The first documented reference to the Staatskapelle Berlin, which was founded by the Elector of Brandenburg Joachim II as his court ensemble, goes back to 1570, making this one of the oldest orchestras in the world. Ever since Frederick the Great established the Royal Court Opera in 1742, the ensemble has been closely affiliated with the Berlin Staatsoper Unter den Linden. Their series of subscription concerts, which were established in 1842, have been led by many famous musical personalities. The list of eminent conductors ranges from Spontini, Mendelssohn, and Meyerbeer through Weingartner, Strauss, and Furtwängler to Karajan, Konwitschny, and Suitner. Richard Wagner also collaborated with the orchestra; his works have ever since been among the pillars of its repertoire. Since 1992 Daniel Barenboim has helmed the ensemble, which appointed him Chief Conductor for Life in 2000. Along with its subscription concerts at the Philharmonie and the Konzerthaus in Berlin, the Staatskapelle regularly travels to the music centers of Europe, Israel, Japan, China, and North and South America. One focus of their activity is to present cycles of works, as they recently did by performing the complete Mahler symphonies, first in Berlin and then in Vienna’s Musik-verein and at Carnegie Hall in New York. In June 2012 Barenboim and the Staatskapelle will present a nine-part Bruckner cycle in Vienna. The Staatskapelle Berlin has been chosen by Opernwelt as “Orchestra of the Year” no fewer than five times. In 2003 it received the Furtwängler Prize and a Grammy Award and, in 2007, the Echo Klassik Award. The players are also involved in the realm of education at the Orchestra Academy, which was founded in 1997; in addition many do volunteer work for the Berlin Music Kindergarten, which Barenboim founded in 2005.
LUCERNE FESTIVAL (IMF) debut in September 1994 in two concertsof works by Beethoven, Wagner, and Verdi.
August 2011