Meet the Musicians
Das Tastaturglockenspiel

Wolf Michael Storz und Claudio Estay González stellen geben einen historischen Abriss über die Entwicklung vom Carillon über das Tastaturglockenspiel bis hin zur Celesta. Sie bilden damit den Abschluss unseres Instrumenten-Spezials zum Jubiläumsjahr 500 Jahre Bayerisches Staatsorchester.

Meet the Musicians
Viola No. 1

Christiane Arnold, violist in the Bayerisches Staatsorchester, talks about the discovery of what is believed to be the first viola acquired by the Bayerisches Staatsorchester. Violin maker Osamu Nambu goes into more detail about the elaborate restoration that brought the imitation Stradivari instrument back to life.

Meet the Musicians
Moritz Winker, bassoon (Video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VI53hNFGsLw&list=PLXtVSYTiDLYTFYEZmEQw4iwDsF5AdcmXK&index=4

">

Find out from Moritz Winkler, bassoonist in the Bayerisches Staatsorchester, how he came to play his instrument and more about the concert in Carnegie Hall 2018.

Click here for the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VI53hNFGsLw&list=PLXtVSYTiDLYTFYEZmEQw4iwDsF5AdcmXK&index=4

Meet the Musicians
The Guarneri bass

Thomas Herbst, double bass player in the Bayerisches Staatsorchester, introduces the historic Guarneri bass.

Meet the Musicians
Giorgi Gvantseladze, oboe (Video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wF_5KDG-wVw&list=PLXtVSYTiDLYTFYEZmEQw4iwDsF5AdcmXK&index=9 

">

The oboist of the Bayerisches Staatsorchester Giorgi Gvantseladze talks about his instrument and how he came to play it.

Click here for the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wF_5KDG-wVw&list=PLXtVSYTiDLYTFYEZmEQw4iwDsF5AdcmXK&index=9 

Zeitzeugnisse
Paul Hindemith: The Harmony of the World

Hindemith’s opera in five acts Die Harmonie der Welt was premiered at the Prinzregententheater on 11 August 1957 – the composer himself conducted. The astronomer and physicist Johannes Kepler is at the centre of the plot, which spans several decades and takes place in Prague, Linz, Sagan in Silesia and Regensburg. Other historical figures such as Wallenstein, Emperor Rudolf II and Emperor Ferdinand II also appear.


Photo credit: Bavarian State Opera Archive

Meet the Musicians
Alexandra Hengstebeck, double bass (video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=danUb7_QVsY&list=PLXtVSYTiDLYTFYEZmEQw4iwDsF5AdcmXK&index=3

">

Find out more about her instrument and the acoustic challenges in the Elbphilharmonie, where the Bayerisches Staatsorchester played in 2018, from the double bass player Alexandra Hengstebeck.



Click here for the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=danUb7_QVsY&list=PLXtVSYTiDLYTFYEZmEQw4iwDsF5AdcmXK&index=3

Zeitzeugnisse
Giovanni Battista Maccioni: L’arpa festante

1653: The first opera in Munich, Giovanni Battista Maccioni’s L’arpa festante, is premiered in the Herkulessaal of the Residenz. This is followed in 1657 by L’Oronte by court conductor Johann Caspar Kerll, which marks the inauguration of the first free-standing theatre building north of the Alps: the opera house on Salvatorplatz. A string ensemble together with the continuo group formed a prefiguration of today’s orchestra, which was to grow steadily.


 

Photo credit: Nösselt, Hans-Joachim: Ein ältest Orchester.

Meet the Musicians
Percussion for Alice in Wonderland

Find out more about the special role of the percussion section in Joby Talbot’s ballet Alice in Wonderland in this video.

Zeitzeugnisse
Alexander Zemlinsky: Sarema

Alexander Zemlinsky’s opera Sarema, based on Rudolf Gottschall’s story The Rose of the Caucasus, was written between 1893 and 1895 and won the 25-year-old composer the Luitpold Prize in 1896. The premiere followed on 10 October 1897 under Hugo Röhr at the Munich National Theatre, thus marking the Austrian composer’s first years of success. Zemlinsky received the Beethoven Prize of the Tonkünstlerverein for his Symphony in B flat major composed in 1897, and by 1899 he had written his opera Es war einmal, …, which was acclaimed in Vienna in 1900 under Gustav Mahler’s direction.



Photo credit: Bavarian State Opera Archive

Zeitzeugnisse
Franz Lachner: Benvenuto Cellini

Franz Lachner’s opera Benvenuto Cellini was premiered on 7 October 1849. Lachner used the French libretto by Léon de Wailly and Henri-Auguste Barbier as a model, which was also the basis for the opera of the same name by Hector Berlioz, which was first performed in Paris in 1838. The plot centres on the historical figure of the goldsmith and sculptor Benvenuto Cellini, who lived in Florence in the 16th century and whose autobiography was translated into German by Goethe. Three years after the premiere of his opera, Franz Lachner became General Music Director in Munich.


 

Photo credit: Archive Bavarian State Opera

Zeitzeugnisse
Richard Wagner: Das Rheingold

On 22 September 1869, the first part of Wagner’s tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen was premiered at the National Theatre in Munich. Contrary to Wagner’s wish not to show the entire Ring until after its completion, Ludwig II pushed through the premiere of Das Rheingold in Munich ahead of schedule. Countless letters document the dispute between the composer and his patron; in the end Wagner stayed away from the premiere by Franz Wüllner and concentrated on founding his own festival at which the entire Ring cycle was to be shown. This did not happen until August 1876, when the first Bayreuth Festival opened.



Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl

Zeitzeugnisse
Richard Strauss: Friedenstag

The opera in one act Friedenstag was written to a libretto by Joseph Gregor with the collaboration of Stefan Zweig and the composer, based on the comedy El sitio de Bredá by the Spanish poet Pedro Calderón de la Barca. Richard Strauss and Stefan Zweig exchanged plans about an opera project when the composer was in Salzburg in August 1934 during the festival season. After initial sketches, Zweig insisted that the libretto should be written by a third person, since as a Jew he considered the work impossible under the National Socialist regime. Joseph Gregor was suggested by Zweig, and a first meeting between the latter and Richard Strauss took place in Berchtesgaden in July 1935. Strauss repeatedly sought Stefan Zweig’s advice while working on the libretto and reworded verses himself, sometimes even replacing them with his own text passages. Strauss finally completed the score on 16 June 1936, and Friedenstag was premiered at the Munich National Theatre on 24 July 1938. Clemens Strauss conducted, Rudolf Hartmann directed, and the stage design was by Ludwig Sievert.


Photo credit: Friedenstag score. Vienna 1938.

Zeitzeugnisse
Maria Jochum about the destroyed Hamburg State Opera House

Photo credit: Archiv der Musikalischen Akademie

Meet the Musicians
Marcus Schön, Clarinet (Solo)

The most beautiful opera moment for Marcus Schön was Suor Angelica’s transfigured death in Giacomo Puccini’s opera of the same name, embodied by Ermonela Jaho under the musical direction of Kirill Petrenko. His favorite conductor is the sadly departed Nikolaus Harnoncourt.


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl

Zeitzeugnisse
Aribert Reimann: Lear

On July 9, 1978, Aribert Reimann’s opera Lear was premiered at the National Theatre. Claus H. Henneberg wrote the libretto based on Shakespeare’s drama of the same name, Gerd Albrecht was the musical director, and Jean-Pierre Ponnelle directed. See photos from the production at the time, which featured Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau in the title role.


Photo credit: Sabine Toepffer

Meet the Musicians
Casey Rippon, Horn

Casey Rippon würde sehr gerne irgendwo am Meer leben. In ihrem Kühlschrank dürfen Lao Gan Ma Erdnüsse in Chiliöl, Parmesan und Tiefkühl-Erbsen nie fehlen. Ihr Lieblingswort ist Vokuhila.


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl

Meet the Musicians
Thomas Klotz, Trombone

For Thomas Klotz, the best things about his job are the musical variety and the great colleagues. The last time he laughed tears was while reading Heinz Strunk’s Das Teemännchen. His favorite word is hammer!


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl

Meet the Musicians
Andreas Öttl, Trumpet (Solo)

The most beautiful opera moment for Andreas Öttl was Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca under Zubin Mehta immediately after his winning audition. Maestro Mehta said at the time, “If he does well, I would like to hear him play Mahler’s 9th Symphony.” Thus, in his first two appearances with the Bayerisches Staatsorchester, he got to play two of his favorite composers. In his spare time, he loves to be with his two daughters in their garden.


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl

Meet the Musicians
Pascal Deuber, Horn (Solo)

Pascal Deuber likes to go on vacation somewhere secluded in the mountains. His favorite food is Puschlaver Pizzoccheri and the best book he has read so far is Walden; or, Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau.


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl

Meet the Musicians
Jürgen Key, Clarinet

In his spare time, Jürgen Key spent most of his first 20 professional years doing things related to music, including a lot of chamber music and teaching students. But now he uses much more of his time for extended bicycle tours in Germany or even Austria, mostly along rivers. That gives him a lot. To experience these beautiful things, he believes you don’t have to travel far …

In his now 32 years with the Bayerisches Staatsorchester, he will always have special memories of the three concerts he was able to experience with Carlos Kleiber in Ingolstadt, Munich and Italy in 1996. These are among the most brilliant and intense musical experiences he has ever had. The hall in which, in his opinion, everything sounds good is the Berlin Philharmonie. But there are many good halls, it’s just that one hall is not always equally perfect for every instrumentation or musical orientation.


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl

Meet the Musicians
Andreas Riepl, Double Bass

For Andreas Riepl, the best part of his job is that, as a double bass player, you can listen to and watch the audience from the pit. The best hall he has ever played in is Carnegie Hall. There, even a less than perfectly produced note sounds beautiful. One thing that is better for him in his home country than in Munich is that in the Upper Palatinate it is not frowned upon to eat something on the road.


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl

Meet the Musicians
Johannes Moritz, Trumpet (Solo)

Apart from his own, Johannes Moritz’s favorite instrument is the cello. He loves to spend his vacations on the farm.


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl

Meet the Musicians
Alexandra Hengstebeck, Double Bass (Deputy Solo)

Alexandra Hengstebeck would love to visit the Teatro Amazonas in Manaus (Brazil). After visiting the opera house, she would also like to take a tour through the Amazon rainforest. The book that has touched her the most is Identity: A Novelby Milan Kundera. The best hall she has ever played in is the Musikverein in Vienna. The basses sound fantastic there and she has the feeling that the whole history of music resonates with every note. Also, playing the very low C in the orchestra at the right moment is an indescribable feeling for her. What’s more, this note sounds especially beautiful on her service bass.


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl

Meet the Musicians
Andreas Schablas, Clarinet (Solo)

Andreas Schablas’ main residence is in a small town about 30 kilometers north of Salzburg in Flachgau. Of course, due to his employment, he is much in Salzburg city and in Munich, where he also has a residence. He rides his bike a lot and knows the surrounding area very well by now. He has seen a lot of the world, but ultimately he lives and works in what he considers the most beautiful place in the world and is always amazed at the varied and beautiful landscapes he discovers on his rides. For him, there is nothing more beautiful. His favorite place in the opera outside the orchestra pit is the Bruno Walter Hall. His favorite place to be is there after a performance, when he is still full of adrenaline and then has the hall to himself to prepare and practice. The last time he laughed tears with his wife and two children (17 and 20) was when they played table tennis again after two years. Not because they were particularly bad, it was just a very special time.


