“Thielemann, Levit and the Wiener Philharmoniker act like a single musical soul” (Kurier) The collaboration between Christian Thielemann and the Wiener Philharmoniker in their Brahms cycle is truly something special. One of the highlights is pianist Igor Levit’s passionate take on Brahms’ Piano Concerto in D minor. Critics have raved about how beautifully he connects with the orchestra, bringing out the nuances in the piece. After that stunning performance, they dive into Brahms’ Symphony No. 2, which impresses with its powerful moments and delicate details. Thielemann’s guidance, combined with the orchestra’s skill, really shines, setting a high bar for concert performances. PROGRAM: Brahms – Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15; Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73
Springtime in Vienna 2024
Say goodbye to winter blues with this musical bouquet of wonderful melodies. Every year, the Wiener Symphoniker ring in the spring season with their Easter Concert, which has been a major highlight of Vienna’s musical calendar for more than 40 years. This edition features conductor Manfred Honeck, the Singverein der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien and world-class soprano Diana Damrau, who dazzles the audience with Puccini’s “O mio babbino caro”, Lehár’s “Meine Lippen, sie küssen so heiß” and Poulenc’s “Gloria” among others. PROGRAM: Music by Bruckner, Brahms, Puccini, Lehar, Orff, Poulenc.
Vienna Boys Choir – 525th Anniversary Concert
Boys have been singing at Vienna’s “Hofburgkapelle” since 1296. In 1498, the future Emperor Maximilian I moved his court and court music from various residences to Vienna. In doing so, he had laid the foundation for the Wiener Hofmusikkapelle and eventually also for the Wiener Sängerknaben (The Vienna Boys Choir). In this festive jubilee concert at Vienna’s Musikverein celebrating the 525th anniversary of the choir, the Wiener Sängerknaben and all choirs associated to it, the Chorus Primus, the Wiener Chormädchen, the Chorus Juventus and the “alumni” forming the Chorus Viennensis, are singing works that are all especially related to the choir – by Ludwig Senfl and Josquin Desprez, the Strauss dynasty or also by Mozart, Haydn and Bruckner, some of them recorded for the very first time.
Salzburg Festival 2023: Nelsons conducts Berg, Bach and Mahler
In this concert, the Wiener Philharmoniker under the baton of Andris Nelsons are focusing on a “heavenly” pairing of works: Alban Berg’s Violin Concerto, entitled “To the Memory of an Angel” is combined with Mahler’s Fourth Symphony, in the last movement of which the poem “Das himmlische Leben” (Heavenly Life) is set to music. With this performance, young German-American violinist August Hadelich gave his debut at the Salzburg Festival and thrilled the press: “The fabulous Augustin Hadelich filled the difficult solo part with emotion and fragility, his performance was sensitive and yet glowing.” (Die Presse) With Mahler’s Fourth Symphony, Andris Nelsons performs “a Mahler miracle of quiet tones” (Volksblatt) – together with German soprano Christiane Karg (“subtle and with beautifully coloured soprano”, Kurier) as the soloist of the finale of the symphony. The concert is part of the Mahler cycle of the Wiener Philharmoniker and Andris Nelsons.
Grafenegg: Midsummer Night’s Gala 2023
For a decade and a half, the Midsummer Night’s Gala has ushered-in the summer season at the Wolkenturm. It is also Grafenegg’s flagship media event, televised around the world. The best artists take centre stage, casting their spell over the audience amidst the idyllic scenery of the Castle grounds. For the cast of this edition – Lithuanian soprano Asmik Grigorian, American tenor Eric Cutler and French cellist Gautier Capuçon – Yutaka Sado, principal conductor of the Tonkünstler-Orchester, has put together a dramatic gala programme, with works by Verdi, Wagner, Puccini, Prokofiev, Leoncavallo and Dvorák. “Eric Cutler’s tenor was soaring, Gautier Capuçon’s cello melting, the Tonkünstler Orchestra sovereign. And simply stunning the soprano of Lithuania’s opera superstar Asmik Grigorian” (Niederösterreichische Nachrichten)
Anne-Sophie Mutter & Mutter’s Virtuosi
For years, Anne-Sophie Mutter has been performing together with various scholarship students of her foundation – in order to familiarize them with the life of a professional musician and to introduce them to a broader audience. In spring 2011 she also launched the project Mutter’s Virtuosi: This ensemble under the musical direction of the violinist consists of current and former scholarship holders of the of the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation as well as several other young musicians. This concert at Vienna’s Musikverein includes works by J. S. Bach, his Violin Concerto No. 1 and the Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, Vivaldi’s concert for three violins in F major, the Violin Concerto in A major by Joseph Bologne as well as the Nonet by André Previn, a commission for Mutter’s Virtuosi.
Salzburg Festival 2023: Matinee with Antonello Manacorda & Golda Schultz
The Mozart Matinees, concerts given at the Great Hall of the Mozarteum Foundation at the weekends during the Salzburg Festival, were established in 1921 and have in the meantime assumed legendary status. In this Mozart Matinee, Italian conductor Antonello Manacorda at the podium of the Mozarteumorchester and South African soprano Golda Schultz present a fine selection of arias that Mozart composed to texts by Lorenzo Da Ponte. The arias are framed by Mozart’s First Symphony and the “Jupiter” Symphony, his very last.
Salzburg Festival 2023: Roberto González-Monjas conducts the Mozarteum Orchestra
Roberto González-Monjas, designated principal conductor of the Mozarteum Orchestra, “put an interpretive exclamation mark on his Festival premiere with a purely sacred programme”: Mozart’s Coronation Mass, the main work of the evening, is combined with two church sonatas, the famous motet “Exsultate, jubilate” for soprano and orchestra and the equally famous choral work “Ave verum corpus”. Together with a young quartet of singers led by soprano Nikola Hillebrand (in her “Exsultate” she is “crystal-clear in sound, technically precise and sensitive in interpretation”), González-Monjas provides “youthful and cheeky pathos and a breath of fresh air” (Salzburger Nachrichten)
Vienna Prater Picnic Concert
With their Prater Picnic, the Wiener Symphoniker offer a very special open-air concert to their audience: visitors are invited to pack their picnic basket and enjoy a colourful concert on the Kaiserwiese in the Vienna Prater in front of the spectacular backdrop of the Vienna Giant Ferris Wheel. This year, under the musical direction of Dirk Kaftan, the Wiener Symphoniker, together with soprano Vera-Lotte Boecker and baritone Rafael Fingerlos, embark on a musical journey around the world to mark the 150th anniversary of the Vienna World’s Fair of 1873 – with works by composers of this era from Robert Stolz and George Enescu to George Gershwin, Cole Porter and John Lennon.
Salzburg Festival 2023: Daniil Trifonov
Grammy Award-winning pianist Daniil Trifonov has made a spectac ular ascent of the classical music world. Combining consummate technique with rare sensitivity and depth, his performances are a perpetual source of awe. “He has everything and more, […] tender ness and also the demonic element. I never heard anything like that,” marveled pianist Martha Argerich. In this Salzburg recital, the “keyboard magician” (Salzburger Nachrichten) spans the spectrum between classical and early modern. Works from Mozart, Schumann and Tchaikovsky to Skriabin, Ravel and Rachmaninoff are performed – a “witch’s work of pianistic virtuosity”. (Standard)