Daniele Gatti
Principal Conductor
Herbert Blomstedt
Conductor Laureate
Christian Thielemann
Conductor Laureate
Myung-Whun Chung
Principal Guest Conductor
As one of the world’s oldest orchestras, the Staatskapelle Dresden is truly steeped in tradition. Founded in 1548 by Moritz, Elector of Saxony, its history is inextricably linked with the city of Dresden, the royal Saxon court and its theatre. Until today, the venerable ensemble performs some 250 opera and ballets each season at its home in the Semperoper. In addition, the orchestra presents around 50 symphonic concerts, matinee events and chamber music evenings. In June 2022, the musicians of the Staatskapelle Dresden elected Daniele Gatti as their future Principal Conductor. The Italian maestro will take up his post for a period of six years from the beginning of the 2024/2025 season.
Appreciated worldwide
Celebrated for its unmistakable »Dresden sound«, the Staatskapelle is one of the world’s leading symphony orchestras, appearing at major international music venues several times each season. From 2013 to 2022, the ensemble was resident orchestra at the Salzburg Easter Festival and received the Herbert von Karajan Prize in recognition of its highly successful decade at the Salzach River. In 2007, the Staatskapelle was the only orchestra to date to receive the »European Cultural Foundation Prize for the Preservation of the World’s Musical Heritage«.
More than 475 years of musical excellence
In the 2023/2024 season, the Staatskapelle Dresden celebrated its 475th anniversary. Since its foundation, many great conductors and renowned musical partners have shaped the history of the former ensemble. Its roster of former principal conductors includes Heinrich Schütz, Johann Adolf Hasse, Carl Maria von Weber and Richard Wagner, who described the orchestra as his »miraculous harp«. Richard Strauss was closely linked to the ensemble for more than sixty years. Nine of his operas, including »Salome«, »Elektra« and »Der Rosenkavalier«, were premiered in Dresden and he dedicated his »Alpine Symphony« to the Staatskapelle. To this day, the Staatskapelle regularly presents new works, including world premieres and first performances of music by Hans Werner Henze, Sofia Gubaidulina, Wolfgang Rihm, György Kurtág, Peter Eötvös, Aribert Reimann, Olga Neuwirth and Georg Friedrich Haas.
Looking to the future
The Staatskapelle’s most significant principal conductors of the last 150 years include Ernst von Schuch, Fritz Reiner, Fritz Busch, Karl Böhm, Joseph Keilberth, Rudolf Kempe, Otmar Suitner, Kurt Sanderling, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Bernard Haitink, Fabio Luisi and, from 2012 to 2024, Christian Thielemann. In May 2016, former Principal Conductor Herbert Blomstedt was appointed Conductor Laureate, a title previously held only once, namely by Sir Colin Davis from 1990 until his death in 2013. Myung-Whun Chung has been the orchestra’s Principal Guest Conductor since 2012. The ensemble’s own series of orchestra recitals provides a wonderful opportunity for up-and-coming maestros to make their debuts. The Staatskapelle is committed to fostering young musicians, not least through the Giuseppe Sinopoli Academy (the successor institution to the »Orchestra School« founded in 1923), the successful »Kapelle for Kids« educational programme and as a partner of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra.
A strong media presence
For over 100 years, the sound of the Staatskapelle has been documented via numerous recordings. The impressive discography, which includes several seminal CDs, has been supplemented in recent years by radio productions for MDR Kultur and Deutschlandfunk Kultur as well as the »Edition Staatskapelle Dresden« published by Profil Hänssler. Every year, Germany’s ZDF broadcasts the Staatskapelle’s New Year’s Eve Concert from the Semperoper as well as the Advent Concert from the Frauenkirche to television screens throughout the country.
Local commitment
The Staatskapelle is very active throughout Saxony. It is a partner of the charity Meetingpoint Memory Messiaen in Görlitz-Zgorzelec, cooperates with the community music project »Musaik« in the Dresden district of Prohlis and in 2010 helped launch the International Shostakovich Festival in Gohrisch, the world’s first annual festival dedicated to the music of Dmitri Shostakovich. The Staatskapelle also regularly reaches out to younger audiences in Dresden’s Neustadt district with its project »Ohne Frack auf Tour« (On Tour without Tails).
