The Sinfonieorchester Basel (Symphony Orchestra Basel; Swiss abbreviation SOB) is a symphony orchestra based in

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. Its principal concert venue is the ''Musiksaal'' of the Stadtcasino. In addition, the orchestra accompanies ballet and opera productions with

Theater Basel Theater Basel is the municipal theatre of the city of Basel, Switzerland, which is home to the city's opera and ballet companies. The theatre also presents plays and musicals in addition to operas and operettas. Because the theatre does not h ...

, and records prolifically, often for

Sony Classical Sony Classical is an American record label founded in 1924 as Columbia Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. In 1980, the Columbia Masterworks label was renamed as CBS Masterworks Records. The CBS Records Group was acquired ...

History

The orchestra was founded in 1876, in the same year as the music hall Basel (Stadtcasino Basel) was constructed. During its history, the orchestra gave the world premieres of works by such composers as

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hunga ...

Arthur Honegger Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss-French composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. Honegger was a member of Les Six. For Halbreich, '' Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher'' is "more even ...

and

Bohuslav Martinů Bohuslav Jan Martinů (; December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He wrote 6 symphony, symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber music, chamber, vocal and ins ...

. The orchestra holds its present name Sinfonieorchester Basel since 1997, when the two orchestras Basler Sinfonie-Orchester and Radio Sinfonieorchester merged into one ensemble. Another milestone in the history of the orchestra was set in 2012, when the Sinfonieorchester Basel and the organizer of many years AMG (in German Allgemeine Musikgesellschaft Basel) decided to go separate ways. Henceforward, the Sinfonieorchester Basel has been organizing its own subscription concerts. From 2009 to 2016, the orchestra's chief conductor was

Dennis Russell Davies Dennis Russell Davies (born April 16, 1944, in Toledo, Ohio) is an American conductor and pianist. He is chief conductor of the Brno Philharmonic and of the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra. Biography Davies studied piano and conducting at ...

. In June 2015, the orchestra announced the appointment of

Ivor Bolton Ivor Bolton Ivor Bolton (born 17 May 1958) is an English conductor and harpsichordist. Early life and education Bolton was born in Blackrod, Greater Manchester, England. He studied at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Blackburn and Clare C ...

as its next chief conductor, as of the 2016–2017 season, with an initial contract of four years. Michał Nesterowicz became the orchestra's principal guest conductor as of the 2016–2017 season. Bolton is scheduled to conclude his tenure as chief conductor of the orchestra at the close of the 2024–2025 season. In February 2023, the orchestra announced the appointment of

Markus Poschner Markus Poschner (born 1 February 1971) is a German conductor and pianist. Biography Born in Munich, Poschner studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich with Hermann Michael. His mentors and supporters included Sir Roger Norri ...

as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2025–2026 season.

Chief conductors

Mario Venzago Mario Venzago (born 1948) is a Swiss conductor. Biography Venzago began piano studies at age five. He studied at the conservatory and the university in Zurich. He later studied conducting with Hans Swarowsky in Vienna. His other positions h ...

(1997–2003) *

Marko Letonja Marko Letonja (born 12 August 1961) is a Slovenian conductor. Biography Letonja studied piano and conducting at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, where his conducting teachers included Anton Nanut. He continued his conducting studies at the ...

(2003–2006) *

(2009–2016) *

(2016–present) *

(designate, effective autumn 2025)

Awards

The recording 'A different Schumann Vol. 1–3' was awarded the

Diapason d’Or Diapason may refer to: * Diapason (interval), the name of the just octave in Pythagorean tuning * Diapason (pipe organ), a tonal grouping of the flue pipes of a pipe organ * ''Diapason'' (magazine), a French classical music magazine * ''The Diap ...

in May 2004. The orchestra received the Diapason d'Or for the recording 'Felix Weingartner: Symphonic works I' in September 2005. The recording of ''Le Sacre du Printemps'' received the Supersonic-Prize and was nominated for the ICMA Music Award 2015.

Discography

* Millistrade, Musikalisches Singspiel von Marius Felix Lange und Linard Bardill * 'Of Madness and Love', Works by

Hector Berlioz Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the ''Symphonie fantastique'' and ''Harold en Italie, Harold in Italy'' ...

