Discogs PWA

Vienna Art Orchestra

Founded in 1977 by director and composer Mathias Rüegg, the band started out by performing Rüegg's distinctive postmodern compositions on stages throughout Europe. Among the founding musicians were saxophonists Wolfgang Puschnig and Harry Sokal, singer Lauren Newton, and tuba player Jon Sass. In 1980 the ensemble signed a recording contract with the Swiss hatART label, and in 1984 it toured the United States for the first time. The group essentially disbanded for a brief period at the end of the 1980s. In 1992 the VAO opened a new phase with a smaller complement of musicians. The band played fewer of Rüegg's compositions and concentrated on arrangements of works by Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, and other noted American jazz composers, as well as music inspired by the classical music of Verdi, Wagner, Schubert, and Erik Satie. In 1997 the ensemble's personnel changed once again, increasing in size and adding younger musicians. New compositions by Rüegg became a regular feature of VAO concerts, which often included visual and dramatic elements. The Vienna Art Orchestra has performed more than 800 concerts and released more than 35 recordings. The film An Echo from Europe: Vienna Art Orchestra on Tour by Othmar Schmiderer was released in 1998. The ensemble was nominated for an Amadeus Austrian Music Award in 2001 for the album All That Strauss, and again in 2003 for Art and Fun. On July 10, 2010, Mathias Rüegg announced that the Vienna Art Orchestra had been disbanded for financial reasons.

Members: Wolfgang Puschnig, Corin Curschellas, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Alegre Correa, Martin Koller, Patrice Heral, Arkady Shilkloper, Thomas Alkier, Mathias Rüegg, Jojo Mayer, Adrian Mears, Heinrich von Kalnein, Danilo Terenzi, Christian Radovan, Joris Roelofs, Urszula Dudziak, Tom Varner, Karl Fian, Herbert Joos, Joris Dudli, Gregor Hilbe, Hannes Kottek, Harry Sokal, Lauren Newton, Peter Herbert, Woody Schabata, Georgi Kornazov, Janusz Stefański, Werner Pirchner, Gabriele Rosenberg, Heiri Känzig, Gerald Preinfalk, Tobias Weidinger, Stefan Bauer, Aneel Soomary, Jon Sass, Andy Scherrer, Flip Philipp, Klaus Dickbauer, Georg Breinschmid, Reinhard Micko, Claudio Pontiggia, Monika Trotz, Jürgen Wuchner, Uli Scherer, Wolfgang Reisinger, Ed Partyka, Rudi Berger (2), Mario Gonzi, Franck Tortiller, Walter Fischbacher, Thomas Lang (3), Rudolf Pilz, Tom Nicholas, Marc Halbheer, Co Streiff, Mauro Negri, Matthieu Michel, Fritz Ozmec, Joanna Lewis, Florian Bramböck, Robert Bachner, Roman Schwaller, Herwig Gradischnig, Christian Muthspiel, Dominik Stöger, Thorsten Benkenstein, Ivana Pristášová, Juraj Bartoš, Jürgen Seefelder, Thomas Gansch, Robert Riegler, Ingo Morgana, Billy Fuchs, Alexandra Naumann, Thomas Fischer (3), Vasile Marian, Charly Wagner, Christian Maurer, Anna Lauvergnac, Ingrid Oberkanins, Roman Jánoška, Michael Williams (35), Ernst Weissensteiner, Matthias Kronsteiner, Hubert Kerschbaumer, Johanna Gröbner, and Thomas Frey (4)