Marek Janowski talking to the sound engineer Wolfram Nehls during the recording sessions of Paul Hindemith's opera "The long Christmas dinner", Jesus Christ church Berlin-Dahlem, August 2004
The oldest German broadcasting orchestra introduces itself: history, members, vacancies.
Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin – Future out of traditions
By engaging the world famous conductor Marek Janowski the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin entered a new era in its existence. Marek Janowski has been the musical director and principal conductor since 2002. He is a guarantor for a famous position of the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin between the other high acclaimed ensembles at German capital and in the first row of German radio orchestras.
80 years of broadcasting
On October, 29th, 1923 the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin performed for the first time. Today it is the oldest German Radio Orchestra. In the fall of 1998 it looked back on an impressive 75 years of work for German Radio and as a professional concert orchestra. Almost every day since 1924 its programs could be heard on Berlin Radio stations.
Remarkable conductors such has Bruno Seidler-Winkler (1926-32), Eugen Jochum (1932-34), Sergiu Celibidache (1945-46), Hermann Abendroth (1953-56), Rolf Kleinert (1959-73), Heinz Rögner (1973-93) and Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos (1994-2000) have led the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin as musical directors in these 75 years of its existence.
Conductors
The efforts of such distinguished figures have created a body whose repertoire ranges from the pre-classical period to modernism, and since its foundation it has shown a particular commitment to contemporary music. Some of the finest composers of the first half of the 20th century have either taken the rostrum or performed their own works as soloists with the orchestra. They have included Paul Hindemith, Arthur Honegger, Darius Milhaud, Serge Prokofiev, Kurt Weill and Alexander Zemlinsky, and more recently Krzysztof Penderecki, Peter Maxwell Davies, Friedrich Goldmann, Berthold Goldschmidt and Udo Zimmermann.
Guest conductors such as Otto Klemperer, Bruno Walter, Erich Kleiber, Herbert von Karajan, Kurt Sanderling, Kurt Masur.
RSB now
In collaboration with Deutschlandradio, the main partner in the Rundfunk-Orchester und -Chöre Berlin GmbH (founded in 1994), of which the RSB is a part, the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin has been giving some 60 public concerts annually, as well as a lot of CD recording sessions. Some of the latest recordings, for labels such as DECCA, BMG/EMI, Wergo, BIS, Ondine, BERLIN Classics and KOCH International, have received the Cannes Classical Award, the Gramophone Award, the Price Echo Klassik, the Grand Prix du disque de l’Académie Charles Cros or the German record critics’ prize.
In autumn 2005 got the RSB the „Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik“ for production „Alfred Schnittke: Film music“; Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin; Frank Strobel; Capriccio SACD 71041.
Marek Janowski talking to the sound engineer Wolfram Nehls during the recording sessions of Paul Hindemith's opera "The long Christmas dinner", Jesus Christ church Berlin-Dahlem, August 2004
Succesful in European countries
In October 2005 a autumn tour of the RSB was finished at Berlin. The tour had led the RSB into 13 European cities. After an appearance at the “Festival Septembre Musicale” in Montreux in Switzerland the orchestra performed two programs at the “Prague autumn”. A concert at the Bonn Beethovenfest was followed by two concerts in Munich and Nuremberg, before the journey entered six upper-Italian cities, among them Modena, Torino and Genova. On the last day before the orchestra returned to Berlin a concert in the Principality of Liechtenstein stood on tour plan. Principal conductor Marek Janowski, in whose hands the artistic leading of the whole tour had led, selected works of Beethoven, Berlioz, Schumann, Brahms, Wagner and Strauss.
Other tours
Since 1956 the orchestra has played in 20 countries, seven times in Japan, 1998 in China. 2000 it successfully toured South America. Besides its overseas presence the ensemble of course performs throughout renowned German and European Festivals, 2005 among others the Festival Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the Burgfestspiele Eltville in Wiesbaden.
In the spring of 2005 the RSB toured into musical capitals of Europe such as Paris, Zurich and Valencia.
The invitation for 8th Japan tour for spring 2007 lies on the desk.
Season 2005/2006
58 concerts
50 programs
142 works
75 x 20th century
3 x 21th century
