The Bayerische Staatsorchester
The Bayerische Staatsorchester is one of the most traditional orchestras in Germany and one of the best orchestras in the world today. It has been voted Orchestra of the Year for the tenth time by 50 international critics in surveys conducted by the magazine "Opernwelt".
The orchestra impresses with its versatility, both in the pit for opera and ballet performances and on stage for symphony and chamber concerts. The activities in Munich are complemented by numerous guest performances and concert tours, which regularly take the orchestra to the world's most important music centers. As the house orchestra, the Bayerische Staatsorchester with its 144 musicians performs in almost every performance of the Bayerische Staatsoper.
The Bayerische Staatsorchester can thus look back on a history of almost 500 years. This makes it one of the few cultural institutions whose tradition spans almost the entire history of European music. The orchestra has staged several world premieres, including Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Idomeneo or Richard Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg as well as Das Rheingold and Die Walküre. Since the beginning, the most important artists of their time have served as music directors, from Richard Strauss, Hermann Levi, Bruno Walter and Hans Knappertsbusch to Georg Solti, Joseph Keilberth, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Zubin Mehta, Kent Nagano and Kirill Petrenko. Beginning with the 2021-22 season, Vladimir Jurowski will assume the post of general music director.
