Friede auf Erden!
In autumn 2024, we will celebrate the 150th and 200th birthdays of two important Austrian composers, Arnold Schönberg and Anton Bruckner, with an extraordinary concert when the Arnold Schönberg Choir from Vienna will perform in Estonia for the first time. Founded in 1972 by artistic director Erwin Ortner, the Arnold Schönberg Choir is one of the most versatile and sought-after vocal ensembles in Austria. Since 2006 the choir is the opera chorus in residence of Theater an der Wien. Their repertoire spans from the Renaissance and Baroque to the present with a focus on contemporary music. The choir has a particular interest in a capella works; however, yet the large-scale works for choir and orchestra are consistently represented in their concert programs. The choir has participated in notable productions such as Schubert’s “Fierrabras” (dir. Claudio Abbado, lav Ruth Berghaus, 1988, Wiener Festwochen), Janácek’s “House of the Dead” (dir. Pierre Boulez, lav Patrice Chéreau, 2007, Wiener Festwochen) and Britten’s opera “Peter Grimes” (dir. Cornelius Meister, lav Christof Loy, Theater an der Wien), which also won the International Opera Award in the new production category in 2016. In 2017, the Arnold Schönberg Choir was named Opera Choir of the Year at the International Opera Awards Gala in London.
Arnold Schönberg’s choir has had personal contact with Arvo Pärt, and the composer has also dedicated his mixed choral piece “Kleine Litanei” to them. It was commissioned by the Wien Museum in October 2015 for the reopening of the Virgilkapelle (St. Virgil’s Chapel). On the festive opening night on December 10, 2015, the work was performed by the Arnold Schönberg Choir and conductor Erwin Ortner.
