Elegance… Romance…and Grandeur of 19th-century Viennese ballrooms in a concert of the Vienna Johann Strauss Orchestra. This magical show is a sparkling blend of Viennese light classics and theatricality.  As true Viennese artists, the Vienna Johann Strauss Orchestra possesses a matchless warmth and sense of style, and they retain the exact instrumentation which their founder set in 1844!

Founded by Johann Strauss, Jr. in 1844 and renewed by great grandson Eduard Strauss in 1966, the VJSO carries on the great family tradition in Vienna’s famed Musikverein and in tours abroad to halls such as Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center and Boston’s Symphony Hall.

Angel EMI, ORT

“expertly idiomatic phrasing…a sense of fun far above the average…when the orchestra switched deftly from ‘Radetzky’ to ‘Stars and Stripes Forever’ the audience went even wilder.” The Washington Post

Biographies & Reviews

Vienna Johann Strauss Orchestra

History

With the violin bow as their scepter and the waltz as their rhythm, the musicians of the Vienna Johann Strauß Orchestra are well aware of their great tradition. Classical Viennese dance music may be loved all over the world but its authentic interpretation can only be gained at the source. The charm of a people who have become one with their music cannot be handed down through the ages and across the seas by musical notation alone.

Johann Strauß, Jr., the "Waltz King", knew this.  On July 31, 1844 he applied for a license “to pursue his livelihood as a music director with an orchestra of 45 players.”  In October of that same year he conducted his first concert at Dommayer’s Casino in Hietzing with musicians who had signed on to “gather for rehearsals and productions punctually at the hours set by Herr Kapellmeister Strauss, in order to fulfill the required duties with zeal and diligence and be unrelenting in the effort to produce the best results,” and with that the Vienna Johann Strauß Orchestra was born.

The orchestra soon started out on concert tours to acquaint audiences abroad with waltzes, polkas, mazurkas and quadrilles.  Later Johann Strauss, Jr. was too much in demand and so he gave the organization of the orchestra to his youngest brother Eduard.  Twice, in 1890 and in 1900 / 01, Eduard Strauß took his orchestra to the United States and both times their tour was a triumph: they had the continent at their feet.

Adverse times interrupted the continuity of the Vienna Johann Strauß Orchestra. Meanwhile, however, Eduard II - grandson of the first Eduard and the great nephew of the "Waltz King" - having grown up in the family tradition, was ready to take over. He knew that only a first rate orchestra of Viennese musicians could play this music in such a way that its entire charm would be revealed. In 1965 outstanding musicians from all famous Viennese orchestras united to renew the "Vienna Johann Strauß-Orchestra.",  In October 1966, Eduard Strauß took this new Vienna Johann Strauß Orchestra on its first tour of North America and Canada. Willi Boskovsky, Kurt Wöss, and Alfred Eschwé followed as chief conductors. Under their leadership the orchestra was invited for extensive concert tours (including appearances at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center and Boston Symphony Hall) and standard-setting recordings of the almost complete works of the Strauß dynasty for the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation.

To this day, the Vienna Johann Strauß Orchestra continues its mission bringing to life the immortal tunes of Viennese music, manifest in the compositions of the Strauß dynasty and thus giving joy to countless listeners all over the world.

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ALFRED ESCHWÉ

Conductor, Vienna Johann Strauss Orchestra

ALFRED ESCHWÉ was born in Vienna and graduated here from his musical studies at the conservatory and the Hochschule für Musik. After brief engagements in Austria he moved to Germany, where he stayed until 1989 when Eberhard Wächter brought him to the Vienna Volksoper. Here he collaborated with Harry Kupfer on a new production of Eugen Onegin and, in addition, he conducted Prokofiev’s The Fiery Angel and Janácek’s The Makropulos Case with Anja Silja in the lead role.

Mr. Eschwé frequently conducts the Vienna Johann Stauss Orchestra, both at home in the Great Hall of the Musikverein and on tours throughout Europe, and to Japan and North America.

Guest performances led Alfred Eschwé to the Teatro Reggio in Turin, the Teatro Verdi in Trieste, the Teatro Bellini in Catania and the Teatro Massimo in Palermo. Since 1999 he has been a frequent guest conductor at the Hamburg State Opera where he has conducted The Magic Flute, Czar and Carpenter, The Love for three Oranges and Così fan tutte. In addition to his opera activity he has conducted, amongst others, the Orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, the Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg, the Orchestra of the South German Broadcasting Company Stuttgart, the State Philharmonic Rhineland-Pfalz, the Bratislava Philharmonic and the RSO Vienna. He made his debut at the Vienna State Opera in 2003 with The Magic Flute and iIn the 2004/05 season he conducted L'elisir d'amore.

Reviews

The Washington Post

Sacramento Bee

Worcester Telegram

Programs

VIENNA JOHANN STRAUSS ORCHESTRA

Suggested Program Subject to Change

Johann Strauß           Ouvertüre zur Operette „Die Fledermaus“

Johann Strauß           Im Krapfenwald’l, Polka francaise op. 336

Josef Strauß  Ohne Sorgen, Polka schnell op. 271

Josef Strauß  Mein Lebenslauf ist Lieb und Lust, Walzer op. 263

Johann Strauß           Egyptischer Marsch op. 335

Johann Strauß           Leichtes Blut, Polka schnell op. 319

Johann Strauß           Emperor Waltz, op. 437

 

Johann Strauß           Ouvertüre zur Operette „Der Zigeunerbaron“

Johann Strauß           Annenpolka op. 117

Johann Strauß           Perpetuum mobile, Musikalischer Scherz op. 257

Johann Strauß           Künstlerleben, Walzer op. 316

Eduard Strauß           Bahn frei, Polka schnell op. 45

Johann und Josef Strauß     Pizzicato Polka

Johann Strauß           On the Beautiful Blue Danube, Walzer op. 314

Zugaben:

Franz Lehár:  Vilja Lied

Josef Strauß: Jokey-Polka, P.s. op. 278

Johann Strauß:          Unter Donner und Blitz, P.s. op. 324

Johann Strauß V.:     Radetzky Marsch

All subject to change.

Discography

 

Personal & Biased Comments About the Artist

Lots of fun and they can really play!  The musicians are drawn from the Vienna Symphony, the Vienna Radio, the Mozarteum, and they love playing this music.  They communicate that love in a smiling, beautifully executed performance. The Strauss Orchestra was recently flown from Vienna to the Tilles Center on Long Island as their season’s gala fund-raiser.

Conductor Alfred Eschwe is absolutely charming, speaks English well, and looks a bit like the orchestra’s namesake.

Technical Requirements

42 chairs, 3 bass stools, 33 music stands, podium, 3 bass stools, arranged according to attached seating diagram, 3 good quality string basses (not plywood), 2 tympani, 1 harp, 3 hours rehearsal time on the concert stage just prior to the doors opening to the public, individual dressing room for the conductor, and separate dressing areas for the men and women of the orchestra.  At least two loaders to unload the orchestra's equipment from the bus/truck before the rehearsal, and back into the bus/truck following the concert.  Light refreshments backstage including, mineral water, juice, fruit during rehearsal and concert.  Final tech requests to be determined no later than 30 days prior to concert.