The Staatskapelle Dresden (or Dresden State Orchestra), also known as the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, is one of Europe's oldest continuously operating performing arts organizations. It has numbered some of Europe's most famous composers and conductors among its music directors, and amid changing fashions, it has enjoyed an almost unbroken reputation for high quality.

The orchestra dates back to 1548, when Dresden was part of the Holy Roman Empire. It was founded by the Elector Moritz of Saxony to accompany the court chorus in the new large choral compositions of the time. It evolved from an even older group, the Kurfürstlich-Sächsische und Königlich-Polnische Kapelle. During the 17th century, its music directors included Heinrich Schütz, who was closely associated with the orchestra for over half the century. As opera grew at the Dresden court, one of the orchestra's main functions was to accompany the leading German opera company of the day, and Johann Adolf Hasse was the Kapellmeister (or music director) from 1734 to 1763. The orchestra and opera persisted through the unrest of late 18th century Europe, emerging as an operatic center under Carl Maria von Weber in the early Romantic era. Other famous names to conduct the orchestra in opera were Richard Wagner -- who called it a "magic harp" and premiered Rienzi, Die fliegende Holländer, and Tannhäuser there -- and, later, Richard Strauss.

In 1858, the Staatskapelle Dresden began giving concerts of symphonic music, and here again, its reputation grew quickly. Music directors since the turn of the 20th century have included Fritz Reiner, Karl Böhm, Herbert Blomstedt, Bernard Haitink, and, since 2012, Christian Thielemann. In 2013, the Staatskapelle Dresden became the resident ensemble of the Salzburg Easter Festival, where Thielemann also serves as artistic director. In the 21st century, the orchestra began a composers-in-residence program; holders of position have included Hans Werner Henze, Sofia Gubaidulina (twice), Arvo Pärt, and, in 2021 and 2022, Matthias Pintscher.

The orchestra's recording catalog is large, including multiple releases almost every year since 1990 on such labels as Berlin Classics, Denon, and Deutsche Grammophon. In 2017, the orchestra, under Thielemann, released a recording of Bruckner's Symphony No. 4 in E flat major ("Romantic"), on the Profil - Edition Günter Hänssler label. A live recording of Bruckner's Symphony No. 1, with Thielemann once again leading the orchestra, was issued in 2021. Many of the Staatskapelle Dresden's historical performances have also been remastered and re-released. ~ James Manheim

Otmar Suitner was archetypical of the type of Central European conductor who comes up through the ranks (i.e., opera house, theater, or if an instrumentalist, house orchestra) and worked his way up to leadership by dint of musicality. Some move on to what is essentially international "stardom," such as the case with Karajan or Klemperer. Others settle into a localized niche, but extend their reputation past national boundaries via recording prowess, often through a varied series of ensembles. In this manner, Suitner's star ascended, the dawn of the digital era being a boon to his recognition even though he ceased conducting in the 1990s due to illness.

Otmar Suitner was born in the picturesque backdrop of the Tyrol. His father was a native and his mother was Italian, who most likely nourished his affinity for opera. In his teens, Suitner began piano studies under Weidlich at the Innsbruck Conservatory and continued the same under Ledwinka at the Salzburg Mozarteum from 1940-1942, also studying conducting with Clemens Krauss at that institution. Upon completion of studies, the young man became Kapellmeister at the Innsbruck Theatre and moved through a number of both opera and orchestra positions, including Remscheid (1952), Ludwigshaven (1957), the Rhineland-Pfalz State Philharmonic Orchestra (1957) the Dresden State Opera (1960-1964), and the Berlin State Opera (1964-1971, continuing 1973-1990). He became a fixture at Bayreuth, working closely with Wieland Wagner on the 1965 Der fliegende Holländer and the Ring cycle for 1966 and 1967. In opera, he distinguished himself in Mozart, Wagner, and Strauss, bringing to those composers a litheness and protean energy not usually associated with the Austro-German school of interpretation. His predilection for lightness can be divined from his arrangement of Der Rosenkavalier for small orchestra performance. No complacent traditionalist, Suitner was also a fervent advocate of Dessau, conducting the premieres of that composer's operas Puntila (1966), Einstein (1973), and Leonce und Lena (1979). In 1969, he became a guest conductor with the San Francisco Opera Company and in the following decade was a frequent podium visitor in Japan, receiving honorary conductorship of the Tokyo NHK Symphony Orchestra in 1973.

The Japanese connection was to stand Suitner in good stead with the emergence of digital recording in the early 1980s. His set of the Beethoven symphonies with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra for Denon was one of the very first sets of the nine to appear. Soon, Suitner was one of the digital pioneers and joined the ranks of conductors who had built a cult by dint of quality recordings, much like Rosbaud, Kegel, Wand, and others. Unfortunately, illness stayed Suitner's hand in the early 1990s and he made a premature retirement from performing and recording. Nonetheless, he retained his devotees and his 80th birthday saw the issue of an 11-CD set on the Edel label representative of his operatic and symphonic artistry.