Tonkünstler-Orchester

The Tonkünstler Orchestra, with its residencies at the Musikverein Vienna, Festspielhaus St. Pölten, Grafenegg, the City Theater Wiener Neustadt, and in Baden, ranks among Austria's largest and most important musical ambassadors. At the heart of its artistic work lies the traditional orchestral repertoire, ranging from Classical and Romantic music to works from the 20th century. Since the 2015–16 season, the orchestra's principal conductor has been Yutaka Sado, one of the most prominent Japanese conductors of our time. In summer 2025, he will be succeeded by Fabien Gabel.

The Tonkünstler’s alternative programming paths are appreciated equally by musicians, audiences, and the press. The inclusion of genres such as jazz and world music in the "Plugged-In" series has secured the orchestra a place at the cutting edge for over ten years. With performances of contemporary compositions, the Tonkünstler actively engage with the current music scene. A Composer in Residence collaborates annually with the orchestra as part of the Grafenegg Festival, with past composers including Brett Dean, HK Gruber, Krzysztof Penderecki, Jörg Widmann, Peter Ruzicka, Toshio Hosokawa, Georg Friedrich Haas, and Enno Poppe. Commissioned works have been written for the orchestra by composers such as Arvo Pärt, Kurt Schwertsik, Friedrich Cerha, and Bernd Richard Deutsch.

The orchestra’s complex history has been significantly shaped by the political and social upheavals of the 20th century. In October 1907, the Vienna Tonkünstler Orchestra gave its first concert at the Vienna Musikverein with 83 musicians; the podium was shared by none other than Dvořák’s pupil Oskar Nedbal, Hans Pfitzner, and Bernhard Stavenhagen, a student of Franz Liszt. Under the direction of Franz Schreker, the orchestra premiered Arnold Schönberg’s “Gurre-Lieder” in 1913. From 1919 to 1923, Wilhelm Furtwängler served as principal conductor. Bruno Walter, Otto Klemperer, Felix Weingartner, Hermann Abendroth, and Hans Knappertsbusch were among the many renowned conductors to lead the orchestra in the following years.

Since 1945, the Tonkünstler have served as the symphony orchestra of the state of Lower Austria. They fulfill their cultural and artistic educational mission through a rich concert program across many venues, including the New Year’s Concert series, music education projects, and their commitment to contemporary music in the region. In 2003, the Tonkünstler were one of the first Austrian orchestras to establish a dedicated music education department: their “Tonspiele” program ranks among Austria’s largest educational initiatives. The orchestra also offers a wide range of outreach activities for adults, including introductory talks for each symphonic concert, open rehearsals, specially moderated concert formats, and the participatory choir project “Be Embraced, Millions.”

Distinguished musicians such as Heinz Wallberg, Walter Weller, Miltiades Caridis, and Isaac Karabtchevsky, followed by Fabio Luisi, Carlos Kalmar, Kristjan Järvi, and Andrés Orozco-Estrada, have served as chief conductors of the modern-day Tonkünstler Orchestra, which evolved from the Lower Austrian State Symphony Orchestra in the mid-20th century. The Tonkünstler continue to receive important artistic impulses from guest conductors. In recent years, they have welcomed many notable conductors to their concerts, including Kent Nagano, Julia Jones, Michail Jurowski, Tomáš Netopil, Andrej Boreyko, Jakub Hrůša, Simone Young, Michał Nesterowicz, Ivor Bolton, and Robert Trevino. They maintain longstanding and friendly collaborations with esteemed conductors such as Hugh Wolff, Krzysztof Urbański, Michael Schønwandt, Jun Märkl, Dmitrij Kitajenko, and John Storgårds.