Over the course of the 2018-19 season, the Wiener Symphoniker presents more than 160 concerts, operas and other performances under the motto “Musik handgemacht”. Johannes Neubert, Managing Director of the Wiener Symphoniker, explains: “Our intention with the motto is to emphasise that, notwithstanding our efforts to be ever more present, efficient and versatile, our work is ultimately profoundly human – and made by hand. The Wiener Symphoniker are probably playing more concerts in the coming season than in any other in their history. But in the end quality has to be more important to us than any purely quantitative criteria. As does, of course, the question of whether we’ve been able to move our audiences with our music-making.”

The orchestra will perform with 32 conductors in 2018-19.  Music Director Philippe Jordan conducts the orchestra 22 times; Principal Guest Conductor Lahav Shani 11 times. The 2018-19 Artist in Residence will be Nikolaj Znaider, who will appear both as violinist and conductor. More than 130 works by 53 composers are on the programme. In addition to the great monuments of the symphonic repertoire, the orchestra will play world and Austrian premieres of works by Dieter Ammann, Thomas Larcher, Julia Purgina and Malte Giesen. 
With 96 performances in its hometown, the concert orchestra of the city of Vienna will remain the foundation of musical life in this world capital of music in the coming season. In addition to the performances in established concert halls – the Wiener Konzerthaus, Musikverein and the Theater an der Wien – the orchestra is also continuing its much-loved “Grätzl” concerts in unusual venues in Vienna’s residential neighbourhoods. At the same time, with 63 concerts and opera performances in the rest of Austria, China, Germany, France and Spain, it’s clear that interest in the orchestra is constantly growing internationally. As part of their travels, the Wiener Symphoniker will perform for the first time in Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie. 

Focus on Hector Berlioz
The centrepiece of this artistic activity is a seven-part concert project in which the major works of the French composer Hector Berlioz will be performed. The orchestra will also focus on the symphonic work of Robert Schumann. Alan Gilbert presents a two-part concert programme with music from Bohemia and Moravia. A concert series entitled “Leading Soloists” features artists including Rudolf Buchbinder, Leonidas Kavakos and Lahav Shani performing as soloists while also conducting the orchestra.   
Philippe Jordan, Chief Conductor of the Wiener Symphoniker, explains: “After our work on Bartók and Beethoven in recent years, we’re now devoting ourselves to another great visionary and innovator of musical history, Berlioz. He is to orchestration what Mozart is to melody, Beethoven is to form and Bach to counterpoint. Robert  Schumann’s symphonies are also, in a certain way, a logical step, showing as they do how Schumann came into Beethoven’s inheritance in the search for new forms of expression.”

Collaboration with outstanding guest conductors and world-class soloists 
In addition to Music Director Philippe Jordan, who will direct concerts in Vienna as well as an extended tour through Germany and Belgium, numerous prestigious guest conductors will stand on the Symphoniker’s podium. Prominent among these is Lahav Shani, who will take up his role as Principal Guest Conductor in the coming season, and will conduct a total of 11 concerts. As well as established conductors such as Alan Gilbert, Manfred Honeck and David Zinman, younger members of the symphonic guest conductor family including Jakub Hrůša, Francois-Xavier Roth, Alain Altinoglu and Lorenzo Viotti will also be represented.  Three leading women conductors, Susanna Mälkki, Karina Canellakis and Oksana Lyniv, will direct the orchestra. Among the soloists will be such outstanding representatives of international musical life as Rudolf Buchbinder, Kate Aldrich, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Renaud and Gautier Capuçon, Harriet Krijgh, Matthias Goerne, Krassimira Stoyanova, Thomas Hampson and Yuja Wang.

The orchestra’s own cycles
In addition to the cycles put on by the Musikfreunde (Society of Friends of Music in Vienna) in the Musikverein and the performances as opera orchestra at the Theater an der Wien and as Orchestra in Residence at the Bregenz Festival, the Wiener Symphoniker will once again present their own cycles in cooperation with the Wiener Konzerthausgesellschaft (Konzerthaus Society). The orchestra will continue not only its traditional flagship programme, the ten-part Wiener Symphoniker Cycle, but also the successful concert series Fridays@7, the matinee series with Barbara Rett and the festive gala concerts. The successfully introduced music education programmes Vorhören! and Neu(es) Hören will be continued. The Chamber Music Festival established last season will be repeated in 2018-19.