Institution

Wiener Symphoniker

As Vienna's cultural ambassador and concert orchestra, the Wiener Symphoniker handles the lion's share of symphonic activity that makes up the musical life of the Austrian capital. The orchestra's activities centre on innovative projects that are associated with the purposeful cultivation of important Viennese musical traditions.

In October 1900, the newly formed Wiener Concertverein, as it was called back then, gave its first public performance at the Vienna Musikverein with Ferdinand Löwe on the podium. The Wiener Symphoniker has premiered works that are now undisputed staples of the orchestral repertoire, including Bruckner's Ninth Symphony, Schönberg's Gurre Lieder, Ravel's Piano Concerto for the Left Hand. Over the course of its history, conducting greats like Bruno Walter, Richard Strauss, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Oswald Kabasta, George Szell , Hans Knappertsbusch, Herbert von Karajan, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Vladimir Fedoseyev and Fabio Luisi have left an indelible mark on the orchestra.

The Swiss conductor Philippe Jordan took up the position of Music Director at the beginning of the 2014-15 season, leading the Wiener Symphoniker into a new era.

Speaker

Jan Nast, Executive Board & Intendant

Jan Nast was born in 1965 in East Berlin. After studying music at the Musikhochschule Hanns Eisler in Berlin and various engagements in various orchestras, the trained hornist devoted himself to a cultural management degree at the Ludwigsburg University of Education until 1995. From 1990 to 1997 Nast was the orchestra director of the Philharmonic Orchestra and Theater Freiburg. In 1997 he moved to the Staatskapelle Dresden as director of the orchestra and worked together with Giuseppe Sinopoli, Bernard Haitink and Fabio Luisi and later with Christian Thielemann as chief conductor. In addition, Nast intensified the international traveling of the orchestra, led the Staatskapelle to the Residenz-Orchester der Salzburger Osterfestspiele and developed special concert formats such as "Classic Picnic" and "No tailcoat on tour". Since September 2019 he is artistic director of the Wiener Symphoniker