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Gewandhaus Orchester

The Gewandhaus Orchestra can look back with pride today over an history of over 250 years. Back then, it was the Leipzig merchants who founded and financed the concert society, which has since made music history and brought forth one of the world's best-known and most renowned orchestras. Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Arthur Nikisch, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Franz Konwitschny and Kurt Masur have all been Gewandhauskapellmeisters. They left their imprint on this unique musical culture, which Herbert Blomstedt carried forward into the new millennium. His successor, the 19th Gewandhauskapellmeister, Riccardo Chailly, embodies tradition and change simultaneously and is be the first musical director to hold both offices (Gewandhauskapellmeister and Musical Director of the Leipzig Opera) concurrently for over 35 years ago.

In March of 1743 sixteen Leipzig merchants gathered to found a concert society. In 1781 the orchestra moved into a 500-seat hall with superb acoustics in the assembly hall of the cloth traders, the »Gewandhaus« (»Garment House«), to which the orchestra and its Leipzig headquarters owe their name to this day. When this orchestra outgrew the hall, a second Gewandhaus, classic in style, was then dedicated in December of 1884. A large hall for 1,500 listeners and a further chamber music hall reminiscent of the old Gewandhaus hall of only 500 seats offered the musicians a home base in keeping with their quality and their now international rank.

During a bombing raid in February of 1944, the concert building was badly damaged, and the arduously preserved ruins were finally blown up in March of 1968. For a good three decades, concerts were given in a temporary congress hall near the Leipzig Zoo. Thanks to the untiring efforts of the Gewandhauskapellmeister at the time, Kurt Masur, the orchestra was finally able to move into a modern performance venue, ideally suited to all its musical, acoustical and technical requirements: the third Gewandhaus on the Augustusplatz. To this day, the majestic Schuke organ in the great hall bears an inscription with a quote from the Seneca the younger, one which has been the motto of the Gewandhaus since 1781: »Res severa verum gaudium« (»True pleasure is a serious business«.)

All together, this hall, with its over 1,900 seats arranged in semi-circular form, the Mendelssohn Hall with 500 seats, and the light-flooded Gewandhaus foyer form a unique architectural ensemble, aesthetically enriched by statues and busts of musicians, regularly changing painting exhibitions and, above all, by the monumental, four-story high ceiling painting: »Song of Life« by the Leipzig artist, Sighard Gille.
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Philharmonia Orchestra

The Philharmonia Orchestra is one of the world's great orchestras. Acknowledged as the UK's foremost musical pioneer, with an extraordinary recording legacy, the Philharmonia leads the field for its quality of playing, and for its innovative approach to audience development, residencies,music education and the use of new technologies in reaching a global audience. Together with its relationships with the world's most sought-after artists, most importantly its Principal Conductor Christoph von Dohnányi, the Philharmonia Orchestra is at the heart of Britishmusical life.

Today, the Philharmonia has the greatest claim of any orchestra to be the UK's National Orchestra. It is committed to presenting the same quality, livemusic-making in venues throughout the country as it brings to London and the great concert halls of the world. Throughout its 60 year history, the Philharmonia Orchestra has been committed to finding new ways to bring its top quality live performance to audiences worldwide, and to using new technologies to achieve this.

Many millions of people since 1945 have enjoyed their first experience of classical music through a Philharmonia recording, and today audiences can engage with the Orchestra through webcasts, podcasts, downloads, computer games and film scores as well as through its unique interactivemusic education website launched in 2005, The Sound Exchange.
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Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester

The Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin proudly looks back on a sixty-year tradition as radio and concert orchestra in Berlin. It began its illustrious history in 1946 as the RIAS Symphony Orchestra Berlin for the radio service in Berlin's American sector. Its first Music Director was Ferenc Fricsay. From 1956 the Orchestra changed its name to Radio-Symphonie-Orchester (RSO). After Fricsay's untimely death the young Lorin Maazel took over the artistic direction of the Orchestra in 1964. He was followed by Riccardo Chailly in 1982 and, in 1989, by Vladimir Ashkenazy, who remained Principal Conductor until 1999. To avoid confusion in Berlin's newly expanded cultural scene, the Orchestra decided to forego its already well established name in favour of its current one, and since 1993 has gone by the name of Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. From 1st January 1994, the existing RSO GmbH expanded to become the Rundfunk Orchester und Chöre GmbH (roc berlin), its partners being Deutschlandradio Kultur, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Federal State of Berlin and Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg. At the start of the 2000|2001 season, Kent Nagano took up the post of Music Director which he maintained until 2006. Ingo Metzmacher became the Orchestra's first German-born Music Director at the beginning of the 2007|2008 season.
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Israel Philharmonic Orchestra

The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 1936 by Bronislaw Huberman and its inaugural concert, on 26 December 1936, was conducted by Arturo Toscanini. The IPO plays in subscription series, including a special annotated Youth Concert Series, special concerts, concerts as part of the "Arts for the People" project throughout Israel, and special concerts for IDF soldiers at their outposts. The IPO annually tours the world's cultural centers and its prestigious festivals. Israel's creative artists are promoted by many IPO premieres of works by Israeli composers. The IPO also contributes to the absorption of new immigrants and includes in its ranks many new immigrant musicians. The orchestra has hosted most of the world's greatest conductors and soloists, and it also does much to develop Israeli artists and young talents from Israel and abroad. In 1968 Maestro Zubin Mehta was appointed Music Advisor to the IPO and in 1977 he became its Music Director. Leonard Bernstein was named IPO Laureate Conductor in 1988, in 1992 Kurt Masur was appointed Honorary Guest Conductor and since the 2001-02 season Yoel Levi has been Principal Guest Conductor of the IPO.
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