Andree Zauner was the successor of Wolfgang Fynnckl and conducted the court orchestra from 1550 to 1552. Zauner originally came from Landshut and was enrolled at the University of Ingolstadt from 1525, where he mainly studied the writings of Johannes de Muris, who as a late medieval intellectual with music theory busy and decisively promoted music notation. Accordingly, Zauner used the academic title “Maister” (magister), which is rare for a musician. He remained with the court orchestra as a singer after resigning and even received a grace payment until his death in 1577.

Photo credit: Coat of arms of the University of Ingolstadt 1580. Illustration from: Schrot, Martin: Wappenbuch Des Heiligen Römischen Reichs, und allgemainer Christenheit in Europa, München, 1580 (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Res/2 Herald. 46).

Little is known about Ludwig Senfl’s successor: only Wolfgang Fynnckl’s name and office are known. After Senfl stopped his work at the Munich court orchestra in 1543 and before 1551, Fynnckl must have continued the work of his predecessor and thus the Munich court music. During Fynnckl’s tenure, two new instrumentalists were hired: Sebastian Hurlacher (-> tile on this website “appointment lapel of trombonist Sebastian Hurlacher”) and Bastian Behaim.

Photo credit: Biographisch-bibliographisches Quellen-Lexikon der Musiker und Musikgelehrten der christlichen Zeitrechnung bis zur Mitte des neunzehnten Jahrhundert. Bd. 4. Quelle: gallica.bnf.fr. Provenienz: Bibliothèque nationale de France.

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)

500 – what a number! Five hundred years ago, the history of the ensemble began, which today, as the Bayerisches Staatsorchester, is one of the most respected opera and concert orchestras in the world and can be justifiably proud of this unique history. The orchestra’s early days are associated with names such as Ludwig Senfl and Orlando di Lasso as artistic directors, and there has never been a lack of important personalities since then. Collaborations with the greatest composers of their time – such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss – as well as with the great conductors of the past and present (the list of names is too long to mention here) have decisively shaped the orchestra and made it one of the best in the world. Not only the result but also the reason for this quality is the diversity of its activities: in opera, in ballet, in symphonic repertoire, in the cosmos of chamber music, in its commitment to musical education and outreach. This last point is represented in particular by the commitment of the Hermann-Levi-Akademie, the talent factory for the future not only of the Bayerisches Staatsorchester but of orchestral music in general. The founding of the first concert series for the Munich bourgeoisie in 1811, the Musikalische Akademie, which is still alive today, speaks of the orchestra’s deep connection with the city of Munich and its citizens, which has not dried up even after more than two hundred years. In the festival year 2023, we want to further deepen this connection with many proven and new formats. I congratulate the Bayerisches Staatsorchester, which I am honoured to preside over as chief conductor, and look forward to a musically rich 500th anniversary.

Vladimir Jurovsky
General Music Director of the Bayerisches Staatsorchester since 2021

Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl

Photo creddits: Archiv der Musikalischen Akademie

Photo Credit: Archiv der Musikalischen Akademie

Photo Credits: Archiv der Musikalischen Akademie

What distinguishes the Bayerisches Staatsorchester especially in my opinion? For me, it is the mixture of dark, warm sound, transparent texture, individual timbre and a distinct common identity that has been continuously built up and developed over five centuries, strongly influenced by the great composers and artists associated with this house. This combination of klang and personality, which has been constantly renewed, though the flexibility, technical capacity and energy of each new generation is unique, and in the best sense a counter phenomenon to certain trends emerging from our information age.

In its 500-year history, this great ensemble has shared the priceless gift of humanism with the world, and thus it will continue to be relevant in the future. Thank you, Bayerisches Staatsorchester, and happy birthday!

Kent Nagano
General Music Director 2006–2013

Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl

The seven years I was privileged to spend with the Bayerisches Staatsorchester as its principal conductor are but a breath in the light of its long history. But for me, these seven years as Bavarian Music Director have been an unspeakably happy time. I hope that together we have been able to leave some traces that will outlast our own work. As the Bayerisches Staatsorchester has undertaken so many new things in the five hundredth year of its existence, this event becomes less a retrospective of a glorious past than an outlook on a far-reaching and radiant future. I wish this wonderful orchestra that with all my heart – and I am very happy that we will meet again in its anniversary year.

Kirill Petrenko
General Music Director 2013–2021
Honorary Conductor of the Bayerisches Staatsorchester

Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl

With Orlando di Lasso, Duke Albrecht V engaged what is probably the most important musician of his time. From 1562/63 he was the court music director, taking over the management of the table and chamber music as well as the musical arrangement of the services. The Duke enjoys close contact with his musicians and spends a lot of money on them. The Bavarian court is looking for the best singers and instrumentalists throughout Europe. At the wedding of the heir to the throne Wilhelm V in 1568, visitors raved about the artistic interplay and varied repertoire of the court orchestra.

Photo credit: Deutsch, Bildnis des Orlando di Lasso, 1580, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, URL: https://www.sammlung.pinakothek.de/de/artwork/ma4d3KgGrO

With most of the orchestras I conduct these days, I am half the age of these bodies. Fortunately, I can’t say that about the Bayerisches Staatsorchester. So I wish my colleagues and all their predecessors nothing but the best on their 500th birthday! My eight years with this great ensemble have been a highlight of my career, and I can’t tell you how many wonderful memories I have in both symphony and opera: our European tour with the Mahler Three; the Bruckner Eight; the trip to Kashmir and Mumbai; the Don Carlo production with Jürgen Rose; as well as the two Ring productions I was privileged to conduct, will remain forever in my heart.

Great musicians were and are gathered in the Bayerisches Staatsorchester to whom I tip my hat in admiration. I can only end these words of homage this way: Ladies and gentlemen of the Bayerisches Staatsorchester, I love and adore each and every one of you all and cannot wait to make music with you again. In deep friendship and admiration

Zubin Mehta
General Music Director 1998–2006
Honorary Conductor of the Bavarian State Orchestra

Photo credit: Wilfried Hösl

Photo creddit: Archiv der Musikalischen Akademie

Location: München, Staatliche Münzsammlung

Born in Basel or Zurich around 1490, Ludwig Senfl was probably active as a choirboy in Maximilian I’s chapel during his childhood. Presumably he completed his studies at the University of Vienna as part of an imperial scholarship as well as training as a clergyman. Senfl worked in the imperial chapel until 1520, and in 1523 he was given a permanent position by Duke Wilhelm IV in Munich, where he lived until his death in 1523. His extensive oeuvre includes sacred and secular compositions, such as masses, a large number of cycles of props, motets and songs. He maintained contacts with humanistic and Protestant circles and corresponded with Martin Luther, among others, to whom he also regularly sent compositions. Luther wrote to Senfl from Veste Coburg in 1530: “Love [of music] has also given me hope that my letter will not pose any danger to you … I really praise your Dukes of Bavaria, even if they are not in the least inclined towards me, and respect them above others for the way they promote and nurture music.”
Senfl’s immense esteem as a composer endured well after his death, as evidenced by the wide distribution and number of transmissions of his works. Since 2015, musicologists have been working on the New Senfl Edition, a new complete edition of all of Senfl’s compositions.

Hier finden Sie weiterführende Informationen zu Ludwig Senfl

Location: München, Staatliche Münzsammlung