Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra

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Gewandhausorchester Leipzig

Background information
Also known as	Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
Origin	Leipzig, Germany
Genre(s)	Classical
Occupation(s)	Symphony orchestra
Years active	1781-present
Associated acts	Gewandhaus Octet Gewandhaus Quartet Gewandhaus Wind Quintet
Website	www.gewandhausorchester.de
Members
Gewandhauskapellmeister Riccardo Chailly Conductors Laureate Kurt Masur Herbert Blomstedt
Former members
Founder Johann Adam Hiller
Notable instrument(s)
Concert Organ Schuke, Potsdam IV-92-6638

The Gewandhausorchester Leipzig (Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra) is a famous German orchestra based in Leipzig, Germany. It is named after the concert hall in which it is based, the Gewandhaus (Cloth Hall).

1 History of the orchestra
2 Music director (Gewandhauskapellmeister)
3 Conductors laureate
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History of the orchestra

Concerts in Leipzig date back to the early eighteenth century. They were first held in a private dwelling, and then an inn, before an orchestra was established at the Gewandhaus in 1781. The orchestra has a good claim to being the oldest continuing orchestra in Germany founded by bourgeoisie while older orchestras were part of royal suits. In the early nineteenth century, Felix Mendelssohn was the music director, with the traditional title of Gewandhauskapellmeister. In 1885, the orchestra moved into a new hall, which was destroyed in 1944. The present Gewandhaus is the third building with the name. It was opened in 1981. There is a large organ in the hall, which bears the orchestra's long standing motto "res severa verum gaudium" ("a serious concern is true pleasure", or "true pleasure is a serious business"). This has been the motto of the orchestra since it moved into its first concert hall in 1781.

Aside from its duties as a concert orchestra the ensemble also performs frequently in the Thomaskirche and as the official opera orchestra of the Leipzig Opera.

Later principal conductors included Arthur Nikisch, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Bruno Walter, and Vaclav Neumann. From 1970 to 1996, Kurt Masur was Gewandhauskapellmeister, and he and the orchestra made a number of recordings for the Philips label. From 1998 to 2005, Herbert Blomstedt held the same position, and they in turn made several recordings for the Decca label.

In 2005, Riccardo Chailly took over as both Gewandhauskapellmeister and music director of the Leipzig Opera. They have released recordings on the Decca label of Felix Mendelssohn, Johannes Brahms, and the Robert Schumann symphonies in the re-orchestrations by Gustav Mahler.