The Vienna Philharmonic In Sydney - The First Foreign Tour

The four concerts which constituted the guest appearance of the Vienna Philharmonic in Sydney were such a significant event in the history of our orchestra that we would like to provide a detailed account of the tour in its historical context.

On July 17 and 18, 1877, 35 years after its founding, the Vienna Philharmonic made its first appearance outside of its home city. To honor Mozart in the city of his birth, the orchestra traveled to the first Salzburg Music Festival to perform two concerts under the baton of Otto Dessoff, subscription concert conductor and chairman between 1860 and 1875. This trip was the subject of much interest among the general population, and the special train was greeted at decorated train stations in Enns, Wels and Schwanenstadt with hearty songs performed by the local men's choruses.

This was not the first time, however, that the orchestra had contemplated appearing outside Vienna: in 1860, an agent had made an offer for the Philharmonic to "give concerts in the main cities of Europe"; in 1864 "a strange rumor circulated" regarding a trip to London; and, then in 1873, a concert was to be given in Brno. In spite of all the talk, none of these events ever came to pass, and only with the trip to the Festival in Salzburg did the Philharmonic begin its touring activity. There followed guest appearances in Budapest (1879), Salzburg (1879, 1891), Graz (1881, 1882, 1888) and Brno (1896). Not until the year of 1900, did the orchestra cross what at that time were the borders of Austria to perform in a foreign country, traveling to Paris for the World Exposition to give five concerts under the baton of Gustav Mahler.

This first foreign appearance ended in a fiasco. The musicians began with much enthusiasm to make the necessary preparations. In retrospect it is almost touching to observe the incredible dilligence with which the ultimately failed planning was executed. The committee commissioned a photograph of the orchestra and devised a detailed financial plan in which the possibility of incurring debt was to be covered by a guarantee fund, financed by donations made by persons in high positions.

Gustav Mahler, director of the Court Opera and the Philharmonic subscription concerts, who had been entrusted by the orchestra with the artistic direction of the coming guest appearance, was in attendence at two committee meetings and the general business meeting, and was a vigorous proponent of the tour. On June 14, 1900, the Vienna Philharmonic travelled in a special train to Paris and gave five concerts which were very successful with the public and received excellent reviews, but which were poorly attended. As meticulous as the planning had been, publicity in Paris had been overlooked and it was therefore "non-existent.

The newspapers failed to advertise it, with only an inconspicuous mention in 'Figaro'. The concerts went unnoticed amid the commotion of the World Exposition, the guarantee fund was quickly consumed and the "orchestra was in danger of not being able to pay for the return trip to Vienna". In desperation, Gustav Mahler contacted Baron Albert Rothschild, the Chairman of the Wiener Haus, who was in Parisat the time, and requested a loan in the considerable amount of 20,000 Francs.6 After initial hesitation, the banker finally agreed, after Mahler emphasized that otherwise he would have to use his own savings in order to get the musicians home.

By www.wienerphilharmoniker.at