Wiener Singverein
The Vienna Singverein (Singverein der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien) is the concert choir of the Vienna Musikverein with around 230 members. It is regularly requested by top orchestras and conductors for large and varied projects.
History
In 1812 the
The choir was founded in its present form in 1858. The first choir master was Johann von Herbeck until his transfer to the Vienna Court Opera. The Singverein has been substantially involved in many first performances from
Since its foundation the Singverein has been partner of important conductors, among them Franz Schalk, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Dimitri Mitropoulos, Karl Böhm and Leonard Bernstein. From 1947 to 1989 Herbert von Karajan defined the profile of the choir and made it known worldwide through recordings, concert film productions on laser disc.
Concert tours took the choir to Australia, Japan and the USA; further concerts among others were in Israel, Athens, Berlin, Budapest, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Moscow, Munich, Paris, Pisa, Rome, and Zurich. In 1959 a performance of the Bruckner Te Deum took place in the Vatican, as well as in 1985 a performance of the Mozart Coronation Mass during the High Mass with Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Basilica under Karajan.
Choir masters
The first choir master Herbeck was followed by Johannes Brahms, then from mid-twentieth century Ferdinand Grossmann, Reinhold Schmid and Helmut Froschauer. Since 1991 Johannes Prinz has been the choir master engaged by the Vienna Musikverein.
Conductors and orchestras
In recent times the choir has worked, among others, with
The Vienna orchestras regularly working with the Singverein are the
Jubilee 2008 and news
The Jubilee-Season 150 Years Vienna Singverein (2008) was celebrated by a concert tour to Moscow (Gala concert with the Missa Solemnis in the Tchaikovsky Conservatory), a ceremony and a joint concert with the Vienna Singakademie in the Musikverein and in the Konzerthaus singing the Berlioz Requiem. The final Jubilee Concerts took place in Amsterdam with the Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest under Mariss Jansons, four performances of the Requiem op. 89 by Antonín Dvořák. Finally a Leonard-Bernstein-Concert and then a High Mass with Cardinal Christoph Schönborn in St Stephan's Cathedral with a performance of Beethoven's Mass in C.
The Season 2009/2010 began with a concert tour to Japan, where Haydn's The Creation and Brahms’ Requiem were performed in the Izumi-Hall in
To celebrate the centenary of the first performance Mahler’s Symphony Nr. 8 (Symphony of a Thousand), in which the Singverein took part in September 1910, the choir, along with the Philharmonic Choir Munich and the Tölzer Boys’ Choir, was invited to the Gasteig Philharmonie to give two performances under the direction of Christian Thielemann in October 2010. In the year 2011, concerts with works by Olivier Messiaen, Shostakovich and Mahler under Ingo Metzmacher, Bruckner's E minor Mass and choral works by Peter Planyavsky under Johannes Prinz and for the first time under Cornelius Meister and Gustavo Dudamel, works by Janáček and Mahler took place.
In 2017, the Singverein took part in the famous Vienna New Year's Concert for the first time. [1]
Recent recordings (CD, DVD, Livestream)
- Ludwig van Beethoven Symphonie Nr. 9 – Ode an die Freude (Vienna Philharmonic – Christian Thielemann)[2]
- Ein deutsches Requiem(Cleveland Orchestra – F. Welser-Möst)
- Antonín Dvořák Requiem (Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra – Mariss Jansons)
- Gustav Mahler Symphonie Nr. 2 – Auferstehung (Vienna Philharmonic – Gilbert Kaplan)
- Gustav Mahler Symphonie Nr. 2 – Auferstehung (Vienna Philharmonic – Pierre Boulez)
- Gustav Mahler Symphonie Nr. 3 (Bavarian State Orchestra – Zubin Mehta)
- Gustav Mahler Symphonie Nr. 3 (Vienna Philharmonic – Pierre Boulez)
- Otto Nicolai Mondchor aus Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor (Schönbrunn Palace 2010, Vienna Philharmonic – F. Welser-Möst)
- Gioachino Rossini Petite messe solennelle – Musikverein Vienna – May 2013 – (Orchestre National de France – Daniele Gatti)
- Tonkünstler-Orchester Niederösterreich – Bruno Weil)
- Franz Schmidt Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln (Vienna Philharmonic – Nikolaus Harnoncourt)
- Franz Schmidt Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln (Tonkünstler-Orchester Niederösterreich – Kristjan Järvi)
- Karol Szymanowski Symphonie Nr. 3 – Lied der Nacht (Vienna Philharmonic – Pierre Boulez)
- Richard Wagner Tristan und Isolde – Duett-Szenen (Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra – Bertrand de Billy)
Literature
- August Böhm: Geschichte des Singvereines der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien. Wien 1908.
- Gottfried Möser (edit., Text: Desiree Hornek / Chronik: Rudolf Toncourt): Festschrift 125 Jahre Singverein der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien (1858–1983). Vienna 1983.
- Gottfried Möser: Der Singverein der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien; seine Geschichte mit besonderer Darstellung der Jahre 1933 bis 2000. Vienna 2003.
- Gottfried Möser: Das Chorwesen in Wien in der zweiten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts. Thesis Vienna 2004.
- Joachim Reiber: Wiener Singverein – Menschen Stimmen Götterfunken (2007) *[1]
Notes
- ^ "Julie Andrews hosts PBS' from Vienna: The New Year's Celebration". 30 December 2016.
- ^ L. v. Beethoven: Neunte Sinfonie, Finale: Freude schöner Götterfunken, Wiener Philharmoniker, Christian Thielemann. DVD – April 2010.
External links
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