Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra

The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra is one of the oldest civic music institutions in the world: its roots go back to 1743, when Leipzig merchants founded the association “Das grosse Konzert.” In 1781, the orchestra was given a prestigious concert hall in the trading house of the city’s textiles merchants (“Gewandhaus”) — hence its current name. Its European reputation was established by Felix Mendelssohn, who took up the post of Gewandhauskapellmeister in 1835 and was the first conductor in the modern sense. His successors have included Arthur Nikisch, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Bruno Walter, Franz Konwitschny, Kurt Masur, Herbert Blom-
stedt, and Riccardo Chailly. Andris Nelsons took over the reins in 2018. The orchestra’s duties include not only opera performances and symphony concerts, but also performing sacred music in St. Thomas’s with the St. Thomas Boys’ Choir. In 1916, the Gewandhaus Orchestra undertook its first foreign tour and has since made guest appearances all over the world; a tour to Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan is scheduled for the fall of 2023. The Gewandhaus has played a major role in the development of symphonic music: Beethoven’s complete symphonies were performed here during his lifetime, in 1825-26, and the world’s first Bruckner cycle was also presented in Leipzig in 1919-20. The orchestra continues its rich tradition of premiere performances through annual commissions. The Gewandhaus Orchestra’s recordings have won numerous awards. In the 2023-24 season, it celebrates the 200th birthday of its former Kapellmeister Carl Reinecke and features Thomas Adès as composer-in-residence.

Lucerne Festival (IMF) debut on 8 September 1998, with Herbert Blomstedt conducting the Third Symphonies of Honegger and Bruckner.

For further information on this ensemble, visit their homepage at: www.gewandhaus.de

July 2023