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The Frankfurter Singakademie (= FSA) is an internationally renowned choir, with an extensive repertoire ordered, which due to its high quality and great experience could make music with world-famous guest conductors such as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Cambreling, Carignani, Christoph von Dohnányi, Christoph Eschenbach, Michael Gielen, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Yehudi Menuhin, Plasson, Marcello Viotti, among others. The FSA has sung in concerts with such orchestras as the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonia Orchestra, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Radio-Symphonie-Orchester-Berlin, NDR Sinfonieorchester Hamburg and Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Bamberger Symphoniker and the Frankfurter Museumsorchester.
The choir was created in 1922 by Fritz Gambke with the objective to animate the culture of the choir singing with new spirit. In the first years after its establishment the choir was already directed by guest conductor such as Erich Kleiber, Hans Rosbaud, Richard Strauss and Igor Stravinsky.
Starting from 1946 the choir under the direction of Ljubomir Romansky was established as one of the prominent concert choirs of Germany. After the FSA had participated in 1936 in the premiere of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, it performed the works in presence of the composer at his 75 Birthday in Trionfi in Frankfurt, in Berlin and Salzburg. During those years the choir sang under guest conductors such as Karl Böhm, Carl Schuricht and Erich Leinsdorf.
From 1985 to 1999 Karl Rarichs was director of FSA choir. Particularly in his period the choir sang under renowned guest conductors and made music with international important orchestras. If during previous years the choir had already made several guest performances outside of Frankfurt, then now the number of the performances in their homeland and abroad increased considerably. The choir received invitations to Belgium, France, Holland, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Austria, Poland, Spain, Switzerland and Turkey. Karl Rarichs received the Binding-Kulturpreis in 2004 for his life's work to advance and inspire young people to the classical music. The FSA - today still a big choir with an occupation of up to 130 singers – recorded a considerable discography in the Rarichs’ years.
At the end of 1999 Karl Rarichs withdrew from the artistic direction of the choir. For his services he was appointed the lifetime honour conductor of the FSA. To his successor the choir appointed in August 2000 Linda Horowitz. She is a teacher for choir directing and conducting at the Akademie für Tonkunst in Darmstadt, and leads there also the choir and the orchestra. The FSA close co-operation with guest conductors is continued also under Linda Horowitz. |
