The Wiener Konzerthaus enjoys a unique reputation as a venue that is based on three merits: Engaging with tradition in a lively way, reaching out to new audiences with a bold concert programme and being open to new developments. These virtues have accompanied the Konzerthaus since its beginnings.

A concert hall for everyone

In 1890, when Vienna was dreaming of a future home for music festivals, plans were made for a multi-purpose building that would appeal to broad sections of the population - in contrast to the traditional Musikverein. The first idea came from the architect Ludwig Baumann: his "Olympion" was to contain rooms for concerts, an ice-skating club and a bicycle club and offer space for a total of 40,000 people in an open-air arena. The plan came to nothing, but his intention lived on, as the concert hall, whose construction began in December 1911, was designed by the same Ludwig Baumann together with the famous theatre architects Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Gottlieb Helmer in such a way that its three halls (Great Hall, Mozart Hall and Schubert Hall) could be used simultaneously without the events interfering with each other.

The first years - opening in 1913

From the very beginning, the cultural purpose and artistic mission of the Wiener Konzerthaus were clear: "To be a place for the cultivation of noble music, a meeting point for artistic endeavours, a house for music and a house for Vienna." It was in this spirit that the Konzerthaus was opened on 19 October 1913 with a festive concert in the presence of Emperor Franz Joseph I. Richard Strauss composed his Festliches Präludium op. 61 for the occasion, followed by Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. This programme combination - a contemporary work and a masterpiece from the past - was to set an example for the Wiener Konzerthaus: To this day, an awareness of tradition and a love of innovation are the pillars of the Konzerthaus' musical world and form its artistic identity.

Interwar period

Social upheavals and financial crises during the interwar period had a decisive influence on the artistic profile of the Konzerthaus and led to a diversity in the cultural programme of the house that is groundbreaking from today's perspective. In addition to the continuous cultivation of the classical repertoire, the programme of the 1920s and 1930s included important world premieres, jazz and pop concerts, readings by famous writers, spiritualist lectures, expressive dance events, symposia, congresses, fencing and boxing world championships.

The years 1938 to 1945 were characterised by cultural impoverishment for the Wiener Konzerthaus. Under the devastating pressure of the National Socialist dictatorship, it degenerated into a propaganda and entertainment centre and was largely deprived of its central artistic content.

A new beginning after 1945

After the Second World War, the Konzerthaus played an important role in the revitalisation and renewal of Austrian musical life. It quickly became the leading organiser of contemporary music in Austria and a sought-after stage for international jazz in Vienna. Series of events initiated by the Konzerthaus set decisive accents in Vienna's cultural life. Since then, early music, jazz and new music have been focal points of the Konzerthaus and complement its artistic core area - classical music in the fullness of its tradition.

Wide range of programmes and offers

The unique atmosphere of the Wiener Konzerthaus not only attracts artists from the international music scene. It also provides the setting for numerous other social events, balls, conferences, dinners, company presentations and celebrations. The Wiener Konzerthaus has a long tradition of event catering dating back to the 1920s. However, the wide range of programmes and offers at the Wiener Konzerthaus clearly points to the future. Thanks to the large-scale general refurbishment (1998-2001), the time-honoured building is also equipped for the challenges of the third millennium.

Wiener Konzerthaus

Adresse
Wiener Konzerthaus
Lothringerstraße 20
A-1030 Wien

Kontakt
Telefon: +43 1 24200-0
E-Mail: ticket@konzerthaus.at
Website: www.konzerthaus.at

Tickets
Ticket- & Service-Center des Wiener Konzerthauses
Telefon: +43 1 242002
Telefax: +43 1 24200-110
E-Mail: ticket@konzerthaus.at

Öffnungszeiten
Montag bis Freitag 10.00-14.00 Uhr
An Samstagen, Sonn- und Feiertagen geschlossen
Abendkassen ab 1 Stunde vor Veranstaltungsbeginn

The Wiener Symphoniker are at home in the city's world-famous concert halls - Wiener Konzerthaus and Musikverein Wien - and regularly perform as an opera orchestra at the MusikTheater an der Wien and has been orchestra in residence at the Bregenz Festival from the very beginning.

The Wiener Symphoniker were founded in 1900 under the name Wiener Concertverein in order to realise "the long-cherished wish for a permanent symphony orchestra that would make the enjoyment of serious symphonic music accessible to wider circles". According to the founding committee, the aim was to offer "good music performed as well as possible, but at the lowest possible price". In addition to a well-founded cultivation of the classical-romantic repertoire, contemporary music was finally to be given a chance in Vienna. On 30 October 1900, the new orchestra, born out of the spirit of Viennese modernism, made its official debut under Ferdinand Löwe in the Great Hall of the Vienna Musikverein.

