View source for NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra

{{Short description|German radio orchestra}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{For|the symphony orchestra of the broadcaster in Hannover|NDR Radiophilharmonie}}
{{Infobox orchestra
| name                = NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra
| type                = [[Radio orchestra]]
| native_name         = NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester
| native_name_lang    = de
| short_name          = 
| image               = NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester Logo 2018.svg
| alt                 = The NDR Sinfonieorchester 
| former_name         = NWDR Sinfonieorchester
| founded             = {{Start date|1945|||df=y}}
| disbanded           = 
| location            = {{nowrap|Rothenbaumchaussee 132}}<br /> 20149 [[Hamburg]], Germany
| concert_hall        = [[Elbphilharmonie]]
| principal_conductor = [[Alan Gilbert (conductor)|Alan Gilbert]]
| music_director      = 
| website             = {{URL|https://www.ndr.de/orchester_chor/elbphilharmonieorchester|ndr.de}}
}}

The '''NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra''' ({{langx|de|link=no|NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester}}) is a German [[radio orchestra]]. Affiliated with the ''[[Norddeutscher Rundfunk]]'' (NDR; North German Broadcasting), the orchestra is based at the [[Elbphilharmonie]] in Hamburg, Germany.  Earlier the ensemble was called the '''NDR Symphony Orchestra''' ({{lang|de|Sinfonieorchester des Norddeutschen Rundfunks}}), and was also known in English as the '''North German Radio Symphony Orchestra'''. 

==History==
[[Allied-occupied Germany#British Zone|British occupation]] authorities founded the orchestra after [[World War II]] as part of [[Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk|Radio Hamburg]] (NWDR), which was the only radio station in what would become [[West Germany]] not destroyed during the war. The first musicians came mostly from the ranks of the old [[Nazism|Nazi]]-controlled ''Großes Rundfunkorchester des Reichssenders Hamburg''. [[Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt]], who was living near Hamburg, was given the task of assembling the members, something he accomplished over a period of six months.  Schmidt-Isserstedt conducted the orchestra's first concert in November 1945, with [[Yehudi Menuhin]] as [[Solo (music)|soloist]]. Schmidt-Isserstedt served as the first chief conductor of the orchestra, through 1971.

The orchestra first visited the UK in 1951, as part of the concerts celebrating the re-opening in [[Manchester]] of the [[Free Trade Hall]].<ref>Potts, Joseph E., "European Radio Orchestras: Western Germany" (September 1955). ''The Musical Times'', '''96''' (1351): 473–475.</ref>  In addition to its performances of the core classical and romantic repertoire by composers such as [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]] and [[Anton Bruckner|Bruckner]], the orchestra also has a focus on contemporary works by [[Bernd Alois Zimmermann]], [[Wolfgang Rihm]] and [[Hans Werner Henze]]. It rose to particular significance during the chief conductorship of [[Günter Wand]], from 1982 to 1990.  Wand conducted several commercial recordings with the orchestra for the [[RCA Victor Red Seal]] and [[EMI]] labels.  The orchestra has also recorded for the [[Deutsche Grammophon]] and CPO labels.

