Editing Vienna Philharmonic (section)

==History==
===Precursors and formation===
Until the 1830s, orchestral performance in Vienna was done by ''ad hoc'' orchestras, consisting of professional and (often) amateur musicians brought together for specific performances. In 1833, [[Franz Lachner]] formed the forerunner of the Vienna Philharmonic, the {{Lang|de|Künstlerverein}} – an orchestra of professional musicians from the Vienna Court Opera (''Wiener Hofoper'', now the [[Vienna State Opera]]); it gave four concerts, each including a [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]] symphony.<ref name=MC>[[Mosco Carner]], "Vienna," section 5, iv (c), in ''[[The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians]]'', 1980, volume 19, p. 730</ref> The Vienna Philharmonic itself arose nine years later, in 1842, hatched by a group who met regularly at the inn 'Zum Amor', including the poet [[Nikolaus Lenau]], newspaper editor [[August Schmidt (journalist)|August Schmidt]], critic Alfred Becker, violinist Karlz Holz, Count Laurecin, and composer [[Otto Nicolai]] who was also the principal conductor of a standing orchestra at a Viennese theater.<ref name=MC /> [[Mosco Carner]] wrote in ''[[The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians]]'' that "Nicolai was the least enthusiastic about the idea, and had to be persuaded by the others; he conducted the first [concert] on 28 March 1842."<ref name=MC /> The orchestra was fully independent, consisted of members of the ''Hofoper'' orchestra, and made all of its decisions by a democratic vote of its members; it had its day-to-day management handled by a democratically elected body, the administrative committee.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wienerphilharmoniker.at/index.php?set_language=en&cccpage=history_early|title=Vienna Philharmonic &#124; Orchestra, Concerts, New Years Concert|publisher=Wienerphilharmoniker.at|access-date=29 April 2013|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524162031/http://www.wienerphilharmoniker.at/index.php?set_language=en|archivedate=24 May 2013}}</ref>

Nicolai and the orchestra gave only 11 concerts in the ensuing five years, and when Nicolai left Vienna in 1847, the orchestra nearly folded (''New Grove'' notes the disruption caused by the [[Revolution of 1848]] as a hindrance). Between 1854 and 1857, [[Karl Eckert]] – the first permanent conductor of the Vienna Court Opera (''Wiener Hofoper'')– led the (associated) Vienna Philharmonic in a few concerts. In 1857, Eckert was made Director of the ''Hofoper'' – the first musician to have been given the post;<ref>Mosco Carner, "Vienna," section 5, iv (c), in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', 1980, volume 19, p. 724</ref> in 1860, he conducted four subscription concerts of the Vienna Philharmonic. Since that time,
writes Vienna Philharmonic violinist and president [[Clemens Hellsberg]], "the 'Philharmonic Concerts' have been staged without interruption."<ref>Clemans Hellsberg, "The History of the Vienna Philharmonic: The Philharmonic Subscription Concerts," Vienna Philharmonic website, URL=http://www.wienerphilharmoniker.at/orchestra/history</ref>

