Slovenian conductor Živa Ploj Peršuh conducted, at the Vienna Musikverein a concert by the orchestra Wiener Concert-Verein, with which the ensemble officially closed this year's concert season. The programme was conceived as a synergy of rarely performed works from music history and contemporary compositions. 

The soloist was the Austrian pianist Philipp Scheucher, and in the first half the orchestra was also joined by a trombone quartet made up of Otmar Gaiswinkler, Matthias Reindl, Jonathan Helm and Dominik Schnaitt. 

A world premiere and contemporary works on the programme

The centrepiece of the first half of the concert was the world premiere of Beltane – helles Feuer, Konzert für Klavier und Streichorchester, by the contemporary Austrian composer Johanna Doderer. The performance of the new work met with a very positive response from the audience and subscribers. After the concert, the orchestra's management highlighted a letter from one of its regular subscribers, who wrote: 

“Thank you so much for a wonderful concert. For the first time, it was the world premiere itself that was the absolute highlight of the evening. I have never heard such a weighty and structurally taut work, one that keeps the listener in constant anticipation. Please programme more works by Ms Doderer. I would also particularly like to stress how much we value the introductory talks on the pieces, as they bring us new knowledge and insight into the world of music.” 

Alongside Johanna Doderer's work, the orchestra also performed in the first half Concertino für Posaunenquartett und Orchester by the Dutch composer Jan Koetsier. 

The close of the evening

The second half of the concert was devoted to late Romantic string repertoire. Under the baton of Živa Ploj Peršuh, the orchestra first performed Serenade for Strings by the Venezuelan composer Teresa Carreño, and the programme officially concluded with a performance of Serenade for Strings in E major, Op. 22, by Antonín Dvořák. 

The official programme was followed by two encores. Pianist Philipp Scheucher performed Ballade No. 2 in B minor by Franz Liszt, and the orchestra under the Slovenian conductor closed the evening with a repeat of the final movement of Teresa Carreño's string serenade. 

After the event, the management of the Wiener Concert-Verein publicly thanked the entire technical team, the staff of the Musikverein, the soloists, the composer and conductor Živa Ploj Peršuh for their expert performance and interpretation of a demanding concert programme.