
(; "Hesse Broadcasting"), shortened to HR (; stylized as hr), is the German state of
Hesse
Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...
's
public broadcasting corporation. Headquartered in
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
, it is a member of the national consortium of German public broadcasting corporations,
ARD.
Studios
Dornbusch Broadcasting House, in Bertramstraße, Frankfurt am Main, is home to HR's principal radio and television studios. There are additional radio and television studios in
Kassel
Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...
and
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...
, as well as further radio studios in
Darmstadt
Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...
,
Fulda
Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the city hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival.
Histor ...
, and
Gießen
Giessen, spelled in German (), is a town in the German state () of Hesse, capital of both the district of Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is approximately 90,000, with roughly 37,000 university students.
Th ...
. HR also maintains offices in
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
,
Eltville
Eltville am Rhein (; from ''Alta Villa'', Latin for "high estate, high town", corrupted to ''Eldeville'', ''Elfeld'' and later Eltville ) is a town in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. It lies on ...
,
Erbach,
Limburg an der Lahn
Limburg an der Lahn (, ; officially abbreviated ''Limburg a. d. Lahn'') is the district seat of Limburg-Weilburg in Hesse, Germany.
Geography
Location
Limburg lies in western Hesse between the Taunus and the Westerwald on the river Lahn.
The t ...
, and
Marburg
Marburg (; ) is a college town, university town in the States of Germany, German federal state () of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf Districts of Germany, district (). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has ...
.
In 2000, HR opened studios on the 53rd floor of the
Main Tower
Main Tower is a 56-storey, skyscraper in the Innenstadt (Frankfurt am Main), Innenstadt district of Frankfurt, Germany. It is named after the nearby Main (river), Main river. The building is when its antenna tower, antenna spire is included.
...
in Frankfurt city centre. The corporation is also responsible for the management of ARD's studios in
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
and
Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
.
Finance
Licensing fees are currently €17.50 per month. Since 2013, every household has been liable for this fee, whether or not there are radio or TV receivers present. The fee is collected by ''
Beitragsservice von ARD, ZDF und Deutschlandradio''.
Programming
Television
HR contributes to the programming of the main German public-service broadcasting channel
Das Erste
Das Erste (; "The First") is the flagship national television channel of the ARD (broadcaster), ARD association of public broadcasting corporations in Germany. ''Das Erste'' is jointly operated by the ARD (broadcaster)#Institutions and member org ...
, and also to that of the associated
3sat
3sat (, ''Dreisat'') is a free-to-air German-language public service television channel. It is a generalist channel with a cultural focus and is jointly operated by public broadcasters from Germany ( ZDF, ARD), Austria ( ORF) and Switzerlan ...
,
ARTE
Arte (, , ; ' ('), sometimes stylised in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European Union, European public service Television channel, channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based Europea ...
,
KI.KA
Kika (currently stylised as KiKA, formerly as KI.KA; formally , ) is a German free-to-air television channel based in Erfurt, Germany. It is managed by a joint venture by public-service broadcasters ARD and ZDF. Its intended audience is childre ...
, and
Phoenix.
Like other regional public broadcasting corporations in Germany, HR has its own, regional "channel three" (i.e. in addition to the national ARD and
ZDF
ZDF (), short for (; ), is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Launched on 1 April 1963, it is run as an independent nonprofit institution, and was founded by all federal states of Germany ( ...
channels). From 1964 until 1983 this was known as ''Das Hessisches Fernsehprogramm'' ("The Hesse Television Programme"). It was then rebaptized as ''Hessen Drei'' ("Hesse Three"), before it was rebaptized ''hessen fernsehen'' ("Hesse Television") in 1997. Most recently, in October 2004 the channel became ''
hr-fernsehen
hr-fernsehen is the regional television channel of Hessischer Rundfunk for the state of Hesse, Germany.
Overview
The channel focuses on regional reporting. In addition to the afternoon programme ''hallo hessen'' and the weeknightly tabloid magaz ...
''. Since December 2013 the channel has also been available in
HDTV
High-definition television (HDTV) describes a television or video system which provides a substantially higher image resolution than the previous generation of technologies. The term has been used since at least 1933; in more recent times, it ref ...
.
Since the 1970s, the station used a film of kittens climbing over a box pyramid featuring its logo with a jazz music background during programming breaks, and created an updated version of the film in 2015.