===The era of subscription conductors: 1860–1933===
In 1860, the orchestra elected [[Otto Dessoff]] to be the permanent conductor. According to [[Max Kalbeck]], the Vienna-based music critic, newspaper editor, and biographer, the fame and excellence of the Vienna Philharmonic resulted from Dessoff's "energy and sense of purpose."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kalbeck |first=Max |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qOwPAAAAYAAJ |title=Johannes Brahms |date=1908 |publisher=Wiener Verlag |language=de}}</ref> Clemens Hellsberg gives specifics, writing that during the Dessoff years, the Vienna Philharmonic's "repertoire was consistently enlarged, important organizational principles (music archives, rules of procedure) were introduced and the orchestra moved to its third new home [in 1870], the newly built Goldener Saal in the [[Musikverein]] building in Vienna [in which it still performs], which has proved to be the ideal venue, with its acoustical characteristics influencing the orchestra's style and sound."<ref>{{cite web |author1=Dr. Clemens Hellsberg |title=The History of the Vienna Philharmonic |url=https://www.wienerphilharmoniker.at/orchestra/history |website=www.wienerphilharmoniker.at}}</ref> After fifteen years, in 1875, Dessoff was "pushed out of his position in Vienna through intrigue",<ref>Styra Avins and Josef Eisinger, ''Johannes Brahms: Life and Letters'', Oxford University Press, 1997, p. 497, {{ISBN|978-0-19-816234-6}}</ref> and he left Vienna to become conductor (''Hofkapellmeister'') of the [[Badische Staatskapelle]] in [[Karlsruhe]], Germany.<ref>[[Joachim Draheim]], Gerhard Albert Jahn (Editors.): Otto Dessoff (1835 - 1892). Ein Dirigent, Komponist und Weggefährte von Johannes Brahms; anlässlich der Otto-Dessoff-Ausstellung in Karlsruhe, Wien, Baden-Baden, Chemnitz, Dresden, Frankfurt am Main, Kassel, Leipzig und Zwickau. hrsg. von Joachim Draheim, Gerhard Albert Jahn und dem Verein der Freunde der Wiener Philharmoniker. - München: Musikverlag Katzbichler, 2001, 196 S., {{ISBN|978-3-87397-590-3}}</ref> In Karlsruhe the next year, he fulfilled the request of his friend [[Johannes Brahms]]<ref name="Josef Eisinger 1997, p. 778">Styra Avins and Josef Eisinger, ''Johannes Brahms: Life and Letters'', Oxford University Press, 1997, p. 778, {{ISBN|978-0-19-816234-6}}</ref> to conduct the first performance of his [[Symphony No. 1 (Brahms)|Symphony no. 1]];<ref>Styra Avins and Josef Eisinger, ''Johannes Brahms: Life and Letters'', Oxford University Press, 1997, p. 498, {{ISBN|978-0-19-816234-6}}</ref> in 1873, Brahms had conducted the premiere of his [[Variations on a Theme by Haydn]] with Dessoff's Vienna Philharmonic.<ref name="Josef Eisinger 1997, p. 778"/>

In 1875, the orchestra chose [[Hans Richter (conductor)|Hans Richter]] to take Dessoff's place as subscription conductor. He remained until 1898, except for the season 1882/1883, when he was in dispute with the orchestral committee (during this hiatus, [[Wilhelm Jahn]] of the [[Vienna State Opera|Vienna Court Opera]] served as subscription conductor). Richter led the VPO in the world premieres of Brahms's [[Symphony No. 2 (Brahms)|Second Symphony]] (in 1877), ''[[Tragic Overture]]'' (in 1880), and [[Symphony No. 3 (Brahms)|Symphony no. 3]] (in 1883), the [[Violin Concerto (Tchaikovsky)|Violin Concerto]] of [[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Tchaikovsky]] (in 1881), and in 1892 the [[Symphony No. 8 (Bruckner)|8th symphony]] of [[Anton Bruckner]]. It was Richter who in 1881 appointed [[Arnold Rosé]] as concertmaster,<ref>Christopher Fifield, ''True Artist and True Friend: A Biography of Hans Richter,'' Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993, p. 161</ref> who was to become [[Gustav Mahler]]'s brother-in-law and was concertmaster until the [[Anschluss]] in 1938.<ref>see below, "[[#Period under National Socialism]]"</ref> In order to be eligible for a pension, Richter intended to remain in his position for 25 years (to 1900), and he might have done so, given that the orchestra unanimously re-elected him in May 1898.<ref>Christopher Fifield, ''True Artist and True Friend: A Biography of Hans Richter,'' p. 268</ref> But he resigned on 22 September, citing health reasons, although biographer Christopher Fifield argues that the real reasons were that he wanted to tour, and that "he was uneasy as [[claque]]s in the audience formed in favour of Gustav Mahler" (who was triumphing as director of the ''Hofoper'').<ref name="Fifield, p. 268">Fifield, ''True Artist and True Friend,'' p. 268</ref> Richter recommended Mahler or [[Ferdinand Löwe]] to the orchestra as his replacement.<ref name="Fifield, p. 268"/>

