Sinfonieorchester Aachen
Sinfonieorchester Aachen © Matthias Baus
Sinfonieorchester Aachen © Sandra Borchers
AACHEN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
With 140 annual performances in the concert hall and opera house, the Aachen Symphony Orchestra demonstrates enormous versatility, presenting the symphonic repertoire alongside period performances of early music, premieres of contemporary music and diverse crossover projects. With its origins in 1721, it is one of the oldest orchestras in Germany. In 1825 it gave one of the first performances of Beethoven's 9th Symphony outside Vienna, and later in 1829 the French premieres of ‘Fidelio’ and ‘Der Freischütz’ in Paris. It has been the municipal orchestra of Aachen since 1852.
The orchestra has enjoyed working with many conductors of international renown. Past guest conductors include Richard Strauss, Felix Weingartner, Karl Muck, Hans Pfitzner and Clemens Krauss, who appeared as part of the Lower Rhenish Music Festival, one of the most important classical music festivals of its day. Moreover, the position of “Generalmusikdirektor” has provided a significant step to a number of important conducting careers including Fritz Busch, Herbert von Karajan and Wolfgang Sawallisch.
Christopher Ward has been Generalmusikdirektor of the City of Aachen since August 2018, and thereby the musical director of Theater Aachen and chief conductor of Aachen Symphony Orchestra.