Philharmonie im Gasteig, Germany
The Munich Philharmonic was founded in 1893 through the private initiative of Franz Kaim, the son of a piano manufacturer. Since then, the orchestra has left an indelible imprint on Munich's cultural life under the leadership of renowned conductors.
In the orchestra's earliest years – initially under the name "Kaim Orchestra" – conductors like Hans Winderstein, Hermann Zumpe and the Bruckner pupil Ferdinand Löwe guaranteed both a high technical standard of performance and enthusiastic support of contemporary artistry. Right from the outset, their artistic concept included the effort to structure programs and prices to allow access to the concerts by all levels of society. Felix Weingartner, who directed the orchestra from 1898 to 1905, enhanced its international reputation with several tours to other countries.
Gustav Mahler directed the orchestra in 1901 and 1910 at the respective world premières of his Fourth and Eighth Symphonies. In November of 1911, the orchestra, then called the "Konzertverein Orchestra" performed the world première of Mahler's "Das Lied von der Erde" (The Song of the Earth) under Bruno Walter's direction – only six months after the composer's death in Vienna... read more
The Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra is one of the oldest in Russia. Its history dates back to the first orchestra of the St. Petersburg Imperial Orchestra, covering a period of over two hundred years.
In the distant past, the orchestra of the Board of Imperial Theatres emerged and developed its activities under two conductors. The first of them was composer Caterino Cavos (from 1803 Principal Conductor of the Russian Opera Theatre and, from 1832, Director of the Imperial Theatres' Orchestras). As head of the ensemble, Cavos conducted not just premieres of his own numerous operas, but was musical director of productions of Mikhail Glinka's opera A Life for the Tsar. Moreover, he was involved in the Russian premieres of operas by foreign composers - Cimarosa's Horatii and Curiatii (1815), Weber's Der Freischütz (1824), Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi and Rossini's Semiramide (1835) and Le Comte Ory (1838) among others... read more.