Radio
hr1
hr1 plays almost exclusively
middle of the road and
easy listening
Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...
music, chiefly from the 1965 to 1985 era, and is aimed at a 40- to 60-year-old demographic. Until 2004 hr1 had been HR's main information channel.
hr2-kultur
hr2-kultur is HR's cultural and classical-music radio channel.
hr3
hr3 is an adult-oriented popular music programme. Relaunched in the early 80s as a service targeted principally at young people, the station has aged together with its audience.
hr4
hr4 is aimed at an older listenership. It broadcasts regional news and German popular music (''
schlagers
Schlager (, " hit(s)") is a style of European popular music and radio format generally defined by catchy instrumental accompaniments to vocal pieces of pop music with simple, easygoing, and often sentimental lyrics.
Schlager tracks are typ ...
'') and "evergreens", as well as instrumental music, folk, and light classical music.
hr-iNFO
hr-info is a 24-hour
news radio
All-news radio is a radio format devoted entirely to the discussion and broadcast of news.
All-news radio is available in both local and radio syndication, syndicated forms, and is carried on both major US satellite radio networks. All-news sta ...
. On weekday daytime, it provides rolling news, with bulletins every 20 minutes. At all other times (except overnight), it broadcasts special in-depth-reports on a range of topics, alongside a quick news summary every half-hour.
YOU FM
YOU FM is HR's music programme for young people. It has also become famous outside of Hesse and Germany for its Saturday night techno music transmissions.
Former radio channels
*
hr-klassik – classical music programme (closed September 2005)
*
hr XXL – independent music programme for young people (1998–2003, now replaced by
YOU FM)
*
hr-chronos – information programme (closed 2003)
*
hr-skyline – business-oriented information programme (1998–2004), now replaced by
hr-info)
Musical organizations
Hessischer Rundfunk maintains three resident ensembles:
*
hr-Sinfonieorchester
The Frankfurt Radio Symphony () is the radio orchestra of Hessischer Rundfunk, the public broadcasting network of the German state of Hesse. Venues are Alte Oper and hr-Sendesaal. Music director is the French conductor Alain Altinoglu. Chief ...
(Frankfurt Radio Symphony) – Founded in 1929 by HR's predecessor, the Südwestdeutsche Rundfunkdienst (1924–33), the orchestra is an internationally renowned ensemble. Its 112 musicians perform the whole spectrum of symphonic music dating from the Baroque era to the present day, initiating various new forms of presentation as well as undertaking experimental projects. Although the orchestra is based in Frankfurt, working principally in the German State of Hesse, it is a frequent guest at important international festivals and regularly tours the world. Since the 2021/2022 season
Alain Altinoglu
Alain Altinoglu (born 9 October 1975) is a French conductor of Armenian descent, and an academic teacher. He is chief conductor of both the La Monnaie opera in Brussels and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, and has conducted at international opera ...
has been the orchestra's
chief conductor
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 ...
.
Important predecessors have included
Dean Dixon
Charles Dean Dixon (January 10, 1915November 3, 1976) was an American conductor.
Career
Dixon was born in the upper-Manhattan neighborhood of Harlem in New York City to parents who had earlier migrated from the Caribbean. He studied conducting ...
,
Eliahu Inbal
Eliahu Inbal (; born 16 February 1936, Jerusalem) is an Israeli conductor. Inbal has enjoyed a career of international renown, conducting leading orchestras around the worlHe has conducted a wide variety of works. He is best known for his interpr ...
,
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. He studied at Glinka C ...
,
Hugh Wolff
Hugh MacPherson Wolff (born October 21, 1953, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France) is an American conductor. He was chief conductor of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony.
Biography
Born in France while his father was serving in the U.S. Foreign Service, Wolff s ...
,
Paavo Järvi
Paavo Järvi (; born 30 December 1962) is an Estonian conductor. He has been chief conductor of Zurich's Tonhalle since 2020.
Early life
Järvi was born in Tallinn, Estonia (then occupied by the Soviet Union), to Liilia Järvi and the Estoni ...
and
Andrés Orozco-Estrada
Andrés Orozco-Estrada (born 14 December 1977) is a Colombian violinist and conductor, with dual nationality in Colombia and Austria. He is the Principal Conductor of the RAI National Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Designate of the Gü ...
.
*
hr-Bigband (Frankfurt Radio Big Band) – The Frankfurt Radio Big Band started life in 1946 as the Radio Frankfurt Dance Orchestra. Since the 1970s it has developed into a jazz big band with the focus on concerts. The Frankfurt Radio Big Band plays approximately 50 concerts every year, performing in every possible jazz-style as well as crossing over into classic, pop, ethno-, and electronic music. After three years as the band's artist in residence,
Jim McNeely
Jim McNeely (born May 18, 1949) is a jazz pianist, composer, arranger and faculty.
Biography
Jim McNeely was born in Chicago, Illinois. He earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Illinois, and moved to New York City in 1975. ...
assumed the position of chief conductor in 2011.
