© Michael Maritsch
For more than ten years, the Angelika Prokopp Summer Academy of the Vienna Philharmonic has fostered talented young orchestral players. The orchestra’s working period takes place in parallel with the Salzburg Festival. One important goal of the Summer Academy is to give young musicians insights into the traditions of orchestral playing maintained specifically by the Vienna Philharmonic. Therefore, the repertoire has a strong focus on music composed in Vienna, especially works of the First Viennese School. All instrumental sections are coached exclusively by members of the Vienna Philharmonic. The Summer Academy’s mission also encompasses encouragement and tuition for musicians practicing specific Viennese instruments, i.e. the Viennese oboe, horn and timpani. The Summer Academy is funded by the Angelika Prokopp Private Foundation, founded in 1999, whose mission is to support the arts and culture, in memory of the long-time director of the “Prokopp Lottery” which is very popular in Austria.
Konzerthaus, Berlin
© Betina Skovbro
The Czech conductor Tomáš Hanus, born in Brno in 1970, made his debut at the Prague National Theatre in Smetana’s opera The Devil’s Wall in 2001. In 2005 he led the revival of Katya Kabanova at the Finnish National Opera; from 2007 he was music director of the Brno National Theatre for two seasons. Ever since, guest engagements have taken him to opera houses in Paris, Basel, Dresden, Berlin and Lyon. Hanus mainly made a name for himself conductor operas by Janácek, such as Jenufa, The Makropoulos Case and From the House of the Dead. He also conducted concerts with orchestras such as the Bavarian State Orchestra, the Ensemble intercontemporain, the orchestra of the Teatro Real in Madrid, the Camerata Salzburg and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Since the 2016/17 season, Hanus has been music director at the Welsh National Opera, where he most recently conducted new productions of Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia, Bizet’s Carmen, Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier and Mussorgsky’s Khovanshchina.
© Phoebe Kuan
The American violinist Robert Amadeo Sanders received his first violin lessons at the age of five from his parents. He went on to study at the Music Institute of Chicago and the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. During his studies, he was concertmaster of the Eastman Philharmonia and a member of the Asha String Quartet. Sanders participated in master courses with Augustin Hadelich, Sarah Chang and Shmuel Ashkenasi, among others, and has performed chamber music with various string quartet formations. In the summer of 2021 he was a fellow at the Aspen Music Festival. The violinist is currently a member of the Vienna Philharmonic’s orchestra academy.
© privat
Born in Vienna in 1997, Benedikt Sinko started playing the cello at the age of five. In 2013 he began studying with Reinhard Latzko at the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts. Since 2018 he has been a student of Julian Steckel in Munich. Sinko received further artistic impulses by participating in master courses with Clemens Hagen, David Geringas and Robert Nagy. The cellist has won prizes at the International Cello Competition in Liezen in 2012 and the 2013 International David Popper Competition. He gained orchestral experience as a substitute of the orchestra of the Vienna State Opera.
© Hannah Friedl
The 24-year-old Austrian oboist Katharina Kratochwil received her first oboe lessons at the age of seven at the music school in Tulln an der Donau (Lower Austria). Since 2013 she has studied at the Vienna University of Music and Arts. Katharina Kratochwil has won several first prizes at the national competition “Prima la Musica” and at the competition for young players of the Viennese oboe. She has been gathering orchestral experience as a substitute, e.g. at the ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra in Vienna, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and the stage orchestra of the Vienna State Opera. She is currently a member of the Vienna Philharmonic’s orchestra academy.
© Constantin Barcov
25-year-old Traian Sturza began playing bassoon at the age of ten in Iaşi, Romania. Later he completed a bachelor’s degree at the Schwob School of Music in Columbus, Georgia. He also participated in numerous music festivals, including the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme, the Pacific Music Festival and the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival. For one season, Sturza was associate principal bassoon at the Malmö Opera in Sweden. As a soloist, he has appeared with the Moldova Philharmonic from Iaşi, the Lagrange Symphony and the Brevard Music Festival Orchestra. The bassoonist is currently a master’s degree student at the Munich Academy of Music and Theatre with Dag Jensen. He is also a member of the orchestra academy of the Vienna Philharmonic.
”Dances from Galánta” (1930)
Sinfonia concertante in B-flat-major Op. 84 Hob.I:105 (1792)
Symphony No. 8 in G-major Op. 88 (1889)
About the concert
The Angelika Prokopp Summer Academy of the Vienna Philharmonic makes its debut at Young Euro Classic – an event raising great expectations, as the young musicians are coached exclusively by members of that venerable orchestra. Moreover, the programme resembles a homage to the old Hapsburg monarchy, which united so many nationalities and musical styles. The concert begins with a work from Hungary, the Dances from Galánta in which Zoltán Kodály indulged in memories of his childhood and painted a colourful musical portrait of a famous folk music band. Then there is a “Viennese classic”, the lively Sinfonia concertante for four soloists and orchestra with which Joseph Haydn seduced his London audiences in 1792. Antonín Dvóřák’s Symphony No. 8, on the other hand, draws heavily on the melodic riches of his Bohemian homeland, set by the composer in a sparkling jewel – a rewarding piece for any youth orchestra!
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