The Stuttgarter Philharmoniker (Stuttgart Philharmonic) is the

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 ...

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

, the capital of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

, Germany. Founded in 1924, they play regular concert series including youth concerts in Stuttgart, as well as guest concerts internationally.

History

Foundation

The orchestra was founded as Philharmonisches Orchester Stuttgart (Philharmonic Orchestra Stuttgart) in September 1924 when the orchestra played a ''1. Werbe-Concert'' (First Promotion Concert). A rapid artistic development made it possible to engage conductors and soloists such as

Leo Blech Leo Blech (21 April 1871 – 25 August 1958) was a German opera composer and conductor who is perhaps most famous for his work at the Königliches Opernhaus (later the Berlin State Opera / Staatsoper Unter den Linden) from 1906 to 1937, and late ...

Carl Flesch Carl Flesch (born Károly Flesch, 9 October 1873 – 14 November 1944) was a Hungarian violinist and teacher. Flesch’s compendium ''Scale System'' is a staple of violin pedagogy. Life and career Flesch was born in Moson (now part of Mosonmagy ...

Hans Knappertsbusch Hans Knappertsbusch (12 March 1888 – 25 October 1965) was a German conductor, best known for his performances of the music of Wagner, Bruckner and Richard Strauss. Knappertsbusch followed the traditional route for an aspiring conductor in Germ ...

Hermann Abendroth Hermann Paul Maximilian Abendroth (19 January 1883 – 29 May 1956) was a German conductor. Early life Abendroth was born on 19 January 1883, at Frankfurt, the son of a bookseller. Several other members of the family were artists in diverse dis ...

Fritz Kreisler Friedrich "Fritz" Kreisler (February 2, 1875 – January 29, 1962) was an Austrian-born American violinist and composer. One of the most noted violin masters of his day, and regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time, he was known ...

Carl Schuricht Carl Adolph Schuricht (; 3 July 18807 January 1967) was a German conductor. Life and career Schuricht was born in Danzig (Gdańsk), German Empire; his father's family had been respected organ-builders. His mother, Amanda Wusinowska, a widow soo ...

and

Felix Weingartner Paul Felix Weingartner, Edler von Münzberg (2 June 1863 – 7 May 1942) was an Austrian conductor, composer and pianist. Life and career Weingartner was born in Zara, Dalmatia, Austria-Hungary (now Zadar, Croatia), to Austrian parents. T ...

. In 1933, under the

Nazi regime Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, Jewish and most foreign musicians were dismissed, and the orchestra was divided: part of the musicians joined the orchestra of the Reichssender Stuttgart broadcaster, while others continued as "Landesorchester Gau Württemberg-Hohenzollern".

After 1945

After the end of World War II, most members of the former philharmonic orchestra reunited under the name Stuttgarter Philharmoniker. Principal conductors from 1949 to 1972 included Hermann Hildebrandt,

Willem van Hoogstraten Willem van Hoogstraten (March 18, 1884 – September 11, 1965) was a Dutch violinist and conductor. Van Hoogstraten was born in Utrecht, and studied the violin from age eight including studies with Alexander Schmuller, and enrolled at the conserva ...

, Hans Hörner, António Victorino de Almeida and Alexander Paulmüller.

Hans Zanotelli Hans Zanotelli (23 August 1927 – 12 July 1993) was a German conductor. Life Born in Cronenberg, now part of Wuppertal, Zanotelli learned to play the violin and piano as a child. He studied music at the Musikhochschule Köln from 1942 to 19 ...

was

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...

from 1972 to 1985, and shaped to orchestra into a powerful group. In 1976, Stuttgart, the capital of

, took over the orchestra, with

Wolf-Dieter Hauschild Wolf-Dieter Hauschild (born 6 September 1937 in Greiz), is a German conductor, choirmaster, artistic director, composer, harpsichordist and university lecturer. After working for the Berliner Rundfunk from 1971, he was principal conductor of the ...

as principal conductor from 1985 to 1991.