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl

Meet the Musicians
Wolfram Sirotek, Horn

Wolfram Sirotek’s favorite composers are Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Richard Wagner. His favorite conductor is Carlos Kleiber, and if he were an opera character, he would choose his namesake Wolfram from Tannhäuser. For him, the worst opera he has had to play was Lear. He likes to spend his vacations in Tuscany.



Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl

Meet the Musicians
Thomas März (drums)

Thomas März already had the wish to become a musician at the age of 4. His favorite conductor is Zubin Mehta, under whose direction a concert took place in the Suntory Hall Tokyo, which was very special for Thomas März. The 3rd symphony of Gustav Mahler was played. Together with Verdi, Strauss and Puccini, Mahler is one of his favorites among the composers. He likes to spend his free time with his family and in the garden.


Photo credit: Thomas März

Zeitzeugnisse
Krzysztof Penderecki: Ubu Rex

On July 6, 1991, Krzysztof Penderecki’s satirical opera Ubu Rex received its world premiere at the Nationaltheater, opening the Opera Festival of that year. The libretto in German was written by the composer together with Jerzy Jarocki, based on the play Ubu roi by the French writer Alfred Jarry from 1896. In the two acts with five scenes each, the captain Ubu plans a conspiracy against the Polish king Wenceslas, who is murdered in the process. Subsequently, Ubu must wage war against Russia and finally flee across the Baltic Sea after a defeat. August Everding, then artistic director of the Bavarian State Opera, directed the production, and Michael Boder was the musical director.


Picture credits: Sabine Toepffer

Zeitzeugnisse
Richard Wagner: Die Walküre

Even though the composer had intended otherwise and wanted his monumental Ring tetralogy to be premiered in his own festival theatre in Bayreuth, this second part was already heard on June 26, 1870, at the Munich Hof- und Nationaltheater. King Ludwig II did not want to wait until the Bayreuth Festival Theatre was completed and therefore arranged for the premature premiere of Die Walküre against the composer’s will. To this day, this opera about the love of the twin couple Siegmund and Sieglinde, which breaks all social norms, and the banishment of his favorite daughter Brünnhilde by Wotan, the father of the gods, enjoys enormous popularity.


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl

Meet the Musicians
Gaël Gandino (Harp)

A very special concert for Gaël Gandino was the 2nd Symphony of Gustav Mahler conducted by Claudio Abbado in Lisbon. She was an intern with the Berlin Philharmonic at the time. At the end of the piece, when the chorus began, Abbado put down his baton and just held his hands together. He sang along quietly; it was a magical atmosphere. She was moved to tears and will never forget that moment. Her favorite musician is her immediate neighbor in the orchestra pit, principal double bass Florian Gmelin. The harp and double bass very often share the same motifs or single notes, but they don’t need to look at each other. The two feel the music in the same way and are always in sync. After so many years of making music together, it is still overwhelming for her to experience it. Being half Italian, she would love to be fluent in Italian. She would also have a great chance of winning a gold medal for cooking.


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl

Meet the Musicians
Éva Lilla Fröschl, Horn

For Éva Lilla Fröschl, the best part of her job are the performances. From her seat in the orchestra pit, you can see a bit of the stage, and for most performances she would also pay to be there. Instead, she gets paid to play – what could be better? She would have loved to perform the opera Eugene Onegin with singer Dmitri Hvorostovsky, who died in 2017. If she could compete in any Olympic discipline, she would have the best chance of winning a gold medal in cleaning up.


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl

Meet the Musicians
Susanne von Hayn, bassoon

Susanne von Hayn already knew at the age of 6 that she wanted to become a musician. However, at that time she did not know how she could get into the orchestra with the recorder. If she hadn’t chosen music, she probably would have studied medicine, but she can’t say what would have become of her then. A concert in the Olympic Stadium or a concert in BMW’s wind tunnel were very special to her.


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl

Meet the Musicians
Paolo Taballione, Flute (Solo)

If you should ever look for Paolo Taballione at the opera, you are most likely to find him in the rehearsal room. His favorite instrument, apart from his own in the orchestra, is the guitar, and his favorite month is August. He prefers to spend his free time with his children.


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl

Zeitzeugnisse
Richard Wagner: Tristan und Isolde
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joseph_Albert_-_Ludwig_und_Malwine_Schnorr_von_Carolsfeld_-_Tristan_und_Isolde,_1865e.jpg#/media/Datei:Joseph_Albert_-_Ludwig_und_Malwine_Schnorr_von_Carolsfeld_-_Tristan_und_Isolde,_1865e.jpg

">

On June 10, 1865, Richard Wagner’s “plot in three acts” Tristan und Isolde was premiered at the National Theatre in Munich. After previous attempts to stage the work failed at several opera houses – including the Vienna Court Opera after nearly 80 rehearsals – the unconditional support of Ludwig II in Munich finally made the project possible. The myth about the unperformability of this opera was nevertheless perpetuated after the premiere Tristan Ludwig Schnorr von Carolsfeld died at the age of 29 only a few weeks after the first performances. Conductors Felix Mottl and Josef Keilberth also suffered breakdowns while conducting Tristan in Munich, leading to the deaths of both. To this day, Tristan und Isolde is a risk for every theatre – because of the immense musical demands on the performers (especially in the title roles), but also because of the outward lack of action with all the more existential themes that are dealt with in the opera. The longing for death of the two lovers pervades all three acts, until the ambivalent harmonic course of the music is resolved with Isolde’s transfiguration at the end. The “Tristan chord” with which the musical prelude begins advanced in music history to become a tonal cipher for a modern tonal language that would culminate in the atonality of the 20th century.


