The close, friendly relationship between Herbert Blomstedt and the Staatskapelle Dresden has lasted for half a century now. After his debut here in April 1969, he shaped the orchestra as chief conductor from 1975 to 1985: a decade that is not only artistically unforgettable, but also, despite difficult political circumstances, marks a special chapter in the long history of the band from a human perspective. In addition to the Dresden "domestic gods" Wagner and Strauss, Herbert Blomstedt conducted a repertoire during his tenure that included the baroque chapel heritage as well as numerous premieres and premieres. In 1985, the band's first concert took place under his direction in the rebuilt Semperoper, and he recorded countless works with the orchestra on record. To date, Herbert Blomstedt has given well over 300 concerts with the band; he took the podium ten times alone in the traditional Palm Sunday concert, and he also directed a number of opera productions, at that time still in the Great House of the State Theater (playhouse). In 2007 the Staatskapelle honored him with the Golden Badge of Honor. In May 2016, the orchestra named Herbert Blomstedt as its honorary conductor. He is only the second – after Sir Colin Davis – to do so Conductor who was awarded this title.

Born in the USA to Swedish parents, Herbert Blomstedt made his podium debut with the Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra in 1954, and later took over leadership positions with the Oslo Philharmonic and the Danish and Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestras in Copenhagen and Stockholm. Blomstedt was music director of the San Francisco Symphony, chief conductor of the NDR Symphony Orchestra in Hamburg and 19th Gewandhauskapellmeister in Leipzig. The orchestras in San Francisco, Leipzig, Copenhagen and Stockholm, the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra and the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo appointed him honorary conductor. As a guest conductor, Herbert Blomstedt works with the most renowned orchestras. In 2011 he made a late debut with the Vienna Philharmonic, which immediately led to regular collaboration. He is an elected member of the Royal Swedish Music Academy, has received multiple honorary doctorates and was awarded the Grand Cross of Merit of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2003. In April 2016 he received Denmark's renowned Léonie Sonning Music Prize for his artistic life's work.