JOHANN STRAUSS ENSEMBLE of the WIENER SYMPHONIKER - Salut de Vienne

Iva Schell was born in Ulm and studied singing at the Hochschule für Musik in Dresden and with Prof. Edith Wiens in Augsburg. She is currently continuing her training with Dr. Hubert Noe.

At the age of 22, she became a member of the ensemble at Theater Ulm for 6 seasons and joined the ensemble of Oper Leipzig/Musikalische Komödie in 2009, where she was a guest until 2017. She was a soloist at the Seefestspiele Mörbisch in 2007 and 2011 and a frequent guest at the Leharfestival Bad Ischl, the Richard Wagner Festival Wels and the Schloßfestspiele Langenlois.

She has sung at the Gärtnerplatztheater in Munich, Staatstheater Wiesbaden, Theater Augsburg, theaters in St. Gallen and Lucerne, among others. Numerous concert tours have taken her to other European countries, as well as to Japan (as "Adele" in "Die Fledermaus"), and since 2014 annually to the USA and Canada with the New Year's concerts "Salute to Vienna"! In 2016, she was one of the three soprano soloists on star violinist Andre Rieu's European tour! In 2019 and 2023 she returned to the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz Munich as "Ottilie" in "Im weissen Rössl". In spring 2022, she was heard as "Irene Molloy" at the Stadttheater Baden in "Hello Dolly" and in 2023 as "Fräulein von Kost" in "Cabaret".

Iva Schell also works as a music teacher in Carinthia and combines early musical education for children with horses, sheep and other animals in a unique way. On her estate "Schells Arche Noe" in Lavanttal, she gives concerts and readings in memory of her late husband, Oscar winner Maximilian Schell. At the beginning of 2025, she will be touring Austria as a soloist with the Festival Sinfonietta Linz and will be performing in German-speaking Europe with a concert program featuring unforgettable melodies from the great film divas of the 50s and 60s together with the Austrian Salonists. Numerous recitals, readings and appearances in oratorios and masses round off her singing activities.

Johann Strauss Ensemble of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra
Willy Büchler, violin and conductor
Wolfgang Schuchbauer, violin
Helmut Lackinger, violin
Karl Heinz Krumböck, Viola
Primos Zalaznik, violoncello
Ivailo Iordanov, double bass
Stefan Tomaschitz, flute
Thomas Machtinger, oboe
Reinhard Wieser, clarinet
Armin Berger and Josef Eder, Horn
Magdalena Pramhaas, bassoon

The Johann Strauss Ensemble of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1965 and is a replica of the orchestra with which Johann Strauss Sohn began his great career in 1844 at the Casino Dommayer in Vienna's Hietzing district. The application by the then 19-year-old Johann Strauss for approval of the orchestra can still be found in the archives of the Vienna City Library. When this document was discovered one day, the idea was born to revive this traditional line-up.

"I am thinking of playing with an orchestra of 12 to 15 people in guest venues, namely at the Dommayer in Hietzing, who has already assured me that I can hold musical entertainments there as soon as my orchestra is in order." (from Johann Strauss' application, Vienna City Library)

Twelve musicians from the Vienna Symphony Orchestra under the direction of concertmaster Walter Puschacher put this idea into practice more than fifty years ago. In keeping with tradition, the principal violinist is also the artistic director. The main aim of the ensemble was and is to interpret the music of the Strauss dynasty and Joseph Lanner, as well as the dance music of the Viennese classics, in an authentic manner.

A long-standing collaboration with Hans Totzauer, then Kapellmeister at the Vienna Burgtheater, developed. He arranged many pieces from the Strauss dynasty, Joseph Lanner and the Viennese classics for the ensemble. These arrangements are the greatest treasure of the Johann Strauss Ensemble today. The first ten years of the ensemble were characterized by concertmaster Walter Puschacher. His time saw the first concerts in Austria, tours to Germany, Switzerland, Italy and, above all, extensive trips to America. These trips lasted up to six weeks and took them to almost all parts of the USA as well as Canada and South Africa. In 1975, Peter Guth took over the musical direction of the ensemble. The USA tours continued with him, and in 1976 there were even two five-week USA/Canada tours. Then came France and Sweden, again and again Germany, Switzerland and many concerts in Austria. In Vienna, we mainly gave concerts in the Sträußl-Säle in the Theater in der Josefstadt and in Schönbrunn Palace. In 1984, the collaboration with Johannes Wildner began, who led the ensemble for a short time alongside Peter Guth. The tours of Sweden, Norway and Finland continued with him, as well as regular concerts at the Bregenz Festival, in the chamber music cycle of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra in the Brahms Hall, and trips to South Tyrol and Poland. Above all, however, the annual concert tours to Japan began in 1989 and have been an integral part of the concert calendar for over 25 years. In addition to over 1150 concerts to date, many records, CDs and film recordings have been made with works by the Strauss dynasty and Joseph Lanner. From 2008-2020, concertmaster Anton Sorokov led the Johann Strauss Ensemble in Vienna and on numerous tours, who was succeeded in 2024 by the 1st concertmaster of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra Kirill Maximov as artistic director of the Johann Strauss Ensemble of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra.

Willy Büchler knows how to cast a spell over his audience with dancing ease. His musical style is characterized by verve, dedication, emotion and wit, which is based on spirited freshness and enthusiasm as well as many years of experience from a wide range of activities. Born in Vienna, he has been concertmaster of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra since 1995. In 1984 he became professor of violin at the Vorarlberg State Conservatory and later returned to the Vienna RSO as section leader of the first violins. In 1992, he founded the EOS Quartet Vienna, which enjoyed great success at the Vienna Konzerthaus until 2017. As artistic director of the Johann Strauss Ensembles of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra he continues the legacy of Johann Strauss by conducting, playing the violin and creating a unique Viennese musical experience.