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Under the direction of the conductor Richard Strauss, the Vienna
Philharmonic played 85 concerts and numerous operas
in Vienna before their debut performance at the Salzburg Festival
in 1922. Between 1933 and 1937 one of the most important
orchestral conductors in the world at that time, Arturo
Toscanini, conducted in Vienna and at the Salzburg Festival.
Toscanini was known for his bad temper, and snapped so
many batons during his time that his enterprising assistant
Walter von Hoesslin collected them and later sold them to
American tourists as souvenirs. The young assistant had
been recommended to Toscanini by Max Reinhardt, who later
became the stage designer and co-founder of the Bregenzer
Festspiele.
In 1938, the National Socialists dismissed all Jewish artists
from the Vienna State Opera. The Vienna Philharmonic association
was overseen by propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels
under the authority of the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and
Propaganda. This meant that conductors could no longer be
freely appointed and performances abroad were restricted.
The period following the annexing of Austria is documented
in detail in the book, ‘Orchestrated Expulsion. The unwanted
Viennese Philharmonic – persecution, murder and exile’ by
Fritz Trümpi and Bernadette Mayrhofer. The ‘modern era’ of
the ‘ambassadors of Austria’ began after 1945. Since then, the
world‘s best conductors have collaborated with the orchestra,
such as Claudio Abbado, Leonard Bernstein, Nikolaus Harnoncourt,
Herbert von Karajan, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Seji
Ozawa and Franz Welser-Möst. Since 1997, women have also
been able to become members of the orchestra.
Salzburg honoured ‘its’ Philharmonic in 1968 by naming a street
after it in the old town. The Philharmonic was nationally honoured
in 1988 with the issues of the special Vienna Philharmonic gold
coin. Since 2005, the Vienna Philharmonic’s Angelika-Prokopp
Summer academy has been held every year during the Salzburg
Festival to train and support the next generation of musicians.
The orchestra invests heavily in charity work. For Andreas
Grossbauer, Chairman of the Vienna Philharmonic, social responsibility
is a special concern. ‘We feel we have a responsibility
– in addition to our artistic work – to set an example by
making a positive contribution.’ For years, the Philharmonic
has supported various charitable causes including the ‘Light
in the Dark’ campaign, the Red Cross, an Amnesty International
schools project and avalanche victims. Some of the
proceeds from the Philharmonic Ball – the social highlight of
the Vienna ball season since 1925 – are donated to charity
organisations. Orchestra members also play in hospitals, and
since 2001 an annual charity concert has been organized to
support the CS Hospice Rennweg. In April 2012, the ‘Vienna
Philharmonic & Suntory Music Aid Fund’ was set up following
the Great East Japan earthquake. The latest charitable
project is the ‘Philharmonic House for Asylum Seekers in St
Aegyd’, which offers music courses for refugee children and
organises exhibitions, seminars and charity concerts.
‘With the best efforts, the best is achieved in the best way.’ This
was the motto given to the Vienna Philharmonic by its founder
Otto Nicolai, and the orchestra has remained true to this motto
for 175 years. We congratulate them for it. Eva von Schilgen
Quelle | Source: Wiener Philharmoniker, Wikipedia / Wiener Philharmoniker
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