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The Hamburger Bach-Orchester was founded in 1957 by Robert Stehli. The orchestra gives concerts regularly at the Musikhalle in Hamburg and made guest tours to West Germany as well as the UK and Scandinavia. In 1960 the orchestra was merged with the Hamburger Symphonieorchester and the Hamburger Kammerorchester was created. Robert Stehli and Gabor Ötvös led the united orchestra, initially as Vereinigte Hamburger Orchester, later it was renamed Hamburger Symphoniker.
In smaller cast, the name was Hamburger Kammerorchester continued. For the Bach year 1985 the Hamburger Bach-Orchester was also revived. The leader was the conductor Axel Bergstedt. He shifted the focus of the performances to cantatas and oratorios of the Baroque period. The best time of the orchestra was from 1987 to 1993, when the Dutch Geiger Radboud Oomens was concert-master. Due to financial difficulties the performances in the 1990's were rare. Axel Bergstedt resigned in 1998, and the Hamburger Bachverein appointed Clemens Bergemann as conductor. He directs the orchestra and the Konzertchor des Hamburger Bachorchesters together with the Philharmonia Chor Hamburg. |
