Gewandhausorchester

One of the oldest symphony orchestras in the world, named after the concert hall in which it is based, the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Germany. Its origins can be traced to 1743, when a society called the Grosses Concert began performing in private homes and then in a tavern called "The Three Swans". The orchestra gave its first concert in the Gewandhaus in 1781.

Music directors (Gewandhauskapellmeister):
1781–1785 Johann Adam Hiller
1785–1810 Johann Gottfried Schicht
1810–1827 Johann Philipp Christian Schulz
1827–1835 Christian August Pohlenz
1835–1843 Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
1843–1844 Ferdinand Hiller
1845–1847 Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
1848–1854 Julius Rietz
1860–1895 Carl Reinecke
1895–1922 Arthur Nikisch
1922–1928 Wilhelm Furtwängler
1929–1933 Bruno Walter
1934–1945 Hermann Abendroth
1946–1949 Herbert Albert
1949–1962 Franz Konwitschny
1964–1968 Václav Neumann
1970–1996 Kurt Masur
1998–2005 Herbert Blomstedt
2005–2016 Riccardo Chailly
2018-present Andris Nelsons