The activities of the Orchestra Haydn di Bolzano e Trento extend far beyond the music of the composer for whom the group is named. The orchestra has toured as far afield as Japan and the U.S. The Orchestra Haydn di Bolzano e Trento ("Haydn Orchestra of Bolzano and Trento" or "Haydn-Orchester von Bozen und Trient") was founded as the Orchestra Haydn in the northern Italian (and partly German-speaking) city of Bolzano in 1960, giving its first performances in November of 1960 under conductor Antonio Pedrotti in Bolzano, Trento, Merano, and Rovereto. From the beginning, the group aimed to serve the entire region; it is headquartered at the Haydn Auditorium in Bolzano but also performs a full concert series in Trento. The orchestra assumed its present name in 1977. It has generally had separate conductors and music directors; a fundamental shaper of the Orchestra Haydn di Bolzano e Trento was music director Andrea Mascagni, who served in the position from 1960 to 1990. Conductors have included Hermann Michael, Alun Francis, Cristian Mandeal, and, since 2021, historical performance specialist Ottavio Dantone. The orchestra released an album of Haydn symphonies in 1967 and has gone on to amass a large recording catalog. The Orchestra Haydn di Bolzano e Trento has toured widely, appearing in many parts of Italy as well as in Austria (including at the Musikverein in Vienna and the Mozarteum in Salzburg), other European countries, Japan, and the U.S. The group has attracted prominent guest conductors, including Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Chailly, Riccardo Muti, and Rinaldo Alessandrini. Its repertory ranges from Baroque music to contemporary works, and its recordings have not emphasized Haydn. The orchestra has premiered works by such major composers as Luigi Dallapiccola, Luigi Nono, and Luciano Berio. Recording for a varied group of labels that have included CPO, Amadeus, and Col Legno, the Orchestra Haydn di Bolzano e Trento moved to Arcana for the 2022 album Ennio Morricone: Cinema Suites for Violin and Orchestra. The following year, the orchestra backed violist Anna Serova in her arrangement of William Walton's cello concerto on Naxos. ~ James Manheim, Rovi