sauer Heinz Sauer (born December 25, 1932, Merseburg) is a German jazz saxophonist. Sauer was an autodidact on tenor saxophone and began his career playing locally around Frankfurt in the 1950s. He played for many years in Albert Mangelsdorff's ense ...

, Günter Lenz, and

Ralf Hübner Ralf Hübner (born May 3, 1939, Berlin) is a German jazz percussionist. Hübner attended the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin (1958–1962), studying both double bass and drums there and playing with Benny Bailey and Nathan Davis. Upon graduati ...

who all joined in 1961 and in the 1970s also experimented with electronic and computerized sounds and later with sampling techniques. Albert Mangelsdorff, who led the ensemble until his death in 2005, his brother Emil, Freund and

Peter Trunk Peter Trunk (May 17, 1936, Frankfurt – December 31, 1973, New York) was a German jazz double-bassist. Trunk played late in the 1950s in concert and on radio with Kenny Clarke, Stan Getz, Albert Mangelsdorff, and Zoot Sims. During this time he a ...

were part of the initial line-up,

Bob Degen Bob Degen Jr (born January 24, 1944 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States) is an American jazz pianist. Much of his work has been in the trio format. Life and Career Degen was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania in 1944. Both of his parents wer ...

and

Christof Lauer Christof Lauer (born 25 May 1953) is a German jazz tenor and soprano saxophonist, born in Melsungen, Germany, perhaps most well known in Europe where he has done projects with various musicians, such as Palle Danielsson, Carla Bley,

came during the 1970s, all staying over decades. The ensemble could also invite guest musicians especially from the United States like

Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, he has recorded over sixty albums as a ...

Stan Getz Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of ...

Jimmy Giuffre James Peter Giuffre (, ; April 26, 1921 – April 24, 2008) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He is known for developing forms of jazz which allowed for free interplay between the musicians, anticipating f ...

Joe Henderson Joe Henderson (April 24, 1937 – June 30, 2001) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than four decades, Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent l ...

Terri Lyne Carrington Terri Lyne Carrington (born August 4, 1965) is an American jazz drummer, composer, producer, and educator. She has played with Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Clark Terry, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Joe Sample, Al Jarreau, Yellowjackets, and ma ...

and

Bill Frisell William Richard Frisell (born March 18, 1951) is an American jazz guitarist, composer and arranger. Frisell first came to prominence at ECM Records in the 1980s, as both a session player and a leader. He went on to work in a variety of contexts ...

; European guests were among others

Alan Skidmore Alan Richard James Skidmore (born 21 April 1942) is an English jazz tenor saxophonist, and the son of saxophonist Jimmy Skidmore. Career He was born in London, England. Skidmore began his professional career in his teens, and early in his care ...

Tomasz Stańko Tomasz Ludwik Stańko (11 July 1942 – 29 July 2018) was a Polish trumpeter and composer. Stańko was associated with free jazz and the avant-garde. In 1962, Tomasz Stańko formed his first band, the Jazz Darings, with saxophonist Janusz Munia ...

Eberhard Weber Eberhard Weber (born 22 January 1940, in Stuttgart, Germany) is a German double bassist and composer. As a bass player, he is known for his highly distinctive tone and phrasing. Weber's compositions blend chamber jazz, European classical music, m ...

Joachim Kühn Joachim Kurt Kühn (born 15 March 1944) is a German jazz pianist. Biography He was born in Leipzig, Germany. Kühn was a musical prodigy and made his debut as a concert pianist, having studied classical piano and composition, with Arthur Schmid ...

Marc Ducret Marc Ducret (born 19 August 1957) is a contemporary avant-garde jazz guitarist who frequently collaborates with saxophonist Tim Berne. Ducret's guitar style is idiosyncratic, having been called "highly original and very expressive," but also ...

Simon Nabatov Simon Nabatov (born 11 January 1959) is a Russian-American jazz pianist. Early life Nabatov was born in Moscow on 11 January 1959. His parents were Leon, a professional pianist and choir conductor who was a native of Belarus, and Regina. Nabatov ...

, and

Theodosii Spassov Theodosii Spassov (born 4 March 1961) is a Bulgarian jazz musician who plays kaval. Theodosii Spassov began his early training on the kaval at the Kotel Music School and The Academy of Music and Dance in Plovdiv/Bulgaria. The kaval, an eight-ho ...

. A retrospective double album that documented their work from 1967 to 1993 was awarded with the

Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik The Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik ("German Record Critics' Award") was established in Germany in 1963 by publisher Richard Kaselowsky with the aim of setting the "most rigorous standards for supreme achievement and quality" in the field ...

in 1995.

Notable programmes

* Abendstudio (1948–2003) *

Die Hesselbachs ''Die Hesselbachs'' is a German radio play series. The series started in 1949 and was adapted for television in 1960. There was also a film '' Die Familie Hesselbach'' (1954) and its sequels. The series deals with the experiences of the Hes ...

(1949–1967) *

Chippie ''Chippie'' (''hr2-Computermagazin'') was a German radio program. It was one of the first programs on computer topics, produced by the Hessischer Rundfunk (Hessian Broadcasting). History ''Chippie'' started in 1990. At first it was broadcast to ...

(1990–1995)

Notable programme hosts

Peter Frankenfeld Peter Frankenfeld (born ''Willi Julius August Frankenfeldt'' on 31 May 1913 in Berlin – 4 January 1979 in Hamburg) was a German comedian, radio and television personality. After World War II he became an interpreter with the U.S. military gover ...

* Bernhard Grzimek *

Hans-Joachim Kulenkampff Hans-Joachim Kulenkampff, nickname Kuli (27 April 1921 in Bremen14 August 1998 in Seeham) was a German actor and TV host, remembered mainly as host of ''Einer wird gewinnen'', a quiz show that ran from 1964 to 1987. In 1967, he hosted Miss G ...

Transmitters

Biedenkopf Biedenkopf () is a spa town in western Hesse, Germany with a population of 13,491 (2020). Geography Location The town of Biedenkopf lies in the west of Marburg-Biedenkopf district. Ringed by mountains reaching up to above sea level – the ...

: FM * Darmstadt Weiterstadt/Darmbach: FM * Frankfurt (Funkhaus Bertramstraße): FM * Frankfurt-Main-Tower: FM * Großer Feldberg: DAB, DVB-T, FM * Hardberg am Odenwald: FM *

Hoher Meißner The Hoher Meißner is a mountain massif with a height of 753.6 m and is located in the '' Meißner-Kaufunger Wald'' nature park in Hesse, Germany. Geography The Hoher Meißner is densely forested and covers an area of 10 km by 5 km. ...

: FM * Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe: FM * Marburg: FM *

Rimberg Rimberg is a locality in the municipality Schmallenberg in the district Hochsauerlandkreis in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The hamlet has 4 inhabitants ARD (broadcaster) German-language television networks Television networks in Germany Mass media companies of Germany Mass media in Frankfurt Mass media in Hesse Radio stations in Germany Television stations in Germany 1948 establishments in Germany