The Konzerthausorchester Berlin 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

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 ...

. The orchestra is resident at the

Konzerthaus Berlin The Konzerthaus Berlin is a concert hall in Berlin, the home of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin. Situated on the Gendarmenmarkt square in the central Mitte district of the city, it was originally built as a theater. It initially operated from ...

, designed by the architect

Karl Friedrich Schinkel Karl Friedrich Schinkel (13 March 1781 – 9 October 1841) was a Prussian architect, city planner and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed both neoclassica ...

. The building was destroyed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and was rebuilt from 1979 to 1984.

History

The orchestra was founded in 1952 as the ''Berliner Sinfonie-Orchester'' (Berlin Symphony Orchestra) in what was then

East Berlin East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as ...

, as a rival ensemble to the

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was f ...

based in

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

. The first chief conductor was Hermann Hildebrandt. In 1974, the

Berlin Sinfonietta The Berlin Sinfonietta, founded in 1974, is the chamber orchestra of the " Berlin Symphony Orchestra" (now known as the "Konzerthausorchester Berlin"). The founder of the orchestra, Hans Peter Franck, was for many years the second conductor of ...

was founded to serve as the sister chamber orchestra of the ''Berliner Sinfonie-Orchester''. After

German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

in 1989, the orchestra was threatened with dissolution, but subscriber action maintained the ensemble. The orchestra acquired its current name in 2006. (This orchestra is separate from the West-Berlin based

Berliner Symphoniker The Berliner Symphoniker (''Berlin Symphony Orchestra'') is a German symphony orchestra based in Berlin, Germany. History The orchestra began its performing activity on 1 September 1967 as ''Symphonisches Orchester Berlin'', under the auspices of t ...

, founded in 1967.) The ''Konzerthausorchester Berlin'' currently has, as its sister chamber orchestra, the ''Konzerthaus Kammerorchester''.

Kurt Sanderling Kurt Sanderling, CBE (; 19 September 1912 – 18 September 2011) was a German conductor. Sanderling was born in Arys, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire (now Orzysz, Poland), to Jewish parents. His early work at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, whe ...

was the longest-serving chief conductor of the orchestra, from 1960 to 1977. Subsequent chief conductors have been

Günther Herbig Günther Herbig (born 30 November 1931) is a German conductor. Born in Ústí nad Labem, Czechoslovakia, Herbig studied conducting at the Franz Liszt Academy in Weimar in 1951 (then in East Germany) with Hermann Abendroth. He later was a student ...

Claus Peter Flor Claus Peter Flor (born 16 March 1953, Leipzig) is a German conductor. Flor studied violin and clarinet at the Robert Schumann Conservatory in Zwickau. He continued his music studies at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Weimar and the HMT Felix ...

Michael Schønwandt Michael Schønwandt (born 10 September 1953 in Frederiksberg) is a Danish conductor. In Denmark, he studied piano, theory, and composition, and later continued musical studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Biography In 1979, Schønwan ...

(1992–1998),

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 fo ...

(2001–2006),

Lothar Zagrosek Lothar Zagrosek (born 13 November 1942 in Otting, Germany) is a German conductor. As a youth, he sang in the Regensburg Cathedral choir, including performances as the First Boy in ''The Magic Flute'' at the 1954 Salzburg Festival. From 1962 to ...

, and

Iván Fischer Iván Fischer (born 20 January 1951) is a Hungarian conductor and composer. Born in Budapest into a musical family of Jewish heritage, Fischer initially studied piano, violin, cello and composition in Budapest. His older brother, Ádám Fisc ...

. In November 2017, the orchestra announced the appointment of

Christoph Eschenbach Christoph Eschenbach (; born 20 February 1940) is a German pianist and conductor. Early life Eschenbach was born in Breslau, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland). His parents were Margarethe (née Jaross) and Heribert Ringmann. He was orphaned durin ...

as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2019-2020 season, with an initial contract of 3 years. In July 2021, the orchestra announced the extension of Eschenbach's contract through the 2022–2023 season. He is scheduled to conclude his chief conductorship of the orchestra at the close of the 2022-2023 season. Principal guest conductors of the orchestra have included

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 ...

. With the 2017-2018 season,

Juraj Valčuha Juraj Valčuha (born 1976, Bratislava) is a Slovak conductor who has worked mainly in Italy and France. He is the designated conductor of the Houston Symphony Orchestra from the 2022/23 season. Life Born in Bratislava, Valčuha studied compos ...

became principal guest conductor of the orchestra, following his initial guest-conducting appearance with the orchestra in the 2014-2015 season, and his subsequent return guest-conducting engagement 2 years later.

Joana Mallwitz Joana Mallwitz (born 1986 in Hildesheim) is a German conductor and pianist. Biography Mallwitz began to study violin at age 3, and piano at age 5. At age 14, she became a pupil of Christa-Maria Hartmann and Karl-Heinz Kämmerling. She continued ...

first guest-conducted the orchestra during the 2020-2021 season. In August 2021, the orchestra announced the appointment of Mallwitz as its next chief conductor and artistic director, effective with the 2023-2024 season, with an initial contract of five seasons. Mallwitz is the first female conductor to be named chief conductor of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin.

Principal conductors

* Hermann Hildebrandt (1952–1959) *

(1960–1977) *

(1977–1983) *

(1984–1991) *

(1992–1998) *

(2001–2006) *

(2006–2011) *

(2012–2018) *

(2019–present) *

(designate, effective 2023)

References

External links

Official website of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin
{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1952 German orchestras Music in Berlin 1952 establishments in Germany

History

Principal conductors

See also

References

External links