A radio orchestra (or broadcast orchestra ) is an orchestra employed by a radio network (and sometimes television networks ) in order to provide programming as well as sometimes perform incidental or theme music for various shows on the network. In the heyday of radio such orchestras were numerous, performing classical, popular, light music and jazz. However, in recent decades, broadcast orchestras have become increasingly rare. Those that still exist perform mainly classical and contemporary orchestral music, though broadcast light music orchestras, jazz orchestras and big bands are still employed by some radio stations in Europe.
26-514: The SWR Symphonieorchester (Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra) is a radio orchestra affiliated with the Südwestrundfunk (Southwest German Radio) public broadcasting network. Formed in 2016, the orchestra is administratively based in Stuttgart . The artistic director of the orchestra is Johannes Bultmann, and the current managing director is Felix Fischer. The orchestra's chief conductor
52-792: A Big Band in Frankfurt and the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Berlin. The British Broadcasting Corporation operates five full-time permanent orchestras, as well as a full-time chamber choir, the BBC Singers and the BBC Big Band . Denmark also maintains orchestra in the form of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra , the Danish Radio Big Band , Chamber Orchestra and Radio Choir. In Norway NRK runs
78-688: A Big Band, Southwest German Broadcasting ( SWR ) with one orchestra (2016 merged) and the SWR Big Band in Stuttgart and Baden-Baden/Freiburg, Bavarian Broadcasting ( BR ) with two orchestras in Munich, Central German Broadcasting ( MDR ) with one orchestra in Leipzig, Saarland Broadcasting ( SR ) with one orchestra (2006 merged) in Saarbrücken/Kaiserslautern, Hessian Broadcasting ( HR ) with one orchestra and
104-930: A year. In the Netherlands, the Muziekcentrum van de Omroep ( Broadcasting Music Centre ), an umbrella organization of the Netherlands Public Broadcasting associations, supports the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest , the Radio Kamer Filharmonie , the Groot Omroepkoor ( Netherlands Radio Choir ), and the Metropole Orkest , the world's largest professional pop and jazz orchestra. The last surviving broadcast orchestra in North America
130-889: Is a public-service radio and television broadcaster , based in Munich , capital city of the Free State of Bavaria in Germany. BR is a member organization of the ARD consortium of public broadcasters in Germany. Bayerischer Rundfunk was founded in Munich in 1922 as Deutsche Stunde in Bayern . It aired its first program on 30 March 1924. The first broadcasts consisted mainly of time announcements, news, weather and stock market reports, and music. Programming expanded to include radio plays, concerts, programs for women, language courses, chess, opera, radio, news, and Catholic and Protestant morning services. Its new 1929 studio
156-437: Is also not permitted on ARD's " Das Erste " or on ZDF on Sundays, national holidays, or on any day after 8:00pm. On weekdays, only 20 minutes of advertising is permitted, split between breaks between programs. Program sponsoring is not considered to be advertising, and is not subject to these restrictions. BR operates a main broadcasting facility in downtown Munich as well as studios in Munich's northern Freimann quarter and
182-807: The Late Show with David Letterman whimsically called itself the CBS Orchestra though it was not a classical musical orchestra and did not perform on CBS outside of the Late Show . The last permanent studio orchestra in America was The Tonight Show Band , also known as the NBC Orchestra, a big band led by trumpeter Doc Severinsen . Bayerischer Rundfunk Bayerischer Rundfunk ( pronounced [ˈbaɪʁɪʃɐ ˈʁʊntfʊŋk] ; "Bavarian Broadcasting"), shortened to BR ( pronounced [beːˈʔɛʁ] ),
208-487: The Norwegian Radio Orchestra (Norwegian, Kringkastingsorkestret, abbreviated as KORK). The orchestra specializes in classical music as well as popular music. This makes it quite unique in that the musicians are trained both classically and rhythmically to a high degree. The Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and Stavanger Symphony Orchestra also have agreements with NRK too make a number of broadcast recordings
234-592: The Nuremberg trials and programs such as "War Never Again" (" Nie wieder Krieg "). In 1949, Radio Munich became Bayerischer Rundfunk, and in that year it established Europe's first VHF station. A station was added in Nuremberg in the early 1950s. Television broadcasts began in 1954. BR is a statutory corporation established under the Bavarian Broadcasting Law (Bayerisches Rundfunkgesetz), originally passed in 1948, and updated in 1993 to take account of
260-494: The 2025–2026 season, with an initial contract of 5 years. The SWR Symphonieorchester gives concerts in several German cities and concert halls. Its principal cities and concert venues are as follows: The orchestra also performs in other German cities and venues, including the following: Radio orchestra Famous broadcast orchestras include the NBC Symphony Orchestra (1937–1954) conducted by Arturo Toscanini ,
286-572: The SWR Broadcasting Council voted to approve a measure proposed by SWR Intendant Peter Boudgoust to merge the two orchestras, for ostensible reasons of budgetary limitations for two separate orchestras affiliated with the SWR. The SWR Broadcasting Council formally passed the measure in September 2012, with the merger of the two orchestras scheduled for 2016. The formation of the new orchestra, under
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#1732869149068312-709: The USSR State Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra among other names) founded in 1930. Germany has an especially large number of radio orchestras. Eleven radio orchestras perform and produce classical as well as contemporary music and jazz for the North German Broadcasting ( NDR ) with two orchestras in Hamburg and Hanover as well as the NDR Big Band. West German Broadcasting ( WDR ) has two orchestras in Cologne and
338-399: The demands of a changed media and political environment. Its functions are determined by a legal foundation which lays down the principles under which the broadcaster operates and the structure of its internal organization. The broadcast law is supplemented by the so-called Broadcast State Contract (Rundfunkstaatsvertrag), a multilateral agreement between all 16 German Länder which regulates
