The promise of a Strauss double-bill with the Wiener Philharmoniker would be enough to have most concertgoers swooning – add in audience favourite Asmik Grigorian and Maestro Gustavo Dudamel, and the Salzburg audience could not be more ecstatic. Grigorian interpreted Strauss’ Vier letzte Lieder with “penetrating intensity” (VN), capturing the fleeting emotions of each song: “She effortlessly savours Strauss’s soaring flights of fancy and lavishes herself on his wide-ranging cantilenas” (BR Klassik). After this moving performance, Dudamel and the orchestra take the audience on a musical hike with Strauss’ tone poem Eine Alpensinfonie. “Gustavo Dudamel’s interpretation…is so vividly real. The orchestra once again delivers a brilliant performance of expressive, joyfully committed playing” (Opera Online).
Lorenzo Viotti conducts the Wiener Philharmoniker
“The Wiener Philharmoniker are phenomenal anyway. Under Lorenzo Viotti they were intoxicating: the strings sizzled, the audience raved” (Hamburger Abendblatt) Lorenzo Viotti makes a striking debut with the Wiener Philharmoniker, starting with Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio espagnol, which captivates the audience with its dynamic contrasts. He then shifts to Rachmaninoff’s Isle of the Dead, transforming it into a “theater of sound.” Finally, with Dvorák’s Symphony No. 7, Viotti showcases his temperament, balancing powerful fortissimo and soft, clear accents. PROGRAM: Rimsky-Korsakov – Capriccio espagnol; Rachmaninoff – Isle of the Dead; Dvorak – Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op. 70
Franz Welser-Möst conducts Schönberg, Strauss and Ravel
In this subscription concert, Franz Welser-Möst and the Wiener Philharmoniker whisk the audience away to the early 20th century and its variety of styles, from preserving tradition to embracing modernity. Starting with Hindemith’s Konzertmusik for wind orchestra, the superb wind section shows what they are made of: “From the very first fanfare sounds of the opening movement you could feel the fun they had” (Die Presse). With the rarely performed Strauss fantasy on Die Frau ohne Schatten, Ravel’s La Valse and Schönberg’s Variations for orchestra, Welser-Möst shows top form at the podium: “It’s impressive how Welser-Möst gives each piece its own aura. How he leads the perfectly studied musicians to snappy steps and artfully stylised dance forms, or how he revels in the splendour of sound in Strauss and Ravel” (Kronenzeitung).
Thielemann conducts Brahms
“There is no clearer plea for a Brahms cycle with this conductor and this pianist” (Kurier) said the press about this concert by the Wiener Philharmoniker under the direction of Christian Thielemann. It is the continuation of their Brahms cycle, the performance of all of the composer’s symphonies and instrumental concertos. This part of the cycle includes Brahms’ Third Symphony and his Second Piano Concerto, which is considered one of the most difficult concertos in the piano literature. The exceptional pianist Igor Levit takes up this challenge and “seemingly took the heaviness out of the solo parts, […] his wondrous Brahms feeling enchanted in moments of floating tempi as well as in the midst of fine mists of sound that arose from rapid whispers. A summit of delicacy” (Der Standard). Together with the Wiener Philharmoniker and Christian Thielemann, it’s “a combination that one cannot imagine can be surpassed today” (Kurier) PRORAM Brahms: Symphony No. 3, Piano Concerto No. 2
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.
Christian Thielemann conducts Schönberg and Strauss
More than 140 concerts and a multitude of celebrated recordings connect Christian Thielemann with the traditional Viennese orchestra. The live recording of his debut on the podium at the Vienna Musikverein almost 23 years ago promptly became a reference recording. On the programme then as now: Richard Strauss’ monumental Eine Alpensinfonie (An Alpine Symphony). This work, often regarded as the final and climax of the “symphonic poem” genre, is juxtaposed with Arnold Schönberg’s probably most famous tonal composition, the orchestral version of the string sextet Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night). “A truly persuasive performance.” (The New York Times)
Salzburg Festival 2022: Andris Nelsons & Yefim Bronfman
Praised as an “exuberant, intoxicating conductor” (Boston Globe), Grammy Awardwinning Andris Nelsons is one of the most renowned and innovative conductors on the international scene today and his connection with the Wiener Philharmoniker is something special: Nelsons has developed a physical language with the players whose musical partner he has been since 2010. At the 2022 Salzburg Festival edition, Andris Nelsons and the Wiener Philharmoniker continue their acclaimed Mahler cycle with the Fifth Symphony, pairing it with Bartók’s second piano concerto. “Bronfman shows everything: impeccable technique, expressive art, power, but also a relaxed attitude when he delicately weaves in Bartók’s folklore quotations. […] The “Viennese”, with Andris Nelsons of one heart and soul. […] Great jubilation.” (Der Standard) PROGRAM: Bartók: Piano Concerto No. 2; Schumann: Arabesque op. 18; Mahler: Symphony No. 5.
Salzburg Festival 2022: Christian Thielemann & Elina Garanca
“What a sound pleasure, what a playing culture! […] Bruckner’s ‘Ninth’ without burdens, without any heaviness. Symphony in Schubert’s sense, seductive, apollonian.” (Kronenzeitung) To mark the bicentenary of Anton Bruckner’s birth in 2024, Christian Thielemann, the Wiener Philharmoniker and Unitel record the first Bruckner cycle with a single conductor in the orchestra’s history. After a truly magnificent performance of the Seventh Symphony in 2021, the stellar conductor returns to the Salzburg Festival with the Ninth to finish the cycle. In the first part of the concert, Christian Thielemann joins forces with Latvian star mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca and the Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor for Brahms’ Alto Rhapsody. PROGRAM: Brahms: Alto Rhapsody for voice, male chorus and orchestra, Op. 53; Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 in D minor
Christian Thielemann conducts Bruckner & Strauss
“The Vienna Philharmonic, conductor Christian Thielemann and composer Anton Bruckner – this is a combination that music lovers can really enjoy.” (Kurier) Christian Thielemann has become known as an expert in late Romantic repertoire. In this concert, he conducts one of the least performed Bruckner Symphonies, the sixth, which will be heard, along with Richard Strauss’s melancholy, serene Four Last Songs with Camilla Nylund. The program is part of the first Bruckner cycle with Christian Thielemann and the Wiener Philharmoniker. PROGRAM: R. Strauss: Malven (arranged by Wolfgang Rihm), Vier letzte Lieder; A. Bruckner: Symphony No. 6 in A major, WAB 106
Salzburg Festival 2021: Blomstedt conducts Honegger & Brahms
Now in his nineties, Herbert Blomstedt, former conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, is still a powerful interpreter of the symphonic repertoire. His programme with the Vienna Philharmonic is straightforward: it begins with Honegger’s brilliant Third Symphony and ends with Brahms’ Fourth. The eminent maestro, one of the orchestra’s favourites since his debut at the 2011 Salzburg Mozart Week, continues to enchant audiences with his enormous presence, verve and artistic drive. “At the end, standing ovations and boundless cheers.” (br-klassik.de) PROGRAM Honegger: Symphony No. 3 “Liturgique”; Brahms: Symphony No. 4