MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra

MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra
Orchestra
Native name	MDR Sinfonieorchester
Founded	1923
Location	Leipzig, Germany
Concert hall	Gewandhaus
Principal conductor	Dennis Russell Davies
Website	www.mdr.de/konzerte/sinfonieorchester/index.html

The MDR-Sinfonieorchester (in English, MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra) is a German radio orchestra based in Leipzig. It is the radio orchestra of Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk, the public broadcaster for the German states of Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. It is one of the oldest Radio orchestras in the world and the oldest in Germany. It was founded in Leipzig, Germany in 1923 (9 months earlier than the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra). Apart from a short interruption during World War II, it has been the main orchestra of the Central German Broadcasting Company (MDR) since 1924. The orchestra performs concerts in Leipzig at the Gewandhaus.

History[]

The orchestra was founded as "Orchester des Konzertvereins" ("Orchestra of the Concert Society"). It became the "Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Leipzig" ("Radio Symphony Orchestra Leipzig") in 1924 and later adopted its present name. The Orchestra was dissolved during World War II and reunited in 1946 under the tenure of the conductor Hermann Abendroth, later conducted by Herbert Kegel. During the late 1970s through the 1980s, the principal conductors were Wolf-Dieter Hauschild and Max Pommer.

In 1992, the Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra merged with the Radio Philharmonic in Leipzig to form the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra. Daniel Nazareth was the first Music Director of the newly formed MDR Symphony Orchestra after the German reunification. The orchestra's most recent chief conductor was Kristjan Järvi, from 2012 to 2018.^[1] In November 2019, the orchestra announced the appointment of Dennis Russell Davies as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2020–2021 season, with an initial contract of 4 years.^[2]

Ensembles[]

Chamber music ensembles of the MDR Symphony Orchestra[]

• Arcato Streichquartett (since 1999)
• Döring-Bläserquintett (since 1982)
• Kammersymphonie Leipzig (since 2006)
• Leipziger Hornquartett (since 1996)
• Leipziger Schlagzeugensemble (since 1983)
• Leipziger Blechbläsersolisten (since 1992)
• MDR Bläserquintett (since 1995)

Other ensembles[]

• Gruppe Neue Musik Hanns Eisler (1970–1993)
• Ensemble Sortisatio (since 1992)

Principal conductors[]

• Alfred Szendrei (1924–1932)
• Carl Schuricht (1931–1933)
• Hans Weisbach (1934–1939)
• Reinhold Merten (1939–1940)
• Heinrich Schachtebeck (1945)
• Fritz Schröder (1945–1946)
• Gerhard Wiesenhütter (1946–1948)
• Hermann Abendroth and Gerhard Pflüger (1949–1956)
• Herbert Kegel (1953–1977)
• Wolf-Dieter Hauschild (1978–1985)
• Max Pommer (1987–1991)
• Daniel Nazareth (1992–1996)
• Marcello Viotti, Fabio Luisi and Manfred Honeck (1996–1999)
• Fabio Luisi (1999–2007)
• Jun Märkl (2007–2012)
• Kristjan Järvi (2012–2018)
• Dennis Russell Davies (2020–)

World premieres[]

This is a selected list of world premieres given by the orchestra:^[3]

See also[]

• Radio orchestra

References[]

Sources[]

• Jörg Clemen; Steffen Lieberwirth: Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk. Die Geschichte des Sinfonieorchesters. Klaus-Jürgen Kamprad publishing house, Altenburg 1999, ISBN 3-930550-09-1

External links[]

• Official German-language website of the MDR-Sinfonieorchester