In 1898, on 24 September, the orchestra elected [[Gustav Mahler]].<ref>Jens Malte Fischer (translated by Stewart Spencer), ''Gustav Mahler'', Yale University Press, 2011, p. 316, {{ISBN|978-0-300-13444-5}}</ref> (On 30 May 1899, pro-Mahler and pro-Richter factions had a "heated committee meeting"; matters were finally resolved in August when Richter wrote to his supporters "gently refusing their offer".)<ref>Fifield, ''True Artist and True Friend'', p. 270</ref> Under Mahler's baton, the Vienna Philharmonic played abroad for the first time at the 1900 Paris [[Exposition Universelle (1900)|World Exposition]]. While Mahler had strong supporters in the orchestra, he faced dissension from other orchestral members (an unreconstructed pro-Richter faction plus an anti-Semitic one, according to Jens Malte Fischer), criticism of his re-touchings of Beethoven, and arguments with the orchestra and over new policies he imposed; ultimately, "his working relationship with the Vienna Philharmonic continued to be fueled by resentment and broke down completely in November 1900".<ref name="Jens Malte Fischer p. 317">Jens Malte Fischer, ''Gustav Mahler'', p. 317</ref> He resigned on 1 April 1901, citing health concerns as a pretext,<ref name="Jens Malte Fischer p. 317"/> like Richter, but continuing to conduct actively elsewhere (he remained director of the associated ''Hofoper'' until 1907).<ref>Leon Botstein, "Gustav Mahler's Vienna," in Donald Mitchell and Andrew Nicholson (editors), The Mahler Companion, Oxford University Press, 1999, p. 37</ref>

In 1901, [[Joseph Hellmesberger, Jr.]] briefly took his place; he remained only until 1903.
[[File:Ferdinand Schmutzer Wiener Philharmoniker.jpg|thumb|Vienna Philharmonic at the rehearsal, Felix Weingartner is conducting. Engraving by [[Ferdinand Schmutzer]] (1926)]]

In 1908, after an interval with no official subscription conductor, the orchestra elected [[Felix Weingartner]] to the post; he was to remain in it until 1927, and conducted at least 432 concerts with them in total, including the VPO's first tour of South America in 1922.<ref>Raymond Holden, ''The Virtuoso Conductors: the Central European Tradition from Wagner to Karajan,'' Yale University Press, 2005, p. 108</ref> Weingartner's interpretive stance was opposite to Mahler's (Mahler employed marked tempo fluctuations in Beethoven, whereas Weingartner decried "tempo rubato conductors"); but like Mahler, he considered himself primarily a composer, and between 1910 and 1923 led the orchestra in at least one piece of his own music per season.<ref name="Holden, p. 109">Holden, p. 109</ref> He was most renowned for his Beethoven – he programmed at least two symphonies per season, and complete cycles in 1916/17 and 1926/27.<ref name="Holden, p. 109" /> It was Weingartner who led the orchestra's first concert devoted to entirely to the music of [[Johann Strauss, Jr.]] (for the composer's centennial), on 25 October 1925.<ref name="wienerphilharmoniker1">{{cite web |url=http://www.wienerphilharmoniker.at/index.php?set_language=en&cccpage=newyearsconcert_history |title=New Year's Concert: History &#124; Vienna Philharmonic |publisher=Wienerphilharmoniker.at |access-date=29 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130412134928/http://www.wienerphilharmoniker.at/index.php?set_language=en&cccpage=newyearsconcert_history |archivedate=12 April 2013  }}</ref>

In 1927, when Weingartner resigned, the orchestra elected [[Wilhelm Furtwängler]]. He resigned at the end of the 1929/30 season because of increased professional demands in Berlin.<ref>Raymond Holden, ''The Virtuoso Conductors'', p. 217</ref>

