This internationally acclaimed orchestra was founded in 1900 by the Austrian conductor Ferdinand Lowe. Originally it was named Wiener Concertverein (the Vienna Concert Society) and became the resident orchestra in Vienna’s Konzerthaus.
In 1919 Wiener Concertverein and the Tonkustler Orchestra merged and managed to keep going once radio became the popular way of listening to music and the amount of people going to concerts
14 years later, in 1933, they became known as the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and after the Austrian Invasion had happened in 1938 they found themselves being used for propaganda after incorporation into what were known as the German Cultural Orchestras.
After the war the orchestra stopped playing on 1st September 1944 but a year later after efforts made by Josef Krips and Hans Swarowsky the Vienna Symphony Orchestra gave their first post-WWII concert in September 1945 when they performed Mahler’s Symphony No. 3.
Managing to regain their previous reputation they appeared at the Bregenz Festival in 1946 and have been its Orchestra-in-Residence ever since. That same year they were joined by Herbert von Karajan who took the orchestra on tours throughout North American and Europe and introduced the acclaimed “Karajan Series” of concerts.
They performed for Pope John XXII at the Vatican in 1959 and in 1960 Wolfgang Sawallisch became their new Principal Conductor. In 1964 he took them on a tour of the United States and three years later they undertook a further tour of the United States and combined it with a tour of Japan.
During the 1980s and 1990s the orchestra extended their repertoire with a series of Orchestral Rock performances, went on many international tours and performed four different concert series. Their leadership changed when Sawallisch left with Josef Kripstemporarily taking over as Principal Conductor before Carlo Maria Giulini filled the position. The introduction of their Principal Guest Conductor, Georges Pretre, came in 1986.
In 1991 by Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos became the Principal Conductor and six years later the orchestra was joined by the Principal Conductor, Vladimir Fedosejev, who led them until 2005 and he was succeeded by Fabio Luisi. The orchestra gained the Principal Guest Conductor, Yakov Kreizberg.
The orchestra currently give in the region of 160 performances annually in concerts, chamber performances and opera. Many of their past and present performances have often appeared on numerous acclaimed recordings and since 2006 they have played for operatic productions at the Theater an der Wien.
Placido Domingo recordings
Adeste Fidelis (John Francis Wade)
RCA Red Seal 53835 (CD: Placido Domingo & The Vienna Boys Choir)
Conductor: Helmuth Froschauer
Ensembles: Vienna Boys’ Choir/Vienna Symphony Orchestra
A Medley of Christmas Carols
(Joy to the World, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Good King Wenceslas, O Little town of Bethlehem, The First Noel)
FM 37245 (CD: Christmas with Placido Domingo)
Orchestra – Vienna Symphony Orchestra
Conductor -Lee Holdridge
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