Making History at the 10th World Orchestra Festival
The 10th World Orchestra Festival took place in Vienna from July 25 to 28, 2024, featuring four special concerts, two gala concerts, workshops, and a UNICEF charity sale. Counting 20 orchestras from 8 countries, we had over 1,200 musicians participating, sharing their love of music and gaining new insights under the guidance of the Artistic Committee, headed by the esteemed professor Toby Purser.
Apart from showcasing their talents in front of an audience in beautiful Vienna venues and sharpening their skills under the guidance of the best music experts, orchestras had the opportunity to enter an optional competition session. This competition aimed to foster a positive spirit and help participants achieve a higher level of artistry. Participants competed for (which they received after their final performances in the Musikverein) and received valuable feedback from the judges. Ultimately, everyone left the festival with unforgettable experiences and memories, regardless of the competition's outcome.
The festival was a celebration of music and camaraderie, bringing people together through the shared joy of performance. While the whole festival was certainly memorable, there were also a few exceptional and historic moments happening on these Viennese stages.
Tradition and Celebration
One of the crowd favorites was definitely the Beijing Fengtai District Children's Palace Little Star Folk Orchestra that showed us the beauty of incorporating traditional Chinese instruments, such as yangqin (a trapezoidal hammered dulcimer), guzheng (a plucked zither), pipa (also called the "Chinese lute"), and erhu (a two-stringed fiddle), to an orchestral ensemble. While the traditional sounds reminded us of a lovely summer breeze, the orchestra took us by surprise as their music seamlessly switched from calming to a modern, funky beat that got us moving. The unique blend of tradition and ingenuity won the hearts of the entire audience.
On the other hand, the Youth Chamber Orchestra of Turkmenistan surprised the Viennese audience by adding a traditional piece in their otherwise classical performance. Along with the pieces like the Tchaikovsky’s Serenada, they amazed the spectators with the Turkmen National Music “Durdy Bagshy” accompanied by a young man in a traditional outfit playing a dutar, a Central Asian long-necked two- stringed lute.
A European traditional instrument also made an appearance – coming from Croatia, the Križevci Tamburitza Orchestra played tamburas for the first time in history in the Golden Hall of Musikverein and the MuTh Concert Hall. Their participation at our festival is a part of the commendable city project „150 years of Tambura in Križevci“ and it attracted over a hundred supporters (including their mayor) who traveled to Austria’s capital to witness their historic performances, as well as gained attention of the Croatian embassy in Vienna. Suffice to say, their performance was like no other and it captured the entire audience from the very first note.
Speaking of anniversaries and unique performances, we can’t forget to mention the amazing Dutch orchestra Vriezenveense Harmonie. Celebrating the 100 years of their orchestra, the amazing musicians from the Netherlands performed as an orchestra and as a percussion ensemble, adding a new flavor to this delicious event. While some other pieces left us relaxed and dreamy, the VH music woke us up in the best way possible.
And a cherry on top was a surprise on the final night of the festival - the Radetzky March performed by the Blasmusikverein Großweikersdorf Ruppersthal (Austria) and Orchestre Français des Jeunes Talents (France). The joined act got the audience clapping along and the standing ovation they received seemed to last forever. With such an amazing end, we cannot be anything but ecstatic about the entire event.
Many thanks to all who participated in the festival and all who came to enjoy the performances that certainly took a lot of time to perfect. There’s nothing more fulfilling than sharing our passions with others and we are grateful we got to share these days with you. With so much joy in our hearts, we can only hope next year will bring just as many surprises and we continue making history.
