Munich Philharmonic Orchestra

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The Munich Philharmonic Orchestra is one of three great orchestras in the city of Munich, along with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Bavarian State Opera orchestra.

[edit] History

The orchestra was founded in Munich in 1893 by Franz Kaim, son of a piano manufacturer, as the Kaim Orchestra. In 1895 it took up residence in the city's Tonhalle (concert hall). It soon attracted notable conductors: Gustav Mahler first directed the group in 1897 and premiered his Fourth Symphony and Eighth Symphony with the orchestra, while Bruno Walter directed the band for the posthumous premiere of Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde. Felix Weingartner was music director from 1898 to 1905, and the young Wilhelm Furtwängler made his auspicious conducting debut there in 1906. Meanwhile Bruckner pupil Ferdinand Löwe established an enduring tradition of Bruckner performance which continues to this day.

Throughout this time the orchestra (which by 1910 had become known as the Munich Konzertverein Orchestra) was privately funded, but during World War I finances became tight and players were called up for military service, forcing the orchestra to shut down. After the war the orchestra was taken over by the city of Munich and restarted under the leadership of composer Hans Pfitzner, soon replaced by Bruckner pioneer Siegmund von Hausegger. In 1928 the orchestra acquired its current name.

After the rise of the Nazi party in 1933, the orchestra stamped its scores with swastikas and the words "The Orchestra of the Fascist Movement" [1]. In 1938, the fervently pro-Nazi Oswald Kabasta took the helm of the orchestra, raising its musical standards even as World War II began.

During the war, the Tonhalle was destroyed and the orchestra, homeless, was again shut down for a period. After the war fortunes recovered under such solid directors as Hans Rosbaud and Rudolf Kempe. In 1979, enigmatic maestro Sergiu Celibidache took over, raising the orchestra to the highest world-class standards. Notoriously demanding of his players, the Romanian created a unique sound for the orchestra while refusing to make recordings. During this period the orchestra was the subject of embarrassing publicity and lawsuits regarding its discriminatory treatment of a female trombonist [2].

After Celibidache's death, the music directors have been James Levine and Christian Thielemann. The manager since 2004 is Wouter Hoekstra. The orchestra is now housed (since 1985) in the Gasteig Culture Centre.

Over the course of its history, the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra has performed premieres of Günter Bialas, Anton Bruckner, Harald Genzmer, Luigi Nono, Gustav Mahler and others.