The State Philharmonic Orchestra of Sibiu is an orchestra from Romania.
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For Sibiu, a city over eight centuries old and a convergent point of numerous economic and spiritual influences, musical manifestations have been a constant part of the city life. Since the 16th century, Sibiu had one of the first European schools for organ, funded by Hyeronymus Ostermayer and the city’s archive contains music scores signed by composers of the 17th and 18th centuries. It was in 1774, at the court of Samuel von Brukenthal, governor of Transylvania, when a professional orchestra held its first concert. In 1792, one year after Mozart’s death, "The Kidnap from Serai" was played in Sibiu, and later in 1800, the "The Creation" Oratorio by Joseph Haydn.
During the 19th century, great European musicians played in Sibiu: Franz Liszt, Johan Strauss, Johannes Brahms, Joseph Joachim, Richard Strauss and others. This musical activity was sustained and continued by both Romanian and German cultural societies until mid-20th century.
In the context of the existence of such a great number of musicians, of a music conservatory, and of a great tradition in the field of symphonic and opera performance, the State Philharmonic of Sibiu was funded on January 1, 1949. The Philharmonic of Sibiu was and continues to be a professional institution that, during its 50 years of existence as a state institution, offered thousands of symphonic and opera concerts, accumulating a vast symphonic and lyric repertoire. Numerous articles in Romanian and foreign newspapers and magazines praised the quality of the orchestra’s concerts and of the recordings for radio and television, or on discs and CDs. At the same time a great number of tours were successfully concluded in the country and abroad, in France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Spain, Russia etc.
Together with the orchestra, famous artists from Romania and other countries have performed, among them: Ion Voicu, Valentin Gheorghiu, Stefan Ruha, Monique de La Bruchollerie and Jean Jaques Thiollier, Sviatoslav Richter, Rudolf Kerer, Lazar Berman, Dimitri Bashkirov, Ivry Gitlis, Montserrat Caballé and many others.
Starting with the 2004-2005 honorary season, the new location of the State Philharmonic of Sibiu is Thalia Hall. Built in 1787 by Martin Hochmeister, the hall was destroyed twice along the years, both times during a fire. The County Council of Sibiu restarted the restoration of the edifice in 1990. The official inauguration took place on October 7, 2004, accompanied by the notes of Symphony no. 9 by Ludwig van Beethoven.
The current conductor of the Sibiu State Philarmonic is Petre Sbarcea. A representative personality of Romanian musical life, Petre Sbarcea was the student of the maestros Antonin Ciolan and Sergiu Celibidache. He perfected his conducting art in Italy, France and the United States of America. From 1957 to 1976, he was the conductor of the Romanian Opera in Cluj-Napoca (and became director of the Opera in 1992). He has been teaching orchestra conducting at "Gheorghe Dima" Music Academy in Cluj-Napoca since 1960. Between 1976-1990, he was manager and head conductor of the State Philharmonic of Sibiu. Today he is still the head conductor of the Philharmonic.
With an impressive number of recordings, Petre Sbarcea has collaborated with all of the Philharmonics and Operas in Romania and has had many successful tours in Germany, Hungary, France, Iran, Bulgaria, Austria, Belgium, Russia, Azerbaijan, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Luxembourg and the Republic of Moldavia.
His artistic activity was rewarded with numerous awards, among them: The “Cultural Virtue” of Romania, “Mascagni” Medal - Italy, a “Lifetime Achievement Award” given by the Union of the Artists, Choreographers and Music Critics of Romania in 1998 etc. On March 1, 2003, the President of Romania awarded him knight and the “Faithful Service” National Order.
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