29 November 1870
The Stadtmusikkorps, under the direction of Stadtmusikdirektor Moritz Erdmann Puffholdt, opens the new hall in the Gewerbehaus, the clubhouse of the Dresdner Gewerbeverein.
The Birth of the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra
The opening of the hall is regarded as the birth of the Gewerbehausorchester, from which the Philharmonie emerged.
The following works are played on this day:
- Overture ‘The Consecration of the House’ by Ludwig van Beethoven
- ‘Jubel - Overture’ by Carl Maria von Weber
The Gewerbehaussaal, designed by architect Bernhard Schreiber, is the first large concert hall in Dresden. It has around 2000 seats with variable seating. This makes banquets, concerts and lectures possible. It also has excellent acoustics and the latest technology. For example, lectures can be held with photographs, film clips and audio samples from records.
3 December 1870
The first major symphony concert takes place under the direction of Moritz Erdmann Puffholdt.
He introduces the tradition of organising concerts on Christmas and Easter days, as well as on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. This tradition continues to this day.
Puffholdt is succeeded by Hermann Gustav Mannsfeldt in April 1871 as conductor of the Gewerbehausorchester. The Mannsfeldt era is decisive for the development of the concert programme at the Gewerbehaus.
In 1878, Eugène Ysaÿe is concertmaster of the Gewerbehaus orchestra.
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On 5 March 1884
... Johannes Brahms gives a guest performance of his own works. He appears as the soloist in his D minor Piano Concerto and conducts the cantata ‘Rinaldo’ and the Alto Rhapsody.
1885
Hermann Mannsfeldt moves to Berlin and Michael Zimmermann takes over as Kapellmeister. The orchestra is officially renamed ‘Kapelle des Gewerbehauses’. The music entrepreneur Hermann Wolff introduces the ‘Philharmonic Concerts’, modelled on his Berlin concert series.
In 1888, Brahms sank several parcels containing letters to Clara Schumann in the Rhine. This was preceded 30 years earlier by an unhappy love story between the two.
1888
Richard Strauss makes his Dresden debut as a conductor with the Gewerbehausorchester. Peter I. Tchaikovsky also conducts his Fourth Symphony and his Piano Concerto in B flat minor.
1890-1903
Around 50 musicians play in the orchestra, in some concerts even 75.
1903 - 1915:
Henrik Willy Olsen is the bandmaster. His era saw a sharp increase in travelling. In 1909, ‘The Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra’ is one of the first European orchestras to go on an extensive tour of North America, giving guest performances in New York, Syracuse, Toronto, Detroit, Cincinnati and Columbia.
1914
The First World War threatens the economic existence of the orchestra: numerous musicians are called up for military service.