Gewandhausorchester, Andris Nelsons, Anne‐Sophie Mutter: John Williams at Gewandhaus

The Leipzig Gewandhausorchester is a German orchestra based in Leipzig, Germany. It is named after the concert hall in which it is based, the Gewandhaus.

The orchestra has a good claim to being the oldest continuing musical performing organization in Europe. In the early 19th century, Felix Mendelssohn was the kapellmeister.

Later principal conductors included Arthur Nikisch, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Bruno Walter, Vaclav Neumann, and from 1970 to 1996 Kurt Masur. In 1998, Herbert Blomstedt took over the post until 2005 and will be succeeded by Riccardo Chailly.

As home to the Gewandhausorchester, the city of Leipzig possesses an orchestra of the highest world renown — one with an extraordinarily illustrious heritage spanning 275 years. In March 1743, sixteen Leipzig merchants founded a concert society, which was to shape musical history. Today, the Gewandhausorchester thrills and inspires music lovers the world over with both its passion for music and its unique, unmistakable sound.
Alongside its 70 symphonic Große Concerte per season, the Gewandhausorchester performs as the orchestra both of the Leipzig Opera — a role it has fulfilled for over 200 years — and of St. Thomas‘s Church, performing the music of JS Bach each week with the celebrated Thomanerchor. In addition, the Orchestra gives approximately 35 concerts per season all around the globe, and is documented on countless recordings. The unique diversity of the Gewandhausorchester‘s activities is a fundamental factor of Leipzig‘s international renown as ‚City of Music‘.

Anne‐Sophie Mutter was born in Rheinfelden in Baden. She embarked on her international career as a soloist in 1976 at the Lucerne Festival and a year later made her Salzburg debut at the Whitsun Concerts under Herbert von Karajan.

Ever since then she has been in equal demand as a soloist and chamber musician, and has given concerts in all the major music centres of Europe, North America and Asia. Since her debut with Deutsche Grammophon at the age of 14, she has received innumerable prizes for her recordings. The violinist has also committed herself to alleviating the medical and social problems of our times and gives regular benefit concerts to this end.

She has been the recipient of numerous important honours and distinctions, including the Order of the Republic of Germany (first class), the Bavarian Order of Merit, the Baden‐Württemberg Medal of Merit and the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art. In 2002 she was awarded the Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art and the Munich Cultural Prize of Honour; and in 2005 she was made an 'Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'.