Orchestra

A modern and versatile team

It’s as if sixty years passed in the blink of an eye: the Haydn Orchestra is always in harmony and attuned to the times, offering original experimental works and a complete repertoire interpreted with passion.

Orchestra
Orchestra
Event calendar
Close

KEY FEATURES

The Haydn Orchestra was founded in 1960, both as a regional reference point for musical appreciation and education and as an ambitious project aimed at integrating Trentino-South Tyrol into the wider European and international cultural networks. Today this is a must-have ingredient of all Haydn Foundation projects.

But above all, the orchestra is a modern team with a strong identity, a true cultural fulcrum between East and West, Europe and the Mediterranean. It is a group of dynamic musicians of high artistic value, flexible in their line-ups, repertoire and performance spaces, who love to surprise their audiences with new and unconventional performances.

HISTORY OF
THE ORCHESTRA

1960

1963

1977

1989

2000

2002

2003

2007

2013

2014

2015

2017

2018

2019

2021

2024

The Haydn Symphony Orchestra is founded on October 24th with support from the regional cultural and political spheres. Its mission is to promote musical culture locally, fostering a spirit of community and participation. In November, the 40-strong orchestra makes its official inaugural appearances in Bolzano, Trento, Merano and Rovereto led by the first permanent conductor, Antonio Pedrotti, and under the artistic direction of Andrea Mascagni.

In May, the orchestra tours Austria and Germany for the first time. It also enjoys immediate national acclaim for its artistic and technical quality.

The association changes its legal form and is renamed the Ente Orchestra Haydn di Bolzano e Trento. In the first fifteen years of its existence, the orchestra strengthens its reputation by welcoming several prestigious conductors.

Hubert Stuppner becomes the orchestra’s new music director. He succeeds Andrea Mascagni, the original founder who had been in charge of the orchestra’s activities for the first thirty years

With the opening of the new Haydn Auditorium in Bolzano, the orchestra finally has its own concert venue, after having been housed for many years in various halls in South Tyrol’s capital city. In Trento, it holds concerts at the Santa Chiara Auditorium, which opened in 1985.

The Haydn Orchestra assumes the status of a foundation, whose mission is to experiment with new forms of expression and promote classical music in the region.

Gustav Kuhn becomes the orchestra’s new music director. His ten-year tenure leads to the appointment of Ola Rudner as permanent conductor, and sees the quality, artistic talent and organisation of the team continue to grow.

A long-standing collaboration between the orchestra and the Rossini Opera Festival begins, leading to numerous successes and the awarding of prestigious prizes such as the Diapason d’Or.

Daniele Spini is named music director of the orchestra. Under his leadership, artistic collaborations expand, both nationally and internationally.

Estonian conductor Arvo Volmer is appointed the new music director of the orchestra, a position he will hold until 2020. After the original founder Antonio Pedrotti in 1977, Hermann Michael, Alun Francis, Christian Mandeal and Ola Rudner have served as permanent conductors.

The Foundation’s activities expand with the awarding of Teatro di Tradizione status. Its activities now comprise the symphonic season, the opera programme and the Bolzano Danza Festival, under the artistic direction of Daniele Spini, Matthias Lošek and Emanuele Masi respectively.

In May the renowned conductor Sir Jeffrey Tate conducts the orchestra’s end-of-season concerts in Bolzano and Trento, performing Mahler’s Ninth Symphony.

A collaboration between the orchestra and La Biennale di Venezia begins. It continues to this day.

The orchestra tours Japan under the baton of Korean conductor Min Chung, appearing in prestigious venues such as Tokyo’s Suntory Hall and Osaka’s Symphony Hall. These performances in Asia are the first of a project that will be repeated every two years.

As of September, Giorgio Battistelli is the new music director of the orchestra.

The artistic directions of the Symphonic and Opera Seasons are unified under the guidance of Giorgio Battistelli. The Foundation also nominates a music director for the first time, appointing Ottavio Dantone. Thomas Dausgaard becomes Principal Guest Conductor.

Giorgio
Battistelli

Artistic Director of the Haydn Orchestra

Battistelli_pagina Opera
Battistelli_pagina Opera

An esteemed composer, Mr. Battistelli has successfully led a number of prestigious musical institutions. He has a clear vision and is able to draw on a wide international network: the right qualities to place the orchestra within a European framework.

Ottavio
Dantone

Music Director of the Haydn Orchestra

Ottavio Dantone
Ottavio Dantone

An expert in Baroque performance practice, Ottavio Dantone enriches the orchestra with his wealth of international experience, enhancing its natural gifts of versatility and high technical quality.

Thomas
Dausgaard

Principal Guest Conductor

Nuovo progetto
Nuovo progetto

An internationally critically acclaimed visionary artist, he stands out for innovative musical projects, a rich repertoire and performances that span genres and musical cultures from around the world.

Alessandro
Bonato

Guest Conductor

Bolzano Città Creativa della musica
Untitled design (5)

One of the brightest conductors of his generation, he has already collaborated with many major national and international orchestras. He boasts a style of great clarity that evokes a deep and distinctive sound.

THE MUSICIANS

Comprising more than 40 members, the Haydn Orchestra is an experienced ensemble with a unique character: true collective intelligence that brings out the quality of its soloists.

Our partners