Top Songs By Bayreuth Festival Orchestra
More albums from Bayreuth Festival Orchestra
ALBUMWagner: Das RheindgoldElisabeth Grummer, Paul Kuen, Paula Lenchner, Georgine von Milinkovic, Arnold van Mill, Gustav Neidlinger, Elisabeth Schartel, Dorothea Siebert, Josef Traxel, Ludwig Suthaus, Hans Hotter, Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, Hans Knappertsbusch, Toni Blankenheim, Josef Greindl & Maria von Ilosvay
ALBUMWagner: Die Walküre, WWV 86B (Live Recordings 1958)Astrid Varnay, Lotte Rysanek, Elisabeth Schartel, Hilde Scheppan, Marlies Siemeling, Hans Knappertsbusch, Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, Hans Hotter, Leonie Rysanek, Jon Vickers, Ursula Boese, Rita Gorr, Josef Greindl, Grace Hoffman & Maria von Ilosvay
ALBUMWagner: Parsifal (Recorded 1959)Martha Modl, Josef Greindl, Claudia Hellmann, Jerome Hines, Herold Kraus, Harald Neukirch, Georg Paskuda, Ruth-Margret Pütz, Gisela Schröter, Dorothea Siebert, Eberhard Wächter, Hans Beirer, Elisabeth Witzmann, Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, Bayreuth Festival Choir, Hans Knappertsbusch, Rita Bartos, Donald Bell, Toni Blankenheim & Ursula Boese
ALBUMWagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen - Great ScenesBayreuth Festival Orchestra, Andrew Shore, Arnold Bezuyen, Michelle Breedt, Clemens Bieber, Ulrike Helzel, Simone Schröder, Ralf Lukas, Christa Mayer, Albert Dohmen, Fionnuala McCarthy, Christian Thielemann, Martina Dike, Edith Haller, Annette Kuttenbaum, Endrik Wottrich, Anna Gabler, Eva-Maria Westbroek, Wilke te Brummelstroete, Manuela Bress, Sonja Muhleck, Linda Watson, Stephen Gould & Hans-Peter Konig
ALBUMMartha Modl: The Portrait of a Legend (1950-1982)Heinrich Hollreiser, RIAS Symphony Orchestra, Martha Modl, Ludwig Suthaus, Hertha Töpper, Bavarian State Orchestra, Joseph Keilberth, Bayerische Staatsopernchor, Ferdinand Leitner, Grace Hoffman, Gustav Neidlinger, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, Georges Sebastian, Orchestre Symphonique de Vichy, Otmar Suitner, Staatskapelle Berlin, Wurttemberg State Theatre Orchestra Stuttgart, Reinhard Peters, South West German Radio Symphony Orchestra, Josef Greindl, Graz Opera Chorus, Graz Symphony Orchestra, Niksa Bareza & Michael Raucheisen
ALBUMWagner: Gotterdammerung (Twilight of the Gods)Astrid Varnay, Wolfgang Windgassen, Birgit Nilsson, Paula Lenchner, Josef Greindl, Elisabeth Grummer, Maria von Ilosvay, Hermann Uhde, Bayreuth Festival Chorus, Hans Knappertsbusch, Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, Gustav Neidlinger, Elisabeth Schartel & Dorothea Siebert
ALBUMWagner: Die WalkureMichelle Breedt, Wilke Brummelstroete, Albert Dohmen, Eva-Maria Westbroek, Christian Thielemann, Anna Gabler, Annette Kuttenbaum, Kwangchul Youn, Martina Dike, Linda Watson, Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, Endrik Wottrich, Edith Haller, Simone Schröder, Manuela Bress & Sonja Muhleck
ALBUMWagner, R.: Das RheingoldKwangchul Youn, Michelle Breedt, Ralf Lukas, Clemens Bieber, Arnold Bezuyen, Christian Thielemann, Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, Hans-Peter Konig, Andrew Shore, Gerhard Siegel, Christa Mayer, Albert Dohmen, Edith Haller, Fionnuala McCarthy, Ulrike Helzel & Simone Schröder
ALBUMDie Grossen OpernchoreStuttgart State Opera Chorus, Stuttgart State Orchestra, Peter Schrottner, Ferdinand Leitner, Wurttemberg State Theatre Chorus Stuttgart, Wurttemberg State Theatre Orchestra Stuttgart, Robert Shaw Chorale, Renato Cellini, The RCA Victor Orchestra, Bayreuth Festival Chorus, Joseph Keilberth, Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, Berlin Deutsche Opera Orchestra, RIAS Chamber Chorus, Richard Kraus, Chorus of the Vienna State Opera, Vienna Philharmonic, Heinrich Hollreiser, Arthur Rother, Munich Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Chorus, Fritz Lehmann, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Kurt Peter Eichhorn, Munich State Opera Chorus, Beniamino Gigli, Philharmonia Chorus, Stanford Robinson & Philharmonic Orchestra
