Dresden Staatskapelle

Founded by Prince Elector Moritz von Sachsen in 1548, the Dresden Staatskapelle has been a leading ensemble throughout various musical eras, having been in continuous existence for over four and a half centuries.

Distinguished conductors have helped shape the development of this one-time court orchestra, including Heinrich Schütz, Carl Maria von Weber and Richard Wagner, for whom the ensemble was his “miraculous harp”.

Fabio Luisi, music director from 2007, is now in charge of both Saxon State Opera and the Dresden Staatskapelle. Sir Colin Davis has been the orchestra’s conductor laureate since 1990. Richard Strauss and the Staatskapelle were closely linked for almost 70 years. Nine of the composer’s operas were premiered in Dresden (including Salome, Elektra and Der Rosenkavalier) while Strauss’s Alpine Symphony was dedicated to the Staatskapelle. Many other famous composers have written works either dedicated to the orchestra or first performed in Dresden, including Vivaldi, Bach, Schumann, Wagner, Liszt, Hindemith, Weill, or more recently, Matthus, Zimmermann and Rihm.

A busy touring schedule regularly brings the ensemble to the great music centers of Europe, Asia and the USA, while long-term residencies at Vienna’s Musikverein and the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris mean that audiences there can enjoy the Staatskapelle several times each year.

Daniel Harding, conductor

Daniel Harding is one of the brightest of a new generation of conductors.

He is the Music Director of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, Music Partner of the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra and Principal Conductor of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra.

He is a regular visitor to the Dresden Staatskapelle, the Vienna Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouworkest, Leipzig Gewandhausorchester and the Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala. In the U.S. and in Canada he has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago, Atlanta, Baltimore, Houston and Toronto Symphony Orchestras.

In Opera, his recent engagements have included appearances at the Salzburg Festival; the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and at La Scala, Milan.

Daniel Harding records exclusively for Deutsche Grammophon.

Rudolf Buchbiner, piano

Rudolf Buchbinder is firmly established as one of the most important pianists on the international scene. He is a regular guest of such renowned orchestras as the Berlin, Vienna, New York and London Philharmonics, as well as the National Symphony and the Philadelphia Orchestra. 

Throughout the 2010/11 season Mr. Buchbinder has a particularly close cooperation with the Staatskapelle Dresden as its Artist in Residence. In the position of the so-called “Capell- Virtuoso”, set up for the first time, he performs with the orchestra in Dresden and on tour throughout the US; in addition he will perform the complete cycle of all of Beethoven’s piano sonatas. The season includes concerts with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, with the Orchestre National de France at Salle Pleyel (Paris) and with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra at Rudolfinum (Prague). As conductor and soloist of the Vienna Philharmonic, he will perform all five Beethoven piano concerti.