Photo credit: Joseph Albert: Ludwig and Malwine Schnorr von Carolsfeld as “Tristan und Isolde” in the Munich premiere, 1865, Munich, State Administration of Palaces. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joseph_Albert_-_Ludwig_und_Malwine_Schnorr_von_Carolsfeld_-_Tristan_und_Isolde,_1865e.jpg#/media/Datei:Joseph_Albert_-_Ludwig_und_Malwine_Schnorr_von_Carolsfeld_-_Tristan_und_Isolde,_1865e.jpg

Meet the Musicians
Frank Bloedhorn, trumpet

Trumpet player Frank Bloedhorn introduces himself and talks about the 2017 Asia Tour.

Meet the Musicians
Heike Steinbrecher, Oboe

When Heike Steinbrecher is not making music, she is busy with her young dog and enjoys the walks through forest and nature together. She would like to live in northern Greece and learn the local language to get to know the country and its people even better.


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl

Zeitzeugnisse
Carl Maria von Weber: Abu Hassan
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22630453

">

One opera was also premiered in Munich by the pioneer of German-language opera Carl Maria von Weber, whose Freischütz still enjoys particular popularity today. The libretto for the Singspiel in one act Abu Hassan was written by Franz Karl Hiemer and is based on a story from One Thousand and One Nights. Weber was private secretary to Ludwig, Duke of Württemberg, who was in debt and considered corrupt, when he planned the adaptation of a debt story together with Hiemer, a theater poet from Stuttgart. The premiere, however, took place during Weber’s stay in Munich, or more precisely: on June 4, 1811, the first performance of the opera went over the stage at the then Munich Court Theater. In the years that followed, the work enjoyed great popularity and found its way onto the stages of Stuttgart, Frankfurt am Main, Vienna, Berlin, Dresden, Prague, Copenhagen and London, among others. However, as the common combination of shorter plays with opera acts slowly disappeared, performances of Abu Hassan also became more sparse. Nevertheless, in the 20th century there were performances conducted by Bruno Walter in Berlin, Felix Mottl in Munich, and Richard Strauss in Vienna, for example.


Image credit: By Caroline Bardua - 1. umnofil.ru2. GalleriX, Public domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22630453

Eindrücke
6th Academy Concert 2022/23 (Jurowski)

On May 22 and 23, Vladimir Jurowski conducted the Bayerisches Staatsorchester in the 6th Academy Concert, featuring music by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Robert Schumann and Gustav Mahler. Gerhard Oppitz was the soloist in Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor, and Louise Alder took the vocal part in Mahler’s Symphony No. 4.


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl

Eindrücke
Aida

On May 15, the new production of Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida premiered. Daniele Rustioni conducted the Bayerisches Staatsorchester, and Damiano Michieletto directed. Elena Stikhina was featured in the title role.


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl

Eindrücke
Il ritorno / Das Jahr des magischen Denkens

On May 7, the production Il ritorno / Das Jahr des magischen Denkens premiered as part of the Ja, Mai festival. Christopher Moulds conducted the opera by Claudio Monteverdi, which was combined with a play by Joan Didion. The production was directed by Christopher Rüping.



Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl

Eindrücke
5th Academy Concert 2022/23 (Jindra)

On April 17 and 18, Robert Jindra conducted the Bayerisches Staatsorchester at the 5th Academy Concert. During the Mozart program, Hanna-Elisabeth Müller also took the stage for the concert aria “Bella mia fiamma” – “Resta, o cara”.


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl

Meet the Musicians
Moritz Winker Bassoon, (solo)

Moritz Winker would have become a pilot if he had taken a different career path. Now his favorite place at the opera is outside the orchestra pit with the stage manager: “What they do every night is just brilliant!”. The movie that always makes him laugh out loud is Welcome to the Sticks.



Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl

Eindrücke
The Bayerisches Staatsorchester as a guest at the Isarphilharmonie (Jurowski)

The Bayerisches Staatsorchester, together with its General Music Director Vladimir Jurowski, was a guest at the Isarphilharmonie on March 25. Renaud Capuçon joined the orchestra on stage for Alban Berg’s violin concerto Dem Andenken eines Engels, before Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4 was heard.


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl

Meet the Musicians
Anna-Maija Hirvonen, 2nd violin

In her free time Anna-Maija Hirvonen is interested in philosophy, psychology, mysticism and spirituality. She especially enjoys vacationing in the Peruvian Amazon. There she has been able to make many discoveries concerning the greatest questions of humanity.


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl

Eindrücke
Celebrate! Tuba trio: A tuba rarely comes alone

On April 29th Stefan Ambrosius, Steffen Schmid and Simon Unseld played at the event “Tube-Trio: A tuba rarely comes alone” at KulturBunt Neuperlach as part of the event series “Celebrate!”

Eindrücke
Encounters: A Midsummer Night’s Dream on 1.4.

After the performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream on April 1 at the National Theatre, the fifth event of the series “Encounters” took place. The audience met musicians of the Bayerisches Staatsorchester in the Rheingoldbar.

Eindrücke
4th Chamber Concert 2022/23 (Music around Richard Strauss)

On March 12, the 4th chamber concert of the Bayerisches Staatsorchester took place in the Allerheiligen Hofkirche. Markus Wolf, So-Young Kim, Adrian Mustea, Emanuel Graf, Carlos Vera Larrucea and Julian Riem played music by Richard Strauss, Karl Amadeus Hartmann as well as Hans Pfitzner. The photos show impressions from the rehearsals.

