Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra

Tracing its lineage to a municipal ensemble assembled in 1479, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra ranks among the planet’s longest continually operating symphonic bodies. Its podium has been occupied by figures of lasting consequence, among them Mozart and Mendelssohn, while premières of works by Brahms, Schumann and Wagner—now fixtures of the standard repertory—have repeatedly underscored the ensemble’s historic caliber. Beyond its symphonic commitments, the orchestra supplies the pit for the Leipzig Opera and supplies the instrumental forces at St. Thomas Church.

Formal organization occurred in 1743 under the name Großes Concert. Sixteen players drawn from civic and aristocratic circles performed in private homes until rising demand prompted a thirty-year residency at the hall Zu Den Drei Schwanen. Theatrical duties began in 1766 with the opening of the Komödienhaus, which lacked its own band. In 1780 a purpose-built hall opened inside the Gewandhaus; the first concert followed in November 1781, prompting the ensemble’s redesignation as the Gewandhaus und Theatre Orchestra, or simply Gewandhaus Orchestra. Its remit soon extended to Leipzig’s principal churches, incorporating sacred music and an enduring collaboration with the Thomanerchor.

Artistic stature rose sharply in the ensuing decades. Mozart led a program in 1789; the orchestra became the first to present Beethoven’s symphonies as an integral cycle; and in 1835 Mendelssohn assumed the post of Gewandhauskapellmeister. Under his direction the Scottish Symphony received its première, as did Schubert’s Great Symphony. Mendelssohn retained the title, among others, until his death in 1847. Carl Reinecke held the post from 1860 to 1895, during which the new opera house opened in 1868 and the Neues Gewandhaus in 1888. Brahms, Tchaikovsky and Richard Strauss appeared as guest conductors of their own scores.

Subsequent music directors included Arthur Nikisch (1895–1922), who inaugurated foreign touring, Wilhelm Furtwängler (1922–1928) and Bruno Walter (1929–1933). The Nazi regime dismissed Walter on racial grounds and installed Hermann Abendroth (1933–1945). Allied bombing destroyed both the opera house and the concert hall; the company remained without a permanent venue until the opera house reopened in 1960 and the second Neues Gewandhaus in 1981. Post-war leaders were Herbert Albert (1946–1948), Franz Konwitschny (1949–1962), Václav Neumann (1962–1968), Kurt Masur (1970–1996), Herbert Blomstedt (1998–2005) and Riccardo Chailly (2005–2016). After appearing as guest conductor from 2011, Andris Nelsons became music director in 2018.

The orchestra’s first commercial recording, Weber’s Der Freischütz Overture, was made in 1929, yet systematic documentation began only in the 1940s. Releases have appeared on Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Berlin Classics, Querstand and additional imprints. Activity intensified in the 1960s and has remained prolific, yielding several hundred titles. Recent examples include Nelsons’ Deutsche Grammophon account of Bruckner and Wagner and Accentus’s recording of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with the Thomanerchor under Gotthold Schwarz.