Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin
There may be more confusion over the identity of this orchestra than any other major ensemble in the West, not least because it has had three names over the years. Founded in 1946 in the American sector of Berlin, the orchestra was formed while Berlin (and most of Germany) was emerging from the destruction of the war. The ensemble was given the name of RIAS Symphony Orchestra, the initials standing for "Radio in the American Sector." In 1956, the ensemble adopted the name of Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, by which many concertgoers and record collectors still know it.
In 1993, the orchestra was renamed Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. In part, the change was necessary to avoid confusion with another Berlin ensemble, the Radio Symphony Orchestra of Berlin, often listed on recordings and in catalogs in German as Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin. And here is where the confusion worsens: this latter group is often now mistakenly listed on Internet sites, in reference works, and in catalogs as the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra. Actually, such a translation of their German name would normally be quite acceptable.
In any event, the new Deutsches Sinfonie-Orchester Berlin was led by music director Vladimir Ashkenazy and had as its principal guest conductor Günter Wand. The former became music director in 1989 when he succeeded Riccardo Chailly. The orchestra plays subscription series at both the Philharmonie in Berlin and the Konzerthaus, located in the former East Berlin. Eliahu Inbal, Gerd Albrecht, Lothar Zagrosek, and other distinguished conductors have frequently led the orchestra. Zagrosek made several important recordings with the Deutsches Sinfonie-Orchester Berlin for Decca. The group has also recorded for Denon, Orfeo, Capriccio, and CPO. Following the tenure of Ingo Metzmacher from 2007 to 2010, Tugan Sokhiev was named as the principal conductor and artistic director, with a contract beginning in 2012. Robin Ticciati followed Sokhiev, assuming the principal conductor post in 2017. The Deutsches Sinfonie-Orchester Berlin is the most significant orchestra in Berlin after the Berlin Philharmonic.
© Robert Cummings /TiVo
-
Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 1-5; Choral Fantasia
Alicia de Larrocha, Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Riccardo Chailly
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Oct. 1, 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Don Giovanni
Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Ferenc Fricsay
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Mar. 8, 1959
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Scriabin: Symphony No.3 / Le Poeme de l'extase
Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Vladimir Ashkenazy
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan. 1, 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bruckner: Symphony No.7
Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Riccardo Chailly
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan. 1, 1985
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schoenberg In Hollywood (John Mauceri – The Sound of Hollywood Vol. 16)
Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Berlin Deutsches Symphony Orchestra, John Mauceri
Classical - Released by Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. on Jan. 1, 1997
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Lalo: Cello Concerto; Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto No.2
Lynn Harrell, Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Riccardo Chailly
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan. 1, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro
Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Ferenc Fricsay
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan. 1, 1961
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
G'schichten aus dem Wiener Wald, Werke von Johann Strauss II (Stereo Version)
Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Ferenc Fricsay
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on Jan. 1, 1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Offenbach: Gaite Parisienne; Strauss: Le Bue Danube
Paul Strauss, Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan. 1, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Korngold: Between Two Worlds/Symphonic Serenade/Theme &
Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, John Mauceri
Classical - Released by Polydor Associated Labels on Jan. 1, 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gershwin: Porgy and Bess (Highlights)
Leonard Slatkin, Simon Estes, Roberta Alexander, Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Aug. 1, 1985
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Zemlinsky: Die Seejungfrau/Psalms Nos.13 & 23
Ernst Senff Chamber Choir, Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Riccardo Chailly
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan. 1, 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Busoni: Turandot & Arlecchino
Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin
Classical - Released by CapriccioNR on Jan. 3, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Kálmán: Die Herzogin von Chicago
Rundfunkchor Berlin, Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Richard Bonynge
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan. 1, 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Henze: Scenes from "Elegy for Young Lovers"
Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Hans Werner Henze
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan. 1, 1963
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Original Sound of Spain!
Moscow State Symphony Orchestra, Veronica Dudarova, Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin
Classical - Released by Music Manager on Nov. 16, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Essence of Ferenc Fricsay
Berliner Philharmoniker, Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Rias Symphony Orchestra
Opera - Released by Editions Audiovisuel Beulah on Sep. 2, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Händel: Julius Caesar
Irmgard Seefried, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Wolfgang Meyer, Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Karl Böhm
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan. 1, 1960
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bartók: Bluebeard's Castle - Cantata profana
Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, RIAS Symphonie-Orchester, Ferenc Fricsay
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan. 1, 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Glazunov: Violin Concerto, A Minor, Op. 82
Erica Morini, Ferenc Fricsay, Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin
Classical - Released by Classically on Jul. 26, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pfitzner: Von deutscher Seele / Schoeck: Lebendig begraben
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Joseph Keilberth, Fritz Rieger
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan. 1, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo