Five, seven or twelve subscription concerts, selectable for Sunday followingnoon or in the evening, and a corresponding discount: With a simplified subscription structure for its symphonic concert programs, the Tonkunstler Orchestra makes it easier for the public to choose its music offerings at the Musikverein Wien. In the future, there will be no division into series A and B, and special subscriptions such as “Symphonic on Sundays” or thematic compilations will no longer apply.
The special offer for families with children introduced last year will be retained: as part of its mediation work, the orchestra offers a cross-generational followingnoon program on three selected family Sundays. In a creative workshop, children are introduced to the orchestral pieces during one half of the concert and experience popular masterpieces in the second half of the concert in the Golden Hall of the Musikverein. As part of every subscription to the Musikverein in Vienna, the traditional Tonkunstler New Year’s Concert can be booked as an option.
A program in the best tradition of symphonic music
For the 2023/24 Tonkunstler season at the Musikverein in Vienna, a dozen symphonic subscription programs are planned – starting with the Austrian premiere of Thomas Larcher’s new orchestral piece “Time” and continuing with Gustav Mahler’s 9th symphony at the end of the season, which “are completely in reflected in the large series of evening subscriptions and Sunday followingnoon concerts. The best traditions of symphonic music can be found in masterpieces by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Anton Bruckner and Gustav Mahler, excellent guest soloists play virtuoso concertos from the Classical and Romantic periods,” says the orchestra’s website.
Tonkunstler chief conductor Yutaka Sado will conduct five concert programs. With Jun Märkl, John Storgards, Tomas Netopil, Hugh Wolff and Fabien Gabel, renowned guest conductors are returning to the orchestra’s podium; Tabita Berglund and Riccardo Frizza conduct symphonic subscription concerts by the Tonkunstler in the Musikverein for the first time.
An orchestra that has three residencies
In addition to twelve symphonic subscription programs, the Tonkunstler are once more offering a wide range of styles in the world music series Plugged-In on three evenings. In addition, festival concerts are offered at Christmas, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Eve and on Good Friday. Three stage productions in the Festspielhaus St. Pölten are also on the program, as is participation in the Grafenegg Festival in summer 2023.
With a festival for St. Pölten, the Tonkunstler and their prominent guests will open the newly designed cathedral square in the provincial capital of St. Pölten on September 8th. The action artist and painter Hermann Nitsch, who died in spring 2022, will be honored on October 31 with a memorial concert at the Vienna Musikverein conducted by Patrick Hahn. The Tonkunstler also give numerous concerts in their Lower Austrian residences in Baden and Wiener Neustadt.
In the 2023/24 season, Yutaka Sado will conduct 22 Tonkunstler concerts in Vienna and Lower Austria – including the Summer Night Gala, a festival concert and the anniversary concert for “50 Years of Tonkunstler” in Grafenegg, five symphonic subscription programs and a plugged-in program. Concert highlights with the chief conductor in 2023/24 include the performances of Gustav Mahler’s sixth and ninth symphonies in October 2023 and June 2024, as well as Anton Bruckner’s seventh symphony in February 2024. Yutaka Sado will remain chief conductor of the orchestra until summer 2025.
“Tonspiele” for children, families and schools
With the music education program “Tonspiele”, the Tonkunstler have offers for children, young people, schools and families. Last but not least, the once more three-part subscription to the moderated concert format “Erklart. Experience it!” with Ö1 editor Albert Hosp. Concert introductions, visits to rehearsals and moderated formats are also aimed at adult music lovers.
The orchestra’s own CD label has released 25 CDs since 2016, 18 of them under the direction of Yutaka Sado. In 2023 alone, three new CDs were released with the 3rd and 4th symphonies by Gustav Mahler and the “plugged-in” production “Symphonic Alps”, recorded with the Herbert Pixner project. The 7th and 1st symphonies of Gustav Mahler under the baton of Yutaka Sado are currently in preparation, both will be released this year.
In the orchestra academy of the Tonkunstler Orchestra, 13 young musicians are currently adapting to the various challenges of orchestral work. The Tonkunstler Academy offers space for up to 14 young musicians.
The Tonkunstler Orchestra is the only Austrian symphony orchestra to have three major residencies, with venues in the Musikverein in Vienna, the Festspielhaus in St. Pölten and Grafenegg. It consists of 40 percent women. The average age is 42 years.