In its first decades, the orchestra premiered an impressive series of works which are nowadays naturally anchored in the repertoire: Anton Bruckner's Ninth Symphony, Arnold Schönberg's "Pelleas and Melisande" and his groundbreaking “Gurre-Lieder”, Maurice Ravel's Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, Alexander von Zemlinsky's "The Mermaid" and Franz Schmidt's "The Book with Seven Seals" - to name just a few. The orchestra wrote music history with bold, cutting-edge programs, among which the "Watschenkonzert" of March 31, 1913 is legendary: Arnold Schönberg conducted his own works and compositions by Zemlinsky, Webern, Berg and Mahler; the concert had to be cancelled in the middle of the performance in order to control the violent rioting in the audience.

Schönberg joins a long list of well-known composers who entrusted their works to the Wiener Symphoniker and who stepped themselves on the conductor’s desk: among others, Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, Anton von Webern and Franz Schreker were closely associated with the orchestra. The Wiener Symphoniker were also the first address in Vienna for international composers such as Claude Debussy or Béla Bartók, who repeatedly joined the orchestra as a pianist.

Repertoire maintenance and name changes
 

In addition to the commitment to contemporary music, the orchestra also set standards in cultivating the artistic heritage of the classics. Right in their first season 1900–01, they were the first Viennese orchestra to perform all of Beethoven's symphonies in a series of cyclical performances. And it was not only with Beethoven that the orchestra ensured the persistent cultivation of the symphonic repertoire which had been missing for so long. Under the direction of their first Music Director Ferdinand Löwe, they also worked tirelessly to permanently anchor Anton Bruckner and Johannes Brahms in the Viennese concert repertoire. "The history of the Wiener Konzertverein is also the history of reconciliation between conservative and progressive music Vienna", the influential Viennese music critic Richard Batka summed up the profile of the orchestra on February 19, 1915 in the Fremdenblatt.

The eventful history of the Wiener Symphoniker is also reflected in the numerous name changes in the first decades of their existence. In October 1900 the orchestra, which had appeared simply as the “Neues Philharmonisches Orchestra” a few months earlier, was founded officially under the name “Wiener Concertverein”. During the First World War, merging with the "Wiener Tonkünstlerorchester" was the only way to prevent the dissolution of the orchestra. At first they played while keeping both names, until in 1922 the administrations of both clubs were finally merged. From then on, the ensemble appeared as the “Wiener Sinfonie-Orchester” until it finally took on its name, which is still valid today, in 1933. At that time, the orchestra’s precarious financial situation was consolidated with the takeover of a large part of the orchestral services by RAVAG. But the national broadcasting company, already controlled by the corporate state, forced the re-establishment of the association and the including renegotiation of the contracts to the detriment of the musicians. This also led to a break with the Jewish violonist Hugo Gottesmann, who had had a decisive influence on the orchestra's artistic profile in the interwar period as long-time First Concertmaster and conductor.

Development work of the chief conductors
 

In the coming years, the Wiener Symphoniker and their new Music Director Oswald Kabasta celebrated their first international successes on concert tours to England and Italy. After the National Socialist’s takeover, they were municipalized which brought a significant increase in musician’s salaries - and probably also contributed to the general approval of the political regime among the members. The orchestra developed a lively concert activity in the years to come before it had to be shut down for a total of eight months in August 1944 - already considerably reduced in terms of personnel by calling up the front.

At the close of the Second World War, the orchestra was re-established under extremely difficult conditions. At the “Gala Concert for the Revitalisation of the Orchestra” on September 16, 1945, they played the Third Symphony by Gustav Mahler, whose music had been ostracized under the Nazi regime. The Music Directors Hans Swarowsky and Josef Krips were largely responsible for the post-1945 restructuring. Subsequent Music directors Herbert von Karajan (1948–1964) and Wolfgang Sawallisch (1960–1970) decisively shaped the sound of the orchestra. Following the brief return of Josef Krips, Carlo Maria Giulini and Gennady Rozhdestvensky held the position of Music Director, followed by Georges Prêtre from 1986 to 1991. Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos and Vladimir Fedoseyev then assumed leadership of the orchestra. Fabio Luisi assumed the position of Chief Conductor and Artistic Director at the start of the 2005–06 season, his successor in 2014–15 was Philippe Jordan. With the new Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada, the Wiener Symphoniker will start a new era in autumn 2020.  

