Salonorchester Alt Wien
- Chamber Orchestra
- Austria
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Salonorchester Alt Wien
In 1994 musicians of the orchestra of the VIENNA VOLKSOPER founded the VIENNA SALON ORCHESTRA under the direction of UDO ZWÖLFER, the concertmaster.
The VIENNA SALON ORCHESTRA was created to give people visiting Vienna from all over the world, the opportunity to attend concerts of brilliant Viennese music in a historical ambience, performed by superb musicians.
The repertoire includes overtures, waltzes, polkas, marches and pieces from composers of the “light” Viennese music like Josef Lanner, the Strauss family, Karl Komzak, Carl Michael Ziehrer, Fritz Kreisler, Emmerich Kalman, Franz Lehar and Robert Stolz. Arias and duets from famous operettas of Johann Strauss (“The bat”, “Zigeunerbaron”, “Eine Nacht in Venedig”, “Wiener Blut”), Franz Lehar (“Die lustige Witwe”), Emmerich Kalman (“Die Csardasfürstin”, “Gräfin Mariza”), Karl Zeller (“Der Vogelhändler”), and Karl Millöcker (”Der Bettelstudent”, “Gasparone”) are also part of the program.
The musicians are especially interested in the cultivation of the traditional “Wienerlied” (song from Vienna) as well as new compositions from composers like E. Boulanger, Albert W. Ketelby, and Leroy Anderson. But fundamentally, the Vienna Salon Orchestra carries on the traditions rooted in the beginning in the 19th century: A salon orchestra may play EVERYTHING as far as it sounds well and is loved by the audience! Therefore some surprising and amusing “side leaps” into strange grounds like musicals, film music, dance music, folk music, and “serious classics” occur from time to time.
Corresponding to the old tradition of Lanner and Johann Strauss, Udo Zwölfer conducts his musicians with a violin in his hand. Through listening to each other and corresponding in a constant musical dialogue, the musicians create a happy, lively atmosphere in the concert hall, which transfers itself to the audience.
In Vienna, the Vienna Salon Orchestra has regular performances in famous, historic locations like the Vienna Imperial Palace, the Redoutensaal, the large ceremonial room of the National Library, the festival room of the Vienna Stock Market, and the great Viennese concert hall: the “Wiener Musikvereinssaal”.
Since 1998, the Vienna Salon Orchestra successfully cooperates with “SOUND OF VIENNA”, an agency, which organizes concerts, under the management of JOSIP SUSNJARA. Through this cooperation, the orchestra has played more than 300 concerts per year only in Vienna.
With the renovation of the “WIENER KURSALON” in 2001, the orchestra found a permanent home in a location where already Johann and Eduard Strauss, Franz Lehar, Nico Dostal and others, have seen their work performed. Enthusiastic approval of the audience and much praise in professional circles demonstrate the always-increasing quality of the ensemble.
In 2001, 2002 and 2004 the Vienna Salon Orchestra completed very successful tours throughout Japan and the next one is planned for 2006. In 2004 the group additionally attended two guest performances in China and two outstanding concerts in LONG BEACH, California.
