There is perhaps no other musical ensemble more closely associated with the history and tradition of European classical music than the Vienna Philharmonic. Over the past 180 years, the orchestra has experienced and influenced the course of music history around the world, and to this day, prominent soloists and conductors refer to the unique “Viennese Sound” that sets it apart from other orchestras.

Since its founding by Otto Nicolai in 1842, the orchestra has held a fascination for composers and conductors because of its conscious maintenance of a consistent musical style that is carefully bequeathed from one generation to the next, as well as its unique history and organizational structure. The two pillars of the orchestra’s “Philharmonic Idea” are a democratic structure that places the entire artistic and organizational decision-making process in the hands of the musicians themselves, and a close symbiotic relationship with the Vienna State Opera Orchestra. Vienna Philharmonic statutes stipulate that only musicians from the opera orchestra can become members of the philharmonic. The orchestra itself is solely responsible for the organization of concerts and the selection of repertoire, as well as the engagement of conductors and soloists.

In 1860, the Vienna Philharmonic introduced the Subscription Concert series, for which one conductor leads an entire season. Beginning in 1933, the orchestra created a system of engaging guest conductors that promotes a wide spectrum of artistic encounters with the most prominent conductors of each generation. Touring activities began at the turn of the 20th century and have since taken the orchestra to every continent. In recent years, this has included regularly scheduled concerts in Germany, Japan, the US, and China.

From the beginning, the orchestra has displayed a strong social mission characterized by a commitment to individuals in need and the fostering of young musicians. In 2018, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Academy was founded. The academy students are selected in accordance with a strict, internationally oriented audition process, and trained at the highest level during a two-year course of study. The orchestra also engages its humanitarian spirit by performing benefit concerts and developing initiatives for disadvantaged people.

The Vienna Philharmonic performs approximately 40 concerts in Vienna annually, among them the New Year’s Concert and Summer Night Concert Schönbrunn, which are broadcast around the world. The orchestra also has an annual summer residency at the Salzburg Festival and performs more than 50 concerts a year on its international tours.

Since the 2012–2013 season, Christian Thielemann has been the principal conductor of the Staatskapelle Dresden. In 1988, following engagements in Gelsenkirchen, Karlsruhe, Hanover, and Dusseldorf, he became the general music director of the Nuremberg Opera. He then returned to his hometown to direct the Deutsche Oper Berlin in 1997, and took up the post of music director at the Munich Philharmonic in 2004. In addition to his current position in Dresden, he was the artistic director of the Salzburg Easter Festival, where the Staatskapelle served as resident orchestra, from 2013 to 2022.

In previous seasons, Mr. Thielemann contributed greatly to birthday celebrations for Wagner, R. Strauss, and Beethoven. He has also explored a wide range of music from J. S. Bach to Henze, Wolfgang Rihm, and Sofia Gubaidulina in Dresden and on tour. With the Semperoper Dresden, he recently conducted new productions of Ariadne auf Naxos and Capriccio, while for the Salzburg Easter Festival he interpreted Die Walküre, Tosca, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and Lohengrin.

Mr. Thielemann maintains close ties to the Berliner Philharmoniker and Vienna Philharmonic, whose New Year’s Concert he conducted in 2019. Following his debut at the Bayreuth Festival in 2000, he has returned every year to thrill audiences with benchmark interpretations. In addition, he has been invited to conduct leading orchestras in Europe, the US, Israel, and Asia. As a UNITEL exclusive artist, Mr. Thielemann has a comprehensive catalogue of recordings. His most recent projects with the Staatskapelle include the symphonies of Bruckner and R. Schumann, Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder, and numerous operas.

Mr. Thielemann is an honorary member of London’s Royal Academy of Music and honorary professor at Dresden’s Carl Maria von Weber College of Music, and holds honorary doctorates from the Franz Liszt University of Music in Weimar and the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. In 2003, he was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. In 2015, he received the Richard Wagner Prize from the Richard Wagner Society of the city of Leipzig, followed by the Prize of the Semperoper Trust in 2016 and an honorary award from the state of Salzburg in 2022. He is a patron of the Richard-Wagner-Stätten in Graupa.