Carnegie Hall

Established more than 450 years ago, Staatskapelle Berlin is one of the oldest orchestras in the world. Originally founded as a court orchestra by Prince-Elector Joachim II of Brandenburg in 1570, the ensemble expanded its activities with the founding of the Royal Court Opera in 1742 by Frederick the Great. Ever since, the orchestra has been closely tied to Staatsoper Unter den Linden.

Many important musicians have conducted the orchestra—in opera, ballet, and the regular concert series that have been held since 1842—among them Gaspare Spontini, Felix Mendelssohn, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Felix von Weingartner, Richard Strauss, Erich Kleiber, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Herbert von Karajan, Franz Konwitschny, and Otmar Suitner.

From late 1991 until January 2023, Daniel Barenboim served as the orchestra’s general music director. At appearances in the great European music centers as well as in Israel, Asia, and North and South America, the orchestra remains a leading international ensemble.

A constantly growing number of recordings in both the operatic and symphonic repertoires document the work of Staatskapelle Berlin. Recent releases include all nine Bruckner symphonies; piano concertos by Chopin, Liszt, and Brahms; and large symphonic works by R. Strauss, Elgar, and Debussy. In addition, several opera productions were realized, among them Wagner’s Tannhäuser, Parsifal, and Tristan und Isolde; Verdi’s Il trovatore and Falstaff; Berg’s Lulu; Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Tsar’s Bride; and R. Schumann’s Scenes from Goethe’s Faust (all under the baton of Mr. Barenboim), as well as R. Strauss’s Rosenkavalier (with Zubin Mehta conducting).

During the 2022–2023 season, Staatskapelle Berlin performed in Japan, South Korea, Denmark, Vienna, and Paris. The tour to Asia took place under the direction of Christian Thielemann, who also conducted a new production of Wagner’s Ring cycle in autumn 2022 at Staatsoper Unter den Linden. In September 2023, Mr. Thielemann was appointed the new general music director starting at the beginning of the 2024–2025 season. Please visit staatskapelle-berlin.de for more information.

Montreal-born Yannick Nézet-Séguin was appointed music director of New York’s Metropolitan Opera in 2018, adding this to his music directorship of The Philadelphia Orchestra (where he has served since 2012) and to his post at the Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal, of which he has been artistic director and principal conductor since 2000. Mr. Nézet-Séguin joined the late Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Bernard Haitink to become the third-ever honorary member of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe in the 2016–2017 season. The end of his 10-year tenure with the Rotterdam Philharmonic coincided with the orchestra’s centenary celebrations in its home city, culminating in an acclaimed European summer festivals tour in 2018.

Mr. Nézet-Séguin has worked with many leading European ensembles and has enjoyed many close collaborations with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Vienna Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Chamber Orchestra of Europe, as well as with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, of which he was principal guest conductor from 2008 to 2014. He has appeared several times at the BBC Proms and many European festivals, among them Edinburgh, Lucerne, Salzburg, Berlin, and Grafenegg. North American summer appearances include New York’s Mostly Mozart Festival, Lanaudière, Vail, and Saratoga. Once chorus master, assistant conductor, and music adviser at Opéra de Montréal, he has since conducted at the Teatro alla Scala; Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Netherlands Opera; Vienna State Opera; and the Salzburg Festival.

Maestro Nézet-Séguin made his Carnegie Hall debut with The Philadelphia Orchestra in 2012. With these concerts, he returns to the podium of Staatskapelle Berlin for the first time in 10 years.