The Staatskapelle Berlin is a German orchestra, the orchestra of the Berlin State Opera

Berlin State Opera

The Staatsoper Unter den Linden is a German opera company. Its permanent home is the opera house on the Unter den Linden boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, which also hosts the Staatskapelle Berlin orchestra.-Early years:...

 (Berliner Staatsoper Unter den Linden).

The orchestra traces its roots to 1570, when Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg

Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg

Joachim II Hector was a Prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg . A member of the House of Hohenzollern, Joachim II was the son of Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg, and his wife Elizabeth of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden...

 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

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach

right|250pxCarl Philipp Emanuel Bach was a German Classical period musician and composer, the fifth child and second son of Johann Sebastian Bach and Maria Barbara Bach...

, Franz Benda

Franz Benda

Franz Benda was a Czech violinist and composer. He was the brother of Jiří Antonín Benda, and he worked for much of his life at the court of Frederick the Great....

, and Johann Joachim Quantz

Johann Joachim Quantz

Johann Joachim Quantz was a German flutist, flute maker and composer.-Biography:Quantz was born in Oberscheden, near Göttingen, Germany, and died in Potsdam....

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

Richard Wagner

Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...

, Felix Mendelssohn

Felix Mendelssohn

Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...

, 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

Daniel Barenboim

Daniel Barenboim, KBE is an Argentinian-Israeli pianist and conductor. He has served as music director of several major symphonic and operatic orchestras and made numerous recordings....

 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 Johann Friedrich Agricola Johann Friedrich Agricola was a German composer, organist, singer, pedagogue, and writer on music. He sometimes wrote under the pseudonym Flavio Anicio Olibrio.-Biography:... 1775-1794 Johann Friedrich Reichardt Johann Friedrich Reichardt Johann Friedrich Reichardt was a German composer, writer and music critic.-Early life:Reichardt was born in Königsberg, East Prussia, to lutenist and Stadtmusiker Johann Reichardt . Johann Friedrich began his musical training, in violin, keyboard, and lute, as a child...  (Hofkapellmeister) 1816-1820 Bernhard Anselm Weber 1820-1841 Gaspare Spontini Gaspare Spontini Gaspare Luigi Pacifico Spontini was an Italian opera composer and conductor, extremely celebrated in his time, though largely forgotten after his death.-Biography:... 1842-1846 Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer was a noted German opera composer, and the first great exponent of "grand opera." At his peak in the 1830s and 1840s, he was the most famous and successful composer of opera in Europe, yet he is rarely performed today.-Early years:He was born to a Jewish family in Tasdorf , near... 1848-1849 Otto Nicolai 1871-1887 Robert Radecke (Hofkapellmeister) 1888-1899 Joseph Sucher 1899-1913 Richard Strauss Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...

1913-1920 Leo Blech Leo Blech Leo Blech was a German opera composer and conductor who is perhaps most famous for his work at the Königliches Schauspielhaus Leo Blech (21 April 1871 – 25 August 1958) was a German opera composer and conductor who is perhaps most famous for his work at the Königliches Schauspielhaus Leo...  (Hofkapellmeister) 1923-1934 Erich Kleiber Erich Kleiber Erich Kleiber was an Austrian conductor.- Biography :Born in Vienna, Kleiber studied in Prague... 1935-1936 Clemens Krauss Clemens Krauss Clemens Heinrich Krauss was an Austrian conductor and opera impresario, particularly associated with the music of Richard Strauss.-Biography:... 1941-1945 Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years... 1948-1951 Joseph Keilberth Joseph Keilberth Joseph Keilberth was a German conductor who specialized in opera.He started his career in the State Theatre of his native city, Karlsruhe. In 1940 he became director of the German Philharmonic Orchestra of Prague. Near the end of World War II he became principal conductor of the Dresden... 1954-1955 Erich Kleiber Erich Kleiber Erich Kleiber was an Austrian conductor.- Biography :Born in Vienna, Kleiber studied in Prague... 1955-1962 Franz Konwitschny Franz Konwitschny Franz Konwitschny was a German conductor and violist.He started his career on the viola, playing in the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra under Wilhelm Furtwängler. In 1925, he moved to Vienna, where he played the viola with the Fitzner Quartet. He also began teaching at the Wiener Volkskonservatorium... 1964-1990 Otmar Suitner Otmar Suitner Otmar Suitner was an Austrian conductor who spent most of his professional career in East Germany. He was born in Innsbruck and died in Berlin. He was Principal Conductor of the Staatskapelle Dresden from 1960 to 1964, and then Music Director at the Berlin State Opera from 1964 to 1990... 1992-present Daniel Barenboim Daniel Barenboim Daniel Barenboim, KBE is an Argentinian-Israeli pianist and conductor. He has served as music director of several major symphonic and operatic orchestras and made numerous recordings....

External links

• Berlin Staatskapelle website