WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln
Founded in 1947 by the then Nordwestdeutschen Rundfunk (Northwestern German Radio) as an orchestra of the WDR. It worked together and made recordings with distinguished conductors – Otto Klemperer, Sir Georg Solti, Dmitri Mitropoulos, Herbert von Karajan, Claudio Abbado, among others. Currently, the orchestra gives some forty concerts per season at the Cologne Philharmonie and all over the broadcasting area of the WDR. The orchestra has travelled on concert tours through Europe and to the Far East. As first among German orchestras, in 1990-91 it performed the complete symphonies of Gustav Mahler under the baton of Gary Bertini in Tokyo and Osaka. Side by side with the classical-romantic repertoire, the orchestra is devoted to the music of the 20th century. It premiered and gave the first German performances of works by Hans Werner Henze, Mauricio Kagel, Luciano Berio, Luigi Nono, Bernd Alois Zimmermann and Karlheinz Stockhausen. Since the 1997-98 season, its principal conductor is Semyon Bychkov.
A selected list of CDs featuring the Orchestra: Richard Strauss Elektra (Koch), Gustav Mahler Sym-phonies (EMI), Karlheinz Stockhausen Gruppen (DGG), Hans Werner Henze Tristan (DGG), Bruno Maderna Oboe Concerto (Philips), Bernd Alois Zimmermann Requiem für einen jungen Dichter (Wergo), Dmitri Shostakovitch Orchestral Songs (Capriccio), Paul Hindemith Cardillac (DGG), Carl Orff De temporum fine comedia (DGG), Helmut Lachenmann Ausklang (col legno) and Nun (Kairos), York Höller Pensées (Largo) and Der ewige Tag (Avie), Peter Eötvös Atlantis (BMC) and IMA (BMC), Franco Donatoni In Cauda (Stradivarius).
Stefan Wolpe: Wolpe in Jerusalem (mode 156)