The Dortmunder Philharmoniker (Dortmund Philharmonic) are 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: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

based in

Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...

. The orchestra of the

Theater Dortmund Theater Dortmund is a theatrical organization that produces operas, Musical theatre, musicals, ballets, plays, and concerts in Dortmund, Germany. It was founded as the Stadttheater Dortmund in 1904. Supported by the German Government, the organiz ...

performs opera in the

Opernhaus Dortmund Opernhaus Dortmund is the opera house of Dortmund, Germany, operated by the Theater Dortmund organisation. A new opera house opened in 1966, replacing an earlier facility which opened in 1904 and was destroyed during World War II. It was built o ...

and concert in the Konzerthaus Dortmund. The orchestra was founded in 1887 and has been shaped by conductors such as Wilhelm Schüchter,

Marek Janowski Marek Janowski (born 18 February 1939 in Warsaw) is a Polish-born German conductor. Biography Janowski grew up in Wuppertal, near Cologne, after his mother traveled there at the start of World War II to be with her parents. His father disappear ...

, Moshe Atzmon and Jac van Steen.

History

The ''Dortmunder Philharmoniker'' were founded as ''Orchesterverein'' in 1887. They played at different locations until the Stadttheater was opened in 1904. Since then they played also opera. The names of orchestra changed with organisational and functional changes, ''Hüttner Kapelle'', ''Städtisches Orchester'' (Orchestra of the City), ''Philharmonisches Orchester der Stadt Dortmund'', ''Philharmonisches Orchester Dortmund'', now ''Dortmunder Philharmoniker''. The concert venue after World War II was the Kleine Westfalenhalle. In 1966 they opened the new opera house

with a performance of ''

Der Rosenkavalier (''The Knight of the Rose'' or ''The Rose-Bearer''), Op. 59, is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from Louvet de Couvrai's novel ''Les amours du cheva ...

'', conducted by Wilhelm Schüchter. Its hall was also used for symphony concerts until 2002, when the Konzerthaus Dortmund opened as the orchestra's home. As of 2010, the orchestra had grown to 102 musicians. The principal conductor has the title

Generalmusikdirektor A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...

: * 1887–1919 Georg Hüttner * 1920–1951 * 1952–1962 Rolf Agop * 1963–1974 Wilhelm Schüchter * 1975–1979

* 1980–1985 Hans Wallat * 1985–1990 * 1991–1994 Moshe Atzmon * 1996–2000

Anton Marik Anton Marik (born 1940) is an Austrian conductor who made a career with orchestras and choirs in Germany. Career Born in Vienna, Marik had been a member of the Vienna Boys' Choir and received his basic musical training there. After graduating ...

* 2002–2007 * 2008–2013 Jac van Steen * 2013–present

Music

The Dortmunder Philharmiker perform regular concerts and also concerts for young listeners, (family concerts) for people from five years up, and (concerts for young people). In October 2006 they toured in China, in Shanghai and Beijing among others, conducted by Arthur Fagen. In 2010 they participated in the Festival Klangvocal with music of

Hans Werner Henze Hans Werner Henze (1 July 1926 – 27 October 2012) was a German composer. His large List of compositions by Hans Werner Henze, oeuvre is extremely varied in style, having been influenced by serialism, atonality, Igor Stravinsky, Stravinsky, Mu ...

and

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

. Henze's Symphony No. 5, Wagner's ''

Wesendonck Lieder , WWV 91, is the common name of a set of five songs for female voice and piano by Richard Wagner, (''Five Poems for a Female Voice''). He set five poems by Mathilde Wesendonck while he was working on his opera ''Tristan und Isolde''. The songs ...

'' in Henze's version, and the first act of ''

Die Walküre (; ''The Valkyrie''), Wagner-Werk-Verzeichnis, WWV 86B, is the second of the four epic poetry, epic music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's Literary cycle, cycle ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nibelung''). It was ...

'' were performed with soloists

Angela Denoke Angela Denoke (born 27 November 1961) is a German opera singer (soprano). Born in Stade, she studied at the University of Music and Drama of Hamburg. Her first contract was at the Theater Ulm (1992–1996), where she sang Fiordiligi (''Così ...

and Stig Andersen, conducted by Jac van Steen. It is part of a project begun in 2009 to perform all symphonies of Henze, whose mother was born in nearby

Witten Witten () is a city with almost 100,000 inhabitants in the Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis (district) in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany. Geography Witten is situated in the Ruhr valley, in the southern Ruhr area. Bordering municipalities * Bochum ...

. The Dortmunder Philharmoniker recorded a CD in 2010, works of

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8September 18411May 1904) was a Czech composer. He frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example of his predec ...

, including his Symphony No. 6 and concert overtures.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control, state=collapsed German symphony orchestras Musical groups established in 1887 1887 establishments in Germany Orchestras in North Rhine-Westphalia Culture in Dortmund

History

Music

References

Further reading

External links