ALBUMWagner, R.: Tristan Und Isolde - Tannhauser - Die Walkure (Furtwangler) (1931-1936)Bayreuth Festival Chorus, Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, Gotthelf Pistor, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Anny Helm, Rudolf Bockelmann, Nanny Larsen-Todsen, Sandor Sved, Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera, Anna Báthy, Maria Muller, Chorus of the Vienna State Opera, Max Lorenz, Luise Helletsgruber, Franz Volker, Alfred Jerger, Walter Grossmann, Eva Hadrabova, Aenne Michalsky, Dora With, Rosette Anday, Dora Komarek, Bella Paalen, Anny Konetzny, Enid Szantho, Margarete Klose & Josef von Manowarda
About Bayreuth Festival Orchestra
Artist Biography
The Bayreuth Festival Orchestra is a seasonal orchestra mostly comprised of leading musicians from German orchestras. The Bayreuth Festival and its orchestra exist because Richard Wagner dreamed of a venue and special festival in which his stage works, particularly his cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen, could be performed properly. Though the orchestra is made new each year, many musicians return every year to perform.
After years of searching for a proper location, Bayreuth was brought to Wagner's attention by Hans Richter. Though the existing structure of the Margravial Opera House wasn't appropriate for staging his works, Wagner enjoyed the city, and construction on a new hall, the Bayreuth Festival Theater, began in 1872. Wagner conducted a performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in the Margravial Opera House to mark the occasion of the foundation stone being placed for the new theater. The festival's inaugural season began in August of 1876 and was attended by Kaiser Wilhelm, as well as many of Wagner's peers, including Bruckner, Grieg, and Tchaikovsky. Hans Richter conducted the premiere of the complete Der Ring des Nibelungen during the first festival. Wagner chose Hermann Levi to premiere Parsifal, Wagner's final completed opera, at the festival in 1882. Levi served as principle conductor of the festival for nearly 20 years. Following Wagner's death in 1883, his widow, Cosima, continued to hold the festival in one- or two-year intervals. She was vehement that Wagner's works should continue to be performed as originally written. Cosima retired from the festival in 1907 and their son, Siegfried, became artistic director. Following Siegfried's death in 1930, the festival was run by his widow, Winifred, with Heinz Tietjen as artistic director until 1944. Karl Elmendorff was the principal conductor from 1933 until 1942.
Much of the city of Bayreuth was destroyed during World War II, but, remarkably, the theater was left intact. Following the war, Winifred was banned from the city and its festival. Eventually, the festival was taken over by her sons, Wolfgang and Wieland. Under their leadership, the Bayreuth Festival returned in 1951. In what has become tradition, the festival opened with a performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, with Wilhelm Furtwängler conducting, harkening back to Wagner's own performance in 1872. The 1976 centenary performance of Der Ring des Nibelungen (known as Jahrhundertring), directed by Patrice Chéreau and conducted by Pierre Boulez, is heralded as one of the cycle's finest productions. This staging would later be recorded and released in 1980. Following Wieland's death in 1966, Wolfgang continued to direct the festival until 2008. From 2008-2015, Eva Wagner-Pasquier and Katharina Wagner were the festivals directors. In 2015, Katharina became the sole director of the festival. A great number of notable conductors have worked with the BFO, including Karl Böhm, Daniel Barenboim, James Levine, and Christian Thielemann. The Bayreuth Festival remains dedicated to staging Wagner Operas.
Recordings of the BFO have been numerous, especially since its return. They have been featured on many labels including Deutsche Grammophon, Golden Melodram, and Orfeo. Historical recordings have also been made available, including several performances conducted by Elmendorff. Among these, are a 1928 performance of Tristan und Isolde on the Naxos label. In 2018, the BFO released several live recordings on the Opus Arte label: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (2008), Lohengrin (2011), Tristan und Isolde (2009), Der fliegende Holländer (2013), and Tannhaüser (2014). ~ Keith Finke
Hometown
Bayreuth, Germany
Genre
Classical
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