The Gewandhausorchester: from town band to institution of international renown

This period saw the development of the Gewandhaus- und Theaterorchester's additional role as orchestra of the city's churches. The musical provision for the services held in Leipzig's two principal churches, St. Nikolai and St. Thomas, was the responsibility of the Thomaskantor (Cantor of St. Thomas's), who also embodied the position of Civic Music Director. The Thomanerchor (St. Thomas's Choir) sang in both churches, accompanied by the Stadtmusiker. Here too, however, were the musical demands to increase; from 1789, the City Musicians were augmented by seven members of the Gewandhaus and Theatre Orchestra. During the following years, members of the Orchestra became increasingly involved in the realisation of the churches' musical requirements until, in 1840, the  Gewandhaus- und Theaterorchester was officially declared the "civic orchestra" by the City Council. The performance of sacred music has since this time formed a staple part of the Orchestra's duties.

In 1868, a new opera house was opened in Leipzig. The theatre was able to accommodate significantly more ambitious, more elaborate stagings than the erstwhile Komödienhaus (remodelled as 'City Theatre' in 1817). At this time, the Gewandhaus- und Theaterorchester numbered 58 musicians, a strength which was not sufficient, firstly, to satisfy the orchestral requirements of the larger-scale operas now being staged and, secondly, to fulfil these increased duties adequately in addition to its symphonic commitments in the Gewandhaus. The ensuing conflict between the theatre and Gewandhaus managements was resolved by the City Council's decision to augment the Orchestra to a total of 72 players.

As time passed and the 19th century ran its course, the concert hall in the Gewandhaus became increasingly unable to cope with the demands placed upon it by the Orchestra's steadily burgeoning public. Following several measures over the years to increase the audience capacity, the management of the Gewandhaus eventually bowed to the inevitable necessity of erecting a new concert hall. Following two-and-a-half years construction, the Neues Gewandhaus was inaugurated in December 1884. The New Gewandhaus witnessed the tenures of Arthur Nikisch, Wilhelm Furtwängler and Bruno Walter, among others, as Gewandhauskapellmeister, as well as playing host to the likes of Johannes Brahms, Peter Tchaikovsky, Edvard Grieg and Richard Strauss conducting their own works. Anton Bruckner graced the Neues Gewandhaus with an organ recital. The new hall was also the scene of the Gewandhausorchester's first audio and film recordings.

The Gewandhausorchester undertook its first foreign tour during, of all times, the First World War. Prior to this, the Gewandhaus directorate had been thoroughly opposed to such ventures, "due to the risk that our illustrious orchestra, which has, heretofore, served only noble causes, could descend to depths such as those occupied by a philharmonic orchestra in Berlin with its commercial undertakings. Should the orchestra members begin to travel, they will very well take to the variety this affords and demand its recurrence." On receiving an invitation from Switzerland in 1916, however, the City Council and the Gewandhaus approved the enterprise "on the grounds that it represents an artistic cultural mission of great significance." Two further visits to Switzerland were to follow before the colossal undertaking of a first extensive tour of Europe in 1931. The political developments of the ensuing years were, sadly, to prevent the Orchestra capitalising on its newly-established reputation abroad.

The Gewandhausorchester - now homeless - did not venture beyond Germany's borders to represent Leipzig anew until 1951. Both the Neues Theater and the Neues Gewandhaus had been destroyed by bombing during the war. Since the cessation of hostilities in Europe in 1945, opera performances and concerts had taken place in temporary, sometimes somewhat makeshift locations throughout Leipzig. Following the opening of the city's new opera house in 1960, Leipzig would have to wait a further two decades for the construction of a new concert hall for the Gewandhausorchester. The Neues Gewandhaus (named, as its predecessor, New Gewandhaus) opened its doors to the public in 1981 - the only genuine concert hall to be built in the GDR (former communist East Germany). Overwhelming credit for the realisation and success of the undertaking must be granted to the Gewandhauskapellmeister of the day, Kurt Masur.

Masur's successor, Herbert Blomstedt, led the Orchestra - now numbering 185 musicians - into the 21st century, before handing the baton on to Riccardo Chailly. In the 2017/2018 season  Andris Nelsons will beginn his tenure as 21st Gewandhauskapellmeister. Much has changed in Leipzig during the past decades - one thing, however, remains constant: the Gewandhausorchester performs in the Gewandhaus, in the Leipzig Opera and, together with the Thomanerchor, in St. Thomas's Church. The combination of symphonic, operatic and sacred repertoire has imbued the Gewandhausorchester with an artistic profile of unparallelled diversity and richness.