VIENNA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA WITH THE EROICA TRIO Fabio ...

Vienna Symphony orcheStra with the eroica trio
Fabio Luisi, Principal Conductor
Tuesday, November 8, 2011, at 7:30pm
Foellinger Great Hall
Great Hall Series

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Welcome to this season of shared moments and
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All good things,
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Director
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Krannert Center honors the unwavering dedication of these supporters. They have ensured that the
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the act of giving
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Vienna Symphony Orchestra
Fabio Luisi, Principal Conductor
eroica Trio
erika Nickrenz, Piano
Susie Park, Violin
Sara Sant’Ambrogio, Cello
program
Ludwig van Beethoven Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Piano in C Major, Op. 56, “Triple Concerto”
(1770-1827) Allegro
eroica Trio, Soloists Largo (attacca)
Rondo alla polacca
20-minute intermission
Johannes Brahms Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73
(1833-1897) Allegro non troppo
Adagio non troppo
Allegretto grazioso, quasi andantino
Allegro con spirito
This program is subject to change.
Tour Direction:
Columbia Artists Management LLC
Tim Fox/Alison Ahart Williams
1790 Broadway
New York, NY 10019
www.cami.com
4 * PHOTO CReDiT iLLiNi STuDiO
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vienna SYmphonY orcheStra
DoubLe baSS
Markus Obmann, Third Horn
ivan Kitanovič, Principal
elmar eisner, Fourth Horn
ernst Weissensteiner, Principal
Alois Schlor, Fourth Horn
Fabio Luisi, Principal Conductor
firSt vioLin
Jan Pospichal, First Concertmaster
Anton Sorokow, First Concertmaster
Florian zwiauer, First Concertmaster
Guillermo Büchler, Third Concertmaster
Alexander Burggasser, Fourth Concertmaster
Stephan Achenbach
Christian Birnbaum
Maximilian Dobrovich
Claire Dolby
Roxana Dura
Franz Michael Fischer
Nicolas Geremus
Peter-Michael Grosch
Helmut Lackinger
Mariam Margaryan-Petkova
Wolfgang Schuchbaur
Maiko Seyama
Agata Sikorska
Wolfgang Trauner
Renate Turon
Gerald Wilfinger
vioLa
Johannes Flieder, Principal
Herbert Müller, Principal
Roman Bernhart, Assistant Principal
Vera Reigersberg, Assistant Principal
Michael Buchmann
Werner Frank
Herman eisterer, Assistant Principal
Werner Fleischmann
ivaylo iordanov
Martin Kabas
Dragan Lončina
Christian Roschek
Andreas Sohm
Helmut Stockhammer
Hans Joachim Tinnefeld
fLute
Karl-Heinz Schütz, Principal
Robert Wolf, Principal
Alexandra uhlig, Assistant Principal
Rudolf Huber
Raphael Leone
trumpet
Andreas Gruber, Principal
Rainer Küblböck, Principal
Heinrich Bruckner, Assistant Principal
Christian Löw, Assistant Principal
Karl Steininger
trombone
Otmar Gaiswinkler, Principal
Walter Voglmayr, Principal
Johann Jeitler, Assistant Principal
Reinhard Hofbauer
Wolfgang Pfistermüller
tuba
Franz Winkler
Karl Höffinger
eva-Maria Kabas
Christian Kallinger
Dorice Köstenberger
Martin Lehnfeld
Caroline Löffler
Walter Pflüger
edwin Prochart
eva-Maria Reisinger
Ge Song
Birgit zalodek
SeconD vioLin
Thorwald Almassy, Principal
Dominika Falger, Principal
Libor Meisl, Assistant Principal
elzbieta Szymanska-Čonka, Assistant Principal
ioanna Apostolakos
Christian Blasl
Oliver Breuer
Matthias Honeck
Timon Hornig
Christian Knaus
elena Kodin
Gerhard Kanzian
Christian Kaufmann
Karl-Heinz Krumpöck
Christian Ladurner
Franz Moschner
