What is Vienna Philharmonic?
The '''Vienna Philharmonic''' (in [[German language|German]]: die '''Wiener Philharmoniker''') is an [[orchestra]] based in [[Vienna]], [[Austria]]. It is thought of as one of the greatest orchestras in the world. The orchestra play in a [[concert hall]] called the [[Musikverein, Vienna|Musikverein]]. Before becoming a member of the Vienna Philharmonic the musicians have to work for at least three years in the [[opera house]] (the [[Vienna State Opera]]). Then they are allowed to try to become a member of the Vienna Philharmonic. ==History== The orchestra started in 1842, when [[Otto Nicolai]] formed the ''Philharmonische Academie''. The members of this orchestra made all the decisions about how the orchestra should be organized, and the orchestra still works in this way today. When Nicolai left in 1847, the orchestra nearly came to an end. They did not play very much until 1860, when [[Karl Anton Eckert]] joined as [[Conducting|conductor]]. Since then, the orchestra has given concerts all the time. From 1875 to 1898 [[Hans Richter]] was principal conductor, except for the season 1882-1883 when he had an argument with the orchestral committee. During the time Richter was conductor the orchestra gave the first performances of several very famous works, including Symphonies no 2 and 3 by [[Brahms]] and Symphony no 8 by [[Anton Bruckner]]. [[Gustav Mahler]] was their conductor from 1898 to 1901. During this time the orchestra played abroad for the first time. They played at the 1900 Paris [[Exposition Universelle (1900)|World Exposition]]. The next conductors of the orchestra were [[Felix Weingartner]], [[Wilhelm Furtwängler]] and [[Clemens Krauss]]. [[File:Schmutzer-Philharmoniker.jpg|thumb|250px|Vienna Philharmonic at the rehearsal, Felix von Weingartner is conducting. Engraving by [[Ferdinand Schmutzer]] (1926)]] Since 1933, the orchestra has not had one main conductor, but instead it has many guest conductors who have stayed for short periods. These have included a great many of the world's