Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt

The Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt can trace its history back to the year 1842. Counting 86 members, it is the largest sym- phonic ensemble in the state of Brandenburg. It considers itself the state’s official musical ambas- sador, and has in recent years toured to Poland, Lithuania, Israel, Russia, Spain, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Japan, the Vatican, and Switzerland. Since 1973 it has been the orches- tra in residence at the Choriner Musiksommer, and has held the same position at the Rheins- berger Opernfestival since 2002. The ensem- ble’s principal conductor and musical director, Generalmusikdirektor Howard Griffiths, and the manager Peter Sauerbaum have since 2007 directed their forces towards expanding the orchestra’s national and international reputa- tion as well as its presence within the state of Brandenburg. As a consequence, the orchestra has been part of the “Wagner für Kinder” project at the Bayreuther Festspiele since 2010, and performs across Brandenburg as part of the EWE Klassik- tour and EWE Klassiktour-Familienkonzerte series, both of which are sponsored by EWE. More generally, the Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester believes musical and cultural ed- ucation to be an important part of its vocation: it works with children in specifically educational projects, its musicians regularly visit schools and kindergartens, and the orchestra offers “music to touch” in its dress rehearsals. Similarly, the Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester sees it as its duty to support young artists; for many years, the ensemble has offered them performance opportunities in the context of the so called Dirigentenforum, or in cooperation with the Stiftung Orpheum or the Tchaikovsky conserva- toire Moscow. The performance of forgotten as well as con- temporary works is considered one of the main aims by the Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester. This is evident in the orchestra’s numerous radio broadcasts and CD recordings. In addition, the en- semble has recorded various pieces of film music. It is part of the European Film Philharmonic.