[[Thomas Hengelbrock]] became chief conductor of the orchestra with the 2011–2012 season, with an initial contract of three years.<ref>{{cite press release | url=http://www4.ndr.de/sinfonieorchester/orchester/chefdirigent100.html | title=Thomas Hengelbrock wird neuer Chefdirigent | publisher=NDR Symphony Orchestra | date=27 March 2009 | access-date=30 September 2009 | archive-date=2 April 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090402062628/http://www4.ndr.de/sinfonieorchester/orchester/chefdirigent100.html | url-status=live }}</ref>  In January 2017, the orchestra took up its new residence at the newly opened [[Elbphilharmonie]], and formally changed its name to the ''NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester''.  In June 2017, the orchestra announced the scheduled conclusion of Hengelbrock's tenure with the ensemble at the close of the 2018–2019 season.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.ndr.de/orchester_chor/elbphilharmonieorchester/orchester/Hengelbrock-nur-noch-bis-2019-Chefdirigent,hengelbrock526.html | title=Hengelbrock nur noch bis 2019 Chefdirigent | work=NDR | date=19 June 2017 | access-date=22 June 2017 | archive-date=19 June 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170619115327/http://www.ndr.de/orchester_chor/elbphilharmonieorchester/orchester/Hengelbrock-nur-noch-bis-2019-Chefdirigent,hengelbrock526.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Alan Gilbert (conductor)|Alan Gilbert]] had served as principal guest conductor of the orchestra from 2004 to 2015.  In June 2017, the orchestra announced the appointment of Gilbert as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2019–2020 season, with an initial contract of 5 seasons.<ref>{{cite press release | url=http://www.ndr.de/der_ndr/presse/mitteilungen/Alan-Gilbert-ab-201920-neuer-Chefdirigent-des-NDR-Elbphilharmonie-Orchesters,pressemeldungndr18682.html | title=Alan Gilbert ab 2019/20 neuer Chefdirigent des NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchesters | publisher=NDR | date=23 June 2017 | access-date=23 June 2017 | archive-date=4 December 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171204222922/http://www.ndr.de/der_ndr/presse/mitteilungen/Alan-Gilbert-ab-201920-neuer-Chefdirigent-des-NDR-Elbphilharmonie-Orchesters,pressemeldungndr18682.html | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | author=Michael Cooper | title=Alan Gilbert to Lead NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra in Hamburg | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/23/arts/music/alan-gilbert-hamburg-elbphilharmonie-new-york-philharmonicl.html | work=The New York Times | date=23 June 2017 | access-date=23 June 2017 | archive-date=23 June 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170623095506/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/23/arts/music/alan-gilbert-hamburg-elbphilharmonie-new-york-philharmonicl.html | url-status=live }}</ref> He took the title of chief conductor-designate in the autumn of 2017.<ref>{{cite news | title=Alan Gilbert named Chief Conductor of Hamburg's NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra | url=https://www.gramophone.co.uk/classical-music-news/alan-gilbert-named-chief-conductor-ndr-elbphilharmonie-orchestra | work=Gramophone | date=23 June 2017 | access-date=23 June 2017 | archive-date=23 June 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170623131312/https://www.gramophone.co.uk/classical-music-news/alan-gilbert-named-chief-conductor-ndr-elbphilharmonie-orchestra | url-status=live }}</ref>  In December 2017, Hengelbrock expressed his displeasure with the timing of the announcement of Gilbert as his designated successor, within the same month as the original announcement of the previously scheduled conclusion of his tenure.  Hengelbrock thus announced his intention to stand down as chief conductor of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra at the end of the 2017–2018 season, one season earlier than originally planned.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.abendblatt.de/hamburg/article212786249/Dirigent-Hengelbrock-verlaesst-Elbphilharmonie-im-Streit.html | title=Nach Streit: Hengelbrock verlässt Elbphilharmonie schon 2018 | work=Hamburger Abendblatt | date=9 December 2017 | access-date=27 January 2018 | archive-date=19 August 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240819211411/https://www.abendblatt.de/hamburg/article212786249/Dirigent-Hengelbrock-verlaesst-Elbphilharmonie-im-Streit.html | url-status=live }}</ref>  

Other principal guest conductors of the orchestra have included [[Krzysztof Urbanski]], who served from 2015 to 2020.  In February 2023, the orchestra announced the extension of Gilbert's contract as chief conductor through the summer of 2029.<ref>{{cite press release | url=https://www.ndr.de/orchester_chor/elbphilharmonieorchester/orchester/Alan-Gilbert-bleibt-bis-2029-Chefdirigent-,alangilbert226.html | title=Alan Gilbert bleibt bis 2029 Chefdirigent | publisher=NDR | date=17 February 2023 | access-date=2023-02-22 | archive-date=23 February 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230223015450/https://www.ndr.de/orchester_chor/elbphilharmonieorchester/orchester/Alan-Gilbert-bleibt-bis-2029-Chefdirigent-,alangilbert226.html | url-status=live }}</ref>  

==Principal conductors==
* [[Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt]] (1945–1971)
* [[Moshe Atzmon]] (1972–1976)
* [[Klaus Tennstedt]] (1979–1981)
* [[Günter Wand]] (1982–1990)
* [[John Eliot Gardiner]] (1991–1994)
* [[Herbert Blomstedt]] (1996–1998)
* [[Christoph Eschenbach]] (1998–2004)
* [[Christoph von Dohnányi]] (2004–2011)
* [[Thomas Hengelbrock]] (2011–2018)
* [[Alan Gilbert (conductor)|Alan Gilbert]] (2019–present)

==Awards==
* 1998: [[Johannes Brahms Medal]] of the Free and Hanseatic City of [[Hamburg]]
* 2000: Award for best live performance in Japan  
* 2014: [[Grammy]] for the category "Best Classical Compendium" (Hindemith: Violinkonzert – Symphonic Metamorphosis – Konzertmusik op. 50)

==Venue==
{{Gallery
|File:Die Elbphilharmonie - 21.07.2015.jpg
 |[[Elbphilharmonie]]
}}

==See also==
* {{clc|Music commissioned by the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.ndr.de/orchester_chor/elbphilharmonieorchester/orchester/index.html Official index page of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060422145743/http://www.artsbird.com/en/news/artsnews2.php?thisid=100 Artsbird.com article on the NDR Symphony Orchestra]
* {{YouTube|h=ARDKlassik|ARD Klassik}}

{{Hamburg orchestras}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra| ]]
[[Category:Norddeutscher Rundfunk]]
[[Category:Orchestras in Hamburg]]
[[Category:German symphony orchestras]]
[[Category:Juno Award for Classical Album of the Year – Large Ensemble or Soloist(s) with Large Ensemble Accompaniment winners]]
[[Category:Musical groups established in 1945]]
[[Category:German radio orchestras]]
[[Category:1945 establishments in Germany]]