The Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester(GMJO) was founded in Vienna in 1986, on the initiative of its present Music Director, Claudio Abbado. Today it is regarded as the world’s leading youth orchestra and received an award from the European Cultural Foundation in 2007. As well as supporting young musicians and their work, Abbado has been keen to encourage music making by young Austrian musicians together with colleagues from the then socialist republics of Czechoslovakia and Hungary. As a consequence, the GMJO became the first international youth orchestra to hold open auditions in the countries of the former Eastern Bloc. In 1992, the GMJO opened up to musicians aged up to 26 from all over Europe. As the youth orchestra for the whole of Europe, it is under the patronage of the European Council.
At the auditions that take place every year in over 25 European cities, a jury authorized by Claudio Abbado selects candidates from an average of 1500 applicants. Prominent orchestra musicians are members of this jury and also responsible for the preparation of the repertoire in the individual sections during the orchestra’s rehearsal phases.
The GMJO tour repertoire ranges from classical to contemporary music with the emphasis on the great symphonic works of the Romantic and late Romantic periods. Its high artistic level and international success have prompted many leading conductors and soloists to perform with it, such as Claudio Abbado, Herbert Blomstedt, Pierre Boulez, Myung-Whun Chung, Sir Colin Davis, Peter Eötvös, Iván Fischer, Daniele Gatti, Bernhard Haitink, Mariss Jansons, Philippe Jordan, Ingo Metzmacher, Kent Nagano, Václav Neumann, Jonathan Nott, Seiji Ozawa, Antonio Pappano and Franz Welser-Möst. Amongst the renowned soloists to have worked with the GMJO are Martha Argerich, Yuri Bashmet, Lisa Batiashvili, Renaud and Gautier Capuçon, Christian Gerhaher, Matthias Goerne, Susan Graham, Thomas Hampson, Leonidas Kavakos, Evgenij Kissin, Christa Ludwig, Radu Lupu, Yo-Yo Ma, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Anne Sofie von Otter, Maxim Vengerov, and Frank Peter Zimmermann.
The GMJO has been a regular guest in the most prestigious concert halls and festivals for many years, such as the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Suntory Hall in Tokyo, the Mozarteum Argentino in Buenos Aires, the Salzburg Festival and the Salzburg Easter Festival, the Edinburgh International Festival, the BBC Proms, the Semperoper Dresden as well as the Lucerne Festival. Many former members of the GMJO now play in leading European orchestras, some of them in principal positions. The Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester was appointed “Ambassador UNICEF Austria” on the occasion of its 25th anniversary.
The Orchestra performed at the Stresa Festival in 1997.

Partners of the GUSTAV MAHLER JUGENDORCHESTER

The GUSTAV MAHLER JUGENDORCHESTER on its 25th anniversary has been appointed “UNICEF Ambassador of Austria”