Petr Popelka elected new chief conductor of the Wiener Symphoniker

This was announced by the classic institution on Friday. The contract of the young regent (born 1986) initially runs for five years. “The openness that prevails in this orchestra is something great!”, the neo-boss sprinkled the musicians Rosen.

“What should an orchestra look like in the 21st century?” is now a key question for him. “The times when we just sit comfortably in the concert halls and people come to us are from the last century. We have to go out,” Popelka made his thrust clear. He wants to support young composers who welcome the stars of tomorrow on stage: “We live today and we have to play today’s music.”

But of course the greats of the past will not be forgotten. One of the composers he will take a closer look at is “my great love Robert Schumann”. Gustav Mahler is of course just as much a fixture as Arnold Schönberg: “And we want to bring one of Béla Bartók’s great works to life every season.”

With Viennese charm and a Czech heart

Popelka comes from Prague and was initially engaged as a double bass player with Christian Thielemann’s Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden before moving to the podium. The Czech is currently chief conductor of the radio orchestras in Norway and Prague, although his activities in Oslo are now being phased out. In addition, Popelka works as a composer, “but composition is my passion, not my job,” emphasized the 37-year-old on Friday.

Orchestra board member Thomas Schindl underlined that the personnel decision corresponded absolutely to the wishes of the symphonic musicians entitled to vote. “All the votes were counted correctly,” the musician couldn’t resist a political dig. Popelka’s debut in 2021 made a lasting impression on the members of the orchestra with their passionate musicality. He is looking forward to the successful combination of “Viennese charm and Czech heart”.

Director is looking forward to “great time together”

“Petr managed to create something like being in love right from the start – that’s important in every relationship,” said Symphoniker artistic director Jan Nast, outlining the passionate working relationship between the designated boss and the symphony orchestra in every respect. This is the only way to avoid being thrown out of the curve at the first difficulty. “I’m convinced it will be a great time together,” said Nast with anticipation.

“We took our time to find someone with this wonderful orchestra on an equal footing to carry the fire on,” said City Councilor for Culture Veronica Kaup-Hasler (SPÖ) summing up the process since the Orozco-Estrada departure. The Colombian had resigned from his post last year because of “long-lasting and insurmountable differences with the director of the orchestra, which could not be resolved despite continuous attempts”.