Road to Symphonia - The Orchestra / Instru-Mentor

Road to Symphonia
The Orchestra

It is some 250 years since Johann Stamitz, the man considered to be the founder of the "State of Symphonia”, created his modern orchestra comprising string, woodwind and brass sections. At the time, the symphony orchestra was made up by around 30 musicians, who were joined in time by more and more instruments (for example, many types of percussion), multiplying the average total several times over. Keeping these many instruments in harmony necessitated a conductor to direct the orchestra, whose task - besides conducting performances - was to instruct players based on a unified concept of the works at hand so that a true symphonia (a harmonious concord of sound) is created at each concert.

To this day, Italians, Austrians, Germans and French people have somewhat exaggerated arguments about which nation 'discovered' the symphony genre. While we will not attempt to offer a definitive answer to that question, it cannot be denied that in the middle of the 18th century, the composer, conductor and violinist Johann Stamitz, who was of Czech origins but worked in Germanic-speaking lands, introduced some special innovations that displayed the genre in a new light. The musical sections of a classical symphonic orchestra were the strings, woodwind and brass. Increasingly large-scale orchestras, enhanced with - among others - various percussion instruments, saw the number of performers increase several times over. To coordinate the wide range of instruments, it was necessary to create a new position. A conductor was needed to not only direct the orchestra, but also instruct the musicians regarding the expectations of the particular works to be performed. After theory comes the practice: under the artistic direction of Krisztina Tötös, the Sinfonietta Erudita are experts in making the world of instruments accessible to younger children.

Featuring:
Sinfonietta Erudita (artistic director: Krisztina Tötös)
Presenter: Zsolt Körmendy

Presented by: Müpa Budapest