History of the orchestra
The Wuppertal Symphony Orchestra (WSO), which comprises 88 musicians, is classed as an 'A' grade orchestra in Germany. It has been under the leadership of Professor Toshiyuki Kamioka since the 2004/05 season and in that time has evolved considerably, both musically and technically.
The orchestra can look back on an almost 150-year history, if the founding of the Elberfeld Kapelle, one of its two local predecessors, is taken as the origin of the ensemble. Soon after its formation, the orchestra was honoured by the presence of major artists such as Clara Schumann, Johannes Brahms and Max Bruch. Many world-famous conductors began their careers in Wuppertal, including Erich Kleiber, Otto Klemperer, and Hans Weisbach. The orchestra’s home for over 100 years has been the Historische Stadthalle Wuppertal – a jewel of the Jugendstil. Its remarkable acoustics make it one of the best concert halls in Europe. Here, every season, the ensemble gives over 40 performances ranging from symphony, choral and chamber concerts to special events.
The 'Wuppertalers' regularly appear in Germany and abroad. In addition to annual performances in Milan, they have also undertaken a highly successful concert tour in Japan in 2008, where they played to full houses in Musashino, Tsukuba, Tokyo and Yokohama. Two new CDs resulted from this tour: Tchaikovsky's Pathétique und Bruckner's 7th symphony. A further, more extensive tour in Japan took place in October 2010. During this stay of fourteen days, the orchestra had ten concerts in nine cities, such as Tokyo, Yokohama, Fukushima, Nagoya and Fukuoka. In August 2011 the WSO gave its debut with Toshiyuki Kamioka in a sold out performance in the Concertgebouw Amsterdam where they were joined by Tzimon Barto at the piano playing Johannes Brahms' Piano Concert No 1.
The WSO has recently moved into new and unchartered territories with the recordings of film scores by Hans Zimmer. In 2007 it recorded the music for the animated Hollywood feature film Little Dodo. This was followed, in 2008, by the documentary film Tortuga and the German animated film Mullewapp - Das große Abenteuer der Freunde. In 2011 the WSO recorded the orchestral music for Tom Sawyer (novel by Mark Twain) composed by Andreas Schäfer.
The orchestra also devotes much attention to younger concert goers. In addition to concerts in schools and family concerts, the musicians organize project-oriented workshops for teachers, as well as visiting schools. The range of activities is completed by the School-Concert Project, during which professionals rehearse and then perform with young amateurs, such as Bolero (2007), Carmen (2008) and West Side Story (2011).
(December 2011)
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The orchestra can look back on an almost 150-year history, if the founding of the Elberfeld Kapelle, one of its two local predecessors, is taken as the origin of the ensemble. Soon after its formation, the orchestra was honoured by the presence of major artists such as Clara Schumann, Johannes Brahms and Max Bruch. Many world-famous conductors began their careers in Wuppertal, including Erich Kleiber, Otto Klemperer, and Hans Weisbach. The orchestra’s home for over 100 years has been the Historische Stadthalle Wuppertal – a jewel of the Jugendstil. Its remarkable acoustics make it one of the best concert halls in Europe. Here, every season, the ensemble gives over 40 performances ranging from symphony, choral and chamber concerts to special events.
The 'Wuppertalers' regularly appear in Germany and abroad. In addition to annual performances in Milan, they have also undertaken a highly successful concert tour in Japan in 2008, where they played to full houses in Musashino, Tsukuba, Tokyo and Yokohama. Two new CDs resulted from this tour: Tchaikovsky's Pathétique und Bruckner's 7th symphony. A further, more extensive tour in Japan took place in October 2010. During this stay of fourteen days, the orchestra had ten concerts in nine cities, such as Tokyo, Yokohama, Fukushima, Nagoya and Fukuoka. In August 2011 the WSO gave its debut with Toshiyuki Kamioka in a sold out performance in the Concertgebouw Amsterdam where they were joined by Tzimon Barto at the piano playing Johannes Brahms' Piano Concert No 1.
The WSO has recently moved into new and unchartered territories with the recordings of film scores by Hans Zimmer. In 2007 it recorded the music for the animated Hollywood feature film Little Dodo. This was followed, in 2008, by the documentary film Tortuga and the German animated film Mullewapp - Das große Abenteuer der Freunde. In 2011 the WSO recorded the orchestral music for Tom Sawyer (novel by Mark Twain) composed by Andreas Schäfer.
The orchestra also devotes much attention to younger concert goers. In addition to concerts in schools and family concerts, the musicians organize project-oriented workshops for teachers, as well as visiting schools. The range of activities is completed by the School-Concert Project, during which professionals rehearse and then perform with young amateurs, such as Bolero (2007), Carmen (2008) and West Side Story (2011).
(December 2011)
Download this page here.
