Bavarian State Orchestra

The Bavarian State Orchestra celebrates its 500th anniversary in 2023, making it one of the oldest orchestras in the world. It originated as the Munich court orchestra, which was initially dedicated to church music and directed by such figures as Orlando di Lasso. Secular concerts were added in the 17th century, and musical theater has been the main focus of the orchestra since the middle of the 18th century; today, the orchestra is based at the Bavarian State Opera. Highlights of its history include the world premieres of Mozart’s La finta giardiniera and Idomeneo, as well as of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Das Rheingold, and Die Walküre. The Bavarian State Orchestra, which has been known by its present name since 1918, has earned a high international reputation through concert tours. The list of distinguished conductors who have been associated with the orchestra ranges from Richard Strauss, Bruno Walter, and Hans Knappertsbusch to Sir Georg Solti, Joseph Keilberth, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Zubin Mehta, Kent Nagano, and Kirill Petrenko. The ensemble also had a close association with Carlos Kleiber. Vladimir Jurowski has helmed the orchestra under the title Bavarian General Music Director since the beginning of the 2021-22 season. In 2022, the Bavarian State Orchestra was named Orchestra of the Year for the eighth consecutive year by Opernwelt magazine. It received distinctions at the Gramophone Awards that same year for no fewer than three recordings (Korngold’s Die tote Stadt, Abrahamsen’s The Snow Queen, and Mahler’s Seventh Symphony).

Lucerne Festival debut on 7 September 2016, with a program of works by Wagner and Strauss conducted by Kirill Petrenko.

July 2023