Biography
The Staatskapelle Berlin is a German orchestra, the orchestra of the Berlin State Opera (Berliner Staatsoper Unter den Linden).
The orchestra traces its roots to 1570, when Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg established an orchestra at his court. In 1701, the affiliation of the Electors of Brandenburg to the king of Prussia led to the description of the orchestra as "Königlich Preußische Hofkapelle" (Royal Prussian Court Orchestra), which consisted of about 30 musicians. The orchestra became affiliated with the Royal Court Opera, established in 1742 by Frederick the Great. Noted musicians associated with the orchestra have included Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Franz Benda, and Johann Joachim Quantz
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The first concert by the ensemble for a wider audience outside of the royal courts was on 1 March 1783 at the Hotel Paris, led by Johann Friedrich Reichardt, the ensemble's Kapellmeister. After the advent of Giacomo Meyerbeer as Kapellmeister, from 1842, the role of the orchestra expanded and a first annual concert series for subscribers was launched. The orchestra gave a number of world and German premieres of works by Richard Wagner, Felix Mendelssohn, and Otto Nicolai.
The orchestra's music director, the Staatskapellmeister, holds the same post with the Berlin State Opera. The current holder of the posts has been Daniel Barenboim since 1992. Barenboim has had the title of "conductor for life" for the ensemble since 2000. Barenboim and the orchestra have made several recordings for the Teldec label.
Leadership:
1759-1775 Johann Friedrich Agricola
1775-1794 Johann Friedrich Reichardt (Hofkapellmeister)
1816-1820 Bernhard Anselm Weber
1820-1841 Gaspare Spontini
1842-1846 Giacomo Meyerbeer
1848-1849 Otto Nicolai
1871-1887 Robert Radecke (Hofkapellmeister)
1888-1899 Joseph Sucher
1899-1913 Richard Strauss
1913-1920 Leo Blech (Hofkapellmeister)
1923-1934 Erich Kleiber
1935-1936 Clemens Krauss
1941-1945 Herbert von Karajan
1948-1951 Joseph Keilberth
1954-1955 Erich Kleiber
1955-1962 Franz Konwitschny
1964-1990 Otmar Suitner
1992-present Daniel Barenboim
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.