Carlos Kalmar Carlos Kalmar (born February 26, 1958, in Montevideo) is a Uruguayan conductor.Macaluso, p. 194 Biography Kalmar began violin studies at age six. At age fifteen, he enrolled at the Vienna Academy of Music where his conducting teacher was Karl ...

continued the tradition from 1991 to 1995.

Jörg-Peter Weigle Jörg-Peter Weigle (born 1953, in Greifswald), is a German conductor and music professor. He is the uncle of the conductor Sebastian Weigle and the violist Friedemann Weigle. Weigle received his first musical training from 1963 to 1971 as a memb ...

was

Generalmusikdirektor A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the d ...

(GMD) from 1995 to 2002.

Walter Weller Walter Weller (30 November 1939 – 14 June 2015) was an Austrian-born conductor and classical violinist. He made several recordings over the years, founded his own string quartet. and led/co-led several well known orchestras and operas. Welle ...

, who had been closely associated with the orchestra for many years, was appointed Honorary Conductor in October 2003. From September 2004 to 2013, Gabriel Feltz was conductor of the Stuttgarter Philharmoniker and GMD of Stuttgart. The orchestra was awarded the Prix Rachmaninoff in 2007, in recognition of the most extensive performance cycle of Rachmaninoff's works in German-speaking countries, with all symphonies, piano concertos and other orchestral works. In the 2015/16 season, Dan Ettinger succeeded Feltz in the positions. He conducted a

concert performance A concert performance or concert version is a performance of a musical theater or opera in concert form, without set design or costumes, and mostly without theatrical interaction between singers. Concert performances are commonly presented in co ...

of Puccini's ''

Turandot ''Turandot'' (; see below) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, posthumously completed by Franco Alfano in 1926, and set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. ''Turandot'' best-known aria is "Nessun dorma", whi ...

'' with international stars, the Czech Philharmonic Choir Brno and the Aurelius Sängerknaben.

Program

In addition to several concert series in its home town, the Stuttgarter Philharmoniker regularly give guest performances every year in Germany and abroad. Tours have taken the orchestra to the U.S., Japan, South America, the China and Mexico. In recent years, they toured to

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

and

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

. Since 2013, the Stuttgarter Philharmoniker have been the festival orchestra of the , directed by

Marcus Bosch Marcus Bosch (born 28 October 1969) is a German conductor. He was Generalmusikdirektor (GMD) in Aachen, held the position at the Staatstheater Nürnberg from 2011, and with the Norddeutsche Philharmonie Rostock from 2020. He is the artistic direct ...

Recordings

The orchestra recorded for broadcasts and CDs, including Rachmaninoff's '' Der Fels'' and '' Toteninsel'', Scriabin's ''

Prométhée ''Prométhée'', Op. 82, (''Prometheus'') is a ''tragédie lyrique'' (grand cantata) in three acts by the French composer Gabriel Fauré with a French libretto by the Symboliste poets Jean Lorrain and (1865–1940). It was partly based on the o ...

'' and Mahler's Symphonies Nos 1 and 3 to 7. They played Ravel's '' La valse'' for DVD. In 2013, they recorded the world premiere recording of the complete ballet music from Respighi's ''Belkis, Regina di Saba''. They released a recording of Beethoven's Symphonies No. 3 and 5.

References

External links

* * *
Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra
arkivmusic.com *

Bach Cantatas Website 2015
Stuttgarter Philharmoniker
(articles, in German) ''

Stuttgarter Zeitung The ''Stuttgarter Zeitung'' ("Stuttgart newspaper") is a German-language daily newspaper (except Sundays) edited in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, with a run of about 200,000 sold copies daily. History and profile It was first edited ...

'' * Davie Billinge
Hans Huber (1852–1921) / Symphonies
musicweb-international.com November 2016 {{Portal bar, Classical music, Germany German orchestras Culture in Stuttgart