Martin Ortner
Wolfgang Prochaska
Roland Roniger
ulrich Schönauer
isabella Stepanek
ceLLo
Christoph Stradner, Principal
Attila Székely, Assistant Principal
Kentaro Yoshii, Assistant Principal
Wolfgang Aichinger
György Bognár
Michael Günther
Andreas Pokorny
Christian Schulz
Peter Siakala
Alexandra Ströcker
Günter Thomasberger
Michael Vogt
Romed Wieser
oboe
Paul Kaiser, Principal
Thomas Machtinger, Principal
Peter Schreiber, Assistant Principal
ernst Kobau
cLarinet
Gerald Pachinger, Principal
Alexander Neubauer, Assistant Principal
Manuel Gangl
Siegfried Küblböck
baSSoon
Richard Galler, Principal
Patrick de Ritis, Principal
Robert Gillinger, Assistant Principal
Wolfgang Kuttner
Peter Spitzl
horn
eric Kushner, Principal
Hector McDonald, Principal
Georg Sonnleitner, Second Horn
Gergely Sugár, Second Horn
Josef eder, Third Horn
harp
Volker Kempf
percuSSion
Thomas Schindl
Martin Kerschbaum
Friedrich Philipp-Pesendorfer
timpani
Dieter Seiler
Michael Vladar
management
Johannes Neubert, Managing Director
Beatrice Swoboda, Assistant to Managing Director
Tilman Dost, Director of Artistic Administration
Verena Hager, Artistic Administration
Bettina Büttner-Krammer, Music education
Kurt Danner, Marketing and PR
Corinne Pixner, Director of Orchestra Administration
igor Chomca, Orchestra Administration
Bernhard Kircher, Stage Manager
Herbert engel, Stage Manager
Kurt istler, Stage Manager
Wolfgang Buresch, Librarian
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Franz Breitschopf, Finance and Controlling
Rudolf Streicher, President of the Board
Thomas Angermair, Board
erich Becker, Board
Angelika Möser, Board
Herbert Müller, Chairperson of Work Council
Maximilian Dobrovich, Deputy Chairperson
of Work Council
Thomas Schindl, Work Council
Peter Schreiber, Work Council
elzbieta Szymanska-Čonka, Work Council
Werner Fleischmann, Chairperson
of Development Association
Gergely Sugár, Managing Director, Symphonia
Florian Schulze, Office Manager, Symphonia
Ludwig van Beethoven
Born December 16, 1770, in Bonn, Germany
Died March 26, 1827, in Vienna, Austria
Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Piano in C Major, Op.
56, “Triple Concerto”
The object of much undeserved rebuke, intolerance,
and misunderstanding, no other work by
Beethoven—except perhaps the “Choral Fantasy”—
has been so controversial regarding its merits as the
Triple Concerto. After its premiere performance,
the Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung reported, “We
also heard a new Concertino by Beethoven which,
however, was not altogether well received”; indeed,
the work was never performed again during the
composer’s lifetime. Some pedantic critics have
commented on its “dryness” of style and have
expounded that its “technical effort outweighs
inspiration” and that it is a “weaker work,” which
“rouses expectations of great music it never fulfills.”
Fortunately today’s experts no longer share these
opinions about Beethoven’s Concerto for Violin,
Cello, and Piano, Op. 56. For instance, the eminent
musicologist Sir Donald Francis Tovey insists that “if
it were not by Beethoven, but by some mysterious
composer who had the romantic good fortune to die
before it came to performance, the very people who
blame Beethoven for writing below his full powers
would be the first to acclaim it as a work of a still
greater composer.” And Tovey further emphasizes:
“Without the Triple Concerto Beethoven could not
have written the Piano Concertos in G and e-flat
[Nos. 4 and 5], nor the Violin Concerto.”
