Münster Symphony Orchestra

Münster Symphony Orchestra at its main concert venue (2015)

The Münster Symphony Orchestra ( German: Sinfonieorchester Münster ) is a German symphony orchestra based in Münster and performing mainly on the stage of the Münster Theater . It was founded in 1920 ^[1] .

The initial stage of the orchestra was marked by collaboration with prominent musicians of a traditional direction: in particular, Hans Pfitsner (1921) and Richard Strauss (1924) became the orchestra's control panel. Then, under the direction of Rudolf Schulz-Dornburg, the orchestra briefly turned to a more radical repertoire ( Arnold Schönberg , Bela Bartok , Paul Hindemith ), but in 1927 the scandal that broke out in connection with the ballet production of Kurt Joss ended : Schulz-Dornburg was forced to to leave, his place was taken by Richard von Alpenburg , an ardent supporter of the music of Anton Bruckner , who returned the Munster Orchestra to a more conservative position. Georg Ludwig Jochum , who headed the orchestra at the age of 23 and became the country's youngest chief conductor, gave the band a new impetus for development. Subsequently, the successes of the orchestra were also largely connected with the music of late German romanticism: among its most important recordings were the Bruckner Ninth Symphony , and in 1981 the orchestra, together with its then director Alfred Walter, was awarded the Big Gold Medal of the International Mahler Society .