Reviews
What the critics say
„An orchestra on its way to an illustrious future“
was the verdict of the Süddeutsche Zeitung back in 1989 on the Schlierbach Chamber Orchestra, from which the Heidelberg Symphony Orchestra later evolved.
Ten years later, in 1999, the Rhein-Neckar Zeitung had this to say:
„Today what started out as a student band need fear no comparison with the world’s best period orchestras.“
Praising Volume 6 of the complete Haydn symphony series in 2006, the international CD magazine Classics Today (USA) referred to the orchestra’s conductor Thomas Fey as
„the most exciting Haydn conductor around at present.“
Under CD reviews you will find critics’ comments on all the recordings the orchestra has produced so far. Under Concert reviews you can read what the critics have said about performances by the orchestra in Heidelberg and elsewhere.
CD Recordings
are central to the activities of the Heidelberg Symphony Orchestra. The very first international releases dating back to 1996 met with enthusiastic acclaim both from music-lovers and from music critics all over the world. At present the Orchestra has over 20 CDs to its name, many of them award-winners. They are issued on the hänssler Classic label.
The Haydn symphony project
A number of these 27 CDs are devoted to the orchestra’s most extensive and demanding project, the recording of all Joseph Haydn’s 107 symphonies, which began in 1999. The recording will be completed in 2024.
New: Mendelssohn’s complete symphonies and string symphonies
Another major series started up in the fall of 2006, the complete recording of Mendelssohn’s five symphonies and his early string symphonies. The plan is to wind up this project by the 200th anniversary of Mendelssohn’s birth (3 February 2009). The second installment will be released in fall 2007.
Favorites and rarities
Fall 2006 saw the issue of a number of particularly swashbuckling and high-spirited recordings by the Heidelberg Symphony Orchestra, assembled on an entertaining CD of overtures by Mozart, Salieri, Beethoven, Rossini, and Brahms.
Alongside the two symphony projects, the Orchestra will be issuing a further CD every season. One of these will feature overtures and stage music by Mozart’s contemporary and rival Antonio Salieri. Many of these genuine rarities have never been recorded before, some of them have even remained entirely unperformed since Salieri’s death.