Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra

Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra timeline

• 1765 - Det Musicalske Selskab (The Musical Society) established
• 1769 - Society re-named Det Harmoniske Selskab (The Harmonic Society)
• 1770 - Society has over 30 members, one-third are singers. Thursday set as concert day.
• 1771 - Fire destroys concert locale.
• 1773 - Society rents "Altona" as concert locale (until 1807).
• 1774 - Society has 20 instrumentalists, mirroring Haydn's Esterhazy orchestra of 1766 to 1790
• 1783 - Society engages a paid violinist.
• 1785 - Society's orchestra has 25 members.
• 1799 - Johan Hinrich Paulsen, student of Giovanni Battista Viotti leads orchestra.
• 1811 - Society buys it's own building on King Oscar's street. Orchestra has c. 30 members.
• 1812 - Society's members give free instruction to young musicians, some of whom play in the orchestra.
• 1818 - violinist Ole Bull begins playing in the orchestra at age 8.
• 1819 - violinist Ole Bull performs Ignaz Pleyel concerto with orchestra.
• 1820 - Swede Mathias Lundholm becomes orchestra's conductor.
• 1827 - Prague-born Ferdinand Giovanni Schediwy named conductor. Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven dominate orchestra's repertoire.
• 1839 - As a promotion, the society advertises that each man can bring two women to concerts.
• 1855 - Otto Lübbert becomes musical leader.
• 1856 - Society re-named Musikselskabet Harmonien. Ferdinand A. Rojahn named orchestra leader. First part of Haydn's "Creation" performed after over 100 rehearsals.
• 1859 - August Fries named conductor.
• 1862 - Musicians from Harmonien assist the 18-year old Edvard Grieg with his first concert in his home city of Bergen after his studies in Leipzig. Amadeus Wolfgang Maczewsky becomes orchestra leader.
• 1863 - Edvard Grieg performs a Beethoven sonata with Maczewsky on a Society concert.
• 1865 - August Fries leads Grieg's Symphony in C Minor.
• 1866 - Felix Mendelssohn's Elijah performed with Nina Hagerup as a soloist.
• 1870 - Orchestra has 41 permanent members
• 1871 - Johan Svendsen's Symphony in D Major is played for the first time in Bergen.
• 1873 - Richard Henneberg hired as conductor.
• 1875 - German Adolf Blomberg becomes Kapellmester.
• 1879 - Herman Levy hired as conductor after Grieg declines offer.
• 1880 - Edvard Grieg becomes artistic director.
• 1881 - Orchestra performs Grieg's A minor Piano Concerto with Alice Lindberg as soloist.
• 1882 - Composer Iver Holter becomes conductor.
• 1883 - Orchestra premieres Grieg's Landkjenning
• 1885 - Johan Halvorsen hired as concertmaster
• 1886 - Per Winge named conductor.
• 1889 - No concerts.
• 1893 - Johan Halvorsen becomes conductor. During his six seasons as conductor, he introduces music of Glinka, Delibes, Dvorak, Humperdinck and Sibelius to Bergensers.
• 1907 - Death of Edvard Grieg. "Edvard Grieg's Fund" established
• 1908 - Harald Heide becomes principal conductor
• 1919 - Orchestra reorganized and employs 40 full-time musicians.
• 1920-21 - Jean Sibelius conducts his own works: Symphony #2, The Swan of Tuonela and Finlandia
• 1948 - Olav Kielland becomes principal conductor.
• 1951 - Orchestra employs 54 full-time musicians.
• 1953 - Bergen International Festival begins. Leopold Stokowski conducts.
• 1963 - Orchestra employs 60 full-time musicians.
• 1964 - Karsten Andersen becomes principal conductor
• 1966 - Tour to the U. S. A. under the name "Norwegian Festival Orchestra"
• 1978 - Orchestra moves to the Grieg Hall
• 1985 - Aldo Ceccato becomes principal conductor
• 1986 - Name changed to Bergen Filharmoniske Orkester
• 1990 - Dmitri Kitajenko becomes principal conductor
• 1998 - Simon Young becomes principal conductor
• 2003 - Andrew Litton becomes principal conductor
• 2005 - Andrew Litton named artistic director