Meet the Musicians
AIDA TRUMPET

Frank Bloedhorn, trumpeter of the Bayerisches Staatsorchester, about the Aida trumpets, which are used in our new production Aida. Here you can find out why this instrument has such a special and long history.

Zeitzeugnisse
Children writing to the orchestra 1
jugend@staatsoper.de.
With the kind support of the Friends and Sponsors of the
Musical Academy of the Bayerisches Staatsorchester
Munich e.V.

for 3rd and 4th grade students

">

MUSICAL ACADEMY – DACAPO


DACAPO is the music education project of the Musikalische Akademie des Bayerischen Staatsorchesters e. V. It was developed by musicians of the orchestra for a 3rd and a 4th grade class at elementary schools in the Munich area. Within a few weeks, musicians visit the selected classes of the school. In workshops they present their instruments and their profession. The final event is a concert for all students at the school, if possible. DACAPO combines the encounter with artists as well as getting to know and trying out orchestral instruments in the workshops with the experience of a concert situation.

Applications for the DACAPO project are sent through the Bavarian State Opera’s school program to jugend@staatsoper.de.
With the kind support of the Friends and Sponsors of the
Musical Academy of the Bayerisches Staatsorchester
Munich e.V.

for 3rd and 4th grade students

Meet the Musicians
Verena Kurz, 2nd violin

In her free time, Verena Kurz likes to go running or ride her road bike towards the mountains. For Verena Kurz, the best part of her job is experiencing everything live. The variety and spontaneity in the evening and the unbridled emotions on stage and in the pit are simply fun for her.


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl

Zeitzeugnisse
Hans Werner Henze: Elegy for young lovers

Hans Werner Henze’s opera in three acts Elegie für junge Liebende was premiered on May 20, 1961, at the Schlosstheater in Schwetzingen by the ensemble of the Bavarian State Opera. The opera was commissioned by the Süddeutscher Rundfunk for the Schwetzingen Festival, and Henze approached librettists Wystan Hugh Auden and Chester Simon Kallman with the idea of “a psychologically highly nuanced chamber opera”. A German translation of the libretto was prepared by Ludwig Landgraf with the collaboration of Werner Schachteli and the composer. The action is set in the Austrian Alps in 1910, more precisely in the mountain inn “Schwarzer Adler”. At the center are the two young lovers Toni Reischmann and Elisabeth Zimmer, whose tragic death together in a snowstorm serves as material for the jealous poet Gregor Mittenhofer’s poem “Elegy for Young Lovers”. The music is characterized by a transparent and differentiated sound as well as by reminiscences of Italian opera and Schoenbergian Sprechgesang. The premiere, with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau as Mittenhofer and Heinrich Bender as conductor, in a set by Helmut Jürgens, was praised as Henze’s “breakthrough to a musical language of his own”.


Photo credit: Archive Bavarian State Opera

Meet the Musicians
Markus Kern, 2nd violin

Markus Kern likes boating in his spare time and his favorite musician is Jessy Norman. If he hadn’t become a musician, Markus Kern would be working for the criminal police today.


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl

Zeitzeugnisse
Children writing to the orchestra 2
jugend@staatsoper.de.
With the kind support of the Friends and Sponsors of the
Musical Academy of the Bayerisches Staatsorchester
Munich e.V.

for 3rd and 4th grade students

">

MUSICAL ACADEMY – DACAPO


DACAPO is the music education project of the Musikalische Akademie des Bayerischen Staatsorchesters e. V. It was developed by musicians of the orchestra for a 3rd and a 4th grade class at elementary schools in the Munich area. Within a few weeks, musicians visit the selected classes of the school. In workshops they present their instruments and their profession. The final event is a concert for all students at the school, if possible. DACAPO combines the encounter with artists as well as getting to know and trying out orchestral instruments in the workshops with the experience of a concert situation.

Applications for the DACAPO project are sent through the Bavarian State Opera’s school program to jugend@staatsoper.de.
With the kind support of the Friends and Sponsors of the
Musical Academy of the Bayerisches Staatsorchester
Munich e.V.

for 3rd and 4th grade students

Eindrücke
Encounters: Die Teufel von Loudun on March 11.

After the performance of Die Teufel von Loudun on March 11 at the National Theatre, the fourth event of the series “Encounters” took place. The audience met musicians of the Bayerisches Staatsorchester in the Rheingoldbar.

 

Eindrücke
Encounters: Manon Lescaut on February 25

After the performance of Manon Lescaut on February 25 at the National Theatre, the third event of the series “Encounters” took place. The audience met musicians of the Bayerisches Staatsorchester in the Rheingoldbar.

 

Eindrücke
Encounters: Dido and Aeneas … Erwartung on february 4.

After the performance of Dido and Aeneas … Erwartung on February 4 at the National Theatre, the second event of the series “Encounters” took place. The audience met musicians of the Bayerisches Staatsorchester in the Rheingoldbar.

 

Eindrücke
Un:erhört – Chamber Concert of the Hermann Levi Academy

On March 20, the young talents of the Hermann Levi Academy presented themselves at a concert in the Alte Pinakothek.

Meet the Musicians
Bass clarinet

Martina Beck-Stegemann, clarinetist of the Bayerisches Staatsorchester, talks about the bass clarinet in A. It was built around 170 years ago by Mr Johann Simon Stengel, a clarinet maker from Bayreuth, and was probably played for the premiere of Tristan und Isolde in the National Theatre Munich. It is on loan from the Robert Schumann University in Düsseldorf.