Beethoven’s Triple Concerto has been unjustly
overshadowed by the composer’s better-known
concertos. The tendency has been to wrongly
regard it as a backward-looking homage to the
Baroque concerto grosso, when in fact it is a highly
original work that takes the lead from the sinfonie
concertanti as established by Stamitz, Dittersdorf,
and Johann Christian Bach and is propelled from
where Haydn and Mozart left off. Labeled a “Grand
program noteS
Concerto Concertant” in its first printed edition of
1807, this work was written by Beethoven in 1803-
1804 for his young pupil, the Archduke Rudolph.
it was the archduke who performed the piano part
at the work’s premiere in Vienna’s Augarten in May
1808; the other two soloists were violinist Anton
Seidler and cellist Nikolaus Kraft, the latter for whom
Haydn had written his cello concertos. Dedicated
to “his Majesty” Prince Lobkowitz, the composer’s
patron, the Triple Concerto comes from the same
period as the “eroica” Symphony, the first version
of Fidelio, and the “Waldstein” and “Appassionata”
piano sonatas.
Built upon a vast sonata form, the Allegro first
movement begins quietly with the double basses
intoning the main theme in a mood of some mystery
before the whole orchestra assertively takes it up.
The violins then present the secondary theme in the
dominant key. After a third subsidiary theme that
serves as a bridge, the soloists in the “concertino”
group—the cello, joined by the violin, and followed
by the piano—make their entrance, each one with
its own statements of the main theme. With great
contrapuntal skill, and often with the reduced
texture of chamber music, the themes are then
elaborated and brilliantly varied by the three soloists
and orchestra alike in the harmonically daring
development section. After a pianissimo climax that
gives way to a beautiful cantabile passage for the
soloists, the orchestra charges forth with great élan
to bring the first movement to a brilliant close.
With a dark and solemn mood that foreshadows
the slow movement of the Fifth Piano Concerto,
a short Largo in 3/8 time makes up the middle
movement. it begins with a long-breathed, cantabile
melody in the solo cello supported by a quiet
string accompaniment; this expressive theme is
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then assumed by the woodwinds as the piano plays
accompanimental figurations before the solo violin
claims its share. A somber and mysterious passage
leads directly into the finale without a pause, a
procedure that Beethoven would employ again in his
next two piano concertos.
Although the polonaise was not uncommon as a
finale at the time, the present Rondo alla polacca
provides one of only three examples of this form
in Beethoven’s works. The cello calmly introduces
the recurring main theme that is taken up in turn
by the other two soloists. As the orchestra comes
in, the proceedings gather the momentum that
propels the rest of the movement. Between the
varied restatements of the main theme, the trio of
soloists shine with brilliant chamber-like clarity in the
secondary episodes. After the brisk, penultimate
statement of the theme in double time, the solo
trio plays its written-out cadenza against occasional
chords from the orchestra. As the final pianissimo
trill of the cadenza swells and fades away, the
polonaise theme returns in its original tempo to
bring the concerto to its ceremoniously elegant and
triumphant conclusion.
© 1999 by Columbia Artists Management inc.
Johannes Brahms
Born May 7, 1833, in Hamburg, Germany
Died April 3, 1897, in Vienna, Austria
Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73
Brahms has often, with arguable justification, been
called the last of the great Classical composers; a
fervent admirer of Beethoven, he was moved by a
desire to be linked to the tradition of the symphony
as set by the master. However, Brahms cannot so
easily be regarded as a mere Neoclassicist (as he
was called in life and even after his death); it is only
the most superficial listener who could deny that
his music possesses qualities of the most intense
Romanticism. The richness and abundance of his
musical genius poured forth in his symphonies, as it
did in his chamber works, choral pieces, and long list
of songs. Like Beethoven before him, he provided
a strong voice, dramatic content, and perfection
of structure to the symphony; this, however, he
complemented with the introduction of the German
lied to the essence of symphonic form. Beethoven
had not made use of this lyric, uncomplicated, and
somewhat rustic vein in his symphonies as it was
later to be found in Brahms’, but the practice was
perpetuated into the turn of the 20th century by
Mahler and to some small degree by Bruckner.
Brahms was over 40 years old when he completed
his First Symphony; having garnered a substantial
reputation with his small-scale works (particularly
his chamber music), and with Schumann’s
pronouncement naming him Beethoven’s successor
as a symphonist, Brahms felt tremendous pressure
and the weight of responsibility in presenting his
first work in the form to the world. As a result,
work on the First Symphony took him 15 years
between initial conception and the production of the
completed score in 1876. Opus 68 turned out to be
a magisterial work, and having overcome his fears
regarding his abilities to compose in the grandest of
forms for instrumental music, he immediately set to
work on his next symphony.
Brahms wrote his Symphony No. 2 in D Major in
1877, completing the score in less than four months.
This work has often been called Brahms’ “Pastoral”
Symphony. There is perhaps an element of truth in
this descriptive nickname, particularly in relation to
the first and second movements and possibly the
third. Of his four symphonies, the tone of the second
is the most idyllic. The serene expression of the
first movement is contrasted with the more deeply
contemplative character of the second movement,
where the lyrical sentiment is most apparent as
the style of the lied is clearly found in the melody.
The third movement demonstrates a skillful use of
variation technique and an effective juxtaposition
of alternating fast and moderately slow sections.
The finale expresses great jubilation. All in all,
Opus 73 provides a vivid example of Brahms’ long
melodic lines, his contrapuntal skill as demonstrated
in the combination of melodic lines, the richness
of harmony dictated by seriousness of purpose,
the impressive coherence obtained in the use of
thematic material, and the feeling of balance and
unity in the structure as a whole.
The first movement, Allegro non troppo, is written in
sonata-allegro form. The tranquil opening of basses,
horns, and woodwinds reveals the emotional tone
as well as the musical keynote of the symphony; the
first theme compounds musical ideas to be utilized
later in the work. A second portion of the first theme
is stated in a quiet undulating melody played in
the violins’ high register. A transition builds to a full
climax; this leads into the tender second theme,
which is introduced by the cellos and casts a shade
of melancholy on the previously sunny proceedings.
The development section begins with an elaboration
of the first theme; the intermingling melodies and
vigorous contrasting phrases of the development
finally subside into a quiet passage that leads into
the recapitulation. Here, the return of the first theme
is combined with the second theme winding about
it. The coda that concludes the movement features
an ethereal horn solo.
unlike Mendelssohn and Schumann, for instance,
Brahms followed the practice of the classics by
placing the slow movement as the second instead
of the third movement of his symphonies. The songlike
Adagio non troppo is deeply contemplative in
character with long phrases and rich chromaticism.
The cellos introduce the first theme based on a
descending line, which leads to an accompanying
counterpoint, basically ascending and played by the
bassoons. A transition passage introduces a new key
and leads into the second theme, marked L’istesso
tempo, ma grazioso. A third theme introduces the
development; this section builds up with increased
rhythmic and melodic motion. The recapitulation
brings back the second theme, this time richly
ornamented, before closing with a restatement of
the second theme.
The third movement, Allegretto grazioso, quasi
andantino, is more like a song than a scherzo
and is perhaps closer in style to some of Brahms’
piano pieces labeled Intermezzi. The main
theme, introduced by the oboe with pizzicato
accompaniment from the cellos, suggests the steps
of a dance; however, there is nothing dancelike
about the development section or the richness of
thematic variation in the middle episode.
The last movement, Allegro con spirito, is once again
built on the sonata-allegro form. The principal theme
begins mysteriously in the strings, extends to the
woodwinds, and at last is expounded by the entire
orchestra. The strings also introduce the second
theme. in the development section, Brahms’ mastery
of contrapuntal technique is most evident; here the
composer makes frequent use of broken polyphony
as the thematic threads of melody and counterpoint
are distributed into small and even smaller motifs.
With one last statement of the second theme,
proclaimed by the trumpets, Brahms brings his
Second Symphony to its brilliant conclusion.
© 1994 by Columbia Artists Management inc.
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fabio LuiSi, principaL conDuctor
Fabio Luisi was named principal conductor of the
Metropolitan Opera in September 2011, having
previously been principal guest conductor with
the company since September 2010. He has been
the principal conductor of the Vienna Symphony
Orchestra since 2005. He has been the music
director of the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo,
Japan, since 2010. Luisi begins his position as
music director of the zurich Opera in the 2012-
2013 season. He was the Generalmusikdirektor
of the Dresden Staatskapelle and Saechsische
Staatsoper (2007-2010), the artistic director of the
MDR Symphony Orchestra in Leipzig (1999-2007),
the music director of the Orchestre de la Suisse
Romande (1997-2002), the chief conductor of the
Tonkünstler-Orchester in Vienna (1995-2000), and
the artistic director of the Graz Symphony Orchestra
(1990-1996).
Luisi maintains an active schedule of guest
engagements with international orchestras and opera
companies. He has appeared with, among others,
the Bayerischer Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra,
Vienna Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra,
Boston Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra,
San Francisco Symphony, Royal Concertgebouw
Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Philharmonia,
NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo, Munich
Philharmonic, Santa Cecilia Orchestra in Rome, and
Mahler Chamber Orchestra. Additionally, he is a
frequent guest at the Vienna Staatsoper, Bayerische
Staatsoper, Deutsche Oper, and Staatsoper in
Berlin. He made his debut at the Salzburg Festival
with Richard Strauss’ Die Liebe der Danae in 2002
and returned the following season for Strauss’ Die
Ägyptische Helena.
During the 2011-2012 season, he makes his
debut with the Teatro alla Scala for Massenet’s
Manon. At the Metropolitan Opera, he conducts
new productions of Don Giovanni, Siegfried in
fall 2011, and Massenet’s Manon as well as La
Traviata in spring 2012. in October 2011, he led the
Metropolitan Orchestra in a concert at Carnegie Hall.
He makes debuts with the Cleveland Orchestra and
with the Filarmonica della Scala. Guest engagements
include concerts with the Concertgebouw, the
Hessischer Rundfunk in Frankfurt, the Stuttgart
Philharmonic Orchestra, the Accademia Nazionale
di Santa Cecilia in Rome, the Orchestra of the
Maggio Musicale in Florence, the Oslo Philharmonic,
and the Genoa Opera Orchestra. in addition to its
season of concerts in Vienna, he will tour with the
Vienna Symphony Orchestra in North America and
extensively in europe. in the summer of 2012, he
returns to the Pacific Music Festival.
Last season, he conducted Das Rheingold, Ariadne
auf Naxos, and Rigoletto at the Metropolitan
Opera and toured with the company to Japan,
conducting Don Carlo and La Bohème. He made
debuts at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden with a
production of Aida and at the Liceu in Barcelona
conducting Falstaff. in addition to concerts in Vienna,
he toured with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra in
europe. Guest engagements included concerts with
the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Mahler Chamber
Orchestra, and the Concertgebouw, as well as a
production of Pagliacci in his hometown, Genoa.
During the summer of 2011, he returned to the
Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan.
Luisi made his American debut in 2000 both with
the New York Philharmonic and with the Lyric Opera
of Chicago in a new production of Rigoletto. He
made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 2005
with Don Carlo and subsequently conducted Die
Ägyptische Helena, Simon Boccanegra, Turandot,
Le Nozze di Figaro, Tosca, Lulu, Elektra, Hansel and
Gretel, and La Bohème.
His recordings include rare Verdi operas (Jérusalem,
Alzira, Aroldo), Salieri’s La Locandiera, Bellini’s I
puritani, and symphonic repertoire of Honegger,
Respighi, and Liszt. He recorded all the symphonies
and the oratorio Das Buch mit den sieben Siegeln
by the neglected Austrian composer Franz Schmidt.
