Bochumer Symphoniker

In the location's words:

Founded in 1919, the orchestra has developed into one of the most important concert orchestras in western Germany over the course of its history. Participation in renowned festivals, numerous guest concerts, for example in the Kölner Philharmonie, the Konzerthaus Dortmund or the Essener Philharmonie (where the symphony orchestra performed a cycle of Gustav Mahler's complete works) as well as regular participation in the Ruhr Piano Festival have cemented the Bochum Symphony Orchestra's reputation as a versatile orchestra.

The Bochum Symphony Orchestra has twice (1996/1997 and 2004/2005 seasons) received the coveted award for "Best Concert Program" from the German Music Publishers Association.

The orchestra of the city of Bochum has also made a name for itself internationally: with concert tours to Israel, Austria, Estonia, South Korea, Taiwan and the USA, the orchestra has made a name for itself with regular appearances at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and with concerts performed by the symphony orchestra as part of the international RuhrTriennale cultural festival, such as the internationally acclaimed and celebrated production of Zimmermann's "Die Soldaten". At the invitation of the renowned Lincoln Center Festival, the Bochum Symphony Orchestra traveled to New York with this spectacular opera production in summer 2008, where it was enthusiastically received by the media and audience alike.

As part of the European Capital of Culture RUHR.2010, the Bochum Symphony Orchestra was involved in numerous pioneering projects: They played the specially composed Ruhr area anthem "Komm zur Ruhr" with Herbert Grönemeyer during the opening event, which subsequently also stormed the radio charts as a CD, they made an extensive contribution to the Henze project, a tribute to the composer, they were part of the performance of Gustav Mahler's "Symphony of a Thousand" under Lorin Maazel and finally accompanied over 65,000 singers as the stadium orchestra "auf Schalke" in Gelsenkirchen at the closing event of the DAY OF SONG.000 singers.

The Bochum Symphony Orchestra has also demonstrated the highest musical standards, flexibility and innovative spirit without fear of contact in numerous crossover projects, such as concerts with Jethro Tull frontman Ian Anderson, with the legendary a cappella formation Take Six or at the joint concert with Herbert Grönemeyer in the Ruhrstadion, which was sold out with 29,000 listeners. In spring 2011, the orchestra accompanied the British world star Sting on seven stops in Germany and Switzerland during his Symphonicities world tour. The BoSy also impress on TV: in the Harald Schmidt Show on SAT1, the orchestra confidently represented the studio band and used the much-noticed performance to convincingly rejuvenate the image of classical music.

The orchestra has recorded the complete works of the German late Romantic composer Joseph Marx for the British label ASV; the first CD "Natur-Trilogie" was awarded CD of the Month by the British Music Society shortly after its release, the second CD, "Orchesterlieder", was nominated for a Grammy. The 2008/2009 season saw the start of recordings of a series of orchestral and stage works by the American composer George Antheil for the German label cpo. The recording of Mahler and Rihm songs with the tenor Christoph Prégardien, also for cpo, received top marks from "Klassik heute", among others.