Philharmonischer Chor München

The Philharmonic Choir of Munich – Chor der Münchner Philharmoniker is one of the leading concert choirs in Europe. It was founded in 1895 by Franz Kaim, the founder of the Philharmoniker. Since 1996 it has been led by Choir Director Andreas Herrmann, Professor of Choral Conducting at the Munich University of Music and Performing Arts. The repertoire ranges from Baroque oratorios to a cappella and choral symphonic literature to concertante operas and the great choral works of the present.
The musical spectrum includes numerous well-known but also lesser-known works from Mozart to Beethoven, Bruckner, Verdi, Puccini, Wagner and Strauss to Schönberg’s “Moses und Aron”, Shchedrin’s “The Enchanted Wanderer” and Henze’s “Bassarides”. The choir cultivates this literature as well as the many great choral works of the important masters Bach, Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Bruckner, Reger, Stravinsky, Orff or Penderecki. It has performed under the direction of important composers and conductors such as Gustav Mahler, Hans Pfitzner, Krzysztof Penderecki, Herbert von Karajan, Rudolf Kempe, Sergiu Celibidache, Zubin Mehta, Mariss Jansons, James Levine, Semyon Bychkov, Thomas Hengelbrock, Christian Thielemann, Lorin Maazel and the principal conductor of the Munich Philharmonic, Valery Gergiev.
In recent years, in addition to the focus on classical, romantic and classical modern music, early and new music had gained in importance in the choral repertoire: after acclaimed performances of Bach’s Passions under Frans Brüggen, an invitation to the Dresden Music Festival followed with Bach’s Mass in B Minor under Hartmut Hänchen. Conductors such as Christopher Hogwood, Ton Koopman and Thomas Hengelbrock then enjoyed working regularly with the choir. Ton Koopman, one of the most prominent representatives of historically informed performance practice, conducted, for example, the St John Passion by Bach, which also brought the choir to Passau together with the Philharmonic Orchestra for the “European Weeks”. The regular collaboration with Ton Koopman culminated in three performances of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio.
The Munich Philharmonic Choir and its ensembles were repeatedly heard in world premieres and first performances, as well as in works such as Penderecki’s “The Seven Gates of Jerusalem”, George Crumb’s “Star Child” and the world premiere of Peter Michael Hamel’s 2nd Symphony at the “XI. Munich Biennale“. The Munich premiere of Wolfram Buchenberg’s “Sieben Zaubersprüche” was heard in Munich’s Allerheiligen-Hofkirche under the direction of Prof. Andreas Herrmann. A work commissioned by the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra was premiered with great success: “Egmonts Freiheit – oder Böhmen liegt am Meer” by Jan Müller-Wieland – in congenial collaboration with Klaus-Maria Brandauer conducted by the composer. 2017 saw the German premiere of “Dream of the Song” for countertenor, women’s choir and orchestra by George Benjamin, conducted by Kent Nagano, and the Munich premiere of the large concert opera in two acts “The Enchanted Wanderer” by Rodion Shchedrin, conducted by Valery Gergiev. New and contemporary music is also playing an increasingly important role in the a cappella field, which is increasingly reflected in the chorus’s own productions.