Opus Arte

                                      © Schnittke, 2005

The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra is conducted by English conductor Simon Rattle and is based at the Philharmonie, a 1960s build which has been modernised since due to fire and water damage. The orchestra was initially founded in 1882 and just five years later, Hans von Bülow, one of the most esteemed conductors in the world, took the reins.

4 April 1954 – Arturo Toscanini conducted his last live performance, with the NBC Symphony Orchestra, in a concert of Wagner’s music at Carnegie Hall, in New York. He was 87 years old. Recordings with the NBC are still available, as are performances conducting the New York Philharmonic and the BBC Symphony Orchestras. He was considered within his lifetime to be the greatest conductor of the 20th century.

^{© Bain News Service (Forms part of: George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress))}

© Matthias Creutzgier (2010)

The Dresden Staatskapelle, Saxon State Orchestra, Dresden, or, to give it its full name, the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, is one of the oldest orchestras in the world...

Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra is a relative youngster, having been founded in 1949. It is one of three orchestras serving the city of Munich and derives its name from its association with the Bayerischer Rundfunk

© Alberto Venzago/LSO (2010)

The London Symphony Orchestra lives in the Barbican, its home since 1982, and is considered to be one of the world’s more flamboyant orchestras. It was founded in 1904 and was the first self-governing orchestra in the UK. In 1912, The LSO was booked onto The Titanic, to transport it across the Atlantic for an American tour, but last minute changes of plans averted the sinking of the orchestra.

© Jordan Fischer (9/12/2005)

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra began life in 1891 and is referred to as one of the American ‘Big Five’, alongside the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Philadelphia and Cleveland Orchestras.

^{© Ð§Ñ€ÑŠÐ½Ñ‹Ð¹ человек (12/9/2009)}

The Russian National Orchestra premiered in Moscow in 1990 and instantly became synonymous with such beautiful performances that it has belied its comparative youth and become a ‘best orchestras’ list fixture.

© Yair Haklai (21/8/2008)

The Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra is also known as the Kirov Orchestra, and it lives in the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia.