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.
