The WDR Symphony Orchestra of Cologne was formed in 1947 as part of the then North West German Radio (NWDR) and belongs nowadays to the West German Radio. It is not merely the studio orchestra of the WDR for radio and television productions but also presents numerous concerts in the Kölner Philharmonie and throughout the transmission area. Its outstanding reputation has been acquired in cooperation with its principal conductors – Christoph von Dohnányi, Zdenek Macal, Hiroshi Wakasugi, Gary Bertini and Hans Vonk. Celebrated guest conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Karl Böhm, Fritz Busch, Herbert von Karajan, Erich Kleiber, Otto Klemperer, Lorin Maazel, André Previn, Zubin Mehta, Sir Georg Solti and Günter Wand have also stood on the orchestra’s rostrum.

Impressive examples of the extraordinary quality of the WDR Symphony Orchestra and its stylistic versatility are the successful concert tours throughout Europe, Russia and Japan, its regular radio and television broadcasts and the numerous recordings which set high musical standards.

Apart from promoting the classical and romantic repertoire, the WDR Symphony Orchestra is known for its interpretation of works of the 20th century. Luciano Berio, Hans Werner Henze, Mauricio Kagel, Krzysztof Penderecki, Igor Stravinsky, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Bernd Alois Zimmermann are among the contemporary composers who have performed their works – mainly compositions commissioned by the radio station – with the WDR Symphony Orchestra.

Semyon Bychkov was appointed Principal Conductor of the orchestra in 1997. Under his leadership the orchestra toured very successfully in Japan, Europe, South America and the USA.

The Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (DSO) and its history have become emblematic of the democratic and cultural renewal of Germany following the defeat of National Socialism and the end of World War II. That is how the orchestra has been perceived at its concerts in Berlin and on tours throughout Germany and the rest of Europe, North and South America, and in the Near, Middle and Far East. Its groundbreaking radio and recording productions have further solidified this image.

The DSO was founded in 1946 in the American sector of Berlin as RIAS-Symphonie-Orchester. As its first principal conductor, from 1948, Ferenc Fricsay established the orchestra’s future course: commitment to contemporary and suppressed music, stylish interpretation of the traditional repertoire and openness to the opportunities offered by new media. Following Fricsay’s early death in 1963, the 34-year-old Lorin Maazel assumed directorship of the orchestra – by then renamed Radio-Symphonie Orchester Berlin (RSO). (RIAS had been joined in 1956 by SFB [Sender Freies Berlin | Radio Free Berlin] in governing the ensemble.) In 1982, after a few years without a Music Director, the orchestra named Riccardo Chailly, aged only 29, as Maazel’s successor.

To avoid confusion within the complex cultural scene of reunited Berlin, in 1993 the orchestra relinquished its well-established name in favour of Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. In the persons of Vladimir Ashkenazy (1989-99), Kent Nagano (2000-06) and Ingo Metzmacher (2007-10), it engaged artistic directors whose many years of experience were allied to interpretative ambition and innovative spirit. Ashkenazy’s impact was made above all through his high musical profile, Nagano’s by combining creative programming and the integration of contemporary music with refinement of the orchestra’s tonal culture. Metzmacher made his special mark with the Casual Concerts that he conducted and moderated as well as through seasonal thematic focuses that raised questions of fundamental significance through music.

Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin is an ensemble of Rundfunk Orchester und Chöre Gmbh (roc berlin), whose shareholders include Deutschlandradio (40%), the Federal Republic of Germany (35%), the State of Berlin (20%) and Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (5%).

August 2010