The Wiener Symphoniker will kick off the season with two extraordinary concerts in September 2024 with its new chief conductor Petr Popelka. They will perform Arnold Schönberg's monumental Gurre-Lieder at the Musikverein, while Popelka's very personal programme will take centre stage at his inaugural concert at the Wiener Konzerthaus. Both concerts are already on sale!

World premiere as it was 111 years ago

It was one of the biggest concerts in Vienna's history: large orchestra, choir and soloists. In 1913, the Wiener Symphoniker premiered Arnold Schönberg's Gurre-Lieder at the Musikverein, and the music-historical reverberations continue to this day. Now our new chief conductor Petr Popelka is taking on this work - together with the premiere choir, the Singverein der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, and a Champions League ensemble with Angela Denke, Florian Boesch, Vera-Lotte Boecker and David Butt. A major musical event that unites both the Schönberg anniversary and the 125th anniversary season of the Wiener Symphoniker.

Popelka personally

In his official inaugural concert at the Wiener Konzerthaus, Petr Popelka brings his great composer hero with him: Béla Bartók. ‘When I open a score by Bartók, it's always a source of inspiration for me,’ says Popelka, ‘the special thing is that he composes in a highly complex way, but appeals to everyone.’ For the inaugural concert, he has chosen the Concerto for Orchestra, ‘because every instrumental group is challenged here.’ Also his choice: the exceptional Russian pianist Anna Vinnitskaya, who will play the first piano concerto by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. An inaugural concert that is particularly close to the heart of the chief conductor and the orchestra. 

Get your tickets now for the first concerts with Petr Popelka as chief conductor of the Wiener Symphoniker!