Once again, the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra (Vienna RSO) is making the headlines as a potential victim of the Austrian Federal Government’s austerity plans. If the cost-cutting target for the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) remains unchanged, ORF’s Director General, Roland Weißmann, sees no possibility to maintain the Vienna RSO as an institution embedded in the ORF.
Dissolving the Vienna RSO would have grave consequences:
For the vibrant music scene in Austria, which is enriched by the RSO Vienna’s devotion to and performance of mostly contemporary music – a role it currently almost exclusively fills, expanding the country’s cultural range within the framework of the ORF.
For the listeners of the Österreich 1 (Ö1) station: almost every concert played by the Vienna RSO is broadcast on Ö1 and thus made available to all Austrians.
For concert organisers and festivals in Vienna and Austria, for whom the Vienna RSO has been a crucial and reliable partner for decades, adding significant range to these events’ programmes.
For the MusikTheater an der Wien, which has found a valuable and flexible opera orchestra with the Vienna RSO.
For Austrian composers, whose works can only be premiered or performed by an orchestra such as the Vienna RSO.
For the numerous visitors of our concerts, who appreciate and cherish the wide diversity of our programming and the skills and devotion of our musicians.
And not least: for the approximately 100 musicians who have devoted their musical ambitions and commitment to this orchestra.
The ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra is serving a crucial function in protecting the cultural heritage of Austria as a country of music and, as such, it must be saved.