Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Mainz

Last updated

String orchestra of the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Mainz performing at the inauguration of Michael Ebling as Lord Mayor of Mainz. Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Mainz.jpg
String orchestra of the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Mainz performing at the inauguration of Michael Ebling as Lord Mayor of Mainz.

The Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Mainz (literally: Philharmonic State Orchestra of Mainz), is the resident orchestra of the Staatstheater Mainz. In addition to musical theater and Tanztheater (concert dance) youth symphony and chamber concerts are part of the activity of the orchestra. It is one of the three symphony orchestras of Rhineland-Palatinate. Since September 2011, Hermann Bäumer has been principal conductor. [1]

Contents

History

16th and 17th century

Under Cardinal Elector Albert of Mainz, who obtained the Electorate of Mainz in 1514, and in 1518 was made a cardinal at the age of 28, the orchestra is first mentioned as electoral court orchestra. [2] The first verifiable conductor, Jan le Febure took up its duties at the Mainz court in 1601. In the following years the musical arrangement of numerous imperial coronations is evident, whereby the Mainz electoral court orchestra already gained early supraregional recognition. For example the orchestra performed in 1612 during the coronation of Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor. At the beginning of the 18th century, Elector Lothar Franz von Schönborn initiated the formation of a secular orchestra. This included the extension of the strings by woodwinds and horns. Elector von Schönborn was also setting records in the form of a decree to introduce a court musician. [3]

18th and 19th century

In 1777, a size of 35 members of the orchestra is documented. The first permanent theater in Mainz was built in 1760. Elector Emmerich Joseph von Breidbach zu Bürresheim allowed his musicians to participate in opera performances in this theater. Thus, the orchestra was now categorized as an opera orchestra. Only a few years later, elector Emmerich Joseph erected an Electoral Comedy House (Kürfürstliches Komödienhaus) at the avenue “Große Bleiche”. He subsidized the musical performances and made his band available for the opera. In the first musical almanac of 1782, the Mainz court orchestra was now listed among the finest in the territory of today's Germany. The opera itself made its mark during the following years, especially with Mozart's works. For example Mozart's Don Giovanni was performed as a premiere in German language in 1789 in Mainz. Besides the Mozart family grand tour, Mozart stayed several times in Mainz, and gave concerts with the orchestra. The opera flourished in Mainz at the end of the 18th century and was considered one of the best in Germany. The number of employed musicians in the court orchestra increased to 48, which was remarkable for that time. Elector Friedrich Karl Joseph von Erthal had upgraded the theater since the National Theatre. A few years later, during the War of the First Coalition, the comedy house was destroyed during the siege of Mainz (1793). The elector disposed the conversion of his stables to be used for a theater. It serve as a venue for the next 40 years.

With the end of the Electorate of Mainz, hard times began for the musicians. Only a small part of the orchestra remained in Mainz as the theater orchestra under new management. It was directly dependent on the success or failure of the ever-changing theater directors. This changed when in 1804 the circle “United Friends of Music” was founded and gave regular symphonic concerts, inviting important musicians, such as Niccolò Paganini and Franz Liszt.

On 21 September 1833, the curtain in the now newly built theater (today's Staatstheater Mainz) on Gutenberg Square rose for the first time for Carl Maria von Webers 9th "Jubilee Overture" and Mozart's La clemenza di Tito . The plight of the orchestra finally stabilized when the acquisition by the city of Mainz took place in 1876. Under the umbrella of the city authorities the 45 musicians were no longer under direct threat of financial failure of the theater. Under the first urban conductor Emil Steinbach, the Mainz stage was a leading house for Richard Wagner's works. His works were heard in concert as well. On 30 November 1877, the first public performance of Wagner's Siegfried Idyll was performed in Mainz, conducted by Steinbach. The world premiere of Hans Pfitzner's Der arme Heinrich (Poor Henry) on 24 March 1895 was conducted by the composer.

Hofkapellmeister and principal conductors

The Hofkapellmeisters and principal conductors of the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Mainz:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bavarian State Orchestra</span> Orchestra of the Bavarian State Opera

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.