Establishing the venues
 

Leading lights such as Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Claudio Abbado, Carlos Kleiber and Sergiu Celibidache have also celebrated considerable successes as guest conductors on the podium of the Wiener Symphoniker. In addition to being featured on major symphonic series at the Musikverein and Konzerthaus, the Wiener Symphoniker present their own subscription concerts since the early 1980s along with their own chamber music series. A large number of high-quality CD recordings document the orchestra’s artistic legacy.

The Wiener Symphoniker have been the Orchestra in Residence at the Bregenzer Festspiele since 1946. The orchestra is not only responsible for opera productions by the lakeside and in the Festspielhaus, but is also regularly represented in several orchestral concerts on the festival program. Since 2006, the Wiener Symphoniker have also played for a number of opera productions at the Theater an der Wien, all of which serves to underscore the orchestra’s prominent position in the musical life of Vienna.

The Wiener Symphoniker thank all supporters, partners, sponsors and subsidisers who support their artistic work. Their contribution ensures the outstanding musical quality of the orchestra and enables the realisation of extraordinary projects.

Subsidiser

Sponsors

Partners

Special thanks go to
Angelica Röhr
Peter Kotzbek
Verena Alice Lüthi
Friedrich Wieser
George Wm. Hamilton
Dr.in Alice Ludwig
Winfried Kallinger
Mag. Peter Jedlicka
Mag. Almuth Graf

To this day the Wiener Symphoniker honor the core commitment of its founding year in 1900: Making music available to everyone. With your support, you enable us to lead innovative projects into the future, such as the chamber music series in Vienna's museums, the Open Air Concert Prater-Picnic, the Wiener Advent at St. Stephen's Cathedral, performances in districts across Vienna and the WSY Talent award for young talents.

As a thank you, you will receive discounts on ticket purchases and invitations to attend selected dress rehearsals, receptions, artist-talks and guided tours. The Wiener Symphoniker look forward to welcoming you as a supporter, friend or patron in this season!

Donations

Would you like to support our orchestra with an individual donation? With your contribution we can develop and further new concert formats and educational programs for young audiences.

Donations Account
Wiener Symphoniker
IBAN: AT26 1200 0100 1116 4356
BIC: BKAUATWW

Your donation to the Wiener Symphoniker is tax-deductible. Please provide us with your date of birth (for telebanking in the "reason for payment" field).

Sponsoring

Become a partner of the Wiener Symphoniker!

As a sponsor of the Wiener Symphoniker you colaborate with one of the most renowned players of the international cultural scene. Whether you are our main sponsor or a sponsor of individual concerts, such as guest performances, international concert tours or supporter of our children’s and young people’s programme, we offer attractive incentives and a strong public presence:

• Free and price reduced ticket packages
• Meet and Greets our artists
• Invitations to exclusive events
• Ample advertising and PR opportunities
• Option to invite musicians to your events
• Further offers per agreement

We would be delighted to create a sponsoring package that meets your unique needs.

Contact

Theresa Thompson
Development
T +43 (0)1 / 589 79-31
M t.thompson@wienersymphoniker.at

Echo of the City is the motto of the Wiener Symphonikers' new season! This season they will consciously enter into dialogue with the city and its inhabitants and continue to present themselves as a living part of Vienna. In the two main venues, the Wiener Konzerthaus and the Musikverein Wien, over 80 concerts will feature great conductors such as Alain Altinoglu, Susanna Mälkki, Robin Ticciati, Karina Canellakis and Petr Popelka as well as top-class virtuosos such as María Dueñas, Joshua Bell, Rudolf Buchbinder and Leonidas Kavakos.

New this season: the popular chamber music series with an exclusive guided tour on the theme of the evening moves further into the city - to no less than three new, inspiring venues: At the Arnold Schönberg Center, the Austrian National Library and the Mozart-Saal of the Wiener Konzerthaus, chamber music ensembles of the Wiener Symphoniker will focus on the jubilarians Anton Bruckner and Arnold Schönberg.

The programme naturally includes the Wiener Symphoniker's annual highlights: the Wiener Advent - the Advent concert in St. Stephen's Cathedral, the film music concert in the Cinema:Sound series and the Easter concert Springtime in Vienna - both in the Musikverein, the Beisl concerts - this year in the most beautiful bars in the Servitenviertel and, of course, the big Prater Picnic on the last school day before the summer holidays.

Principal Guest Conductor: Marie Jacquot

Marie Jacquot will become Principal Guest Conductor of the Wiener Symphoniker at the beginning of the season. She succeeds Lahav Shani, who held this position until summer 2020. The French conductor will lead 14 concerts - including the Wiener Advent and the concert tour through Austria - bringing new repertoire with her.

Artistic focus: Schönberg and Bruckner

A programmatic focus is dedicated to the two annual regents Anton Bruckner on the occasion of his 200th birthday and Arnold Schönberg on the occasion of his 150th birthday.

With Verklärte Nacht for string sextet and in the version for string orchestra, Erwartung, Kol Nidre and the Violin Concerto op. 36, the orchestra will explore the oeuvre of Arnold Schönberg. Anton Bruckner, for example, will be honoured by Pablo Heras-Casado, who will interpret his Fourth Symphony with us and confront its romanticism with Georg Friedrich Haas' Joshua Tree. Lahav Shani conducts Bruckner's Fifth, Manfred Honeck the Eighth. Finally, Constantinos Carydis organises what is probably the composer's most complex work when he leads the Wiener Symphoniker and its soloists through his Te Deum.

Season brochure 23-24

You will find our season with all concerts and subscriptions, the thematic focal points as well as texts on interpreters and composers in our season brochure. Browse through it online, download it as a PDF or order it free of charge: Click here for the season brochure 23-24.

At home in Vienna

When the Wiener Symphoniker survey the echo of their city, they are as much at home in their living rooms - the Wiener Konzerthaus and the Musikverein Wien - as they are in the Beisln, the Spielkäfige or the Prater.

This season, the chamber music series conquers two completely new venues: the Arnold Schönberg Center and the Austrian National Library. Of course, the city's two landmarks are not to be missed: In St. Stephen's Cathedral, the Wiener Symphoniker and its Principal Guest Conductor Marie Jacquot take a winter journey through European music history. And at the end of school they invite you to a Prater Picnic in front of the spectacular backdrop of the Vienna Giant Ferris Wheel. For the second round of Beisl concerts, the Wiener Symphoniker have chosen the Servitenviertel this season. And of course, chamber music ensembles of the orchestra will once again make music in the city's football cages.

At home in the world

With 30 concerts in 9 countries, the orchestra takes the Viennese sound out into the world again. International tours take the Wiener Symphoniker through Europe with Jaap van Zweden and Petr Popelka. Omer Meir Wellber accompanies the orchestra to Japan, Korea and Hong Kong. And on the annual concert tour through Austria, concertmaster Dalibor Karvay can be experienced together with Marie Jacquot in Graz and Salzburg.

The Wiener Symphoniker as an opera orchestra

Stefan Herheim's first season as artistic director of the MusikTheater an der Wien whetted the appetite for more. The MuseumsQuartier, the alternative venue, let not miss the house on Wienzeile, which is being renovated for several seasons. The Wiener Symphoniker are delighted to be staging two operas here this season: the Czech folk opera Schwanda, The Bagpiper by Jaromir Weinberger conducted by Petr Popelka and the children's opera Where the wild things are by Maurice Sendak.

At the Bregenz Festival, where the orchestra has been providing the good sound since its founding year in 1946, Verdi's opera Ernani is on the programme this summer alongside Madame Butterfly directed by Andreas Homoki.

Open Symphony: Music for everybody

With more than 20 specially designed concerts and around 60 workshops, the Wiener Symphoniker offer thousands of children, schoolchildren, families and adults their first, more in-depth or even unexpected experience of classical music every year.

The family concerts and the school concerts with accompanying workshops have three special themes this season: Film Music from Christmas Films, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy's Violin Concerto and a new Concerto for Percussion by Johannes Maria Staud. In the MuseumsQuartier, a family opera, Where the wild things are, is once again on the programme. The cage concerts in Vienna's football and play cages with the cultural association ARGE Henriette will also continue in the 23-24 season. For the third time the WSY Talent Prize is awarded. Outstanding young musicians are given the opportunity to rehearse and perform solo works with the Wiener Symphoniker - for the first time at the ORF Radio Kulturhaus and with Emmanuel Tjeknavorian on the podium.

Subscriptions: the best concerts in a package

The Wiener Symphoniker offer seven cycles in cooperation with the Wiener Konzerthausgesellschaft. All subscriptions can be booked via our website as well as via the Ticket and Service Centre of the Wiener Konzerthaus.

To the subscriptions

The promotion of young musicians is a special concern of the Wiener Symphoniker. In cooperation with the youth music competition prima la musica, they award exceptional musical talents between the ages of 14 and 19 with the WSY Talent Award every season, and invite them to perform together on stage.

Together with the Wiener Symphoniker the finalists then work on a solo piece with orchestral accompaniment, and play it with the orchestra in a public concert.

We thank you for the support:
George Wm. Hamilton
Dr.in Alice Ludwig
Winfried Kallinger
Mag. Peter Jedlicka
Mag. Almuth Graf