Willi Boskovsky

Willi Boskovsky (Vienna on June 16, 1909– Visp, Switzerland on April 21, 1991) was an Austrian violinist and conductor.

Willi Boskovsky joined the Vienna Academy of music at the age of nine. He was the concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra from 1936 to 1979. He was also the conductor of the Vienna New Year's Concert, which is usually devoted to the music of Johann Strauss II and his contemporaries. Along with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, he was also the chief conductor of the Wiener Johann Strauss Orchester up until his death. A forerunner of this ensemble was the 19th-century Strauss Orchestra founded by Johann Strauss I in 1835.

His style appealed to many Strauss listeners as he directed Strauss' music in the manner of the "Vorgeiger", i.e. directing the orchestra with the violin just as Johann Strauss I popularised this form of conducting waltzes, polkas and other dance music alongside Strauss' rival Josef Lanner in the early 19th century. This tradition was also carried on by Johann Strauss II and Josef Strauss after their father's death.