The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Academy seeks to pass on its traditions and style of play by nurturing the next generation. Musica meets some of these rising stars to find out what it's like to play in one of the most famous classical music institutions in the world.
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00:00 MUSIC
00:02 Musica is proudly presented by Rolex.
00:09 They're young, ambitious and strive for excellence.
00:27 MUSIC
00:29 They come from far and wide to play in one of the most famous institutions in the world.
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00:37 What's it like to be a student of the prestigious Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Academy?
00:45 We all practice on our own, by ourselves for hours a day, but we have this opportunity to come together and, you know, create this music together, which is really wonderful.
00:56 It's definitely something that has changed our lives for all of us.
00:59 To play with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra is simply indescribable for all of us.
01:04 I can still remember the first rehearsal where I was very close to tears because I couldn't believe what I was about to experience.
01:15 MUSIC
01:22 The Vienna Philharmonic looks to a new generation with its own academy, presenting an exclusive and versatile programme.
01:28 It takes around a dozen students. They get to spend two years absorbing the orchestra's traditions and style of play.
01:35 The most important thing is to play in the orchestra, because things are taught and passed on.
01:44 The lessons are of course very important, every week from a colleague.
01:50 The chamber music is very important, when there's no conductor in front of you, when you suddenly realize when you have to take responsibility, when you can give it up, where you have to listen to each other.
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02:10 Hello, how are you doing? Good, you too. Everything good?
02:14 Yes, thank you for meeting me today.
02:16 What are we working on today?
02:18 I have the Schubert Rondo.
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02:38 Great, fantastic.
02:39 I think at the very beginning we start a bit softer but we still want substance to the sound.
02:46 So this first E, if you get a little bit closer in there to the bridge, as if you're scooping ice cream like this.
02:56 I think it's our responsibility to be able to communicate with them what we have learned in the past, not only through playing with them in the orchestra but also being able to give them tips and help them be able to become independent musicians themselves.
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03:20 I've been able to learn so much just about the technical aspects of playing but also more imaginative thinking in my playing as well.
03:30 It's just this incredible depth of knowledge that we're able to receive in these lessons.
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03:41 And at the heart of it all, achieving excellence.
04:06 That's the most important thing. I already told you that in the first conversation.
04:12 The important things for us, excellence is at the top of course, tradition is also a key value.
04:20 Elegance plays a certain role but excellence, ultimately everything you do, has to be at the highest level.
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04:33 The students get to play with the legendary Vienna Philharmonic around the world.
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04:50 As the orchestra looks towards the future and champions contemporary music, the students have the unique opportunity to perform with Thomas Addis, recognized as one of the most accomplished composers of his generation.
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05:07 It's the first time and I find it very interesting. I liked it from the start and I was happy to work with him. I find it very exciting.
05:16 The most important thing for me as a young trumpeter was simply playing with the conductor, with the orchestra.
05:25 Because in the orchestra you learn the most.
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05:35 It's always very exciting to have players who are playing in a big orchestra like this for the first time or one of the first times in their life.
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05:47 And I feel like the younger players now, we might be watching them playing in many years to come. So that's a very wonderful feeling.
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05:59 Lucas Stratman from New York is part of an upcoming generation with high hopes.
06:15 But becoming a professional musician isn't the easiest career choice.
06:21 The classical music world is very competitive and it's easy to get caught up into that.
06:27 I had some doubts probably around the age of 14 or 15.
06:35 Will I be able to really make a career out of this? Will I be able to perform? What will I be doing with music?
06:43 I love music and being here has reassured me that I can have a career in music, which is an incredible feeling.
06:52 So not only has this been such an enriching musical experience for me, I've also made incredible friends who have brought me up and inspired me so much.
07:05 We work together during the day and then we come together at night and we hang out. To have this support system, it's really awesome.
07:14 We listen to each other while we practice and we spend time together. It's always fun.
07:21 We are all kind of the same age and hopefully we will be colleagues or we will know of each other for the rest of our careers.
07:30 It's nice that we get to set such a nice friendship from the beginning.
07:51 During their time in the Academy, the students not only have the chance to experience legendary conductors on stage, but also to get to know them personally in meet and greet sessions.
08:02 This time with world-renowned maestro Christian Tillemann.
08:12 What you can learn here is this wonderful homogeneity.
08:16 It's the most difficult thing ever. Everyone has to fit in.
08:22 Everyone has to subordinate. A soloist also has to subordinate in a certain way.
08:28 You can never be like a soloist.
08:31 I can't.
08:35 The students are often very unadjusted.
08:38 And because they don't have the experience, they have a very direct way of approaching it.
08:43 I'm not like that anymore. I'm a little more reserved.
08:48 It's a bit lost. I sometimes see myself like that.
08:55 The students sometimes even take part in historical moments, such as performing a world premiere at the iconic Sagrada Familia.
09:23 I had only been to Vienna for two weeks before going there.
09:27 So that was my first project. An absolutely unbelievable experience.
09:47 From one unbelievable experience to the next, Lucas and Katharina soak up the atmosphere at Vienna's Schönbrunn Palace,
09:54 ahead of one of the most impressive concerts in their young career.
09:58 Wow! Here it is.
10:01 The Summer Night Concert, where the orchestra shares its passion for music with its audience.
10:06 Is it happening down there?
10:08 Yes, down there. And all the people will sit here on the hill and look.
10:13 That is incredible. I can't wait to perform. I've only seen videos.
10:17 It's one of those things, like the New Year's concert, that you see and you're like, "Wow, I'm actually going to be able to play."
10:25 What an experience. It's unbelievable.
10:28 My biggest dream would be to have an orchestra hall where I could play in an orchestra.
10:47 Of course, it would be the most beautiful thing with the Vienna Philharmonic.
10:53 Thanks to all the preparation that I had with my teachers in the orchestra,
10:57 I somehow was able to prepare really well and I won the position in the second violin section.
11:05 Playing in the Vienna Philharmonic is something that I've never done before.
11:11 I've never played in a orchestra before.
11:15 Playing in the Vienna Philharmonic is something that I've dreamt of, even more so once I got here.
11:26 I saw how much enjoyment everybody has playing in the orchestra and how committed they are to presenting the music and the art in such a beautiful way.
11:37 That reinvigorated my passion for music.
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11:55 Musica was proudly presented by Rolex.