He has recorded several works by Richard Strauss
for Sony Classical and a highly awarded Anton
Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony with the Dresden
Staatskapelle.
Born in Genoa in 1959, Luisi began his piano studies
at the age of four and received his diploma in 1978
from the Conservatorio Nicolò Paganini. He later
attended conducting studies with Milan Horvat at
the Conservatory in Graz.
eroica trio
erika Nickrenz, Piano
Susie Park, Violin
Sara Sant’Ambrogio, Cello
The most sought-after trio in the world, the
Grammy-nominated eroica Trio thrills audiences with
flawless technical virtuosity, irresistible enthusiasm,
and sensual elegance. Whether playing the great
standards of the piano trio repertoire or daring
contemporary works, the three young women who
make up this celebrated ensemble electrify the
concert stage with their passionate performances.
The New York Times writes, “They play chamber
music for the concert hall. There is an edge of the
seat intensity to every note they produce.” The trio
won the prestigious Naumburg Award, resulting in
a highly successful Lincoln Center debut, and has
since toured the united States, europe, and Asia.
While maintaining a demanding concert schedule,
the eroica Trio has released eight critically lauded
recordings for Angel/eMi Classics Records, garnering
multiple Grammy nominations.
The eroica Trio performs Beethoven’s Triple
Concerto more frequently than any other trio in the
world, having appeared with renowned symphonies
such as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis
Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Mostly Mozart
Orchestra, indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta
Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Houston
Symphony, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra,
and Seattle Symphony Orchestra. in addition,
the trio has performed the work abroad with the
Orquesta Sinfónica de euskadi in Spain, the Haydn
Orchestra in italy, and the Royal Philharmonic
Orchestra and Budapest Symphony Orchestra
in Germany and on multiple tours in the united
States with the Cincinnati Symphony as well as
with the Prague Chamber Orchestra, culminating
in a Lincoln Center performance. The eroica Trio’s
recording of Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with the
Prague Chamber Orchestra was so successful that
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it landed on Billboard’s Top 20, the first time in
history a recording of this piece has done so. The
trio performed Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with
the Munich Symphony on the German television
program Klassich!, which was aired throughout
europe.
The eroica Trio is in the vanguard of a new
generation of artists who are changing the face
of classical music. The first all-female chamber
ensemble to reach the top echelon of its field, the
eroica Trio broke an age-old gender barrier. As
the Chicago Sun Times remarked, “Our image of
the piano trio is largely formed by groups like the
celebrated [original] Beaux Arts, three middle-aged
gentlemen who apply their wisdom and artistry
to their chosen repertory. That image is about to
change.” The trio took its name from Beethoven’s
passionate Third Symphony. italian for “heroic,”
eroica is a word that aptly reflects the ensemble’s
approach to music. As critics have noted, “it’s been
decades since this country has produced a chamber
music organization with this much passion” (San
Francisco Examiner).
The trio has established a unique identity by creating
innovative programs that span 300 years of music. A
typical eroica Trio concert might include the Baroque
symmetries of Vivaldi, the passion of Brahms, and
Mark O’Connor’s bluegrass and rockabilly ode
to Johnny Cash, Poets and Prophets, which was
written for the group. The eroica Trio is a strong
champion of new composers; each season includes
an American or world premiere of a new work.
Recently, the trio premiered a new Triple Concerto
by the American wunderkind Jay Greenberg and
the world premiere of a work by the acclaimed
American composer Kevin Puts, commissioned
by Music Accord. Whatever the repertoire, “the
eroica’s artistry is powerful enough that it could play
the back of a cereal box and make it compelling”
(Charleston Gazette).