* hr-Jazzensemble – In 1958 the German All-Stars led by
Albert Mangelsdorff
Albert Mangelsdorff (September 5, 1928 – July 25, 2005) was a German jazz trombonist. Working mainly in free jazz, he was an innovator in multiphonics.
Early life
Mangelsdorff was born in Frankfurt on September 5, 1928, as the son of the book ...
became the ''Jazztett des Hessischen Rundfunks'' or alternatively the ''Albert Mangelsdorff Jazztett'', then finally the ''Jazzensemble des Hessischen Rundfunks'', today called the hr-Jazzensemble. The initial idea for a steadily working studio jazz band came from
Horst Lippmann
Horst Lippmann (17 March 1927 in Eisenach, Germany – 18 May 1997 in Frankfurt am Main) was a German jazz musician, concert promoter, writer and television director, best known as promoter of the influential American Folk Blues Festival tours of ...
. With regular studio recording dates but only seldom live appearances and album releases they initially played arrangements by
Joki Freund
Walter Jakob "Joki" Freund (September 5, 1926, Höchst (Frankfurt am Main), Höchst, Frankfurt am MainFebruary 15, 2012, Schwalbach am Taunus) was a German jazz saxophonist.
Freund began playing the accordion as a child, switching to tenor sa ...
but increasingly original compositions by
Heinz Sauer
Heinz Sauer (born December 25, 1932, Merseburg) is a German jazz saxophonist.
Sauer was an autodidact on tenor saxophone and began his career playing locally around Frankfurt in the 1950s. He played for many years in Albert Mangelsdorff's ensem ...
,
Günter Lenz
Günter Lenz (born 25 July 1938) is a German jazz bassist and composer.
Activities
Lenz was born in Frankfurt am Main. He first taught himself guitar and studied with Carlo Bohländer, playing jazz in the clubs of the U.S. Army from 1954 onw ...
, and
Ralf Hübner
Ralf Rainer Hübner (born May 3, 1939, Berlin) is a German jazz percussionist.
Hübner attended the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin (1958–1962), studying both double bass and drums there and playing with Benny Bailey and Nathan Davis. Upon g ...
who all joined in 1961 and in the 1970s also experimented with electronic and computerized sounds and later with sampling techniques. Albert Mangelsdorff, who led the ensemble until his death in 2005, his brother
Emil, Freund and
Peter Trunk
Peter Trunk (May 17, 1936, Frankfurt – December 31, 1973, New York) was a German jazz double-bassist.
Trunk played late in the 1950s in concert and on radio with Kenny Clarke, Stan Getz, Albert Mangelsdorff, and Zoot Sims. During this time he al ...
were part of the initial line-up,
Bob Degen
Bob Degen Jr (born January 24, 1944, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States) is an American jazz pianist. Much of his work has been in the trio format.
Life and career
Degen was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania in 1944. Both of his parents we ...
and
Christof Lauer
Christof Lauer (born 25 May 1953) is a German jazz tenor and soprano saxophonist, born in Melsungen, Germany, perhaps most well known in Europe where he has done projects with various musicians, such as Palle Danielsson, Carla Bley, came during the 1970s, all staying over decades. The ensemble could also invite guest musicians especially from the United States like
Sonny Rollins
Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American retired jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians.
In a seven-decade career, Rollins recorded over sixt ...
,
Stan Getz
Stan Getz (born Stanley Gayetski; February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wis ...
,
Jimmy Giuffre
James Peter Giuffre (, ; April 26, 1921 – April 24, 2008) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He is known for developing forms of jazz which allowed for free interplay between the musicians, anticipating f ...
,
Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson (April 24, 1937 – June 30, 2001) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and very occasional flute player. In a career spanning more than four decades, Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day an ...
,
Terri Lyne Carrington
Terri Lyne Carrington (born August 4, 1965) is an American jazz drummer, composer, producer, and educator. She has played with Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Clark Terry, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Joe Sample, Al Jarreau, Yellowjackets (band), ...
and
Bill Frisell
William Richard Frisell (born March 18, 1951) is an American jazz guitarist. He first came to prominence at ECM Records in the 1980s, as both a session player and a leader. He went on to work in a variety of contexts, notably as a participant ...
; European guests were among others
Alan Skidmore
Alan Richard James Skidmore (born 21 April 1942) is an English jazz tenor saxophonist, and the son of saxophonist Jimmy Skidmore.
Career
He was born in London, England. Skidmore began his professional career in his teens, and early in his care ...
,
Tomasz Stańko
Tomasz Ludwik Stańko (; 11 July 1942 – 29 July 2018) was a Polish trumpeter and composer associated with free jazz and the avant-garde.
