Wiener Symphoniker
The Wiener Symphoniker (Vienna Symphony Orchestra) is a mainstay in European orchestral music, having premiered works that have become standard repertoire in the orchestral world. While its older neighbor, the Wiener Philharmoniker, may get more attention, the Wiener Symphoniker has cemented its role as a world-class orchestra.
The Wiener Symphoniker was founded in 1900 as the Wiener Concertverein. The founder and first conductor of the orchestra was Ferdinand Löwe, who established the new orchestra to present more concerts to the citizenry and for the performance of new compositions. The orchestra's premiere concert took place at the Wiener Musikverein on October 30, 1900. Löwe, a student of Anton Bruckner's, led the Wiener Symphoniker in the premiere of Bruckner's ninth symphony in 1903. In 1913, the orchestra moved its performing venue to the newly opened Wiener Konzerthaus. Due to financial concerns following World War I, the orchestra merged with the Wiener Tonkünstlerorchester in 1919. Löwe served as chief conductor until 1925. He was followed by Otto Gottesmann and Wilhelm Furtwängler. In 1933, the orchestra was renamed the Wiener Symphoniker. Oswald Kabasta led the orchestra from 1934-1938. Under Kabasta, the orchestra embarked on its first international tour to England and Italy. In 1938, following the invasion of Austria, the orchestra was brought under municipal control and was used for propaganda during World War II. The orchestra was disbanded in September of 1944.
Following the war, the Wiener Symphoniker was re-established in 1945 and gave its first post-war concert in September under the leadership of Hans Swarowsky and Josef Krips. Since 1946, the orchestra has taken part in and been a major sponsor of the Bregenzer Festspiele. Herbert von Karajan (1950-1960) and Wolfgang Sawallisch (1960-1970) are credited most with the revival of the Viennese sound for which the Wiener Symphoniker is known. In 1962, the Theater an der Wien reopened, and the Wiener Symphoniker has since performed there for staged productions. Since Sawallisch, the chief conductors for the orchestra have included Carlo Maria Giulini (1973-1976), Gennady Rozhdestvensky (1981-1983), and Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos (1991-1996). Philippe Jordan became the chief conductor in 2014, with a contract running through 2021. In 2018, the Wiener Symphoniker announced Andrés Orozco-Estrada as its next chief conductor. Orozco-Estrada is set to take the baton in 2021. Among the illustrious names who have guest conducted the orchestra are Leonard Bernstein, Zubin Mehta, and Claudio Abbado.
The Wiener Symphoniker can be heard on hundreds of albums on major labels such as Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, EMI Classics, and Orfeo, among many others. Since 2012, the orchestra has also recorded for its own Wiener Symphoniker label, on which it has recorded works by composers such as Mahler, Bruckner, and Berlioz. Under Jordan, the orchestra has recorded a full cycle of Beethoven's symphonies. The first, Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3, was released in 2017. The final two individual albums of this cycle, Symphonies Nos. 6 & 8 and Symphony No. 9, as well as the complete cycle set, were released in 2019.
© Keith Finke /TiVo
-
Mozart: Piano Concerto K. 466 / Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3; Rondo WoO. 6
Sviatoslav Richter, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Stanislaw Wislocki, Wiener Symphoniker, Kurt Sanderling
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1963
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No.1; Variations on a Rococo Theme
Sviatoslav Richter, Mstislav Rostropovich, Wiener Symphoniker, Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Symphonies Nos. 1-4 (Live)
Wiener Symphoniker, Philippe Jordan
Classical - Released by Wiener Symphoniker on 7 Aug 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14, H. 48 & Lélio, Op. 14b, H. 55B (Live)
Wiener Symphoniker, Cyrille Dubois, Jean-Philippe Lafont, Philippe Jordan
Classical - Released by Wiener Symphoniker on 24 May 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler : Das Lied von der Erde (Live)
Christa Ludwig, Waldemar Kmentt, Wiener Symphoniker, Carlos Kleiber
Lieder (German) - Released by Wiener Symphoniker on 1 Jan 1990
Qobuz Référence16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Symphonies Nos. 29, 39, 40 & 41 "Jupiter" by Ferenc Fricsay (2024 Remastered)
Ferenc Fricsay, Wiener Symphoniker
Classical - Released by Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording on 1 Feb 2024
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Hindemith: Mathis der Maler (Live)
Opera - Released by CapriccioNR on 3 Sep 2021
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Giulini in Vienna
Wiener Symphoniker, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Carlo Maria Giulini
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Symphony Nos. 8 & 9 - Brahms: Symphony No. 1 (Live)
Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna Symphony Choir, Karl Böhm, Wiener Symphoniker
Classical - Released by Urania Records on 2 Oct 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 6 & 8 (Live)
Wiener Symphoniker, Philippe Jordan
Classical - Released by Wiener Symphoniker on 15 Feb 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Symphonies Nos. 1-4 & Concertstück in F Major, Op. 86
Fabio Luisi, Wiener Symphoniker
Classical - Released by Orfeo on 20 Apr 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bartók: Violin Concerto No. 2
Ivry Gitlis, Jascha Horenstein, Wiener Symphoniker
Concertos - Released by Vox on 5 May 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Des Knaben Wunderhorn
Wiener Symphoniker, Felix Prohaska, Maureen Forrester, Hans Rehfuss
Classical - Released by Omega Vanguard on 10 May 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Willem van Otterloo: The original recordings 1951-1966
Classical - Released by Challenge Classics on 1 Apr 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 2 & No. 5
Eliahu Inbal, Wiener Symphoniker
Classical - Released by Denon on 1 Mar 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde
Fritz Wunderlich, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Wiener Symphoniker, Josef Krips
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Concerto pour piano No. 1 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 23 (Remastered, Mono Version)
Sviatoslav Richter, Herbert von Karajan, Wiener Symphoniker
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Weinberg Edition, Vol. 3
Elena Kelessidi, Wiener Sängerknaben, Philharmonischer Chor Prag, Wiener Symphoniker, Vladimir Fedoseyev
Choral Music (Choirs) - Released by NEOS Music on 27 Sep 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Liszt, Ravel & Brahms: Casadeus
Wiener Symphoniker, Robert Casadesus, Sergiù Celibidache
Classical - Released by Orfeo on 4 Mar 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Grosse Messe, K. 427 (Mono Version)
Teresa Stich-Randall, Wiener Symphoniker, Rudolf Moralt
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1956
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Symphony No. 1
Wiener Symphoniker, Sergiù Celibidache
Classical - Released by Wiener Symphoniker on 25 Nov 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo