New concertmaster for ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra of Vienna

Read more news stories here

The ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra of Vienna has announced Polish violinist Łucja Madziar as its new concertmaster. Madziar has been playing in the role since April 2023 and shares the role of first concertmaster with Maighréad McCrann.

Madziar has served as concertmaster with multiple orchestras throughout her career. From 2006 to 2010 she was concertmaster of the Essen Philharmonic, going on to lead the Lower Saxon State Orchestra Hanover in 2010. She served as concertmaster of the Munich Philharmonic during the 2015/16 season, and was first concertmaster of the Deutsche Oper Berlin from 2019 to 2021. Madziar has appeared as guest concertmaster with many of Germany’s leading orchestras, such as Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig, Bayerisches Staatsorchester Munich, Staatskapelle Berlin, Guerzenich Orchester Cologne and WDR Radio Orchestra Cologne.

As a chamber musician, Madziar has appeared at numerous festivals in Europe and North America, including Beethovenfest Bonn, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Bowdoin Summer Music Festival. She is a founding member of the Hanover Piano Trio, along with pianist Katharina Sellheim and cellist Johannes Krebs.

Madziar received early musical training on the violin in Poland, going on to study in Rostock with Petru Munteanu and later in Graz with Silvia Marcovici. She is the winner of the International Violin Competition Vaclav Huml in Zagreb and laureate of the International Fritz Kreisler Competition in Vienna. Madziar is also the recipient of the DAAD Prize for outstanding achievements and was honoured with the Aalto Prize for young artists.

Madziar performs on a Milanese violin made in 1759 by Carlo Landolfi.

The ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra of Vienna narrowly escaped abolition recently in March 2023, as public outcry overturned the broadcaster ORF’s proposal to scrap the orchestra in its latest round of cuts.

’Abolishing the RSO Vienna would have meant the loss of an internationally recognised orchestra and an important part of Austria’s cultural identity,’ said chief conductor Marin Alsop. ’The musicians are of course particularly important to me, and it makes me very happy to see this burden lifted from their shoulders.’

Playing

In The Best of Technique you’ll discover the top playing tips of the world’s leading string players and teachers. It’s packed full of exercises for students, plus examples from the standard repertoire to show you how to integrate the technique into your playing.

Teaching

The Strad’s Masterclass series brings together the finest string players with some of the greatest string works ever written. Always one of our most popular sections, Masterclass has been an invaluable aid to aspiring soloists, chamber musicians and string teachers since the 1990s.

Calendars

This year’s calendar celebrates the top instruments played by members of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony, Australian String Quartet and some of the country’s greatest soloists.