The Jenaer Philharmonie is a German

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

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a popu ...

, Germany.

History

The orchestra was founded in 1934 with the intent to revive and continue the old traditions of the "Collegium musicum Jenense" and the academic concerts by the

Friedrich Schiller University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The un ...

(Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena). In 1953 it became a symphonic orchestra and acquired its present-day status of philharmonic orchestra in 1969. It is the largest independent symphony orchestra in the central German state of

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

. In addition to the orchestra, the Philharmonic Choir (Philharmonischer Chor Jena), the Boys' Choir (Knabenchor der Jenaer Philharmonie), and the Jena Madrigal Choir (Jenaer Madrigalkreis) are parts of the Jenaer Philharmonie. The current ''Intendant'' of the orchestra is Bruno Scharnberg. Ernst Schwaßmann was the orchestra's first ''Generalmusikdirektor'' (General Music Director, GMD), from 1934 to 1945.

Andrey Boreyko Andrey Boreyko (russian: Андре́й Ви́кторович Боре́йко, Andrey Viktorovich Boreyko, pl, Andrzej Borejko; born 22 July 1957) is a Polish-Russian conductor. He has Polish ancestry on his father's side and Russian ancestry ...

, GMD from 1998 to 2003, now has the title of ''Ehrendirigent'' (honorary conductor) with the orchestra. Boreyko conducted the orchestra in commercial recordings for such labels as Teldec. In April 2012, the orchestra appointed the American conductor Marc Tardue as its next GMD, effective September 2012. Tardue concluded his tenure with the orchestra in 2017. In May 2017, the orchestra announced the appointment of Simon Gaudenz as its next GMD, effective with the 2018-2019 season. In November 2022, the orchestra announced the extension of Gaudenz's contract as GMD through the 2025-2026 season. The orchestra has made commercial recordings for such labels as Teldec and CPO, including music of Liszt and Wagner for the latter.

Generalmusikdirektoren (GMD; General Music Directors)

* Ernst Schwaßmann (1934-1945) * Carl Ferrand (1945-1947) * Albert Müller (1947-1949) * Gerhard Hergert (1950-1959) * Hans Heinrich Schmitz (1959-1966) * Günter Blumhagen (1967-1980) *

Christian Ehwald Christian Ehwald (born 1953 in Eberswalde) is a German conductor and academic teacher. Life Ehwald studied at the Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler" with the conductor Horst Förster from 1973 to 1978. Later, he continued his studies at the ...

(1981-1988) * Andreas Weiser (1990-1998) *

(1998-2004) * Nicholas Milton (2004-2011) * Marc Tardue (2011–2017) * Simon Gaudenz (2018–present)

References

External links

Jenaer Philharmonie Homepage

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081005204952/http://www.philharmonische-gesellschaft-jena.de/ueber_uns/historie/jenaer_philharmonie.shtml Philharmonische Gesellschaft Jena e.V. page on Jenaer Philharmonie]
Victor Carr, Jr., Review of "From Russia with Love" (Teldec 8573-85558-2). ClassicsToday.com.
{{Authority control German symphony orchestras Jena Musical groups established in 1934 1934 establishments in Germany