, inspired by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

: Symphonies No. 2 & 6 *

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...

: ''

Le Sacre du Printemps ''The Rite of Spring'' () is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1913 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company; the original choreography was by Vaslav Nijinsky ...

'' *

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

: Symphony No. 4 ("Heroes", from the music of

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

and

Brian Eno Brian Peter George Jean-Baptiste de la Salle Eno (, born 15 May 1948), also mononymously known as Eno, is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and activist. He is best known for his pioneering contributions to ambien ...

) * Philip Glass: Symphony No. 1, "Low" *

: Symphonies No. 2 & 4 ("Deliciae Basiliensis") * Franz Schubert: Symphony No. 9 "The Great C major" * Arthur Honegger: Symphonies No. 1 & 3 *

: Symphonies No. 3 & 5 * 'Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen': Romantic Music for Christmas *

Anton Bruckner Joseph Anton Bruckner (; ; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer and organist best known for his Symphonies by Anton Bruckner, symphonies and sacred music, which includes List of masses by Anton Bruckner, Masses, Te Deum (Br ...

: Symphonies No. 4 & 7 *

Felix Weingartner Paul Felix Weingartner, Edler von Münzberg (2 June 1863 – 7 May 1942) was an Austrian Conducting, conductor, composer and pianist. Life and career Weingartner was born in Zadar, Zara, Kingdom of Dalmatia, Dalmatia, Austrian Empire (now ...

: Symphonic works I – VII *

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

: A Different Schumann Vol. 1–3 *

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

: Works for Orchestra *

: Concertos for Piano *

Luigi Nono Luigi Nono (; 29 January 1924 – 8 May 1990) was an Italian avant-garde composer of classical music. Biography Early years Nono, born in Venice, was a member of a wealthy artistic family; his grandfather was a notable painter. Nono bega ...

: Various Works *

Iannis Xenakis Giannis Klearchou Xenakis (also spelled for professional purposes as Yannis or Iannis Xenakis; , ; 29 May 1922 – 4 February 2001) was a Romanian-born Greek-French avant-garde composer, music theorist, architect, performance director and enginee ...

: ''Kraanerg'', ballet music for orchestra and tape *

Klaus Huber Klaus Huber (30 November 1924 – 2 October 2017) was a Swiss composer and academic based in Basel and Freiburg. Among his students were Brian Ferneyhough, Michael Jarrell, Younghi Pagh-Paan, Toshio Hosokawa, Wolfgang Rihm, and Kaija Saaria ...

: ''Schwarzerde'' *

Wladimir Vogel Wladimir Rudolfowitsch Vogel (17 February/29 February 1896 – 19 June 1984) was a Swiss (people), Swiss composer of Germans, German and Russians, Russian descent. Life Born in Moscow, Vogel first studied composition in Moscow with Alexander Scri ...

: Various works *

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...

: Works for Piano and Orchestra * Thomas Kessler: Various works *

Othmar Schoeck Othmar Schoeck (1 September 1886 – 8 March 1957) was a Swiss List of Romantic-era composers, Romantic classical composer, opera composer, musician, and Conductor (music), conductor. He was known mainly for his considerable output of lied, art ...

: ''

Penthesilea Penthesilea () was an Amazonian queen in Greek mythology, the daughter of Ares and Otrera and the sister of Hippolyta, Antiope, and Melanippe. She assisted Troy in the Trojan War, during which she was killed by Achilles or Neoptolemus. The ...

Literature

* Tilman Seebass: 100 Jahre AMG – Die Allgemeine Musikgesellschaft Basel 1876–1976. * Rudolf Häusler: AMG – Allgemeine Musikgesellschaft Basel 1976–2001: Eine Festschrift zum 125-Jahr-Jubiläum. * Dr. Hans Ziegler: Geschichte der Basler Orchester-Gesellschaft 1922–1970. Verlag Krebs AG, Basel. * Sigfried Schibli: Geschichte der Basler Orchester-Gesellschaft 1971–2003. Verlag Krebs AG, Basel 2009.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Musical groups established in 1997 Swiss symphony orchestras 1876 establishments in Switzerland Orchestras in Basel