The 2018-19 season marks five years since the first edition of the series Fridays@7. The combination of a short and snappy concert at 7pm in the Great Hall of the Wiener Konzerthaus followed by an unconventional wind-down with music from the evening’s performers in the Foyer has been a hit with audiences from the start. Where else can stars such as Julia Fischer, Fazıl Say or Joshua Bell be seen both in a symphonic setting and up-close playing chamber music or improvising jazz all on the same evening? Accordingly, the 2018-19 series features short programmes without an interval, followed by rather special, relaxed and often surprising encounters with the performers from the first part of the evening in the Grand Foyer. Some illustrious guests are already lined up for the five dates, with Jennifer Johnston and Stephen Hough expected as well as Philippe Jordan and Nikolaj Znaider. There’s a very special treat in store at the end of the series: the Janoska Ensemble is joined by Julian Rachlin to present its “Vienna Connection”. With its breathtakingly virtuosic and deeply personal vision of modern performance, it will turn Tuesday, just this once, into Friday.