WDR Sinfonieorchester
The WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, or West German Radio Symphony Orchestra of Cologne, is one of Germany's leading symphony orchestras. The group plays the music of various periods but has specialized in contemporary music, a specialty made possible by the fact that the WDR network also maintains another orchestra, the WDR Rundfunkorchester Köln, that performs lighter music and pops material.
The broadcast of orchestral music on the radio in Cologne dates back almost to the foundation of the Richessender Köln radio station in 1927. After World War II, Allied administrators announced the breakup of the central broadcasting of the Nazi era in favor of a system of regional broadcasters that persists today. The Kölner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester was established to serve the new Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk (Northwest German Radio), in 1947; the name was changed to WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln in the 1990s. In the beginning, the group hosted only guest conductors, but since 1964, when Christoph von Dohnányi was named principal conductor, the orchestra has reliably spawned international conducting careers. Recent principal conductors have included Hans Vonk (1991-1997), Semyon Bychkov (1997-2010), Jukka-Pekka Saraste (2010-2019), and, since 2019, Cristian Macelaru. Guest conductors have included international greats: Herbert von Karajan, Karl Böhm, and Zubin Mehta, among others. The orchestra's contemporary music specialty dates back many years and has included premieres of works by Luciano Berio, Hans Werner Henze, and Karlheinz Stockhausen. This tendency, along with the WDR's maintenance of its own electronic music studio directed for many years by Stockhausen, helped to establish Cologne as a center for contemporary music. The orchestra performs at the WDR Funkhaus Wallrafplatz and the Kölner Philharmonie.
The WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln has recorded for both German and international labels. In 1989, under frequent guest conductor Günter Wand, the orchestra released recordings of Schubert's Symphony No. 9 in C major, D. 944 ("The Great"), and Bruckner's Symphony No. 5 on RCA Red Seal. The orchestra has also recorded for Wergo, Audite, CPO, and many others. Although quite prolific, with more than 80 recordings to its credit as of the early 2020s, the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln has not been strongly associated with any single imprint. In 2020, the group released its first two albums on Sony Classical, Beethoven's World, and a release devoted to the violin concertos of Franz Joseph Clement, with violinist Mirijam Contzen and conductor Reinhard Goebel.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Brahms: Piano Concertos
Simon Trpčeski, Cristian Măcelaru, WDR Sinfonieorchester
Classique - Paru chez Linn Records le 10 nov. 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
BERLIN 1923 - Beethoven & Schulhoff: Piano Concertos
Herbert Schuch, WDR Sinfonieorchester, Tung-Chieh Chuang
Classique - Paru chez Cavi-Music le 10 nov. 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Grażyna Bacewicz: Complete Orchestral Works Vol. 2
Łukasz Borowicz, WDR Sinfonieorchester
Classique - Paru chez CPO le 5 déc. 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bartók: The Wooden Prince & Dance Suite
Cristian Măcelaru, WDR Sinfonieorchester
Classique - Paru chez Linn Records le 24 févr. 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Liza Lim: Annunciation Triptych
Emily Hindrichs, WDR Sinfonieorchester, Cristian Măcelaru
Classique - Paru chez KAIROS le 15 mars 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bernd Alois Zimmermann - Recomposed, Vol. 1
Classique - Paru chez wergo le 7 oct. 2022
Choc de Classica24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bernd Alois Zimmermann - Recomposed, Vol. 2
Classique - Paru chez wergo le 7 oct. 2022
Choc de Classica24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bernd Alois Zimmermann - Recomposed, Vol. 3
Classique - Paru chez wergo le 7 oct. 2022
Choc de Classica24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Left, Alone
WDR Sinfonieorchester, Tamara Stefanovich, Mariano Chiacchiarini, Peter Rundel
Classique - Paru chez Winter & Winter le 21 avr. 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: Cello Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
Alban Gerhardt, WDR Sinfonieorchester, Jukka-Pekka Saraste
Classique - Paru chez Hyperion le 28 août 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
BERLIN 1923 - Beethoven & Schulhoff: Piano Concertos
Herbert Schuch, WDR Sinfonieorchester, Tung-Chieh Chuang
Classique - Paru chez Cavi-Music le 10 nov. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: Symphonies
Classique - Paru chez Brilliant Classics le 1 janv. 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Complete Symphonies
Classique - Paru chez Profil le 12 avr. 2019
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Berio: Coro
WDR Sinfonieorchester, Luciano Berio, Cologne Radio Chorus, Herbert Schernus
Classique - Paru chez Deutsche Grammophon (DG) le 1 janv. 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Günter Raphael: Entrée
Wolfgang Sawallisch, WDR Sinfonieorchester
Classique - Paru chez Querstand le 8 mai 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Violin Concerto & Songs
Emmanuel Tjeknavorian, Cristian Măcelaru, WDR Sinfonieorchester
Classique - Paru chez Berlin Classics le 24 sept. 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Ode to Henze
Isang Enders, WDR Sinfonieorchester
Classique - Paru chez Berlin Classics le 14 oct. 2022
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Strauss, R.: Daphne
Renée Fleming, WDR Sinfonieorchester, Semyon Bychkov
Classique - Paru chez Decca Music Group Ltd. le 1 janv. 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Orff: De Temporum Fine Comoedia
WDR Sinfonieorchester, Herbert von Karajan
Classique - Paru chez Deutsche Grammophon (DG) le 1 janv. 1974
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 4
WDR Sinfonieorchester, Rudolf Barshai
Classique - Paru chez Musical Concepts le 8 mai 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Nutcracker, Op. 71: Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy (Arr. for Harp and Orchestra by Xavier de Maistre)
Xavier de Maistre, Nathalie Stutzmann, WDR Sinfonieorchester
Classique - Paru chez Sony Classical - Sony Music le 19 août 2022
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo