Three New Members added to the Vienna Philharmonic
At this time we would we like to introduce two young first violinists and one hornist who were admitted to the ranks of the Vienna Philharmonic at the orchestra's general meetings of May 12 and June 15, 2004. Kirill Kobantchenko was born in Odessa, (Ukraine) on June 18, 1978, and received his earliest violin training in the city of his birth with Alexander Pavlov, making his first appearance with an orchestra at the age of ten. Beginning in 1989 he studied in Novosibirsk with Zakhar Bron, one of the leading teachers of the international violin scene. In 1990 he passed the entrance examinations for the class of Andrej Korsakov at the Moscow Conservatory, and subsequently did several radio and television broadcasts. In 1991 Kobantchenko moved to Vienna, studying under Boris Kuschnir at the Conservatory of the City of Vienna. He performed a successful audition for the Vienna State Opera Orchestra in February 2001, and was engaged for the first violin section beginning March 1, 2001. 
In addition to numerous solo recitals, Kirill Kobantchenko has also performed several concerti with orchestral accompaniment in Odessa, Kiev, Moscow, Vienna, Graz and Tokyo. He received the second prize at the international violin competition "Citta di Stresa" in 1995, and a year later was the winner of the competition "Prima la Musica". Wilfried Hedenborg was born on October 9, 1977 in Salzburg, where he received his first violin instruction from his father, Stefan Hedenborg. In 1989 he commenced upon study at the Salzburg Mozarteum under Ruggiero Ricci, one of the great violinists of the 20th century (Ricci performed the Violin Concerto by Gottfried von Einem with our orchestra on May 31, 1970). After completing his diploma with distinction, Hedenborg continued his studies with Werner Hink at the Conservatory of the City of Vienna, also graduating with distinction in 2002. At this time he already had an engagement, having auditioned successfully and entered into service with the Vienna State Opera Orchestra on March 1, 2001. 
Since 1993, Wilfried Hedenborg has won several international violin competitions and prizes, among them the "Jugend musiziert" with a special prize from the Vienna Philharmonic, the "Alpe Adria" in Gorizia, the "Concours Ruggiero Ricci" in Iserlohn, and the Tadeusz Wronski Solo Violin Competition in Warsaw. He is also laureate of "Concertino Praga" and won the fourth prize at the Pablo de Sarasate competition in Pamplona. In addition, he has appeared as soloist with, among others, the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, the Badische Staatskapelle Karlsruhe, the Morawian Philharmonic, and performed Igor Stravinsky's "Duo concertant" for a ballet production of the Vienna State Opera. On top of all of this extensive activity, Wilfried Hedenborg has been involved in research, contributing to the development of the "Infeld Violin" strings, which were marketed in 1999 by Thomastik-Infeld. Thomas Jöbstl was born in Wolfsberg (Carinthia) on January 5, 1978, and received his earliest musical training beginning at the age of five, receiving instruction on recorder from his father, Franz Jöbstl. Three years later he began study of the horn under Franz Gönitzer at the music school in Wolfsberg, and continued his studies from 1992 on at Vienna’s College of Music under Roland Berger, long time member of our orchestra. In 1997, Jöbstl not only completed his education at the Music high school, but received his first professional engagement, becoming first horn with the Orchestra of the Vienna Volksoper at the age of 19. He experienced three further milestones in his career in the year 2000, completing his musical studies with the title "Magister atrium”, becoming the assistant to Roland Berger, and in December performing a successful audition for the Vienna State Opera Orchestra, where he assumed the position of second horn on March 1, 2001. 
As the study of chamber music is of special importance during the schooling and professional life for every instrumentalist, so also did Thomas Jöbstl soon become closely involved with this most essential part of our musical tradition. In addition to being a regular member of the "Wiener Virtuosen”, he belongs to the Vienna Horn Ensemble and the "Viennahorns”, two formations which are dedicated to the contemporary cultivation of the Viennese horn. |
