Tonkünstler-Orchester
The Tonkünstler Orchestra has roots stretching back to the vibrant Viennese culture of the early 20th century and even beyond. The group has recorded extensively and has attracted world-class conductors from beyond Austria and central Europe.
The Tonkünstler Orchestra was founded in Vienna in 1907 with 83 musicians. The group is known in German as the Tonkünstler-Orchester Niederösterreich or Musical Artists' Orchestra of Lower Austria, and its name pays homage to the Tonkünstler-Sozietät that presented works by Haydn and Mozart in the late 18th century. The group's first concert featured works by Beethoven, Grieg, Liszt, and Karl Goldmark. In 1913, the orchestra gave the premiere performance of Schoenberg's Gürre-Lieder. Its activities contracted during World War I, and it was replaced by a new Wiener Tonkünstler Orchestra in 1933, with Leopold Reichwein as conductor. The group continued to operate through the Nazi era, mostly under the name Gausymphonieorchester Niederdonau and mostly in direct support of the German war effort. The year 1946 brought the name Niederösterreichisches Tonkünstlerorchester and a new conductor, Kurt Wöss. After a 2002 restructuring, the present name was applied. Major conductors in the 20th century included Gustav Koslik (1951-1964), Heinz Wallberg (1964-1975), Miltiades Caridis (1978-1988, the group's first conductor not from Austria or Germany), and Brazil's Isaac Karabtchevsky (1998-1994, the orchestra's first non-European leader). The orchestra's recording catalog dates back to the LP era; an early digital release was a 2008 recording of Haydn's Die Schöpfung on the TON 4/Zebralution label.
The Tonkünstler Orchestra performs in Vienna at the Golden Hall of the Musikverein. It also has a second headquarters in Sankt Pölten in Lower Austria province, where it is state-supported, performing at the Festspielhaus Sankt Pölten. The ensemble serves as orchestra-in-residence at the Grafenegg Festival outside Vienna. Conductors during the 21st century have been an internationally prominent group, including Carlos Kalmar (2000-2003), Kristjan Järvi (2004-2009), Andrés Orozco-Estrada (2009-2014), and Yutaka Sado (2015-2025). In 2025, Fabien Gabel was scheduled to take up the baton. A major recording under Järvi was one of Leonard Bernstein's Mass for the Chandos label in 2009. The Tonkünstler Orchestra has also recorded for the Preiser Records, Oehms Classics, and Wergo labels, among others. In 2024, the group moved to Naxos and released a recording of orchestral works by Franz von Suppé. By that time, the group's recording history included more than 20 albums.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Brahms: Symphonies Nos. 1-4
Tonkünstler-Orchester, Andrés Orozco-Estrada
Classical - Released by Oehms Classics on 20/04/2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
SCHREKER: Vorspiel zur 'Memnon' / Romantic Suite
Tonkünstler-Orchester, Uwe Mund
Classical - Released by Marco-Polo on 31/12/1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mendelssohn: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5
Tonkünstler-Orchester, Andrés Orozco-Estrada
Classical - Released by Oehms Classics on 7/08/2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Auber: Le maçon, S. 13 (Sung in German)
Opera - Released by Orfeo on 1/11/2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sommernachtstraum - Mendelssohn Bartholdy Franzobel SACD
Theatre Music - Released by Preiser Records on 18/08/2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schneider: Bach, Dracula, Vivaldi & Co.
Tonkünstler-Orchester, Olga Watts
Classical - Released by wergo on 8/07/2016
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique
Tonkünstler-Orchester, Andrés Orozco-Estrada
Classical - Released by Oehms Classics on 8/04/2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Robert Schumann - Manfred op. 115 SACD
Classical - Released by Preiser Records on 19/11/2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schneider: Erdgebunden
Tonkünstler-Orchester, Alondra de la Parra
Classical - Released by wergo on 9/10/2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mendelssohn: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3
Tonkünstler-Orchester, Andrés Orozco-Estrada
Classical - Released by Oehms Classics on 28/04/2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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R. Strauss: Symphonische Dichtungen
Tonkünstler-Orchester, Jun Märkl
Classical - Released by Tonkunstler Orchestra on 22/09/2017
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Haydn: Orchestral Works
Tonkünstler-Orchester, Wiener Symphoniker, Adolf Holler, Fritz Busch
Classical - Released by Archipel on 1/01/2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schneider: Metamorphosen
Classical - Released by wergo on 18/07/2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Flutter
Pop - Released by China Record Corporation on 31/12/2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Bayreuth Heroine: Her Legendary Opera Recordings, Vol. 10
Astrid Varnay, Tonkünstler-Orchester, Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Hermann Weiger, Leopold Ludwig
Opera - Released by Intense Media GmbH on 13/05/2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Bayreuth Heroine: Her Legendary Opera Recordings, Vol. 7
Astrid Varnay, Tonkünstler-Orchester, George London, Hermann Weigert, Munich Radio Orchestra
Opera - Released by Intense Media GmbH on 13/05/2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo