Czech conductor and composer Petr Popelka, pictured on October 3, 2022.
Vienna – He will be the chief conductor of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra for five years from the 2024/25 season Czech conductor and composer Petr Popelka. According to the DPA agency, this was stated by representatives of the orchestra and the city of Vienna. Popelka himself, who is currently the chief conductor of the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra for the second season, informs about this on his website.
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“Becoming the chief conductor of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra is a dream come true,” wrote Cinderella on her website. According to him, this orchestra is “the embodiment of Vienna”. Popelka also praises the Vienna orchestra for its “modern and pioneering spirit”, whether it concerns the choice of repertoire or the role of the orchestra in society.
According to the DPA agency, Popelka said that in addition to works by Robert Schumann, Gustav Mahler or Arnold Schönberga wants to focus on the work of young composers. “We live in today's times and we have to play today's music,” said Popelka.
In recent years, he worked with the GDR Elbphilharmonie orchestra in Hamburg. Later, he became the chief conductor of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra in Oslo and also the chief guest conductor of the Janáček Philharmonic in Ostrava.
Cinderella will replace the Colombian Andrés Orozco-Estrada as the chief conductor of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, whose contract the management of this musical body decided not to renew. In the past, the orchestra was conducted by Herbert von Karajan or Wolfgang Sawallisch.
