The Wiener Tonkünstler-Orchester was an orchestra association in Vienna, which existed until 1933.

History

The predecessor institution was the Tonkünstler-Sozietät, which was founded in 1771 on the initiative of the composer

Florian Leopold Gassmann Florian Leopold Gassmann (3 May 1729 – 21 January 1774) was a German-speaking Bohemian opera composer of the transitional period between the baroque and classical eras. He was one of the principal composers of ''dramma giocoso'' immediat ...

. The partnership was to organise musical events for the public in Vienna. The oratorio '' Betulia liberata'', composed by Gassmann and

premiere A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work. History Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the ...

d on 19 March 1772, was the first performance of the partnership, whose main task was to care for the widows and orphans of deceased members. The name of the orchestra goes back to this historical musical institution and lived on in the Wiener Tonkünstler-Orchester, founded at the beginning of the 20th century, which gave its first concert on 10 October 1907 in the

Wiener Musikverein The ( or ; ), commonly shortened to , is a concert hall in Vienna, Austria, which is located in the Innere Stadt district. The building opened in 1870 and is the home of the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra. The acoustics of the building's 'Great ...

under the conductors

Oskar Nedbal Oskar Nedbal (26 March 1874 – 24 December 1930) was a Czech violist, composer, and conductor of classical music. Early life Nedbal was born in Tábor, in southern Bohemia. He studied the violin at the Prague Conservatory under Antonín Ben ...

Hans Pfitzner Hans Erich Pfitzner (5 May 1869 – 22 May 1949) was a German composer, conductor and polemicist who was a self-described anti-modernist. His best known work is the post-Romantic opera ''Palestrina'' (1917), loosely based on the life of the ...

and

Bernhard Stavenhagen Bernhard Stavenhagen (24 November 1862 – 25 December 1914) was a German pianist, composer and conductor. His musical style was influenced by Franz Liszt, and as a conductor he was a strong advocate of new music. Biography Born in Greiz, he comm ...

with works by Goldmark, Grieg, Liszt and Beethoven. The Vienna Tonkünstler Orchestra made music history in 1913 with the world premiere of Arnold Schönberg's ''

Gurre-Lieder ' (''Songs of Gurre Castle, Gurre'') is a tripartite oratorio followed by a Melodrama, melodramatic epilogue for five vocal soloists, narrator, three choruses, and grand orchestra. The work, which is based on an early song cycle for soprano, te ...

'' under the conduct of

Franz Schreker Franz Schreker (originally ''Schrecker''; 23 March 1878 – 21 March 1934) was an Austrian composer, conductor, librettist, teacher and administrator. Primarily a composer of operas, Schreker developed a style characterized by aesthetic pluralit ...

. The Sunday afternoon concerts of the Tonkünstler Orchestra were very popular with the Viennese public. During the First World War, the Tonkünstler Orchestra and the so-called Wiener Concertverein had to merge due to material hardship. In 1921, this became the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, succeeded by the Wiener Symphoniker. However, the association of the Tonkünstler Orchestra remained in existence as a concert organiser until 1933.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Orchestras in Vienna Disbanded orchestras 1771 establishments in the Habsburg monarchy 1771 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 18th-century establishments in Austria 1933 disestablishments in Austria

History

Further reading

References

External links