In 1930, the orchestra chose [[Clemens Krauss]] for the position. At the [[Salzburg Festival]] in the summers of 1929–33 he led the orchestra in an annual Strauss waltz concert, the forerunners of the [[Vienna New Year's Concert|New Year's Day concerts]] he was later to institute.<ref name="wienerphilharmoniker1" /> Krauss left in 1933 to become director of the [[Berlin State Opera]] (after [[Erich Kleiber]] resigned that position to protest Nazi rule).<ref>Charles Barber, ''Corresponding with Carlos: A Biography of Carlos Kleiber,'' Scarecrow Press, 2011, p. 15</ref>

===1933 through 1945===
Since 1933, the orchestra has had no single subscription conductor, but according to ''New Grove'' (vol. 19, p.&nbsp;723), "between 1933 and 1938, [[Bruno Walter]] and [[Wilhelm Furtwängler]] shared the Philharmonic concerts between them, and during the [[Nazi]] period Furtwängler was the permanent conductor"; by contrast, the Vienna Philharmonic's website history says, "Furtwängler was in actuality the main conductor of the orchestra from 1933 to 1945, and again from 1947 to 1954."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wienerphilharmoniker.at/index.php?set_language=en&cccpage=history_early_20_cent |title=Vienna Philharmonic &#124; Orchestra, Concerts, New Years Concert |publisher=Wienerphilharmoniker.at |access-date=29 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524162031/http://www.wienerphilharmoniker.at/index.php?set_language=en |archivedate=24 May 2013  }}</ref> In support of ''New Grove''{{'}}s assertion of Walter's role, it might be noted that he made Vienna his home from 1933 until 1938 (after being driven from Germany by the Third Reich), was Artistic Director of the [[Vienna State Opera]] from 1936 until 1938, and conducted the Vienna Philharmonic frequently, making a number of major recordings with the orchestra (including [[Richard Wagner]]'s ''[[Die Walküre]]'' act 1 and parts of act 2, the first recordings of Mahler's ''[[Das Lied von der Erde]]'' and of his [[Symphony No. 9 (Mahler)|Symphony No. 9]], and numerous symphonic recordings)<ref>James Altena, Steven Reveyoso, and Erik Ryding. [http://bwdiscography.net/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/BWdiscography.154103309.htm Recorded Performances of Bruno Walter (1876–1962)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728092827/http://bwdiscography.net/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/BWdiscography.154103309.htm |date=28 July 2013 }}.</ref> and taking the orchestra on tour to England and France in 1935.<ref>Erik Ryding and Rebecca Pechefsky, ''Bruno Walter: A World Elsewhere'', Yale University Press, 2001, pp. 248–260, {{ISBN|978-0-300-08713-0}}</ref> In support of the VPO website, Otto Strasser (who played in the orchestra from 1922 until 1967 and was the VPO chairman who procured Furtwängler's wartime services) said, Furtwängler "influenced us so much that we became the true 'Furtwängler orchestra'."<ref>Raymond Holden, ''The Virtuoso Conductors: The Central European Tradition from Wagner to Karajan,'' Yale University Press, 2005, p. 216</ref>

Other conductors who worked with the orchestra in the mid-1930s before the [[Anschluss]] included [[Arturo Toscanini]], Weingartner, [[Hans Knappertsbusch]], [[Otto Klemperer]], [[Adrian Boult]], [[Victor de Sabata]] and [[George Szell]]. Walter conducted the last concert before the Anschluss, on 20 February 1938, featuring the world premiere of [[Egon Wellesz]]'s ''Prosperos Beschwörungen'' and Anton Bruckner's [[Symphony No. 4 (Bruckner)|Symphony No. 4]].<ref>http://www.wienerphilharmoniker.at/upload/files/torberg_hell_dank_en_hs_v01.pdf {{dead link|date=January 2017}}</ref>

After the Anschluss and during World War II the roster included Furtwängler, Krauss, Knappertsbusch, [[Willem Mengelberg]], and [[Karl Böhm]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.furtwangler.net/inmemoriam/data/wp_en.htm |title=Furtwängler and the Vienna Philharmonic &#124; Furtwängler – Tahra |work=Furtwangler.net |access-date=29 April 2013}}</ref> The orchestra's history during this period has been a topic of ongoing discussion and research, including a large amount commissioned by the orchestra (see below, "[[#Period under National Socialism]]").

