The MDR Radio Choir is the largest and most traditional choir of the public broadcaster and is considered one of the most sought-after ensembles of its kind worldwide. Conductors such as Herbert von Karajan, Kurt Masur, Colin Davis, Claudio Abbado, Simon Rattle, Neville Marriner, Seiji Ozawa, Lorin Maazel, Bernard Haitink, Riccardo Muti and Daniel Barenboim have paid their respects to the MDR Radio Choir. The singers also regularly perform with the MDR Symphony Orchestra and its principal conductor Dennis Russell Davies. Other artistic partners for the 2022/2023 season include the Gewandhaus Orchestra under Andris Nelsons, the Dresden Philharmonic under Marek Janowski, and the hr Symphony Orchestra under Alain Altinoglu.
The ensemble proves that it is not only an excellent partner of the most important orchestras with much acclaimed a cappella interpretations. Secular and sacred music, ensemble singing and choral symphonies are equally part of the repertoire, which spans almost a millennium of music history. As a special ensemble for contemporary music, the 73 choristers have also made a name for themselves with numerous premieres and first performances.
Since January 2020, Philipp Ahmann has succeeded Risto Joost as artistic director of the MDR Radio Choir. He has already been associated with the choir as a guest conductor and has shaped the choir's musical profile with a cappella programs and CD recordings, among other things. His predecessors in this position include Herbert Kegel, Gert Frischmuth and Howard Arman, who also developed the highly successful Night Songs format.
Nearly 250 records and CDs - many of them award-winning - have been recorded by the ensemble. In 2017, for example, the singers received the "International Classical Music Award" for their recording of Max Reger's motets op. 110, and in March 2018 they received the "Diapason d'Or" for their recording of Sergei Rachmaninov's Vespers under the direction of Risto Joost. Most recently, a recording of motets by Anton Bruckner and Michael Haydn, conducted by Philipp Ahmann, was released in 2021.
Heard via the European Broadcasting Union as well as on tours and guest appearances around the world, the MDR Radio Choir, which was awarded the European Culture Prize in 2013, successfully acts as a musical ambassador for Central Germany.