The Wiener Symphoniker are going on a European tour in their 125th anniversary season. From 2 to 15 November, the orchestra will be performing in 11 cities in Germany, the Netherlands and Hungary. Under the baton of principal conductor Petr Popelka, the programme at venues such as the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, the Berlin Philharmonic and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam will include works that have shaped the orchestra's history. 

The Wiener Symphoniker were one of the most important premiere orchestras of Viennese Modernism. But they also premiered Maurice Ravel's Concerto for the Left Hand – a work on the tour programme. 

The orchestra will also perform Gustav Mahler's First Symphony, the work that brought the Vienna orchestra and its new chief conductor together and made them ‘fall in love’ with each other. ‘Our first encounter with this piece was accompanied by an incredible magic,’ recalls Petr Popelka, ‘a musical magic that continues to this day.’ 

The programme also includes Mozart's last symphony, the ‘Jupiter’ Symphony, or the ‘Symphony with the Final Fugue’, in which Mozart once again reveals his entire symphonic mastery. It is a tribute to the classical Viennese heritage of which the symphony orchestra is particularly proud.

The pianists Jan Lisiecki (Grieg's Concerto in A minor), Lukas Sternath (Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1) and Alexander Malofeev (Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5) will be joining the tour, as will pianist Anna Vinnitskaya (Ravel's Concerto for the Left Hand).