Dresdner Philharmonie

In the page's words:

The Dresden Philharmonic looks back on a 150-year tradition as the orchestra of the state capital of Dresden. Since 1870, when Dresden was given its first large concert hall, its symphony concerts have been an integral part of the city's concert life. To this day, the Dresden Philharmonic is a concert orchestra with regular excursions into concert opera and oratorio. Its home is the ultra-modern concert hall in the Kulturpalast in the heart of the old town, which opened in April 2017.

Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Dresden Philharmonic since the 2025/26 season Sir Donald Runnicles. In addition to Kurt Masur, chief conductor in the years 1967-1972, his predecessors included Paul van Kempen, Carl Schuricht, Heinz Bongartz, Herbert Kegel, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Michael Sanderling and Marek Janowski. The musical and stylistic range of the Dresden Philharmonic is broad.

On the one hand, the orchestra has retained its very own "Dresden sound" in the romantic repertoire. On the other hand, it has developed a tonal and stylistic flexibility for the music of the Baroque and Viennese Classical periods as well as for modern works. Early on, important composers were also on its podium as conductors, from Brahms, Tchaikovsky and Dvořák to Richard Strauss, Penderecki and Holliger. To this day, world premieres play an important role in the repertoire. Guest performances all over the world testify to the high reputation that the Dresden Philharmonic enjoys in the classical music world. And the Philharmonic's discography, which has grown since 1937, is also impressive.