The Vienna Strauss Festival Orchestra

The Vienna Strauss Festival Orchestra, celebrating its 45th anniversary, is the official orchestra of Austria.Every year the Vienna Strauss Festival Orchestra opens the New Year at Vienna's most famous concert hall, the Wiener Konzerthaus, with the inimitable J.In the summer of 2023 it was invited to take part in the opening ceremony of one of the most famous festivals in Europe, the Salzburger Festspiele.

The orchestra has been under the direction of its founder Peter Guth, one of the world's foremost experts on the music of Johann Strauss, since the very beginning of the festival. Although he performs all over the world, there is an unbreakable thread linking him to the Austrian capital - the city of Vienna awarded Peter Guth the Golden Badge for his services to Austrian culture.

Over five decades, the Vienna Strauss Festival Orchestra has gained international recognition for its original interpretations of Viennese music, its wide repertoire of works, and its performances of works by the Strauss dynasty and Viennese operetta masters. The Vienna Strauss Festival Orchestra is undoubtedly one of the world's leading orchestras in this genre. The director and conductor of the Strauss Orchestra has collaborated with the San Francisco Symphony, London's Royal Philharmonic and other world-renowned orchestras. Since 1992, his New Year's Concerts "Salute to Vienna" have been performed at the prestigious Suntory in Tokyo and Lincoln Center in New York. Peter Guth has directed the Vienna Operetta Festival in Japan, has directed productions of Strauss operettas on Madrid television since 1995, and has been a regular guest musical director of operas and operettas in many theatres around the world.

On stage with Peter Guth, Peter Guth has also been a member of the Vienna Operetta Festival.Guth with artists of the highest calibre - deservedly known as the custodians of the true Viennese musical culture, bringing joy to audiences around the world.

The concert's Christmas programme includes waltzes, marches and polkas from the Strauss dynasty of composers.