Budapesti Filharmoniai Társaság-Kerner István

The Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra ( Hungarian: ''Budapesti Filharmóniai Társaság Zenekara'') is

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

's oldest extant orchestra. It was founded in 1853 by

Ferenc Erkel Ferenc Erkel ( hu, Erkel Ferenc , german: link=no, Franz Erkel; November 7, 1810June 15, 1893) was a Hungarian composer, conductor and pianist. He was the father of Hungarian grand opera, written mainly on historical themes, which are still o ...

under the auspices of the Budapest Philharmonic Society. For many years it was Hungary's only professional orchestra.Budapest Philharmonic Society
The ensemble is an independent body, now organised by musicians of the

Opera House An opera house is a theatre building used for performances of opera. It usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and building sets. While some venues are constructed specifically fo ...

, directed by the chairman-conductor and the board of directors. Its main concert venue is the Hungarian State Opera House, where they give around ten concerts per year. Since its foundation famous composers have given concerts with the orchestra. Franz Liszt travelled regularly to Budapest and appeared as guest conductor with them; among its other guest conductors over the past 150 years have been

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...

, Dvořák, and

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 ...

. The Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra has made numerous concert tours to other European countries, the United States, and Japan.

History

The original members of the orchestra were drawn from musicians of the Hungarian National Theatre. Its first concert was on 20 November 1853, under the baton of

. The programme consisted of works by

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

( 7th Symphony), Mozart,

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sym ...

and

Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera ''Robert le d ...

. Eric Blom, ed., Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed, 1954, Vol.1, Budapest, p. 997 Landmark events include: * 25 March 1865: the first complete performance in Budapest of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D minor, "Choral" * 16 December 1870: the premiere of

Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

's ''Beethoven Cantata'' (No. 2, S. 68), written for the centenary of Beethoven's birth, conducted by the composer * 9 November, 1881: first performance of Johannes Brahms Piano Concerto No 2, played by Johannes Brahms and conducted by Alexander Erkel GOING OUT GUIDE by Richard F. Shepard , November 11, 1981, ''The New York Times''
/ref> * 19 March 1888: the first performance in Hungary of Berlioz's '' Grande Messe des Morts (Requiem)'', conducted by

Sándor Erkel Sándor Erkel (2 January 1846 – 14 October 1900) (Hungarian: Erkel Sándor) was a Hungarian composer, conductor and director of the Hungarian State Opera. Biography Born in Buda, Erkel was the youngest son of the famous Hungarian composer, Fe ...

* 20 November 1889: the world premiere of

's Symphony No. 1 "Titan", conducted by the composer * 8 April 1907: the first performance in Hungary of Liszt's oratorio ''

Christus Christus may refer to: * Christ (title) People * Petrus Christus (c. 1410s – c. 1475), Dutch painter * Sir Christus (1978–2017), Finnish musician Music * ''Christus'' (Liszt), an oratorio * ''Christus'' (Mendelssohn), an unfinished oratorio ...

'' This was Hans Richter's final appearance with the orchestra. Many Hungarian composers have written works especially for the orchestra, including Erkel, Liszt, Goldmark, Dohnányi, Bartók, Kodály, Weiner, Kadosa and Szokolay. Many renowned foreign composers have conducted the Philharmonic Orchestra in performances of their works:

, Dvořák, Mahler, Mascagni,

Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...

Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

, Respighi, Richard Strauss and Stravinsky. Other conductors to appear with the orchestra include Denes Agay,

Eugen d'Albert Eugen (originally Eugène) Francis Charles d'Albert (10 April 1864 – 3 March 1932) was a Scottish-born pianist and composer. Educated in Britain, d'Albert showed early musical talent and, at the age of seventeen, he won a scholarship to stud ...

, Édouard Colonne,

Arthur Nikisch Arthur Nikisch (12 October 185523 January 1922) was a Hungarian conductor who performed internationally, holding posts in Boston, London, Leipzig and—most importantly—Berlin. He was considered an outstanding interpreter of the music of B ...

Gabriel Pierné Henri Constant Gabriel Pierné (16 August 1863 – 17 July 1937) was a French composer, conductor, pianist and organist. Biography Gabriel Pierné was born in Metz. His family moved to Paris, after Metz and part of Lorraine were annexed to Ger ...

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. ...

Bruno Walter Bruno Walter (born Bruno Schlesinger, September 15, 1876February 17, 1962) was a German-born conductor, pianist and composer. Born in Berlin, he escaped Nazi Germany in 1933, was naturalised as a French citizen in 1938, and settled in the U ...

Erich Kleiber Erich Kleiber (5 August 1890 – 27 January 1956) was an Austrian, later Argentine, conductor, known for his interpretations of the classics and as an advocate of new music. Kleiber was born in Vienna, and after studying at the Prague Conservato ...

and

Otto Klemperer Otto Nossan Klemperer (14 May 18856 July 1973) was a 20th-century conductor and composer, originally based in Germany, and then the US, Hungary and finally Britain. His early career was in opera houses, but he was later better known as a concer ...

Chairmen-conductors

The chairmen-conductors of the orchestra have been: * 1853-1871:

* 1875-1900:

(Ferenc Erkel's son) * 1900-1918: István Kerner * 1919-1944:

Ernő Dohnányi Ernő or Erno is a Finnish and Hungarian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Ernő Balogh (1897-1989), Hungarian pianist, composer, editor, and educator * Ernő Bánk (1883-1962), Hungarian painter and teacher * Ernő B ...

* 1960-1967: János Ferencsik * 1967-1986: András Kóródi * 1989-1994: Erich Bergel * 1997-2005: Rico Saccani * 2011-2014: György Győriványi Ráth *2014-current: Pinchas Steinberg

Gallery

Erkel Ferenc portréja (Pollák Zsigmond metszete).jpg,

, founder and first conductor of the orchestra Erkel Sándor-Décsey Ede.jpg,

, the son of

, chairman-conductor (1875-1900) Kerner István.jpg, István Kerner, principal conductor (1900-1918) Ernő Dohnányi.png,

, president-conductor of the orchestra (1919-1944) Rico Saccani.JPG, Rico Saccani, music director of the orchestra (1997-2005) Steinberg Pinchas.jpg, Pinchas Steinberg, chief conductor of the orchestra (2014-) Interior, Hungarian State Opera House

References

Sources

History of the Philharmonic Society - official website of the orchestra

Encyclopædia Britannica - "Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra"
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External links

Official site
{{Authority control Hungarian orchestras Musical groups established in 1853 Symphony orchestras

History

Chairmen-conductors

Gallery

See also

References

Sources