The Vienna Symphony (Vienna Symphony Orchestra, german: Wiener Symphoniker) is an Austrian

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

based in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. Its primary concert venue is the Vienna Konzerthaus. In Vienna, the orchestra also performs at the Musikverein and at the Theater an der Wien.

History

In 1900,

Ferdinand Löwe Ferdinand Löwe (19 February 1865 – 6 January 1925) was an Austrian conductor. Biography Löwe was born in Vienna, Austria where along with Munich, Germany his career was primarily centered. From 1896 Löwe conducted the Kaim Orchestra, to ...

founded the orchestra as the ''Wiener Concertverein'' (Vienna Concert Society). In 1913 it moved into the

Konzerthaus, Vienna The Konzerthaus is a concert hall located in Vienna, Austria, which opened in 1913. It is situated in the third district just at the edge of the first district in Vienna. Since it was founded it has always tried to emphasise both traditional and ...

. In 1919 it merged with the Tonkünstler Orchestra. In 1933 it acquired its current name. Despite a lull in concert attendance after the introduction of

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tr ...

during the 1920s, the orchestra survived until the invasion of Austria in 1938 and became incorporated into the German Culture Orchestras. As such, they were used for purposes of

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

until, depleted by assignments to work in munitions factories, the orchestra closed down on September 1, 1944. Their first post-war concert occurred on September 16, 1945, performing

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

's Symphony No. 3. Under the direction of

Josef Krips Josef Alois Krips (8 April 1902 – 13 October 1974) was an Austrian conductor and violinist. Life and career Krips was born in Vienna. His father was Josef Jakob Krips, a medical doctor and amateur singer, and his mother was Aloisia, née Seit ...

, they quickly rebuilt a modern repertoire after ten years of isolation, and travelled to the

Bregenz Festival Bregenzer Festspiele (; Bregenz Festival) is a performing arts festival which is held every July and August in Bregenz in Vorarlberg (Austria). It features a large floating stage which is situated on Lake Constance. History The Festival becam ...

for the first time in the summer of 1946. That year marked the beginning of the tenure of

Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan (; born Heribert Ritter von Karajan; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, wit ...

who, though not principal conductor, worked with the orchestra in the "Karajan Series" concerts, going on extensive tours throughout Europe and North America. In 1959. the orchestra performed for

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Roman Catholic Church, Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 28 Oc ...

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

, leading up to the debut of

Wolfgang Sawallisch Wolfgang Sawallisch (26 August 1923 – 22 February 2013) was a German conductor and pianist. Biography Wolfgang Sawallisch was born in Munich, the son of Maria and Wilhelm Sawallisch. His father was director of the Hamburg-Bremer-Feuerversich ...

. Sawallisch's leadership saw a tour of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

in 1964 as well as a combined U.S.-

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

tour in 1967. It also included the re-opening of the

Theater an der Wien The is a historic theatre in Vienna located on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district. Completed in 1801, the theatre has hosted the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music. Since 2006, it has served prima ...

in 1962. Krips returned as artistic advisor in the interim between Sawallisch's departure and the arrival of

Carlo Maria Giulini Carlo Maria Giulini (; 9 May 1914 – 14 June 2005) was an Italian conductor. From the age of five, when he began to play the violin, Giulini's musical education was expanded when he began to study at Italy's foremost conservatory, the Conserva ...

as principal conductor. In 1986,

Georges Prêtre Georges Prêtre (; 14 August 1924 – 4 January 2017) was a French orchestral and opera conductor. Biography Prêtre was born in Waziers (Nord), and attended the Douai Conservatory and then studied harmony under Maurice Duruflé and conducting ...

became principal guest conductor, and served until the arrival of

Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos (born Rafael Frühbeck; 15 September 1933 – 11 June 2014) was a Spanish conductor and composer. Frühbeck was born in Burgos, Spain to a family of German ancestry. He first took up conducting while on military serv ...

as principal conductor in 1991.

Vladimir Fedoseyev Vladimir Ivanovich Fedoseyev ( rus, Владимир Иванович Федосе́ев, p=, links=no; born 5 August 1932, in Leningrad, Soviet Union) is a Soviet and Russian conductor, accordionist, teacher. People's Artist of the USSR (1980). ...

became chief conductor in 1997 and served in the post until 2005. Prêtre and Sawallisch each held the title of ''Ehrendirigent'' (honorary conductor) of the orchestra until their respective deaths.

Fabio Luisi Fabio Luisi (born 17 January 1959) is an Italian conductor. He is currently principal conductor of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and chief conductor of the NHK Symphony Orchestra. Bio ...

was principal conductor from 2005 to 2013. In October 2011,

Philippe Jordan Philippe Jordan (born 18 October 1974) is a Swiss conductor and pianist. Biography Born in Zürich, the son of conductor Armin Jordan, he began to study piano at the age of six. At age eight, he joined the Zürcher Sängerknaben. He has ackno ...

was named the VSO's next chief conductor, effective with the 2014–2015 season, with an initial contract of 5 years In December 2016, the orchestra announced the extension of Jordan's contract as chief conductor through the 2020–2021 season. The orchestra has begun its first CD commercial cycle of recording of the Beethoven symphonies with Jordan. Jordan concluded his tenure as chief conductor at the close of the 2020–2021 season. Andrés Orozco-Estrada first guest-conducted the VSO in 2006. In March 2018, the VSO announced the appointment of Orozco-Estrada as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2021–2022 season, with an initial contract of 5 years. He is scheduled to take the title of chief conductor designate in the 2020–2021 season. Following a report that the orchestra had planned not to extend his initial contract, Orozco-Estrada resigned as chief conductor on 12 April 2022, with immediate effect.

Chief conductors

(1900–1925) * Hugo Gottesmann (1929–1933) *

Oswald Kabasta Oswald Kabasta (December 29, 1896 – February 6, 1946) was an Austrian conductor. Life and career Kabasta was born in Mistelbach, Austria and later studied with composer Franz Schmidt. In 1931 he became head of conducting at the Vienna ...

(1934–1938) * Hans Weisbach (1939–1944) *

Hans Swarowsky Hans Swarowsky (September 16, 1899September 10, 1975,) was an Austrian conductor of Hungarian birth. Swarowsky was born in Budapest, Hungary. He studied the art of conducting under Felix Weingartner and Richard Strauss. Jiří Vysloužil, ...

(1945–1947) *

(1960–1970) *

(1970–1973; Artistic Director) *

(1973–1976) *

Gennady Rozhdestvensky Gennady Nikolayevich Rozhdestvensky, CBE (russian: Генна́дий Никола́евич Рожде́ственский; 4 May 1931 – 16 June 2018) was a Soviet and Russian conductor. Biography Gennady Rozhdestvensky was born in Moscow. ...

(1980–1982) *

(1991–1996) *

(1997–2005) *

(2005–2013) *

(2014–2021) * Andrés Orozco-Estrada (2021–2022)

Other affiliated conductors

Wilhelm Furtwängler Gustav Heinrich Ernst Martin Wilhelm Furtwängler ( , , ; 25 January 188630 November 1954) was a German conductor and composer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. He was a major ...

(1927–1930; as director of the

Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde The Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien (), also known as the Wiener Musikverein (German for 'Viennese Music Association'), is an Austrian music organization that was founded in 1812 by Joseph Sonnleithner, general secretary of the Court Thea ...

) *

(1948–1964; as director of the

) * Georges Pretre (1986–1991; Principal Guest Conductor)

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Austrian orchestras Musical groups established in 1900 Musical groups from Vienna 1900 establishments in Austria