Strauss Festival Orchester Wien New Year Concert 2019

“Guth is surely the most stylish Straussian around these days“ (Gramophone, London) The incomparable way of sweeping musicians and audiences along, conducting in the tradition of Johann Strauss while playing the violin, has made him internationally known. Repeatedly invited as a guest conductor and sought-after Viennese music specialist by more than one hundred renowned symphony orchestras and important festivals, he has made an exceptional career in the musical centers of the world. In concert series and TV Galas he frequently collaborates with many top orchestras, such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra London, the NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo, the San Francisco Symphony, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, the English Chamber Orchestra, and the Moscow Virtuosi. In 1978 he founded the Strauss Festival Orchestra Vienna. He established its reputation as a leading international ensemble for Viennese music through worldwide tours, CD and DVD recordings. After attending the Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, Peter Guth studied for three years with David Oistrakh at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, and became internationally successful as a soloist and with the Vienna Trio (1st prize at the ARD-Competition Munich 1961). His work in education, publications on modern violin methodology, an active concern for new music, as well as his earlier position as first concertmaster of the RSO Vienna, provide a comprehensive portrait of this versatile, renowned Austrian artist. In 2006 he was awarded the Golden Sign of Merit of Vienna County.

Since the year of its foundation in 1978, the Strauss Festival Orchestra Vienna, with its highly acclaimed performances in the great concert halls of the world, has established itself as a top-tier ensemble for its authentic interpretation of Viennese music. Along with its faithfulness to traditional style and the true Viennese sound, the special trademark of the SFO is its charm and joy in making music at the highest artistic level. In their concerts they also save room for humor and entertainment in addition to profound artistry. Countless guest performances have taken the SFO around the globe. In Japan, China, Taiwan and South Korea, the orchestra ranks among the absolute audience favorites. Performances on such prominent stages as Herkules Hall in Munich, the Arts Centre Seoul, the Dom Muziki Moskau and the Vienna Musikverein are further proof of its international reputation. In its home city, Vienna, the SFO is presented in a special way: since the turn of the millennium in the year 2000, the annual New Year‘s Concerts of the Strauss Festival Orchestra at the Great Hall of the Vienna Konzerthaus are regarded as one of the musical highlights at the start of the year. It is a truly optimistic and joyful phenomenon that the Strauss Festival Orchestra Vienna earns so much enthusiasm and acclaim, proclaiming the eternally youthful fascination of Viennese music.

Anete Liepina was born in Latvia. She performed her first role with the Latvian State Opera at 14 years of age, in Benjamin Britten’s Opera “Noye’s Fludde,” in which she sang the role of Gossip Girl. In 2011 she moved to Vienna to study Operette at the MUK under Professor Wolfgang Dosch, and Voice at the Universit?t f?r Musik und Darstellende Kunst Wien under Professors Annamaria Rott and Viktoria Grois. Since then she has been seen on the Herbsttage Blindenmarkt opera festival stage as Beatrice in “Boccaccio,” and has sung the roles of Laura in “Bettelstudent” and Magdalena in the musical “L?wenherz” in Strasshof. In Vienna, Anete has performed the roles of Maria in “West Side Story,” Gretel in “H?nsel und Gretel,” Pamina in “Zauberfl?te,” and Musetta in “La Boheme.” She is often featured in operetta galas, and has worked with church musicians all over the Europe. In the summer of 2017, Anete sang the role of Stasi in Emmerich Kalman’s “Die Csardaschf?rstin” in the Kittsee Festspiele.

Japanese bass-baritone Yasushi Hirano studied in the Performing Arts Department of Nihon University and at the Vienna University for Music and Arts. He has studied with Rotraud Hansmann and Robert Holl, among others. In 2003, he received a scholarship from the Republic of Austria. In the field of opera, he has a wide-ranging repertoire and has appeared in many operas since he was a student at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. As a concert singer, he has made guest appearances with renowned conductors such as Harnoncourt in major concert halls including the Salzburg Festspielhaus, Vienna Musikverein, and Berlin Philharmonie, performing masses, cantatas and oratorios by composers such as Bach, Mozart and Schubert. In 2008/09 the Vienna “Volksoper” became his new home base. There, he performed in about 350 performances in ten seasons, including the title role in a new production of “The Marriage of Figaro” in 2012. In the 2017/18 season, he appeared in the Vienna Volksoper’s new production of “Rom?o et Juliette” by Berlioz, as the Water Sprite in repeat performances of “Rusalka,” as Zuniga in “Carmen” on the lake stage of the Bregenz Festival, and as a soloist in a performance of “German Requiem” in the golden hall of Musikverein Vienna. In Japan, Hirano has sung roles including Leporello in “Don Giovanni” at the New National Theatre, and the King of Egypt in “Aida.” In January 2019, he will participate as a soloist in the Japan tour of the Strauss Festival Orchestra Vienna. He is currently one of the most promising young bass-baritone singers in Japan.