The future orchestra with a past

The Junge Deutsche Philharmonie (JDPh), nicknamed "the orchestra of the future", celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. A small group from the German National Youth Orchestra founded their own formation in 1974, as the young people did not want to join a professional orchestra. At the time, the established classical music business had a bad reputation among many students. The new orchestra was to be grassroots democratic and self-governing and clearly set itself apart from the encrusted concert life. Lothar Zagrosek, principal conductor and advisor to the JDPh from 1995 to 2014, called this a "late weather glow of the 1968 movement". Today it is "a dream destination for orchestral musicians and conductors alike to be invited there". (JDPh Magazine Clock generator 55, S. 8)

Despite all the prophecies of doom, the co-determination model has established itself as an alternative form of organization in the classical concert business. Similarly functioning formations such as the Ensemble Modern, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Ensemble Resonanz, the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra and the Basel Sinfonietta have been highly successful for years. The members of the JDPh work in various committees on the future of the orchestra, the programs and the selection of conductors and soloists. The proposals are discussed and voted on at the general meeting.

Located between study and work

Today, the JDPh is highly sought after by students at German-speaking music academies as a training orchestra, as it performs at the highest artistic level and with top-class conductors and soloists. Many professional orchestras value the training they receive at the JDPh and are happy to make use of its graduates. Among the many successful former members are names such as Thomas Hengelbrock, Jun Märkl, Stefan Dohr and Sabine Meyer. The current 280 members aged between 18 and 28 from 35 different universities are subject to a strict selection process: 10 to 15 percent of the 500 applicants who come to audition each year are accepted, initially on a provisional basis. On average, they stay for 4 years.

There are currently 5 members from Swiss universities. The program focuses on the symphonic literature of the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. This is performed during the spring and fall tours. At New Year, the focus is usually on a lively program with several shorter works. Another focus is contemporary music. The "Freispiel", a biennial experimental festival, took place for the last time last summer in Frankfurt with 13 concerts under the title "Shifting Futures".

Today it's all about jobs

What has remained of the idealistic goals of that time? Jürgen Normann, one of the founding members, was principal double bass of the NDR Radio Philharmonic Orchestra in Hanover for more than four decades. "Did we really achieve anything?" he asks himself looking back. Opinions are divided, he says, because "some of the bad traditions from back then still exist". (ibid. p. 9) But the world keeps turning and professional realities are changing. Jonathan Nott, First Conductor since 2014, classifies the members' aspirations: "While they still value self-management and grassroots democratic organization, they also want jobs, they want into the business, perhaps in opposition to what some of the founders had fought for." (ibid. p. 22)

The high turnover and the involvement of everyone in the responsibility remains one of the great strengths of the JDPh. Media manager Johanna Kehl says: "The JDPh reinvents itself every time. The self-determination of our members, who actively take on and are responsible for the design of the programs and concert formats, creates a special energy and the freedom to develop and try out innovative ideas."

This special energy could be felt immediately at the "Celebrations" concert on January 9. "The pioneer of self-managed orchestras" created enthusiasm and a good atmosphere among the audience. Delyana Lazarova conducted with wit, swing and precision. The program with Copland, Gershwin, Bolcom, Bernstein and Daniel Schnyder was characterized by a pluralism of styles between classical, new music and jazz. Despite the large instrumentation, the string sound always remained lean and vivid. Brass, woodwind and percussion featured prominently throughout, for example in William Bolcom's Concerto Grosso with the stunning saxophone quartet Kebyart. In Daniel Schnyder's complex Concerto for Orchestra (premiere, commissioned by the JDPh), instruments that are normally neglected such as tuba, bass trombone and contrabassoon are given important motivic solos.