Meet the Musicians
Holztrompete

In this video, Andreas Öttl, solo trumpeter of the Bayerisches Staatsorchester, and Martin Lechner, instrument maker from Bischofshofen, show the wooden trumpet that was developed exclusively for the opera Tristan und Isolde in 1890.

Meet the Musicians
Anja Fabricius, cello

For Anja Fabricius, the best thing about her job is the fact that she is allowed to create, and a special concert moment for her was the last Academy concert with Zubin Mehta. Everything about it was urgent. Anja Fabricius’ book recommendation is The German Lesson by Siegfried Lenz. Her childhood heroine is also from a book: Momo.



Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl


Eindrücke
2. Theme Concert

The second Theme Concert concert took place on March 30, with members of the Bayerisches Staatsorchester and the mezzo-soprano Salome Kammer under the musical direction of Armando Merino playing music by Toshio Hosokawa and Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. multi. Marie-Claire Foblets gave a lecture on: Is diversity a threat to our democracy?


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl


Zeitzeugnisse
Erich Wolfgang Korngold: The Ring of Polycrates / Violanta
https://www.loc.gov/item/2005689510/


">

The world premiere of Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s two one-act plays Der Ring des Polykrates and Violanta took place on March 28, 1916 in Munich’s Hoftheater. The composer was 18 at the time and had already appeared as a child prodigy at the age of 13 with the world premiere of his ballet pantomime Der Schneemann at the Vienna Hofoper. Korngold had already completed his cheerful opera Der Ring des Polykrates in 1914, which was followed immediately by the composition of the tragic opera Violanta. The sensational success of Korngold’s opera Die tote Stadt finally followed in 1920, which last premiered at the Bavarian State Opera in 2019 and caused a sensation under the musical direction of Kirill Petrenko in a production by Simon Stone and with Jonas Kaufmann and Marlis Petersen in the leading roles. This spectacle was documented on DVD and Blu-ray on the in-house label Bayerische Staatsoper Recordings. Max Reinhardt brought Korngold to Hollywood in 1934, where the composer provided the music for 19 films and thus had a lasting influence on film music.


Photo credit: George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress) https://www.loc.gov/item/2005689510/


 

Eindrücke
1. Theme Concert

On March 26, the first Theme Concert took place in the Freiraum in Munich Hoch5, with members of the Bayerisches Staatsorchester playing music by Toshio Hosokawa and Olivier Messiaen and Dr. Lisa Suckert gave a lecture on the topic: The future doesn’t wait? Temporality in capitalism.


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl


 

Meet the Musicians
Benedikt Don Strohmeier, cello (stv. solo)

Benedikt Don Strohmeier prefers to go on vacation where there is water, wind and, ideally, waves to be able to kitesurf well. He knew very early on that he wanted to be a musician, but at some point he had to decide whether it should be the cello or the piano. At that time he also made street music, for example on the final day of the 2002 World Cup. He sat down with his sister and friends in the old town in Regensburg and played the second movement of Haydn’s Kaiserquartett on a continuous loop. After about an hour and a half they had enough money to have a nice afternoon and evening.


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl


 

Meet the Musicians
So-Young Kim, violin (Pre-Player)
Watch full video here

">

Lead violinist So-Young Kim introduces herself and talks about the 2017 Asia Tour.

Watch full video here

Meet the Musicians
Rupert Buchner, cello
Watch full video here.

">

Cellist Rupert Buchner introduces himself and talks about the 2017 Asia Tour.

Watch full video here.

Meet the Musicians
Gaël Gandino, harp
Watch full video here. 

">

Harpenist Gaël Gandino introduces herself and talks about the 2017 Asia Tour.

Watch full video here. 

Meet the Musicians
Thomas März, drums
Watch full video here.

">

Percussionist Thomas März introduces himself and talks about the 2017 Asia Tour.

Watch full video here.

Meet the Musicians
Wiebke Heidemeier und Clemens Gordon, Viola
Watch full video here.

">

In this video the viola players Wiebke Heidemeier und Clemens Gordon introduce themselves and talk about the 2017 Asia Tour.

Watch full video here.

Meet the Musicians
Milena Viotti, cornet
Watch full video here.

">

Hornist Milena Viotti introduces herself and talks about the 2017 Asia Tour.

Watch full video here.

Zeitzeugnisse
Women in the orchestra
https://www.kulturrat.de/themen/frauen-in-kultur-medien/beitraege-publikationen/gendersrecht-in-berufsorchestern/

More about Leonore Buff: https://www.sophie-drinker-institut.de/buff-leonore


Photo credit: Archive of the Musikalische Akademie


">

Today, the proportion of women in the Bayerisches Staatsorchester is over a third. That wasn’t always the case: in the photo from 1911, the only female member of the Musikalische Akademie can be seen in the first row, namely the harpist Leonore Kennerknecht-Buff. She was said to be related to Charlotte Kestner (born Buff), who went down in literary history as the historical role model of Lotte in Goethe’s epistolary novel The Sorrows of Young Werther. In 1892, Buff was accepted as a member of the Bayerisches Hoforchester, which later became the Bayerisches Staatsorchester. Other orchestras took much longer to take this step: while the Berlin Philharmonic accepted the first woman as an orchestra member in 1982, the Vienna Philharmonic only followed suit in 1997.

