Sinfonieorchester Basel
The Sinfonieorchester Basel, in various incarnations that date back to the 19th century and even earlier, has long had a strong international reputation and gave the premieres of several major works in the classical repertory. With the exception of Mario Venzago (1997-2003), all of its conductors since the orchestra took its current name have come from outside Switzerland.
The modern Sinfonieorchester Basel (known in German-speaking realms as SOB) was formed in 1997 from the merger of two orchestras, the Basler Sinfonie-Orchester and the Radio Sinfonieorchester Basel. The former of these dated back to 1876, when the group took up residence at the new Stadtcasino Basel, where the current orchestra still performs most of its concerts. That orchestra, in turn, had roots in the Collegium Musicum Basel, first formed in 1692. The Basler Sinfonie-Orchester's first conductor, Alfred Volkland, was succeeded in 1902 by Hermann Suter, whose tastes ran toward modern music and who programmed the premieres of works by Bartók, Bohuslav Martinů, and Arthur Honegger (Pacific 231), often in the face of audience opposition. Both Richard Strauss and Gustav Mahler conducted their works with the orchestra in the early 20th century. The orchestra grew in size and professionalism under subsequent conductors Felix Weingartner and Hans Ziegler, who led the group for four decades. An orientation toward contemporary music remained; French modernist Pierre Boulez conducted the group in the 1960s.
The Basler Sinfonie-Orchester and the Radio Sinfonieorchester Basel, which had been formed by the same administrative bodies, were joined together in 1997 under financial pressure to form the new Sinfonieorchester Basel. Its first conductor was Venzago, who was tasked with managing the difficult transition. He was succeeded by Marko Letonja (2003-2006) and then Dennis Russell Davies, who turned the group in the direction of American music and new minimalist repertory generally, including the works of Philip Glass. The group continued to suffer financial difficulties resulting in part from its complex administrative structure; these are explored in unusual detail on the orchestra's website. However, in the 2010s, the orchestra has drawn consistently strong audiences to its concerts and its operatic and ballet appearances at the Theater Basel. Since 2016, the orchestra's conductor has been Ivor Bolton. The orchestra returned to a renovated Stadtcasino Basel in 2020.
The Sinfonieorchester Basel has a large recording catalog, much of it on Novalis, CPO, and, most recently, Sony Classical; the orchestra has also operated its own label. In 2019, the orchestra issued the album Luciano Berio: Transformation on Sony Classical.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Saint-Saëns: Symphonic Poems
Sinfonieorchester Basel, Ivor Bolton
Musique symphonique - Paru chez Prospero Classical le 5 mai 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Charles Koechlin: The Seven Stars' Symphony, Op. 132 & Vers la voûte étoilée, Op. 129
Sinfonieorchester Basel, Ariane Matiakh
Classique - Paru chez CapriccioNR le 3 juin 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Johannes Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1 & Tragic Overture - Cherubini: Éliza (Overture)
Alexander Melnikov, Ivor Bolton, Sinfonieorchester Basel
Musique concertante - Paru chez harmonia mundi le 27 août 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Secret Fauré 3: Sacred Vocal Works
Classique - Paru chez Sony Classical - Sony Music le 15 mai 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Messe de Requiem, Op. 48/N 97b
Classique - Paru chez Sony Classical - Sony Music le 10 avr. 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
MARTINU, B.: Piano Concertos Nos. 2 and 4 / Les fresques de Piero della Francesca / Overture (Kolinsky, Basel Symphony, Ashkenazy)
Sinfonieorchester Basel, Robert Kolinsky, Vladimir Ashkenazy
Classique - Paru chez Ondine le 2 nov. 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Luciano Berio - Transformation
Classique - Paru chez Sony Classical - Sony Music le 22 nov. 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Eugen d'Albert: Piano Concertos, Cello Concerto, Symphony No.
Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, Karl-Andreas Kolly, Antônio Meneses, Ronald Zollmann, Sinfonieorchester Basel
Classique - Paru chez Pan Classics le 28 avr. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Weingartner, F.: Symphonic Music, Vol. 6 - Frühling / Symphony No. 6
Sinfonieorchester Basel, Marko Letonja
Classique - Paru chez CPO le 1 janv. 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Symphonies n°1 et n°3
Sinfonieorchester Basel, Dennis Russell Davies
Classique - Paru chez Sinfonieorchester Basel le 25 nov. 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Samson et Dalila, Op. 48, R. 288: Bacchanale
Sinfonieorchester Basel, Ivor Bolton
Musique symphonique - Paru chez Prospero Classical le 31 mars 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Secret Fauré 2
Classique - Paru chez Sony Classical - Sony Music le 17 mai 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Danse macabre pour orchestre, Op. 40
Sinfonieorchester Basel, Ivor Bolton
Musique symphonique - Paru chez Prospero Classical le 14 avr. 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Phaéton. Poème symphonique, Op. 39, R. 170
Sinfonieorchester Basel, Ivor Bolton
Musique symphonique - Paru chez Prospero Classical le 10 mars 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
La jeunesse d'Hercule, Op. 50
Sinfonieorchester Basel, Ivor Bolton
Musique symphonique - Paru chez Prospero Classical le 10 mars 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Britten: Our Hunting Fathers, Quatre Chansons Françaises, Suite from "Gloriana"
Sinfonieorchester Basel, Ivor Bolton
Classique - Paru chez Prospero Classical le 2 sept. 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Pavane, Op. 50
Classique - Paru chez Sony Classical - Sony Music le 10 mai 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Pelléas et Mélisande, Op. 80/III. Sicilienne
Classique - Paru chez Sony Classical - Sony Music le 3 août 2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43
Irina Georgieva, Sinfonieorchester Basel
Musique concertante - Paru chez Prospero Classical le 11 mars 2022
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Live from the Stadtcasino Basel
Sinfonieorchester Basel, Ivor Bolton
Classique - Paru chez Berlin Classics le 30 oct. 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Weingartner: Symphonic Works, Vol. 1
Sinfonieorchester Basel, Marko Letonja
Classique - Paru chez CPO le 28 janv. 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo