Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne
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The Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne (German: Gürzenich-Orchester Köln) is a German symphony orchestra based in Cologne.
History
The Gürzenich Orchestra traces its origins to 1827, when a group of Cologne Bürger sponsored the creation of the "Cölner Concert-Gesellschaft" (Cologne Concert Society) to set up "Gesellschaftskonzerte" (Society concerts) and "Abonnementskonzerte" (subscription concerts).[1][2][3] The orchestra began to give concerts at the Gürzenich concert hall in 1857, from which it derived its current name.[4] In 1986, the orchestra took up residence at the Kölner Philharmonie.[5] The orchestra also plays in opera productions in the Cologne Opera.[2]
The Generalmusikdirektor (GMD) of the city of Cologne, which includes the post of Gürzenich-Kapellmeister, is François-Xavier Roth, since 1 September 2015. Roth's initial contract was for 5 years.[6][7] In October 2018, the orchestra extended Roth's contract to 2022.[8] In September 2022, the city of Cologne announced that Roth is to stand down as Gürzenich-Kapellmeister at the close of the 2024–2025 season.[9] In July 2024, in light of accusations against Roth of sexting and sexually inappropriate conduct towards other musicians, the city of Cologne announced the close of Roth's tenure as Gürzenich-Kapellmeister and chief conductor of the Cologne Opera with immediate effect, one season earlier than the previously scheduled tenure conclusion.[10]
In March 2023, the city of Köln announced the appointment of Andrés Orozco-Estrada as its next GMD and Gürzenich-Kapellmeister, effective with the 2025–2026 season.[11] Also in March 2023, Sakari Oramo first guest-conducted the orchestra. In October 2024, the orchestra announced the appointment of Oramo to the newly-created position of 'Artistic Partner', effective with the 2025–2026 season, with an initial contract of five seasons.[12][13]
Premieres
The world premieres performed by the Gürzenich Orchestra include the following works:[14][15]
- Johannes Brahms, Double Concerto for Violin and Cello (1887)[16]
- Richard Strauss, Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks (1895)[17]
- Richard Strauss, Don Quixote (1898)[17]
- Gustav Mahler, Symphony No. 3 (in collaboration with the Städtische Kapelle Krefeld, 1902)[18]
- Gustav Mahler, Symphony No. 5 (1904)[19]
- Max Reger, Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Hiller (1907)[20]
- Raffaele d'Alessandro: Symphony Nr 1 in d minor op. 62 (1949)[21]
- Bernd Alois Zimmermann, Sinfonia prosodica (1964)[22]
Gürzenich-Kapellmeister
- Conradin Kreutzer (1840–1842)
- Heinrich Dorn (1843–1849)
- Ferdinand Hiller (1850–1884)
- Franz Wüllner (1884–1902)
- Fritz Steinbach (1903–1914)
- Hermann Abendroth, GMD (1915–1934)
- Eugen Papst (1936–1944)
- Günter Wand, GMD (1945–1974)
- Yuri Ahronovitch (1975–1986)
- Marek Janowski (1986–1990)
- James Conlon, GMD (1990–2002)
- Markus Stenz, GMD (2003–2014)
- François-Xavier Roth, GMD (2015–2024)
- Andrés Orozco-Estrada, GMD (2025–present)
Recordings
The orchestra's discography includes several CDs for EMI Classics of the music of Alexander von Zemlinsky, conducted by James Conlon.[23][24][25] Under conductor emeritus Dmitri Kitayenko, the orchestra recorded a number of complete cycles by the composers Shostakovitch,[26] Prokofiev,[27] and Tchaikovsky.[28][29]