===Post-World War II era to present===
In 1946, when these conductors were undergoing [[denazification]] – successfully in the case of Furtwängler,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.furtwangler.net/inmemoriam/data/nyt_en.htm |title=Denazification &#124; Furtwängler – Tahra |work=Furtwangler.net |access-date=29 April 2013}}</ref> unsuccessfully in the case of Mengelberg – the orchestra was led primarily by conductors untainted by Nazi association, including [[Josef Krips]], [[Erich Leinsdorf]], [[Volkmar Andreae]], [[Paul Paray]], and [[Charles Munch (conductor)|Charles Munch]].<ref>Erich Leinsdorf, ''Cadenza: A Musical Career,'' Houghton Mifflin: 1976, p. 139</ref> An exception was [[Herbert von Karajan]], who made his debut with the orchestra with two concerts in January, but was unable to conduct a third scheduled concert when occupying authorities required him to undergo denazification (his tribunal in Vienna was in February, 1947).<ref>Raymond Holden, ''The Virtuoso Conductors: The Central European Tradition from Wagner to Karajan,'' Yale University Press, 2005, p. 243–44</ref> After clearance, he resumed conducting in late 1947 and developed a significant association with the orchestra (more below).

In 1947, Bruno Walter reunited with the orchestra as conductor when it appeared at the first [[Edinburgh Festival]]. They performed a single work, Mahler's song cycle ''[[Das Lied von der Erde]]''.<ref>Ryding and Pechefsky, ''Bruno Walter: A World Elsewhere'' pp. 311–313</ref>

In the postwar era, dozens of the world's best-known conductors have led the orchestra. Among them were not only Walter, Furtwängler, Knappertsbusch, Krauss, Szell, Klemperer, and Krips, but also [[John Barbirolli]], [[Carlo Maria Giulini]], [[Erich Kleiber]], [[James Levine]], [[Zubin Mehta]], [[Fritz Reiner]], [[Georg Solti]], [[Claudio Abbado]], [[Riccardo Muti]], [[Nikolaus Harnoncourt]], [[Lorin Maazel]], [[Mariss Jansons]], [[Daniel Barenboim]], [[Gustavo Dudamel]], [[Roberto Carnevale]], [[Valery Gergiev]] and [[Franz Welser-Möst]]. The orchestra made their first US tour in 1956 under the batons of [[Carl Schuricht]] and [[André Cluytens]]. Three conductors were given honorific titles by the orchestra in the later 20th century: Karajan and [[Karl Böhm]], who were made Honorary Conductors, and [[Leonard Bernstein]], who was made an Honorary Member of the orchestra. [[Pierre Boulez]], who had conducted the orchestra often, was made an Honorary Member in 2007.<ref>http://www.wienerphilharmoniker.at/index.php?cccpage=news_detail&set_language=en&set_z_news=516 {{dead link|date=January 2017}}</ref> Another significant relationship was with the famously reclusive conductor [[Carlos Kleiber]], who appeared with the orchestra first in 1974 and last in 1994, his longest association with any ensemble, even if it included only 30 appearances;<ref>Carolyn Watson, [http://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/bitstream/2123/8797/1/CN-Watson-2012-PhD.pdf ''Carlos Kleiber: Gesture as Communication''], doctoral thesis, University of Sydney, 2012, p. 148</ref> Clemens Hellsberg wrote of the "contrast between those dry numbers and the defining experience which each encounter with this brilliant interpreter represented."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wienerphilharmoniker.at/index.php?set_language=en&cccpage=news_detail&set_z_news=51 |title=Vienna Philharmonic &#124; News |publisher=Wienerphilharmoniker.at |access-date=29 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110209215133/http://www.wienerphilharmoniker.at/index.php?set_language=en&cccpage=news_detail&set_z_news=51 |archivedate=9 February 2011  }}</ref>
Finally, [[István Kertész (conductor)|István Kertész]]' gramophone recordings with the Vienna Philharmonic during the 1960s and the 1970s represent a highlight in the orchestra's history.

