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WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne (WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln) is a German orchestra based in Cologne. The orchestra was founded in 1947 by Allied occupation authorities after World War II, as the orchestra of Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk (NWDR; Northwest German Radio). The orchestra was named Kölner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester (Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra) and from the 1990s WDR Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra is particularly known for its performances of 20th-century and contemporary music. It has commissioned and premiered works from such composers as Luciano Berio, Hans Werner Henze, Mauricio Kagel, Krzysztof Penderecki, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Bernd Alois Zimmermann.

The orchestra's current principal conductor is Jukka-Pekka Saraste, as of the 2010-2011 season.[1]

The orchestra has recorded commercially for such labels as Avie,[2] Hänssler,[3][4] Kairos[5] and CPO.[6]

Note that the broadcaster also hosts a separate symphony orchestra in Cologne, WDR Rundfunkorchester Köln, which generally specializes in more popular types of music, and is not to be confused with the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln.

See also

  • WDR Rundfunkorchester Köln

Principal conductors

  • Christoph von Dohnányi (1964–1969)
  • Zdenk Mácal (1970–1974)
  • Hiroshi Wakasugi (1977–1983)
  • Gary Bertini (1983–1991)
  • Hans Vonk (1991–1997)
  • Semyon Bychkov (1997–2010)
  • Jukka-Pekka Saraste (2010–present)

References

  1. WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne (16 November 2008). Jukka-Pekka Saraste neuer Chefdirigent. Press release. Retrieved on 2008-12-31
  2. Andrew Clements, Mahler: Symphony No 3; Höller: Der Ewige Tag, Lipovsek/ WDR Choir and Symphony Cologne/ Bychkov Avie, The Guardian, 2003-10-17. URL accessed on 2011-02-20.
  3. Andrew Clements, Stravinsky: Symphony in Three Movements; Symphony in C, etc, WDR Radio Choir Cologne / SWRSO Baden-Baden/ Gielen, The Guardian, 2006-09-15. URL accessed on 2011-02-20.
  4. Hugh Canning, Wagner: Lohengrin - Cast, Choirs, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, cond Semyon Bychkov, The Sunday Times, 2009-04-26. URL accessed on 2011-05-01.
  5. Andrew Clements, Classical review: Grisey: Le Temps et l'Ecume; Les Chants de l'Amour; Ensemble S/WDR/Symphony Orch Köln/Pomarico/Schola Heidelberg/Nussbaum / SWRSO Baden-Baden/ Gielen, The Guardian, 2008-08-15. URL accessed on 2011-02-20.
  6. Michael Dervan, WDR Sinfonieorchester Koln/Howard Griffiths: Ries - Concert Overtures (CPO 777 609-2), The Irish Times, 2011-02-18. URL accessed on 2011-05-01.

External links

This page was last modified 05.02.2014 11:10:20

This article uses material from the article WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne from the free encyclopedia Wikipedia and it is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.