OLIVER STECH, Conductor

In commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Johann Strauss

 

The youngest ambassadors of classical music, the renowned Vienna Boys’ Choir, return to Zagreb with a sparkling Viennese invitation, the music of Johann Strauss Jr., marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of the "King of the Waltz”, which will be celebrated in 2025! Two symbols of Vienna in one concert! The Vienna Boys’ Choir brings the ultimate music enjoyment – a blend of ethereal children's voices and the rhythm of the waltz!

 

Its uninterrupted tradition began in the Middle Ages, when the boys sang at the Viennese court. Today, the Vienna Boys’ Choir is a world musical phenomenon and synonymous with Vienna's rich musical heritage.  It performs all over the world. Since 1921, when the boys' choir of the Vienna’s Imperial Chapel turned into the choir known today, the Vienna Boys’ Choir has been developing a rich repertoire, the core of which consists of pieces specially composed for it, as well as of arrangements for that choir. The recognizable part of its repertoire is filled with the music of Vienna, waltzes and polkas by the Strauss family composers and authors of Viennese operetta. Its first recording of Strauss's famous waltz, Vienna's unofficial anthem – The Blue Danube – was made way back in 1933!  It is interesting that this waltz was originally composed for a male choir, the Vienna Men's Singing Society, in 1867. In the same year, Strauss rearranged it into an orchestral waltz. In addition to that waltz, the Vienna Boys’ Choir chose a number of other pieces by the “King of the Waltz". Cute, witty lyrics to well‑known music written specially for it and the virtuoso performance of the Vienna Boys’ Choir make those vocal versions classics in their own right.