On 7 May 2000, the orchestra performed Beethoven's [[Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)|Ninth Symphony]] at the site of the concentration camp at [[Mauthausen concentration camp|Mauthausen]], Austria, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of its liberation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wienerphilharmoniker.at/index.php?set_language=en&cccpage=news_detail&set_z_news=99 |title=Vienna Philharmonic &#124; the Orchestra, Concerts, Audio CDS, New Year's Concert |access-date=15 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524162031/http://www.wienerphilharmoniker.at/index.php?set_language=en |archivedate=24 May 2013  }}</ref> [[Simon Rattle]] conducted,<ref>Martin Kettle, [https://www.theguardian.com/friday_review/story/0,3605,214770,00.html "Ode to Joy in Mauthausen"], ''The Guardian'', 28 April 2000</ref> and soloists were [[Ruth Ziesak]], [[Angelika Kirchschlager]], [[Vinson Cole]], and [[Thomas Quasthoff]]; all artists and the orchestra performed without fee<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wienerphilharmoniker.at/index.php?set_language=en&cccpage=news_detail&set_z_news=93 |title=Vienna Philharmonic &#124; the Orchestra, Concerts, Audio CDS, New Year's Concert |access-date=15 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524162031/http://www.wienerphilharmoniker.at/index.php?set_language=en |archivedate=24 May 2013  }}</ref> and without applause at the end.<ref name=JRO2000>[[James R. Oestreich]], [https://www.nytimes.com/2000/05/09/arts/arts-abroad-dissonance-shadow-death-beethoven-kaddish-echo-through-nazi-camp.html "Arts Abroad: Dissonance In the Shadow Of Death; Beethoven and Kaddish Echo Through a Nazi Camp Site"], May 2000, ''The New York Times'', 9 May 2000</ref> The symphony was preceded by recitation of the [[Kaddish]], the prayer of mourning, by Paul Chaim Eisenberg, the [[Chief Rabbi]] of Austria, and the funeral prayer [[El male rachamim]] sung by [[Shmuel Barzilai]], the chief cantor of the [[Israelitische Kultusgemeinde Wien]] (Viennese Israelite Community), accompanied by members of the orchestra and the [[Wiener Singverein]]; the orchestral arrangement was by Erich Schagerl, a violinist in the orchestra.<ref name=JRO2000 />

In 2005 the orchestra was named Goodwill Ambassador of the [[World Health Organization]]. In 2013, Clemens Hellsberg received the Marietta and Friedrich Torberg Medal from the [[Israelitische Kultusgemeinde Wien]] (Viennese Israelite Community).<ref>http://www.wienerphilharmoniker.at/upload/files/torberg_hell_dank_en_hs_v01.pdfv {{dead link|date=January 2017}}</ref>

Each [[New Year's Day]] since 1 January 1941, the VPO has sponsored the [[Vienna New Year's Concert]]s, dedicated to the music of the Strauss family composers, and particularly that of [[Johann Strauss II]]; the first such concert was given on 31 December 1939 by [[Clemens Krauss]] (see below, "[[#Period under National Socialism]]"), and led subsequent concerts on New Year's Day from 1941 until 1945. The postwar series of concerts was inaugurated in 1946 by [[Josef Krips]]. They were led by Krauss, then by concertmaster [[Willi Boskovsky]] from 1955 to 1979, and since 1987 have been led by a variety of leading conductors invited by the orchestra.<ref>{{cite web |title=NEUJAHRSKONZERT Tradition und Geschichte |url=https://www.wienerphilharmoniker.at/de/neujahrskonzert/tradition-und-geschichte |website=Wiener Philharmoniker |access-date=17 May 2024}}</ref>