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Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra

Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester (Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra) is a youth orchestra based in Vienna, Austria, founded in 1986 by conductor Claudio Abbado.

History

The orchestra offered also the young musicians from then socialist countries, like Hungary and Czechoslovakia, the access. So it was the first youth orchestra to hold open auditions in the former Eastern Bloc. Since 1992 a jury authorized by Claudio Abbado makes its selection from the many candidates at auditions held in more than twenty-five European cities each year. Now there are more than 100 musicians in the orchestra and they come from Germany, Austria, France, Hungary, Russia, Spain, Great Britain, Romania and Switzerland. The members of the jury are prominent orchestral players who continue to assist the orchestra with its musical program during the rehearsal period.

The orchestra has a huge structure. More than 130 musicians went on their Easter Tour in 2005. This size is also able to play Richard Strauss' Eine Alpensinfonie in its full size.

The GMJO tour repertoire ranges from classical to contemporary music with the emphasis on the great symphonic works of the romantic and late romantic periods. Its high artistic level and international success have prompted many leading conductors and soloists to perform with the GMJO. Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester has marked in 2005 their Easter Tour and received a warm welcome. During the tour a recording of Richard Strauss' Eine Alpensinfonie, was produced under the baton of Franz Welser-Möst. The orchestra gives its perform also in the Lucerne Festival, the Salzburg Festival and the Salzburg Easter Festival. Many former members of the GMJO are now members of the leading European orchestras, some of them in principal positions.

Many conductors have cooperated with Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, such as Claudio Abbado, Mariss Jansons, Pierre Boulez and Bernard Haitink.

The orchestra gave on 1 September 2008 a concert at BBC Proms in the Royal Albert Hall in London with Colin Davis conducting and Nikolaj Znaider (violin) playing Beethoven's Violin Concerto and Sibelius's Symphony No. 2.