VIENNA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA WITH THE EROICA TRIO Fabio ...

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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