Illustrative image (Photo: organising board)
The series will commence with an opening night performance by La Philharmonica, featuring six distinguished female musicians from the Vienna Philharmonic. The ensemble is scheduled to present a selection of distinctive works, including two new compositions written specifically for the group by Tristan Schulze and Georg Breinschmid. It also features pieces by Pauline Viardot, John Williams, Johann Strauss II, Constanze Geiger, Mathilde Kralik, and Josefine Weinlich. With an elegant blend of strings and percussion, the event will take audiences on a journey from the romantic textures of opera and film music to the vibrant, refined rhythms of Vienna’s iconic dance tradition, the house announced on November 18.
The second night, titled “Chamber Night by the Vienna Chamber Orchestra”, will focus on the opulent, lively musical spirit of Vienna. It features classic works by Johann Strauss II, Eduard Strauss and Josef Strauss - waltzes and polkas that define the city’s dance-music heritage, including Fledermaus Overture, Mit Extrapost, Wiener Blut, Pizzicato Polka, Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald and Unter Donner und Blitz Polka. The evening will conclude with Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in G Minor (K. 550).
The series will close with “Spirit of Vienna”, a concert dedicated to the timeless masterpieces of Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven. It opens with Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 4 in D Major, K. 218 and Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K. 622, two pieces emblematic of the elegance, clarity and emotional depth of Vienna’s classical era. They are followed by Joseph Haydn’s bright and energetic Sinfonia concertante in B-flat Major, Hob. I:105. The final work, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92, brings the series to a powerful close with its driving rhythms, serving as a resounding tribute to the Vienna musical tradition.
Founded in 1946, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra has, for more than 75 years, maintained its standing as one of the world’s foremost chamber orchestras, performing globally in Japan, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Argentina, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Belgium, Morocco, and more.
Its return follows an acclaimed first visit to Vietnam in November 2024, which featured two concerts at the Ho Guom Opera House on November 23-24. Their refined and stylistically impeccable performances generated a strong positive impression on Vietnamese classical music audiences. This return a new step in international artistic collaboration and reflects Vietnam’s growing prominence in the regional orchestral landscape.
The two concerts by the Vienna Chamber Orchestra on November 28-29 will be conducted by Katharina Kratochwil, a rising Austrian conductor born in 1998 in Tulln an der Donau. Beginning her musical journey at a young age, she performed with a number of leading Austrian ensembles, notably the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Volksoper Vienna, the Vienna State Opera Orchestra and the Vienna Philharmonic, alongside the Angelika Prokopp Summer Academy Orchestra, the Webern Symphony Orchestra and the Lower Austrian Tonkünstler Orchestra.
La Philharmonica comprises six distinguished female artists from the Vienna Philharmonic. Among them is violinist Lara Kusztrich, a member of the Vienna Philharmonic, the Vienna State Opera Orchestra and the Vienna Court Orchestra. An award-winning soloist and chamber musician, she regularly performs with ensembles such as Philharmonic Five and La Philharmonica.
The ensemble’s repertoire is diverse, spanning from Viennese waltzes and operatic masterworks to film music and a broad array of contemporary styles. Together, the six artists embody the quintessential Vienna sound, a sophisticated blend of tonal finesse, technical mastery, and joyful musical expression.
