Israeli conductor Eliahu Inbal has become known to many worldwide for both his concert performances and his numerous recordings, including the complete symphonies of several composers. In Europe, however, Inbal is nearly as well known as a conductor of opera, with interests running from the Italian bel cantists through works of the 20th century. Nor has he ignored the symphonic works of his own time; a number of important original works and reconstructions have been premiered under his preparation and direction. Given his broad repertory, it is not surprising that few of his interpretations may be said to surpass all others, but his technical control and sensitivity to colors make the majority of his work highly commendable. Inbal attended Jerusalem University where he studied the violin, but thereafter he directed his training toward conducting. He participated in conducting classes led by the legendary and iconoclastic Romanian maestro Sergiu Celibidache at Hilversum and pursued further courses in conducting at the Paris Conservatoire. In 1963, Inbal's growing proficiency was recognized when he won the Guido Cantelli Prize at Novara. For the next two years, the young conductor concentrated his work in Italy, winning appreciative notices from critics and gaining increasing approval from the Italian public. Inbal's 1965 conducting debut in England, however, came not in the opera house, but in the concert hall when he led the London Philharmonic Orchestra. His success with the L.P.O. led to engagements with other English orchestras and to his eventual acquisition of joint British citizenship. Continuing to balance concert and opera work, Inbal made his debut in Bologna in 1969, leading a performance of Strauss' Elektra. A production of Verdi's Don Carlo at Verona the same year added to Inbal's reputation as a conductor able to draw together the strands of a sometimes-diffuse score. In 1971, he led a concert performance of Cherubini's Anacréon, the work's first French-language hearing since 1803, the year of its premiere. In 1984, Inbal was appointed chief conductor at the Teatro la Fenice in Venice, remaining in that position until 1989. Undertaking an unusually stressful assignment in 1986, Inbal conducted productions of two Verdi operas, Stiffelio and Aroldo, on the same day, receiving acclaim for the orchestral performance despite indifferent singing from the casts. Meanwhile, Inbal's other life proceeded apace with his engagement as chief conductor of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, the ensemble with which he would make a noteworthy series of recordings. Inbal remained at that post until 1990 and in 1996 was named the orchestra's conductor laureate. Presiding over several world premieres, Inbal received particular recognition for his performance of Juan Allende-Blin's edition of Debussy's uncompleted La chûte de la maison Usher given in 1977. That same year saw the first performance of Xavier Benguerel's Concerto for percussion. In 1982, Inbal presented the premiere of Isang Yun's first violin concerto. Among Inbal's achievements in the recording studio are the complete symphonies of Mahler, Bruckner, and Shostakovich, as well as releases of the complete orchestral works of Ravel, Scriabin, Schumann, and Berlioz. A recording of Donizetti's Maria de Rudenz issued on Mondo Musica is distinguished by the conductor's grasp of the composer's transitional style. In 1990, Inbal was honored with the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and in 1996 he was made an honorary member of Italy's Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI.

The Wiener Symphoniker (Vienna Symphony Orchestra) is a mainstay in European orchestral music, having premiered works that have become standard repertoire in the orchestral world. While its older neighbor, the Wiener Philharmoniker, may get more attention, the Wiener Symphoniker has cemented its role as a world-class orchestra.

The Wiener Symphoniker was founded in 1900 as the Wiener Concertverein. The founder and first conductor of the orchestra was Ferdinand Löwe, who established the new orchestra to present more concerts to the citizenry and for the performance of new compositions. The orchestra's premiere concert took place at the Wiener Musikverein on October 30, 1900. Löwe, a student of Anton Bruckner's, led the Wiener Symphoniker in the premiere of Bruckner's ninth symphony in 1903. In 1913, the orchestra moved its performing venue to the newly opened Wiener Konzerthaus. Due to financial concerns following World War I, the orchestra merged with the Wiener Tonkünstlerorchester in 1919. Löwe served as chief conductor until 1925. He was followed by Otto Gottesmann and Wilhelm Furtwängler. In 1933, the orchestra was renamed the Wiener Symphoniker. Oswald Kabasta led the orchestra from 1934-1938. Under Kabasta, the orchestra embarked on its first international tour to England and Italy. In 1938, following the invasion of Austria, the orchestra was brought under municipal control and was used for propaganda during World War II. The orchestra was disbanded in September of 1944.

Following the war, the Wiener Symphoniker was re-established in 1945 and gave its first post-war concert in September under the leadership of Hans Swarowsky and Josef Krips. Since 1946, the orchestra has taken part in and been a major sponsor of the Bregenzer Festspiele. Herbert von Karajan (1950-1960) and Wolfgang Sawallisch (1960-1970) are credited most with the revival of the Viennese sound for which the Wiener Symphoniker is known. In 1962, the Theater an der Wien reopened, and the Wiener Symphoniker has since performed there for staged productions. Since Sawallisch, the chief conductors for the orchestra have included Carlo Maria Giulini (1973-1976), Gennady Rozhdestvensky (1981-1983), and Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos (1991-1996). Philippe Jordan became the chief conductor in 2014, with a contract running through 2021. In 2018, the Wiener Symphoniker announced Andrés Orozco-Estrada as its next chief conductor. Orozco-Estrada is set to take the baton in 2021. Among the illustrious names who have guest conducted the orchestra are Leonard Bernstein, Zubin Mehta, and Claudio Abbado.

The Wiener Symphoniker can be heard on hundreds of albums on major labels such as Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, EMI Classics, and Orfeo, among many others. Since 2012, the orchestra has also recorded for its own Wiener Symphoniker label, on which it has recorded works by composers such as Mahler, Bruckner, and Berlioz. Under Jordan, the orchestra has recorded a full cycle of Beethoven's symphonies. The first, Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3, was released in 2017. The final two individual albums of this cycle, Symphonies Nos. 6 & 8 and Symphony No. 9, as well as the complete cycle set, were released in 2019. ~ Keith Finke