The Concert Association of the Vienna State Opera Chorus shares its personnel with the Vienna State Opera Chorus and was founded in 1927 by the chorus singer Viktor Maiwald.
The Concert Association, with the incorporation of additional international singers, undertakes all of the Vienna State Opera Chorus’s duties away from the State Opera, enabling its members to showcase their abilities in the concert hall, too. Among the leading conductors who from the outset have championed and befriended the Concert Association are Clemens Krauss, Arturo Toscanini, Karl Böhm, Herbert von Karajan, Riccardo Muti, Franz Welser-Möst, Mariss Jansons and Philippe Jordan. Unlike other major choirs, the Concert Association is made up exclusively of professional singers.
The Concert Association’s performances are distinguished by their fullness of tone, their stylistic assurance and their precision. Working with internationally renowned orchestras, the chorus has given innumerable exemplary performances of works from the opera and concert repertory, many of which have been recorded on CD and DVD. Their repertory ranges from the Baroque era and key works of the Classical and Romantic periods to the present day.
The Concert Association’s history is closely bound up with its annual appearances at the Salzburg Festival. The chorus first appeared in opera performances under Richard Strauss and Franz Schalk in 1922, initially as the Vienna State Opera Chorus, later as the Concert Association of the Vienna State Opera Chorus. Since then, it has participated uninterruptedly in the Salzburg Festival, continuing to be the Festival’s principal choir and, as such, one of its mainstays. Countless unforgettable and award-winning opera performances and concerts have emerged from this artistic partnership.
In 1977 the Clemens Krauss Medal was established in memory of the conductor, who was the director of the Vienna State Opera from 1929 to 1934. It is conferred on those individuals who have rendered particular service to the Concert Association. Its most recent recipients have been Riccardo Muti, Helga Rabl-Stadler and Anna Netrebko.