More about women in orchestras: https://www.kulturrat.de/themen/frauen-in-kultur-medien/beitraege-publikationen/gendersrecht-in-berufsorchestern/

More about Leonore Buff: https://www.sophie-drinker-institut.de/buff-leonore


Photo credit: Archive of the Musikalische Akademie


 

 

Zeitzeugnisse
Beer sign in the Hofbräuhaus Munich
https://www.historisches-unterfranken.uni-wuerzburg.de/db/biermarken/biermarken/aufsatz.php

About the Hofbräuhaus in München: https://www.hofbraeuhaus.de/bierzeichen/


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl


">

The Staatliches Hofbräuhaus brewery in Munich preserves the tradition of beer symbols, also known as beer marks: since the 19th century they have served as a calculating aid and have been part of almost every brewery for a long time; first made of brass, then aluminium, later made of plastic, in the post-war years after the Second World War also in the form of paper notes. Each brand has a specific value, for example “1 Maß light or dark” or “Good for 1 liter of beer”. In the Hofbräuhaus am Platzl, beer tokens can be purchased that keep the value of a beer, even if the prices on the drinks menu go up. Now there is also a beer sign from the Hofbräuhaus in honor of the 500th anniversary of the Bayerisches Staatsorchester.

Worth knowing about the beer brand: https://www.historisches-unterfranken.uni-wuerzburg.de/db/biermarken/biermarken/aufsatz.php

About the Hofbräuhaus in München: https://www.hofbraeuhaus.de/bierzeichen/


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl


 

 

Eindrücke
Applause after the premiere of War and Peace

On March 5th, Sergei Prokofiev’s opera War and Peace premiered at the National Theatre in a production by Dmitri Tcherniakov. The general music director Vladimir Jurowski conducted the Bayerisches Staatsorchester, the Bayerische Staatsoper Chorus and the additional choir of the Bayerische Staatsoper. The opera also requires a huge ensemble of singers to embody the numerous roles.


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl


Meet the Musicians
Porth timpani

Miriam Noa from the Munich City Museum and the two solo drummers from the Bayerisches Staatsorchester, Pieter Roijen and Ernst-Wilhelm Hilgers, will be showing an instrument that was used in Munich premieres of Richard Wagner’s operas.

Meet the Musicians
Strohfiedel

In this video, Claudio Estay informs about the Strohfiedel, a special xylophone that is still used during performances of Richard Strauss’ Salome by the Bayerisches Staatsorchester.

 

Zeitzeugnisse
Carlos Kleiber asks for material

Photo credit: Archive Musikalische Akademiee


Meet the Musicians
Isolde Lehrmann, 2nd violin

In her free time, Isolde Lehrmann likes to photograph still lifes and portraits.


Photo credits: Wilfried Hösl


 

Zeitzeugnisse
The Tragedy of the Devil
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MylAsq5_dy0


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl


">

On February 22, 2010, The Tragedy of the Devil by Hungarian composer Peter Eötvös was premiered with a libretto by Albert Ostermaier in the National Theatre. Eötvös himself conducted the Bavarian State Orchestra. The Ukrainian artist couple Ilya and Emilia Kabakov designed the stage and Balázs Kovalik directed. Find out more about the work and the staging of that time in a contribution with Eötvös, Kovalik, Ostermaier and the Lucifer singer of the premiere Georg Nigl.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MylAsq5_dy0


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl


Zeitzeugnisse
Carlos Kleiber discusses the concert program

Photo credit: Archive of the Musikalische Akademie


Eindrücke
4th Academy Concert 2022/23 (Mehta)

Great rejoicing after the 4th Academy Concert for the Bayerische Staatsorchester, its former general music director Zubin Mehta, the violinist Vilde Frang and the composer Minas Borboudakis.


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl


Eindrücke
Ceremony 500 years Bayerisches Staatsorchester

On January 8th, the anniversary year of the Bayerische Staatsorchester got off to a brilliant start with a concert in the Nationaltheater. General music director Vladimir Jurowski conducted. The invited guests included Ilse Aigner, President of the State Parliament, and Markus Blume, Bavarian Minister of State for Science and Art, who both gave speeches.


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl


Eindrücke
4th Academy Concert 2022/23 (Mehta)

Here the former General Music Director Zubin Mehta rehearses together with the violinist Vilde Frang and the Bayerische Staatsorchester for the 4th Academy Concert. The composer of the specially commissioned world premiere, Minas Borboudakis, was also present.


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl


Zeitzeugnisse
Carl Orff: The moon

Carl Orff’s opera Der Mond was premiered on February 5th, 1939 at the Bavarian State Opera under the musical direction of Clemens Krauss in a production by Rudolf Hartmann. The composer wrote the libretto himself and in doing so took over literal text passages from the fairy tale of the same name by the Brothers Grimm. Orff’s description of this “small world theater” is based on the three scenes of heaven, earth, underworld and the view of a little boy on it. Orff thought about his opera as “a thoughtful parable of the futility of human efforts to disturb the world order and at the same time a parable of being safe in this world order”. The composer himself described the music as his “farewell to romanticism”. Critics were enthusiastic, for example the musicologist Fred Hamel: “So you encounter a creation that has been desired for the opera stage for a long time […] It’s great how Orff’s music also fully expresses this power here the elementary means of rhythm and song form […] With this economy of means, Orff’s melodic invention is so powerful, his rhythmic imagination so inexhaustible, that they evoke a sheer abundance of changing impressions of pictorial power.”


Photo credit: Hanns Holdt


Meet the Musicians
David Schultheiss, 1st violin (1st concertmaster)

Among his childhood heroes there were sporting heroes such as Karl Allgöwer (his direct free-kick goals – awesome!), Lothar Matthäus and Boris Becker and of course also violinist-musical ones like Henryk Szeryng, David Oistrach and especially Gidon Kremer. The best hall in which David Schultheiss has played so far is the Suntory Hall in Tokyo. He also has a special memory of a concert in the aforementioned Suntory Hall: David Schultheiss has never experienced such a tense and expectant silence from the audience between the applause for the conductor and the first sound of the concert.


