The Haydn Orchestra

The Haydn Orchestra was founded in 1960 by the municipalities and provinces of Bolzano and Trento. Consistent developmental work with the best orchestra leaders and good management have not only made the orchestra, which currently has over 40 musicians, a valuable and indispensable part of South Tyrolean cultural life. It has also grown into one of the leading orchestras in Italy, indeed in all of Europe. In addition to the music centers of its homeland, it has regularly toured throughout Europe, Japan, and the USA.

The Haydn Orchestra participates in international festivals such as the Bregenz Festival, the Tyrolean Festival in Erl, the South Tyrol Festival, the Haydn Festival in Eszterhazy, the Mozart Festival in Rovereto, or the Gustav Mahler Music Weeks in Dobbiaco and has also performed in the most famous concert hall in the world, the Vienna Musikverein.

The repertoire of the Haydn Orchestra includes all epochs from the Baroque to the Classical and Romantic periods and up to modern times. The great symphonies, concerts, and tone poems are just as much a part of it as operas and oratorios. Numerous renowned contemporary composers have entrusted the orchestra with the world premieres of their works, including the 'composer stars' Luigi Dallapiccola, Luciano Berio, Luigi Nono, and Franco Donatoni. Of course, the orchestra is also present in many CD recordings. Among the conductors who have led the orchestra in recent years are such famous names as Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Chailly, Alain Lombard, Eliahu Inbal, and Riccardo Muti. The artistic director since 2003 has been Maestro Gustav Kuhn.

The orchestra's home is the Joseph Haydn Concert Hall in Bolzano, where it performs its own cycle of subscription concerts. The former Augusteo cinema has become the center of 'classical' music in South Tyrol since its renovation in 1999. Two halls with excellent acoustics are available – a large one with about 640 seats and a small one with 110 seats.

A tip from cultural expert Sepp from South Tyrol