364-897: The five orchestras maintained by the BBC , particularly the BBC Symphony Orchestra founded in 1930, the MDR Symphony Orchestra founded in 1923, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra founded in 1949, the Tokyo-based NHK Symphony Orchestra , the Danish National Symphony Orchestra founded in 1925, the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra founded in 1969 and the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra of Moscow Radio (formerly
390-415: The following channels: A further five channels are available via Digital Audio Broadcasting , digital satellite, cable, and internet streaming: From 1998 to 2008, BR operated Bayern mobil , which existed as part of a DAB pilot project. BR administers three musical organizations: An ever-increasing number of podcasts produced by BR are available. This includes podcasts by both Bayerisches Fernsehen and
416-472: The media service convention, which contain regulations for the on-line offerings of Bavarian Broadcasting. BR is in part funded by commercial activity, including the limited sale of on-air commercial advertising time; however, its principal source of income is the revenue derived from viewer and listener licence fees . Every household in Germany is required by law to pay a Rundfunkbeitrag (broadcast contribution) of €18.36 per month as of August 2021, to finance
442-456: The nearby municipality of Unterföhring . There are also regional TV and radio studios in Nuremberg ("Studio Franconia "), Würzburg ("Regional Studio Franconia/ River Main ") and Regensburg ("Regional Studio East Bavaria"). BR provides programs to various TV and radio networks, some done in collaboration with other broadcasters, and others completely independently. These two are genuine BR television channels; in addition, BR contributes to
468-626: The new name of the SWR Symphonieorchester , produced an ensemble in 2016 with a complement of 175 musicians drawn from the two previous orchestras. The eventual goal is to attain a roster of 119 musicians. The new orchestra gave its first concert on 22 September 2016 in Stuttgart at the Liederhalle, under the direction of Péter Eötvös . The orchestra did not have a chief conductor at the time of its founding. Sylvain Cambreling had been offered
494-492: The orchestra until 2025. Currentzis, who was scheduled to stand down as the orchestra's chief conductor at the close of the 2024–2025 season, left in June 2024. In July 2020, François-Xavier Roth first guest-conducted the orchestra. He returned to the orchestra for a subsequent guest-conducting engagement in June 2021. In September 2022, the SWR announced the appointment of Roth as the orchestra's next chief conductor, effective with
520-414: The post of chief conductor of the new orchestra, but declined on principle, in protest at the merger of the two precursor orchestras into the new ensemble. In April 2017, the SWR announced the appointment of Teodor Currentzis as the first chief conductor of the orchestra, effective with the 2018–2019 season. In September 2021, the SWR announced a 3-year extension to Currentzis' contract as chief conductor of
546-841: The public broadcast system. The fee is collected by Beitragsservice von ARD, ZDF und Deutschlandradio . In 2012, BR derived 85.3% of its income from viewer and listener licence fees, 12.6% from other sources such as product licensing and investments, and 2.1% from the sale of advertising time. 48.5% of this income was spent on programme production costs, 25.1% on staffing, and 26.4% on other operating expenses and fixed charges. BR produces several series that are well known throughout Bavaria, and some of these are re-broadcast throughout other parts of Germany. These include: BR's TV channel, Bayerisches Fernsehen (Bavarian Television), as with all regional "Third Channel" broadcasters (along with public specialty channels such as arte , 3Sat , KI.KA , Phoenix and ARD-alpha ) carry no commercials. Advertising
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#1732869149068572-462: The radio stations. Managing Directors of BR since 1945: In the 1970s, Bayerischer Rundfunk was notorious for opting out of national ARD television broadcasts when certain broadcast programmes were deemed too controversial or otherwise inappropriate. The best-known opt outs include: Except for "Scheibenwischer" (these programs have never been rebroadcast in full), all opt-outs have since been shown on BR's TV channel, Bayerisches Fernsehen, and after
598-426: The relationship of public and private broadcast in the dual broadcast system and which contains fundamental regulations particularly for financing. Just as important for the work of Bavarian Broadcasting is the cooperation of the ARD consortium, consisting of nine other regional broadcasting corporates as well as Deutsche Welle . The broadcasting service is further backed by the relevant European legal bases as well as
624-723: Was Teodor Currentzis ; François-Xavier Roth is the orchestra's designated chief conductor. The two precursor ensembles to the SWR Symphonieorchester were the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra , the latter based in Baden-Baden and Freiburg. The Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra, in particular, had a specific reputation for its performances of contemporary music. In June 2012,
650-667: Was designed by Richard Riemerschmid . Deutsche Stunde in Bayern became Bayerischer Rundfunk in 1931. In 1933, shortly after the Nazi seizure of power , the station was put under the control of the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda . After the Allied victory over Nazi Germany , the American military occupation government took control of the station. Operating as Radio Munich , it broadcast, among other programming, live coverage of
676-784: Was the CBC Radio Orchestra founded in 1938. On March 28, 2008 the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation announced that the orchestra would be dissolved at the end of November. The ensemble has continued independent of network affiliation as the National Broadcast Orchestra based in Vancouver. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in Australia operates six state radio symphony orchestras through its subdivision Symphony Australia . The house band for
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