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl


Meet the Musicians
Christian Loferer, horn

In addition to Munich, Christian Loferer feels very comfortable in Sydney and San Francisco. He has busked in Edinburgh before, and if he could make any activity an Olympic event, time telling would give him the best chance of winning a medal.


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl


Meet the Musicians
Julia Pfister, 2nd violin

Her childhood heroes are The Three Investigators: She heard Paganini for the first time in these radio plays and then absolutely wanted to play it. A special concert for Julia Pfister was the concert with Kirill Petrenko as part of the 2016 European tour at La Scala in Milan. Everyone was in the flow and the atmosphere was unforgettable!


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl


Meet the Musicians
Barbara Burgdorf, 1st violin (concertmaster)

For Barbara Burgdorf, the best thing about her job is the beauty it offers for the soul, for herself and for others. If she hadn’t become a musician, she would probably have been a biologist.


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl


Meet the Musicians
Florian Gmelin, double bass (solo)

His favorite book is Trials and Tribulations by Theodor Fontane and Carlos Kleiber is his favorite conductor. Florian Gmelin would have loved to work with him one day.


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl


Meet the Musicians
Johannes Dengler, horn (solo)

Johannes Dengler decided at the age of 10 that he wanted to be a musician after realizing that he couldn’t become an astronaut due to travel sickness. His best medicine for stage fright is practice, practice, practice …


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl


Eindrücke
Applause after the premiere of Dido and Aeneas … Expectation

On January 29th, the Munich audience celebrated the new production Dido and Aeneas … Expectation and its protagonists: the conductor Andrew Manze, the production team around the director Krzysztof Warlikowski and the singer ensemble (Ausrine Stundyte, Günter Papendell, Victoria Randem, Rinat Shaham, Key’mon W. Murrah, Elmira Karakhanova).


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl


Zeitzeugnisse
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Idomeneo
https://dme.mozarteum.at/DME/briefe/doclist.php


Photo credit: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek München, Signatur Slg.Her 811


 

">

On January 29, 1781, Mozart’s “Dramma per musica in tre atti” premiered in Munich’s Hoftheater, today’s Cuvilliéstheater. The libretto is based on the tragédie lyrique of the same name by Antoine Danchet with music by André Campra and was written by the Salzburg chaplain Giambattista Varesco. Five years later, a version revised by Mozart was performed in Vienna.

In 1775 Mozart’s La finta giardiniera was premiered in Munich, and in 1780 the composer was commissioned by Karl Theodor, the Elector of Bavaria, to create an opera for Munich as the highlight of the carnival season. Mozart attended the rehearsals of both operas. Idomeneo was not finished until he was there, and so Mozart was able to take special account of the vocal possibilities of the singers. A correspondence between Mozart and his father Leopold provides information about the background to the creation of Idomeneo, in which the function of scenes and arias is also discussed.

Mozart Letters and Documents – Online Edition:
https://dme.mozarteum.at/DME/briefe/doclist.php


Photo credit: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek München, Signatur Slg.Her 811


 

Zeitzeugnisse
Engelbert Humperdinck: Königskinder

The first version of Engelbert Humperdinck’s fairy tale opera was premiered on January 23, 1897 in Munich’s Hoftheater under the musical direction of Hugo Röhr. After the success of Hänsel und Gretel four years earlier, the composer was looking for a text for a comic opera with a popular touch, which was ultimately provided by Elsa Agnes Bernstein, daughter of Humperdinck’s Munich friend Heinrich Porges.

In the years that followed, this melodrama version found its way onto the opera stages of Vienna, Prague, Berlin, Riga, London, Dublin and New York, but disappeared from the repertoire after 1902. The composer revised his melodrama into the through-composed version of the opera known today, for which the text was thoroughly reduced and simplified. Finally, in 1910, this second version was premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.


Photo credit: Archiv Bayerische Staatsoper / Hof-Atelier Elvira München


Meet the Musicians
Verena-Maria Fitz, 1st Violin

Verena-Maria Fitz likes to take a vacation in South Africa because her husband was born and raised there, and in South Tyrol. May is her favorite month because it is fresh and colorful and summer is still ahead.


Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl


Eindrücke
OPERcussion: Original Grooves

On January 20, 2023, OPERcussion performed in the Muffathalle and presented their new CD “Original Grooves”.

Zeitzeugnisse
Fire in the National Theater on January 14th, 1823

On January 14th, 1823, the National Theater burned. Although the accident happened during a packed evening performance, nobody was hurt. Warm brewing water from the surrounding breweries was used to extinguish the fire, since the water used by the fire brigade froze in the syringes. The building could not be saved from the flames, but was reopened two years later.


Photo credit: Münchner Stadtmuseum, collection of graphics / paintings P-1134
Artist: unknown; Wolfgang Pulfer (repro)


Eindrücke
Festakt: 500 Jahre Bayerisches Staatsorchester

Photo creddit: Wilfried Hösl


Meet the Musicians
Franz-Strauss-Horn

Franz Strauss (1822-1905) was not only the father of the composer Richard Strauss, but also one of the most renowned horn players of his time, who worked in the Royal Bavarian Court Orchestra, today’s Bavarian State Orchestra, and had a significant influence on its sound. The two horn players Milena Viotti and Johannes Dengler provide insights into the special features of the instrument once played by Franz Strauss.

Termine
Fr 23.12.22
TSCHAIKOWSKI-OUVERTÜREN
Alexei Ratmansky
Tschaikowski-Ouvertüren

Sa 08.04.2023
Mikhail Agrest

Termine
Sa 08.07.2023
Vladimir Jurowski
1. Jubiläumskonzert
Zeitzeugnisse
Bruno Walters Neujahrswünsche

 


Photo creddits: Archiv der Musikalischen Akademie


loading