The Vienna Philharmonic (in German: die Wiener Philharmoniker) is an orchestra based in Vienna, Austria. It is thought of as one of the greatest orchestras in the world.
The orchestra play in a concert hall called the Musikverein. Before becoming a member of the Vienna Philharmonic the musicians have to work for at least three years in the opera house (the Vienna State Opera). Then they are allowed to try to become a member of the Vienna Philharmonic.
History
The orchestra started in 1842, when Otto Nicolai formed the Philharmonische Academie. The members of this orchestra made all the decisions about how the orchestra should be organized, and the orchestra still works in this way today.
When Nicolai left in 1847, the orchestra nearly came to an end. They did not play very much until 1860, when Karl Anton Eckert joined as conductor. Since then, the orchestra has given concerts all the time.
From 1875 to 1898 Hans Richter was principal conductor, except for the season 1882-1883 when he had an argument with the orchestral committee. During the time Richter was conductor the orchestra gave the first performances of several very famous works, including Symphonies no 2 and 3 by Brahms and Symphony no 8 by Anton Bruckner.
Since 1941 the orchestra has played the New Year's Day concert every January 1, in their concert hall Musikverein. The concert is dedicated to the music of the Strauss family composers, especially Johann Strauss II. The concert is watched on television by people all over the world.
In recent years the orchestra has been criticised because they did not allow women to become full members of the orchestra. This is now gradually starting to change. They were also criticised for racism because they only took people who were white. In 2001 they appointed a violinist who was half-Asian.