In 1962, Tomasz Stańko formed his first band, the Jazz Darings, with saxophonist Janusz Muniak, pianist ...
,
Eberhard Weber
Eberhard Weber is a German double bassist and composer. As a bass player, he is known for his highly distinctive tone and phrasing. Weber's compositions blend chamber jazz, European classical music, minimalism and ambient music, and are regarded ...
,
Joachim Kühn
Joachim Kurt Kühn (born 15 March 1944) is a German jazz pianist.
Biography
Kühn was born in Leipzig, Germany. He was a musical prodigy and made his debut as a concert pianist, having studied classical piano and composition, with Arthur Schmidt-E ...
,
Marc Ducret
Marc Ducret (born 19 August 1957) is a contemporary avant-garde jazz guitarist who frequently collaborates with saxophonist Tim Berne.
Ducret's guitar style is idiosyncratic, having been called "highly original and very expressive," but also ...
,
Simon Nabatov
Simon Nabatov (born 11 January 1959) is a Russian-American jazz pianist.
Early life
Nabatov was born in Moscow on 11 January 1959. His parents were Leon, a professional pianist and choir conductor who was a native of Belarus, and Regina. Nabatov ...
, and
Theodosii Spassov
Theodosii Spassov Yordanov (, , born 4 March 1961) is a Bulgarian Folklore and jazz musician who plays kaval.
Theodosii Spassov began his early training on the kaval at the Kotel Music School and The Academy of Music and Dance in Plovdiv/Bulg ...
. A retrospective double album that documented their work from 1967 to 1993 was awarded with the
Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik Preis is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Alfred Preis (1911–1993), Austrian architect
* Ellen Preis (Ellen Müller-Preis) (1912–2007), German-born Austrian Olympic champion foil fencer
* Mary Louise Preis (born 1941), ...
in 1995.
Notable programmes
* Abendstudio (1948–2003)
*
Die Hesselbachs (1949–1967)
*
Chippie
''Chippie'' (''hr2-Computermagazin'') was a German radio program. It was one of the first programs on computer topics, produced by the Hessischer Rundfunk (Hessian Broadcasting).
History
''Chippie'' started in 1990. At first it was broadcast ...
(1990–1995)
Notable programme hosts
*
Peter Frankenfeld
Peter Frankenfeld (born Willi Julius August Frankenfeldt; 31 May 1913 in Berlin – 4 January 1979 in Hamburg) was a German people, German comedian, radio and television personality.
After World War II he became an interpreter with the U.S. milit ...
*
Bernhard Grzimek
Bernhard Klemens Maria Hoffbauer Pius Grzimek (; 24 April 1909 – 13 March 1987) was a German zoo director, zoologist, book author, editor, and Animal Conservation, animal conservationist in postwar West Germany. During the Third Reich, he served ...
*
Hans-Joachim Kulenkampff
Hans-Joachim Kulenkampff, nickname Kuli (27 April 1921 in Bremen14 August 1998 in Seeham) was a German actor and TV host, remembered mainly as host of '' Einer wird gewinnen'', a quiz show that ran from 1964 to 1987.
In 1967, he hosted Miss ...
Transmitters
*
Biedenkopf
Biedenkopf () is a spa town in western Hesse, Germany with a population of 13,491 (2020).
Geography
Location
The town of Biedenkopf lies in the west of Marburg-Biedenkopf district. Ringed by mountains reaching up to above sea level – the ...
: FM
* Darmstadt Weiterstadt/Darmbach: FM
* Frankfurt (Funkhaus Bertramstraße): FM
* Frankfurt-Main-Tower: FM
* Großer Feldberg: DAB, DVB-T, FM
* Hardberg am Odenwald: FM
*
Hoher Meißner
The Hoher Meißner () is a mountain massif with a height of 753.6 m and is located in the ''Meißner-Kaufunger Wald'' nature park in Hesse, Germany.
Geography
The Hoher Meißner is densely forested and covers an area of 10 km by 5& ...
: FM
* Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe: FM
* Marburg: FM
*
Rimberg: DAB, DVB-T, FM
* Schlüchtern: FM
* Würzberg: DVB-T, FM
Internet streaming
Each of HR's six radio channels is streamed online.
References
External links
*
{{coord, 50, 08, 08, N, 8, 40, 32, E, region:DE-HE_type:landmark, display=title
ARD (broadcaster)
German-language television networks
Television networks in Germany
Mass media companies of Germany
Mass media in Frankfurt
Mass media in Hesse
Radio stations in Germany
Television stations in Germany
1948 establishments in Germany