Vienna Symphony Orchestra

The IMZ is happy to welcome the Vienna Symphony Orchestra as a new IMZ Member!

The Vienna Symphony Orchestra are Vienna’s official concert orchestra and cultural ambassador. As such the orchestra handles the lion’s share of symphonic activity that makes up the backbone of the musical life of a city widely regarded as the world’s capital of classical music. The orchestra is famed for both its unique Viennese sound that is deeply rooted in the city’s cultural history and innovative projects that bring this rich cultural heritage into the here and now.

Founded in 1900, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra have premiered works that are now undisputed staples of repertoire, including Anton Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony, Arnold Schönberg’s Gurre Lieder or Maurice Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the Left Hand.

Over the course of its history, conducting greats like Bruno Walter, Richard Strauss, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Herbert von Karajan and Wolfgang Sawallisch have left an indelible mark on the orchestra. Georges Prêtre, Leonard Bernstein, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Claudio Abbado and Sergiu Celibidache are among the luminaries who have enjoyed notable success as guests on the podium of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra.

The Swiss conductor Philippe Jordan has been leading the orchestra as Music Director since the beginning of the 2014–15 season. The Vienna Symphony Orchestra appear in more than 150 concerts and operatic performances per season, the vast majority of which take place in Vienna’s well known concert venues, the Musikverein and the Konzerthaus. Added to that is a very busy and extensive touring schedule. Since the festival’s beginnings in 1946, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra have been the Orchestra in Residence at the Bregenz Festival.