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

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much 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 south, Croatia and ...

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

Ferenc Erkel Ferenc 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 often performed in Hungary. He also composed t ...

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 theater building used for performances of opera. Like many theaters, it usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, backstage facilities for costumes and building sets, as well as offices for the institut ...

, 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 Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

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, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, often set within studied ye ...

, 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. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

( 7th Symphony),

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

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

and

Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Meyer 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 ''Ro ...

Eric Blom Eric Walter Blom (20 August 188811 April 1959) was a Swiss-born British-naturalised music lexicographer, music critic and writer. He is best known as the editor of the 5th edition of ''Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1954). Earl ...

, 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 (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic period. With a diverse body of work spanning more than six decades, he is considered to be one of the most pro ...

'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 Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...

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 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'' ...

'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, F ...

* 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 Weiner is a surname or, in fact, the spelling of two different surnames originating in German and the closely related Yiddish language. In German, the name is pronounced , of which the rare English pronunciation is a close approximation. In Yid ...

, 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 ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...

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 ...

Respighi Ottorino Respighi ( , , ; 9 July 187918 April 1936) was an Italian composer, violinist, teacher, and musicologist and one of the leading Italian composers of the early 20th century. List of compositions by Ottorino Respighi, His compositions ra ...

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...

and

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 composers of ...

. 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 who immigrated to Germany. Educated in Britain, d'Albert showed early musical talent and, at the age of seventeen, h ...

Édouard Colonne Édouard Juda Colonne (23 July 1838 – 28 March 1910) was a French conductor and violinist, and a champion of the music of Berlioz and other eminent 19th-century composers. Life and career Colonne was born in Bordeaux, the son and grandson ...

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

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 Germ ...

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 ...

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

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 Neue Musik. Kleiber was born in Vienna, and after studying at the Prague Conser ...

and

Otto Klemperer Otto Nossan Klemperer (; 14 May 18856 July 1973) was a German conductor and composer, originally based in Germany, and then the United States, Hungary and finally, Great Britain. He began his career as an opera conductor, but he was later bet ...

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 language, Finnish and Hungarian language, Hungarian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: *Ernő Balogh (1897-1989), Hungarian pianist, composer, editor, and educator *Ernő Bánk (1883-1962), Hunga ...

* 1960-1967:

János Ferencsik János Ferencsik (18 January 190712 June 1984) was a Hungarian conductor. Ferencsik was born in Budapest; he actively played music even as a very young boy. He took violin lessons and taught himself to play the organ. He studied at the Natio ...

* 1967-1986: András Kóródi * 1989-1994:

Erich Bergel Erich Bergel (1 June 1930 – 3 May 1998) was a German trumpet player and conductor. Career Born in Râşnov, Bergel was a flutist of the Hermannstädter Philharmoniker age 18. From 1950 to 1955 he studied conducting, organ and composition ...

* 1997-2005:

Rico Saccani Rico Saccani (born April 16, 1952) is a conductor who served as music director and artistic adviser of the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra between 1996 and 2005 and was principal guest conductor of the Hungarian State Opera from 1985 to 2005. ...

* 2011-2014: György Győriványi Ráth *2014-current:

Pinchas Steinberg Pinchas Steinberg (; born 13 December 1945) is an Israeli-German conductor and violinist. He is currently the Chief Conductor of the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra. Early career Steinberg studied violin in the USA under Jascha Heifetz and Jo ...

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,

, music director of the orchestra (1997-2005) Steinberg Pinchas.jpg,

, chief conductor of the orchestra (2014-)

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 Orchestras in Budapest Musical groups established in 1853 Symphony orchestras

History

Chairmen-conductors

Gallery

See also

References

Sources