Staatskapelle Dresden:

Founded by Prince Elector Moritz von Sachsen in 1548, the Staatskapelle Dresden is one of the oldest orchestras in the world and steeped in tradition.

Over its long history many distinguished conductors and internationally celebrated instrumentalists have left their mark on this onetime court orchestra. Previous directors include Heinrich Schütz, Johann Adolf Hasse, Carl Maria von Weber and Richard Wagner, who called the ensemble his »miraculous harp«. The list of prominent conductors of the last 100 years includes Ernst von Schuch, Fritz Reiner, Fritz Busch, Karl Böhm, Joseph Keilberth, Rudolf Kempe, Otmar Suitner, Kurt Sanderling, Herbert Blomstedt and Giuseppe Sinopoli. The orchestra was directed by Bernard Haitink from 2002-2004 and most recently by Fabio Luisi from 2007-2010. Principal Conductor since the 2012 / 2013 season has been Christian Thielemann. In May 2016 the former Principal Conductor Herbert Blomstedt received the title Conductor Laureate. This title has only been awarded to Sir Colin Davis before, who held it from 1990 until his death in April 2013. Myung-Whun Chung has been Principal Guest Conductor since the 2012 / 2013 season.

Richard Strauss and the Staatskapelle were closely linked for more than sixty years. Nine of the composer’s operas were premiered in Dresden, including »Salome«, »Elektra« and »Der Rosenkavalier«, while Strauss’s »Alpine Symphony« was dedicated to the orchestra. Countless other famous composers have written works either dedicated to the orchestra or first performed in Dresden. In 2007 the Staatskapelle reaffirmed this tradition by introducing the annual position of »Capell-Compositeur«. Following on from Hans Werner Henze, Sofia Gubaidulina, Wolfgang Rihm and György Kurtág, Arvo Pärt will hold this title for the 2017 / 2018 season. As »Capell-Virtuos« the pianist Denis Matsuev will take part in concerts at the Semperoper as well as on tour.

The Staatskapelle’s home is the Semperoper, where it performs around 260 operas and ballets each season. In addition the ensemble presents another 50 symphonic and chamber concerts in the opera house, as well as playing at various musical events in Dresden’s Frauenkirche.

As one of the world’s most celebrated and popular symphony orchestras, the Staatskapelle regularly travels abroad to the world’s leading classical venues. From 2013 the Staatskapelle Dresden is the resident orchestra of the Salzburg Easter Festival, whose Artistic Director is none other than Christian Thielemann.

The Staatskapelle also does valuable work to support the local region: Since October 2008 it has been the patron orchestra of Meetingpoint Music Messiaen (launched on January 15, 2015) in the double city of Görlitz-Zgorzelec. And in September 2010 the orchestra helped found the International Shostakovich Festival in Gohrisch (Saxon Switzerland), which is the only such annual event dedicated to the music and life of Dmitri Shostakovich.

At a ceremony in Brussels in 2007 the Staatskapelle became the first – and so far only – orchestra to be awarded the »European Prize for the Preservation of the World’s Musical Heritage«.

Volkswagen's »Die Gläserne Manufaktur« (The Transparent Factory) has been a partner of the Staatskapelle Dresden since 2008.

Conductor & Soloist: Rudolf Buchbinder

One of today’s legendary performers, Rudolf Buchbinder has appeared in concert all over the world with renowned orchestras and conductors for more than 50 years. Around his 70th birthday in the 2016/2017 concert season, this versatile artist is celebrated in such prestigious venues as the Carnegie Hall in New York, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, the Musikverein in Vienna and the Berlin Philharmonie. Other highlights of this anniversary season are tours with the Vienna Philharmonic under the batons of Zubin Mehta and Franz Welser-Möst, as well as concerts with the Staatskapelle Dresden and the Berliner Philharmoniker led by Christian Thielemann. At the invitation of Mariss Jansons, Rudolf Buchbinder is Artist in Residence with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks. He has an especially close relationship with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, which named him an Honorary Member in 2016.

Rudolf Buchbinder’s repertoire ranges from Bach to contemporary music. He has documented this broad artistic range with more than 100 recordings, many of which have won awards. His readings of the works of Ludwig van Beethoven, in particular, have set new standards. With his cyclic performances of the 32 Beethoven sonatas, he has contributed significantly to the development of the performance history of these works.

To date, he has performed this cycle more than 50 times in places including Berlin, Buenos Aires, Dresden, Milan, Beijing, St. Petersburg, Zurich, and four times each in Vienna, and Munich. In 2014, he became the first pianist to perform all Beethoven sonatas during one summer season at the Salzburg Festival. The Salzburg cycle was recorded live and released on DVD.

A recent CD release is the recording of Mozart piano concertos with the Staatskapelle Dresden, directed by Rudolf Buchbinder from the piano. A live recording of Brahms’ two piano concertos with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and Zubin Mehta was released on DVD and CD in 2016.

Buchbinder’s readings are based on meticulous study of source material. An avid collector of historic scores, he owns 39 complete editions of Beethoven’s piano sonatas. Furthermore, his library contains an extensive collection of first prints, original editions and copies of Brahms’ two original piano concerto scores.
Rudolf Buchbinder has been the artistic director of the Grafenegg Festival since its founding in 2007. Under his leadership, it has developed into one of Europe’s foremost festivals for orchestral music.

Rudolf Buchbinder has published two books: his autobiography “Da Capo”, as well as “My Beethoven – Life With the Master”.

Review

"This is one of the very few orchestras with its own distinctive sound."

- Gramophone