Volker David Kirchner was a German composer and violist. After studies of violin and composition at the Peter Cornelius Conservatory, the Hochschule für Musik Köln and the Hochschule für Musik Detmold, he worked for decades as a violist in the Radio-Sinfonie-Orchester Frankfurt. He was simultaneously the violist in the Kehr Trio founded by his violin teacher Günter Kehr, and a composer of incidental music at the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden.

Marlis Petersen German operatic coloratura soprano (born 1968)

Marlis Petersen is a German operatic coloratura soprano.

Johannes Stert is an internationally active German conductor and composer.

Emil Steinbach was a German conductor and composer. He was particularly known for his interpretations of the works of Richard Wagner. He notably conducted the first public performance of Wagner's Siegfried Idyll in 1877.

Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden Building in Hesse, Germany

The Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden is a German theatre located in Wiesbaden, in the German state Hesse. The company produces operas, plays, ballets, musicals and concerts on four stages. Known also as the Staatstheater Wiesbaden or Theater Wiesbaden, its orchestra is the Hessisches Staatsorchester. The building was inaugurated in 1894.

The Hochschule für Musik Mainz is a university of music, part of the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz. It is the only such institution in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

Péter Halász, is a Hungarian conductor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Staatstheater Mainz</span> Theatre and opera house in Mainz, Germany

The Staatstheater Mainz is a theatre in Mainz, Germany, which is owned and operated by the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Situated on the Gutenbergplatz, the complex comprises two theatres which are connected by an underground passage and also by skywalk. Performances of opera, drama and ballet are presented. Its name was Stadttheater Mainz until 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siegfried Köhler (conductor)</span> German conductor and composer

Siegfried Köhler was a German conductor and composer of classical music. He worked as general music director of opera houses such as Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden and the Royal Swedish Opera. Köhler conducted premieres of works by Hans Werner Henze and Volker David Kirchner, among others, and revived rarely performed operas. He also composed music for the stage and taught at universities of music in Cologne and Saarbrücken.

Christopher Ward (conductor) British conductor (born 1980)

Christopher Ward is a British conductor. In August 2018 he became the Music Director of Theater Aachen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert Horne</span> South African conductor

Albert Horne is a South African-born chorus master and orchestral conductor, whose focus is opera chorus preparation and operatic performances. He worked for the Cape Town Opera and has been chorus master and conductor at the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden since 2014.

Catherine Rückwardt is a German pianist and conductor. She was Generalmusikdirektorin of the Staatstheater Mainz from 2001 to 2011, and has worked freelance since that time.

Mathieu Lange was a German musician, conductor and from 1952 to 1973 director of the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin. He hadn't gone by his first name Carl since 1950.

Werner Gustav Rudolf Gößling was a German conductor, Choir director, composer and university lecturer. He was chief conductor of the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Halle and the Robert Franz Singakademie in Halle. In 1951, he was appointed General Music Director. From 1956 to 1958, he built up the first Chinese symphony orchestra in the European style.

Walter Schartner was a German conductor, composer and Hochschullehrer. In 1946, he was appointed Generalmusikdirektor in Halle and as such he directed the Orchestra of the Halle Opera House. In 1949/50, he was chief conductor of the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Halle.

Albert Bittner was a German conductor and Generalmusikdirektor.

Michael Helmrath is a German oboist and conductor and since the 2016/2017 season, active as General Music Director of the Theater Nordhausen/Loh-Orchester Sondershausen.

Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Halle German symphonic orchestra

The Philharmonische Staatsorchester Halle was a symphony orchestra in Halle that existed from 1946 to 2006, which functioned as a concert orchestra and was last predominantly supported by the Land of Saxony-Anhalt. As a result of the fusion with the Orchester des Opernhauses Halle, the Orchestra was merged into the Staatskapelle Halle in 2006.

Alexander Steinitz is an Austrian conductor and since 2018 first Kapellmeister of the Theatre of West Pomerania.

References

  1. "Philharmonisches Staatsorchester". Landeshauptstadt Mainz (in German). 6 January 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  2. "Landesmusikrat Rheinland-Pfalz e.V.: Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Mainz". Landesmusikrat Rheinland-Pfalz e.V. (in German). Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  3. "Das Orchester // Orchestergeschichte". Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Mainz. Retrieved 25 April 2012.

Official website