The Meiningen Court Orchestra (German: Meininger Hofkapelle) is one of Europe's most time-honoured orchestras. Since 1952, the 68-member ensemble has been affiliated with the Meiningen Court Theatre, where it regularly performs opera, symphony concerts, and youth concerts. The current music director (GMD) is Killian Farrell.
The Saxe-Meiningen ducal court orchestra was founded in 1690 by Duke Bernhard I. After its modest beginnings, the ensemble’s prominence began to grow under the leadership of the Baroque composer Georg Caspar Schürmann from 1702 to 1707. From 1711 until 1731 Johann Ludwig Bach, a second cousin of Johann Sebastian Bach, served as conductor, followed by his relatives Gottlieb Friedrich and Johann Philipp Bach.
The orchestra's golden era commenced in October 1880 with Hans von Bülow's appointment as court music director, elevating it to elite status in Europe. Bülow collaborated with Johannes Brahms, who occasionally conducted the ensemble. In a letter to the "theatre duke" George II of Saxe-Meiningen, Brahms expressed his admiration: 'Bülow should know that even the smallest rehearsal in the smallest hall in Meiningen means more to me than any concert in Paris or London, and […] I could sing endless praises about how content and at ease I feel among the orchestra…' His Symphony No. 4 premiered in Meiningen on 25 October 1885 with the composer himself conducting. After Bülow was offered the conductorship of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the young Richard Strauss briefly served as music director in Meiningen, before being succeeded by Fritz Steinbach and Wilhelm Berger.
Principal Conductors
The Meiningen Court Orchestra with Hans von Bülow, 1882
Kapellmeister, from German Kapelle (chapel) and Meister (master), literally "master of the chapel choir", designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term has evolved considerably in its meaning and is today used for denoting the leader of a musical ensemble, often smaller ones used for TV, radio, and theatres.
Richard Georg Strauss was a German composer and conductor best known for his tone poems and operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wagner and Franz Liszt. Along with Gustav Mahler, he represents the late flowering of German Romanticism, in which pioneering subtleties of orchestration are combined with an advanced harmonic style.
Freiherr Hans Guido von Bülow was a German conductor, pianist, and composer of the Romantic era. As one of the most distinguished conductors of the 19th century, his activity was critical for establishing the successes of several major composers of the time, especially Richard Wagner and Johannes Brahms. Alongside Carl Tausig, Bülow was perhaps the most prominent of the early students of the Hungarian composer, pianist and conductor Franz Liszt; he gave the first public performance of Liszt's Sonata in B minor in 1857. He became acquainted with, fell in love with and eventually married Liszt's daughter Cosima, who later left him for Wagner. Noted for his interpretation of the works of Ludwig van Beethoven, he was one of the earliest European musicians to tour the United States.
Meiningen is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 26,000 (2024). Meiningen is the capital and the largest town of the Schmalkalden-Meiningen district. From 1680 to 1920, Meiningen was the capital of the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen.
Johann Baptist Isidor Richter, or János Richter was an Austro-Hungarian orchestral and operatic conductor.
The Bavarian State Orchestra is the orchestra of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, Germany. It has given its own series of concerts, the Akademiekonzerte, since 1811.
Aus Italien, Op. 16, is a tone poem or program symphony for orchestra by Richard Strauss, described by the composer as a "symphonic fantasy". It was completed in 1886 when he was 22 years old. It was inspired by the composer's visit to Italy in the summer of the same year, where he travelled to Rome, Bologna, Naples, Sorrento, Salerno, and Capri. He began to sketch the work while still on the journey.
Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, was the penultimate Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, reigning from 1866 to 1914. For his support for his successful court theatre he was also known as the Theaterherzog.
Georg Caspar Schürmann was a German Baroque composer. His name also appears as Schurmann and in Hochdeutsch as Scheuermann.
The Allgemeiner Deutscher Musikverein was a German musical association founded in 1861 by Franz Liszt and Franz Brendel, to embody the musical ideals of the New German School of music.
The Burleske in D minor is a composition for piano and orchestra written by Richard Strauss in 1885–86, when he was 21.
Elisabethenburg Palace is a Baroque palace located on the northwestern edge of Meiningen in Germany. Until 1918 it was the residence of the Dukes of Saxe-Meiningen. The castle now houses the Meininger Museum as well as the Max Reger archives, the Thuringian State Archives, the Max Reger music school, the Johannes Brahms concert hall, a restaurant, the tower Cafe, and the ceremonial rooms of the Meinigen City Council and Registry Office.
The following is a chronological list of classical music composers who lived in, worked in, were German citizens, or who grew up and made their careers in Germany.
Fritz Steinbach was a German conductor and composer who was particularly associated with the works of Johannes Brahms.
Princess Marie Elisabeth of Saxe-Meiningen was the only daughter of George II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, by his first wife, Princess Charlotte of Prussia. She was notable as a musician and composer. One of her most famous works is Romanze in F major for clarinet and piano.
The Staatstheater Meiningen, also called the Meiningen Theatre, is a four-division theater in the Thuringian town of Meiningen, Germany. The theater was founded in 1831 and was called ″Meininger Hoftheater″ until 1920.
In 1882–83 Richard Strauss wrote his Horn Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, Op. 11, in two versions, one for piano accompaniment and one with an orchestra. The horn concerto has become the most frequently performed horn concerto written in the 19th century. The premiere with piano accompaniment was given in 1883 at Munich, and that with orchestral accompaniment in 1885 at Meiningen.
Johann Balthasar Christian Freislich was a German composer and organist.
James Allen Gähres is an American conductor with an international career, based in Germany.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
