Artists biographies
Bayerisches Staatsorchester

The Bavarian State Orchestra emerged from one of the oldest orchestras in Germany. Its origins can be traced back to the year 1523, when the composer Ludwig Senfl took over the direction of the Munich Kantorei. The term "orchestra" was not introduced until 1762. The court orchestra, directed by Andrea Bernasconi, first began to do regular opera work in the middle of the 1770's, as numerous performances began to take place on specified days. In 1778, Mannheim's Elector Karl Theodor introduced his government's legacy to Munich. He brought 33 of Mannheim's court musicians with him to Munich; on October 1st, 1778, these Mannheim musicians were united with 32 selected members of the Munich Court Orchestra.

In 1811 the Musical Academy, made up of members of the Court Orchestra, was founded. The reign of King Ludwig II is closely allied with the name of Richard Wagner. On June 10th, 1865, the Court Orchestra Director Hans von Bülow conducted the premiere of Tristan and Isolde; on june 21st, 1868, that of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. There followed premieres of das Rheingold and Die Walküre, conducted by Franz Wüllner, on September 22nd, 1869, and June 26th, 1870 respectively.
Hermann Levi was the General Music Director from 1872 to 1900. Since then, the most important artists of their time have served as heads of the orchestra, from Richard Strauss, Felix Mottl, through Bruno Walter, Hans Knappertsbusch, and Clemes Keauss, to Sir Georg Solti, Ferenc Fricsay, Joseph Keilberth, and Wolfgang Sawallisch. Zubin Mehta has been head conductor and Bavarian General Music Director since 1998.

Starting with the 2006/2007 season, Kent Nagano has become Zubin Mehta's successor as Bavarian General Music Director.

The Bavarian State Orchestra is the only Munich orchestra being in duty in opera and concert. Among the guest conductors are all famous names of the international elite.