The Munich Philharmonic () is a German symphony orchestra located in the city of

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. It is one of Munich's four principal orchestras, along with the

Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (, BRSO) is a German radio orchestra. Based in Munich, Germany, it is one of the city's four orchestras. The BRSO is one of two full-size symphony orchestras operated under the auspices of Bayerischer Rundf ...

, the Munich Radio Orchestra and the

Bavarian State Orchestra The Bavarian State Orchestra () is the orchestra of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, Germany. It has given its own series of concerts, the , since 1811. Profile The origins of the ensemble date back to 1523 and the times of composer Ludwig Se ...

. Since 1985, the orchestra has been housed in the Gasteig culture centre.

History

Foundation

The orchestra was founded in

in 1893 by Franz Kaim, son of a piano manufacturer, as the Kaim Orchestra. In 1895, it took up residence in the city's ''Tonhalle'' (concert hall). It soon attracted distinguished conductors:

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic music, 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 ...

first directed the group in 1897 and premiered his '' Symphony No. 4'' and '' Symphony No. 8'' with the orchestra, while

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 ...

directed the orchestra for the posthumous premiere of Mahler's '' Das Lied von der Erde''.

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 ...

was music director from 1898 to 1905, and the young

Wilhelm Furtwängler Gustav Heinrich Ernst Martin Wilhelm Furtwängler ( , ; ; 25 January 188630 November 1954) was a German conductor and composer. He is regarded as one of the greatest Symphony, symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. He was a majo ...

made his auspicious conducting debut there in 1906. Meanwhile,

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 ...

pupil Ferdinand Löwe established an enduring tradition of Bruckner performance which continues to this day.

The World Wars

Up until this time the orchestra, which by 1910 was known as the Munich Konzertverein Orchestra, was privately funded, but during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

finances became tight and players were called for military service, forcing the orchestra to cease operation. After the war, the orchestra was taken over by the City of Munich and restarted under the leadership of composer

Hans Pfitzner Hans Erich Pfitzner (5 May 1869 – 22 May 1949) was a German composer, conductor and polemicist who was a self-described anti-modernist. His best known work is the post-Romantic opera ''Palestrina'' (1917), loosely based on the life of the ...

, soon replaced by Bruckner pioneer Siegmund von Hausegger. In 1928, the orchestra acquired its current name. After the rise of the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

party in 1933, the orchestra had to its scores with

swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍, ) is a symbol used in various Eurasian religions and cultures, as well as a few Indigenous peoples of Africa, African and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, American cultures. In the Western world, it is widely rec ...

s and the words "The Orchestra of the capital of the Movement"(German: Orchester der Hauptstadt der Bewegung). In 1938, the pro-Nazi conductor Oswald Kabasta became chief conductor, raising its musical standards even as

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

began. During the war, the Tonhalle was destroyed and the orchestra, without a permanent base, was suspended for a period. After the war, fortunes recovered under the music directors Hans Rosbaud and Rudolf Kempe. In 1979,

Sergiu Celibidache Sergiu Celibidache (; ; 13 August 1996) was a Romanian people, Romanian Conducting, conductor, composer, musical theorist, and teacher. Educated in his native Romania, and later in Paris and Berlin, Celibidache's career in music spanned over fi ...

took over, driving an increase in the orchestra's standards and public profile..

Recent history

After Celibidache's sudden death in 1996,

James Levine James Lawrence Levine ( ; June 23, 1943 – March 9, 2021) was an American conductor and pianist. He was music director of the Metropolitan Opera from 1976 to 2016. He was terminated from all his positions and affiliations with the Met on March ...

was chief conductor of the orchestra from 1999 to 2004. Christian Thielemann became the orchestra's music director in September 2004, joined by Wouter Hoekstra as ''Intendant''. However, in 2007, Hoekstra was dismissed from his post after reported disputes with Thielemann. In 2009, the orchestra announced the scheduled conclusion of Thielemann's tenure in 2011. Thielemann's demand to have a say over the choice of guest conductors was not approved. In March 2010,

Lorin Maazel Lorin Varencove Maazel (; March 6, 1930 – July 13, 2014) was an American conductor, violinist and composer. He began conducting at the age of eight and by 1953 had decided to pursue a career in music. He had established a reputation in t ...

was named the orchestra's next chief conductor, effective with the 2012–2013 season. Early in 2014, Maazel cancelled concert engagements as a result of ill health. Subsequently, in June 2014, he announced his resignation as music director of the Munich Philharmonic, with immediate effect. In January 2013, the orchestra announced the appointment of

Valery Gergiev Valery Abisalovich Gergiev (, ; ; born 2 May 1953) is a Russian conducting, conductor and opera company director. He is currently general director and artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre and of the Bolshoi Theatre and artistic director o ...

as its next principal conductor as of 2015, with an initial contract through 2020. Gergiev was dismissed in 2022 after Gergiev declined to repudiate Putin's

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. In March 2022, Lahav Shani first guest-conducted the orchestra, in a benefit concert for Ukraine. Shani returned in September 2022 for an additional guest-conducting appearance. In February 2023, the orchestra and the Munich City Council announced the appointment of Shani as its next chief conductor, with an initial contract of 5 years. Over the course of its history, the Munich Philharmonic has performed premieres of Günter Bialas,

, Harald Genzmer, Luigi Nono,

and others.

Chief conductors

* Hans Winderstein (1893–1895) * Hermann Zumpe (1893–1895) * Ferdinand Löwe (1897–1898) *

(1898–1905) * Georg Schnéevoigt (1898–1905) * Ferdinand Löwe (1908–1914) *

(1919–1920) * Siegmund von Hausegger (1920–1938) * Oswald Kabasta (1938–1944) * Hans Rosbaud (1945–1948) * Fritz Rieger (1949–1966) * Rudolf Kempe (1967–1976) *

(1979–1996) *

(1999–2004) * Christian Thielemann (2004–2011) *

(2012–2014) *

(2015–2022) * Lahav Shani (designate, effective 2026)

Honorary conductors (''Ehrendirigenten'')

Zubin Mehta Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor :wikt:emeritus, emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mehta's father ...

(2004–present)

References

External links

Münchner Philharmoniker official website
*
Article at oehmsclassics.com in German
* {{Authority control 1893 establishments in Germany German symphony orchestras Decca Records artists Olufsen Records artists Orchestras in Munich Musical groups established in 1893 RCA Records artists