As the official representative for New York’s Carnegie
Hall, the eroica Trio opened the sold-out Distinctive
Debuts series at Weill Recital Hall. This touring
series, created to showcase rising stars of classical
music, was internationally sponsored by a consortium
of european halls and included performances at
the Konzerthaus in Vienna, the Concertgebouw
in Amsterdam, the Philharmonie in Cologne, the
Alte Oper in Frankfurt, Symphony Hall at the
international Convention Center in Birmingham,
and the Konserthus in Stockholm. The eroica Trio’s
performances were received with rave reviews. “The
Trio plays with technical flair, raw, driven energy and
high spirits. The ensemble also has plenty of charm
and stage presence. it was obvious that all three
musicians were having as much fun as the [Carnegie
Hall] audience” (Wall Street Journal ).
in addition to its demanding concert and recording
schedules, the eroica Trio is committed to music
education, giving concerts, master classes, and
special children’s shows at schools and colleges
throughout the country. The trio feels so strongly
about the benefits of music that it has performed
at homeless shelters, senior centers, and prisons to
bring music to people who might not normally have
the chance to hear live performances. each summer,
the trio performs at music festivals throughout the
world, including at the Hollywood Bowl, in Aspen, in
Ravinia, and in Spoleto, italy.
Visit the eroica Trio web site: www.eroicatrio.com.
vienna SYmphonY orcheStra
Chief Conductor: Fabio Luisi
Honorary Conductors: Georges Prêtre, Wolfgang
Sawallisch
As Vienna’s cultural ambassador and premier concert
orchestra, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra handles
the lion’s share of symphonic activity that makes
up the musical life of the Austrian capital. The
preservation of the traditional, Viennese orchestral
sound occupies a central place in the orchestra’s
various artistic pursuits.
The end of the 19th century was precisely the
right time to establish a new Viennese orchestra
for the purpose of presenting orchestral concerts
with broad appeal and to meet the need for first
performances and premieres of contemporary
works. in October 1900, the newly formed Wiener
Concertverein, as it was called back then, gave its
first public performance at the Vienna Musikverein
with Ferdinand Löwe on the podium.
The Vienna Symphony has premiered works that are
now undisputed staples of the orchestral repertoire,
including Anton Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony, Arnold
Schoenberg’s Gurre-Lieder, Maurice Ravel’s Piano
Concerto for the Left Hand, and Franz Schmidt’s The
Book with Seven Seals.
Over the course of its history, conducting greats
like Bruno Walter, Richard Strauss, Wilhelm
Furtwängler, Oswald Kabasta, George Szell, and
Hans Knappertsbusch have left an indelible mark on
the orchestra. in later decades, Herbert von Karajan
(1950-1960) and Wolfgang Sawallisch (1960-1970)
were the chief conductors who molded the sound of
the orchestra most significantly.
After the brief return of Josef Krips, the position
of chief conductor was filled by Carlo Maria Giulini
and Gennadij Roshdestvensky. Georges Prêtre was
chief conductor from 1986 to 1991. Rafael Frühbeck
de Burgos and Vladimir Fedoseyev then assumed
leadership of the orchestra. Fabio Luisi assumed the
position of chief conductor and artistic director at the
start of the 2005-2006 season.
Leading lights that have enjoyed notable success
as guests on the podium of the Vienna Symphony
include Leonard Bernstein, Lorin Maazel, zubin
Mehta, Claudio Abbado, and Sergiu Celibidache.
The Vienna Symphony appears in more than 150
concerts and operatic performances per season,
the vast majority of which take place in Vienna’s
well-known concert venues, the Musikverein and
the Konzerthaus. Added to that is a very busy and
extensive touring schedule.
Since 1946, the Vienna Symphony has been the
orchestra in residence at the Bregenzer Festspiele,
where it also plays the majority of operatic and
symphonic performances. The orchestra also took
on a new challenge at the beginning of 2006,
partaking in a significant number of productions at
the Theater an der Wien, which had just reopened as
a functioning opera house.
Please visit the Vienna Symphony’s website at
www.wienersymphoniker.at.
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