With a distinguished history dating back almost five centuries, the Staatskapelle Dresden is one of the oldest and most highly regarded orchestras in the world. It was founded in 1548 by Maurice, Elector of Saxony, and has enjoyed close associations with leading musicians such as Schütz in the 17th century, Hasse in the 18th, Weber and Wagner in the 19th and Richard Strauss in the 20th. It forms the musical core of the Dresden State Opera, based since 1841 at the city’s imposing Semperoper. The Staatskapelle developed its characteristic central European sound—plush and richly woody—while isolated behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War. It achieved international prominence under Giuseppe Sinopoli (chief conductor 1992-2001) and his successors Bernard Haitink and Fabio Luisi. Christian Thielemann became chief conductor in 2012, and under him the orchestra has made a series of highly regarded recordings of music by Schumann, Bruckner, Verdi, Wagner and Strauss.