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Vienna Philharmonic

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The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (in German: Wiener Philharmoniker) an orchestra in Austria, regularly considered as one of the finest in the world.

Its home base is the world-famous Musikverein. The members of the orchestra are chosen from the Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera. This process is a long one, with each musician having to prove their capability for a minimum of three years playing for the Opera and Ballet. Once this is achieved they can then ask the Board of the Wiener Philharmoniker to consider their application for a position in the Vienna Philharmonic.

History

The orchestra can trace its origins back to 1842, when Otto Nicolai formed what he called a "Philharmonic Academy"; it was an orchestra which was fully independent, and which took all its decisions by a democratic vote of all its members. These are principles the orchestra still holds today.

When Nicolai left Vienna in 1847, the orchestra almost folded, and it was not very active until 1860, when Carl Eckert joined as conductor. He gave a series of four subscription concerts, and since then, the orchestra has given concerts continuously.

The orchestra has attracted some very famous and acclaimed conductors.

From 1875 to 1898 (except for the season 1882-1883 when he was in dispute with the orchestral committee) Hans Richter was principal conductor, and the orchestra gave the premieres of Brahms' second and third symphonies, and Anton Bruckner's eighth.

Gustav Mahler held the post from 1898 to 1901, and under him the orchestra played abroad for the first time (in Paris). Subsequent conductors were Felix Weingartner (1908–27), Wilhelm Furtwängler (1927–30) and Clemens Krauss (1930–33).

Since 1933, the orchestra has had no single principal conductor, but instead has a number of guest conductors. These have included a great many of the world's best known conductors, including Richard Strauss, Arturo Toscanini, Hans Knappertsbusch, Wilhelm Furtwangler, Karl Böhm, John Barbirolli, Herbert von Karajan, Georg Solti, Erich Kleiber, James Levine, Zubin Mehta, Carlos Kleiber, Leonard Bernstein, Claudio Abbado, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Pierre Boulez, Mariss Jansons and Valery Gergiev. Three conductors however were particularly associated with the post-war era: Karajan and Böhm, who were made honorary conductors, and Bernstein, who was made an honorary member of the orchestra.

Since New Year's Day 1941, the orchestra has given a concert dedicated to the music of the Strauss family, and especially Johann Strauss II: the Vienna New Year's Concert.

Popularity

The Vienna Philharmonic was named as Europe's finest in a recent survey by seven leading trade publications, two radio stations and a daily newspaper[1]. Hearing the Vienna Philharmonic is a feat not to be undertaken lightly. While on international tour, tickets are typically, at the minimum, double what one would normally pay to hear the local orchestra. Tickets to hear the Vienna Philharmonic at their home in the Musikverein are listed on the orchestra's website as being completely sold out. The waiting list for weekday concert subscriptions is six years and thirteen years for weekend subscriptions.

Sound and Instruments

The characteristic sound of the Vienna Philharmonic can be attributed in part to the use of instruments and playing-styles that are fundamentally different from those used by other major orchestras:

  • The clarinet has a special fingering-system.
  • The bassoon has special fingering-combinations and reeds.
  • The trumpet has a rotary-valve system and a narrower measurements.
  • The trombone and the tuba have a different fingering and valve-system.
  • The timpani use natural goat hide instead of synthetic hide.
  • The double-bass retains the traditional theater-placement in a row behind the brass.
  • The Viennese oboe has a special bore, measurement, reed, and fingering-system. It is very different from the otherwise internationally used French oboe.
  • The Viennese horn is a variation of the natural horn with a valved crook in F inserted, so that the chromatic scale can be played. It has a narrower measurement, longer tubing, and a piston-valve system. These valves have the advantage of providing a tone which is not so sharply defined, as well as possibilities for smoother connections between notes. Moreover, the Viennese horn is made of stronger materials than, for example, the French Horn (Double Horn in both F and Bb).

These instruments and their characteristic tone-colors have been the subject of extensive scientific studies by the Associate Professor Magister Gregor Widholm of the Institute for Viennese Tone-Culture of the Academy for Music and Performing Arts.

Sexism and racism controversy

Although the orchestra is widely acknowledged as one of the world's finest, in the 1990s it came in for some criticism by feminist groups because until 1997 it did not allow women to become full members of the orchestra (although some women performed with the orchestra, they were not full members). In 1997 the first woman, harpist Anna Lelkes, became a member after performing with the orchestra as a "non-member" for over twenty years. After Ms. Lelkes' retirement, another woman harpist Charlotte Balzereit eventually replaced her as the orchestra's only woman member.[2] Meanwhile the orchestra claims to have several female members.

Also, for a long time no woman had ever conducted the orchestra. In January 2005, the Australian conductor Simone Young made history by becoming the first female to conduct the orchestra.

In addition there were claims that the orchestra in the past had not accepted members who were visibly members of ethnic minorities. In 2001 a violinist who was half-Asian became a member.[3]

Some people associated with the organisation have been criticised for saying that it is important to maintain the ethnic uniformity of the orchestra (that is, white Europeans) in order to maintain high playing standards.

In 1970 Otto Strasser, the former chairman of the Vienna Philharmonic, wrote in his memoirs:

"I hold it incorrect that today the applicants play behind a screen; an arrangement that was brought in after the Second World War in order to assure objective judgments. I continuously fought against it, especially after I became Chairman of the Philharmonic, because I am convinced that to the artist also belongs the person, that one must not only hear, but also see, in order to judge him in his entire personality. [...] Even a grotesque situation that played itself out after my retirement was not able to change the situation. An applicant qualified himself as the best, and as the screen was raised, there stood a Japanese before the stunned jury. He was, however, not engaged, because his face did not fit with the ‘Pizzicato-Polka’ of the New Year’s Concert."[4]

The first flautist in the Vienna Philharmonic said in a radio interview broadcast in 1996:

"From the beginning we have spoken of the special Viennese qualities, of the way music is made here. The way we make music here is not only a technical ability, but also something that has a lot to do with the soul. The soul does not let itself be separated from the cultural roots that we have here in central Europe. And it also doesn't allow itself to be separated from gender. So if one thinks that the world should function by quota regulations, then it is naturally irritating that we are a group of white skinned male musicians, that perform exclusively the music of white skinned male composers. It is a racist and sexist irritation. I believe one must put it that way. If one establishes superficial egalitarianism, one will lose something very significant. Therefore, I am convinced that it is worthwhile to accept this racist and sexist irritation, because something produced by a superficial understanding of human rights would not have the same standards."[5]

In 2003, an orchestra member said in a magazine interview:

"Three women are already too many. By the time we have twenty percent, the orchestra will be ruined. We have made a big mistake, and will bitterly regret it."[6]

Conductors

Subscription Conductors (1842-1933)

The Vienna Philharmonic does not have principal conductors. Each year they chose an artist to conduct all concerts of the respective season at Vienna's Musikverein. These conductors were called Abonnementdirigenten (Subscription Conductors) as they were to conduct all the concerts included in the Philharmonic's subscription at the Musikverein. Some of these annual hirings were renewed for many years, others lasted only for a few years. At the same time the Vienna Philharmonic also worked with other conductors, e. g. at the Salzburg Festival, for recordings or special occasions. With the widening of the Philharmonic's activities the orchestra decided to abandon this system in 1933. From then on there were only guest conductors hired for each concert, both in Vienna and elsewhere.

Guest Conductors (since 1933)

Selection of recordings

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