This edition of the exclusive Vienna Phil subscription concerts, conducted by young conducting superstar Jakub Hrusa, features a carefully and beautifully selected programme of Czech and Hungarian music: Hrusa seizes every opportunity to derive additional bursts of energy from the rhythm and tension of the music, savours melodic developments and spurs the Philharmonic on to soloistic high-wire acts. Kodaly’s brilliance, Bartok’s fascinating motor skills, Dvorak’s picturesque fairy-tale sounds, Janacek’s austere grandeur: an opulent and haunting combination” (Die Presse). PROGRAM Kodaly: Dances Of Galanta; Bartok: The Miraculous Mandarin; Dvorak: The Wild Dove; Janacek: Taras Bulba (Rhapsody)
Salzburg Festival 2025: Mozart – Mass in C minor
The Salzburg Festival brings Mozart’s monumental, unfinished Great Mass in C minor to St. Peter’s Abbey Church – the beautiful church for which the piece was composed and where it was probably also premiered. Gianluca Capuano conducts the orchestra Les Musiciens du Prince – Monaco and the vocal ensemble Il Canto di Orfeo. Mélissa Petit and Patricia Nolz are an “outstanding female duo” (Die Presse): Pétit’s coloraturas “sparkle like precious gems” and Nolz’s “darkly-shaded, slender soprano blends beautifully” (Salzburger Nachrichten)
Wiener Philharmoniker: Tugan Sokhiev & Martha Argerich
“Glaring drama and bizarre comedy, lyrical poetry and gripping, vivid theatricality: Argerich demonstrated this par excellence in Prokofiev” (Der Standard). Under Tugan Sokhiev, the Wiener Philharmoniker presents two masterpieces of the early 20th century: Classical icon Martha Argerich interprets Sergei Prokofiev’s Third Piano Concerto with “great dexterity and fire” (Die Presse), “Thunderous cheers and bravos!” (Kronenzeitung). Igor Stravinsky’s ballet music “Petrushka” (1911 version) was transformed by Sokhiev “into a furious sound theatre” (Kurier). PROGRAM Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3; Scarlatti: Sonata, K.141; Stravinsky: Petrushka – Suite
Wiener Philharmoniker: Thielemann conducts Brahms
Continuing their ongoing Brahms cycle, Thielemann and the Wiener Philharmoniker bring a “combination of magnificent sound and deep meaning” (Kurier) to their interpretation of the Fourth Symphony. Gautier Capuçon and Augustin Hadelich “enchanted” (Der Standard) with the Double Concerto for violin and cello. “Thieleman, Capuçon, Hadelich – the very best for Brahms” (Kurier) Program: Brahms: Concerto for Violin and Violoncello in A Minor, op. 102, Hungarian Dance No. 5, arranged for Cello and Violin, Symphony No. 4
Wiener Philharmoniker: Yannick Nezet-Seguin conducts Beethoven & Strauss
Yannick Nézet-Séguin gives his successful debut at the renowned, highly exclusive subscription concerts of the Wiener Philharmoniker. Joining him is piano legend Yefim Bronfman, who lives up to his reputation: “It was gratifying to hear how, in Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto, a relaxed, silky-smooth beauty of sound repeatedly gave way to wiry accents of tension” (Der Standard). Bronfman proved an “ideal partner” (Kronenzeitung) for Nézet-Séguin and the Philharmoniker, who were “entirely in harmony with the soloist” (Die Presse). In the second half of the concert, “Richard Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben was given a refreshingly invigorating shake-up” (Der Standard). Program: Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3; Strauss: Ein Heldenleben; Debussy: Images II, III. Poissons d’or
125 Years Wiener Symphoniker – The Anniversary Concert
The Wiener Symphoniker celebrate their anniversary at the Wiener Musikverein, the very place where their inaugural concert took place 125 years ago. The concert looks back to the orchestra’s very first program in 1900 with Wagner’s rarely performed Faust Overture. It also celebrates two landmark premieres: In Alban Berg’s Seven Early Songs, “the orchestra provided Hanna-Elisabeth Müller with a soundscape reminiscent of an Art Nouveau painting” (Kurier); Anna Vinnitskaya’s performance of Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the Left Hand was “gripping and full of energy” (Der Standard) The evening concludes with Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony, performed an extraordinary 282 times over the orchestra’s 125-year history. PROGRAM Wagner: Faust Overture; Berg: Sieben Frühe Lieder (Seven Early Songs); Ravel: Piano Concerto for the Left Hand; Mozart: Symphony No. 41
Salzburg Festival 2025: Mozart Matinee with Gonzalez-Monjas
The program of this Mozart Matinee with Roberto González-Monjas highlights Mozart’s vocal music including arias and cantatas. On this regard, an highlight is the Die Maurerfreude — Cantata for tenor, male choir and orchestra K. 471 performed by Bogdan Volkov and the Bachchor Salzburg together with the attempted reconstruction of the original version of the Maurerische Trauermusik. Bass Manuel Winckhler joins Bogdan Volkov as a soloist are then performing arias from Don Giovanni, Die Zauberflöte and La clemenza di Tito. To conclude, the Mozarteum Orchestra delivers a splendid performance of Symphony in E-flat major K. 543.
Mozartwoche 2025: Gonzales-Monjas, Gabriela Montero & Lauren Snouffer
“With great momentum and a sense of drama” (Die Presse), this Mozart Week opening concert leaves nothing to be desired. González-Monjas “coaxed boundless energy out of the orchestra” (SN). Soprano Lauren Snouffer dazzled with Haydn and pianist Gabriela Montero offered a “fiery performance” (Das Opernmagazin) of Mozart’s piano concerto KV 466: “Montero (…) led the audience into romantic sound worlds, while in the encore she improvised on Cherubino’s “Voi sapete” and ended with Bach “à la Stokowski” (Salzburger Nachrichten).
The Vienna Christmas Concert at St. Stephen’s Cathedral
From traditional Christmas carols to John Williams soundtracks – the Vienna Christmas Concert in Vienna’s grand St. Stephen’s cathedral is sure to put anybody in a festive mood! This edition features French conductor Stéphane Denève at the helm of the Wiener Symphoniker and the Singverein der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, presenting a programme that spans the gamut of festive music, including Mozart’s Laudate Dominum with soprano Rosa Feola, to Saint- Saëns’ Ave Maria with mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey, pieces from Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel and chorus hits from the beloved Christmas film Home Alone
Daniele Gatti conducts Stravinsky & Shostakovich
Featuring two contrasting pieces that could not be more different, Daniele Gatti leads the Wiener Philharmoniker in one of their exclusive subscription concerts. Stravinsky’s rarely performed ballet suite Apollon Musagète starts off the concert, in which Gatti “carefully and objectively brings out Stravinsky’s neoclassical style as in a copperplate engraving” (Kurier). After, the Wiener Philharmoniker take on the masterpiece that is Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10 in E minor, “bringing the dystopian crescendos of the first movement to bear just as grippingly as the steamhammer scherzo and the happy ending. The wind solos are inspired across the board, from the clarinet lament to a warm Mahler horn to the final bassoon jubilation: cheers at the Musikverein” (Der Standard). PROGRAM: Stravinsky – Apollon Musagète, ballet suite; Shostakovich – Symphonie Nr. 10, Op. 93