In commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the death of Joseph Haydn, the Vienna Philharmonic has released a special edition of live perform- ances of several of Haydn's symphonies. This special edition is available at the Vienna Philharmonic E-Shop.
As many as 100,000 listeners attended the Vienna Philharmonic Sommernachtskonzert Schönbrunn, which took place on June 4, 2009 in the unique ambience of the grounds of Schönbrunn Palace. The free open air concert was conducted by Daniel Barenboim, who also conducted the New Year's Concert 2009. The program of the concert, which had as its theme the "Night", featured the following compositions:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Serenade G Major, KV 525, "Eine kleine Nachtmusik" Manuel de Falla: Nights in the Gardens of Spain Modest Mussorgsky: A Night on Bald Mountain Johann Strauss II: A Thousand and One Nights, Waltz, op. 346
The concert was broadcast live or time delayed in over 60 countries.
With this free concert in a public place in Vienna the orchestra pursues a specific cultural policy objective by attempting to make classical music accessible to a broad spectrum of listeners and establish a following beyond its usual core audience. Clemens Hellsberg, Chairman of the Vienna Philharmonic says: "The beautiful location, the special flair of an open air concert and the free admission appeal to a large audience. With this concert we are hoping to attract to classical music those people who otherwise do not have much opportunity to come in contact with it." The size of the audiences indicate that the public responds to this idea. Despite inclement weather, some 60,000 people attended last year's concert.
On June 8th, the annual Vienna Philharmonic Summer Night Concert took place in the unique ambience of the gardens of Schönbrunn Palace. The CD and DVD recordings of the concert can be ordered in our E-Shop.
New Year's Concert 2011
The Vienna Philharmonic New Year's Concert 2011 will be conducted by Franz Welser-Möst.
An Appreciation of Otto Nicolai
This year the international music world commemorates the 200th birthday of several composers. In 1810, Frédéric Chopin was born on March 1st in Żelazowa Wola and Robert Schumann was born on June 8th in Zwickau. The Vienna Philharmonic celebrates an even more significant anniversary with the birthday of Otto Nicolai on June 9, 1810, in Königsberg.
Beethoven Cycle Berlin & Paris
The Vienna Philharmonic under Christian Thielemann performs the complete Beethoven Symphonies in Berlin and Paris in November and Dezember 2010.
