Orchestras thrive on inspiration, and the Wiener Symphoniker like to get theirs from exciting guests. The guest conductors in particular open up new horizons, bring fresh impetus and make people sit up and take notice. They are the mainstay alongside Petr Popelka.

This season, the line-up of guests is particularly diverse and international. Nathalie Stutzmann, who has just conducted in Bayreuth, celebrates her orchestral debut - in an emotional programme with Prokofiev and Shostakovich. Also making his debut is the young Baltic conductor Aivis Greters, who will interpret Strauss' Burleske with Symphony Orchestra friend Rudolf Buchbinder and bring along an exciting composition by his Latvian compatriot Ēriks Ešenvalds. The Russian conductor and chief conductor of the Bavarian State Opera Vladimir Jurowski will conduct Mahler's 6th Symphony, while the British conductor Robin Ticciati will draw inspiration from his experience in Berlin and Glyndebourne when he conducts Schoenberg's Ode to Napoleon Bonaparte (with Cornelius Obonya) and Beethoven's 5th Piano Concerto (with Kirill Gerstein). Frenchman Alain Altinoglu immerses himself in the worlds of Mussorgsky and Shostakovich with the Symphony Orchestra and conducts two all-time masterpieces by his compatriots Claude Debussy (La Mer) and Maurice Ravel (La Valse).

The founder of Collegium 1704, Václav Luks, will bring his expertise in early music when he conducts a first-class Christmas Oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach.  The Chinese conductor Elim Chan, who is also chief conductor in Antwerp, will provide further tonal colours. She will be performing Rachmaninov and Beethoven's 2nd Piano Concerto, interpreted by Seong-Jin Cho.