The Vienna Art Orchestra was a European jazz group based in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. Organized at different times as either a

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

or as a smaller combo, it was regarded as one of the leading European jazz ensembles and was an official cultural ambassador of the Republic of Austria.

History

Founded in 1977 by director and composer

Mathias Rüegg Mathias Rüegg (born 8 December 1952) is a European musician, composer, and bandleader best known as founder and director of the Vienna Art Orchestra from 1977 to 2010. Biography Born in Zurich, Switzerland, son of linguist Robert Rüegg,Math ...

, the band started out by performing Rüegg's

postmodern Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or Rhetorical modes, mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by philosophical skepticism, skepticis ...

compositions on stages throughout Europe. Among the founding musicians were singer

Lauren Newton Lauren Amber Newton (born 16 November 1952) is an avant-garde jazz and contemporary classical singer and founding member of the Vienna Art Orchestra. Biography Newton earned a degree in music at the University of Oregon. In 1974 she moved to E ...

, saxophonists

Wolfgang Puschnig Wolfgang Puschnig (born 21 May 1956 in Klagenfurt, Austria) is an Austrian jazz musician (saxophone, flute, bass clarinet) and composer. Biography After his studies of saxophone and flute at the Vienna Conservatory Puschnig was the founding ...

and Harry Sokal, trombone player Christian Radovan, tuba player Jon Sass, and mallet percussionist Woody Schabata. In 1980, the ensemble signed a recording contract with the Swiss hatART label, and in 1984 they 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 Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was bas ...

Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz upright bassist, pianist, composer, bandleader, and author. A major proponent of collective improvisation, he is considered to be one of the greatest jazz musicians an ...

, and other noted American jazz composers, as well as music inspired by the classical music of

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the ...

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

, and

Erik Satie Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (, ; ; 17 May 18661 July 1925), who signed his name Erik Satie after 1884, was a French composer and pianist. He was the son of a French father and a British mother. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, but was an und ...

. 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 Othmar, also spelled Otmar or Ottmar, is a masculine German given name, derived from the Germanic name ''Audamar'', from the elements ''aud'' "wealth, prosperity" and ''mar'' "fame". Notable people with the name include: * Saint Othmar *Othmar A ...

was released in 1998. The ensemble was nominated for an

Amadeus Austrian Music Award The Amadeus Austrian Music Awards is the annual awards ceremony for excellence in the Austrian music industry. It has been awarded to the most successful Austrian musicians since 2000, and has been held in the Volkstheater, Vienna, Volkstheater in ...

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.

Discography

Vienna Art Orchestra

Vienna Art Special

Vienna Art Choir

Vienna Art Orchestra with Ernst Jandl

References

External links

Vienna Art Orchestra official website

Mathias Rüegg official website
*Vienna Art Orchestra unofficial discography (with details taken from actual LPs/CDs) - https://vao.neocities.org/ {{Authority control Austrian jazz ensembles Big bands Experimental big bands Musical groups established in 1977 Musical groups from Vienna 1977 establishments in Austria Musical groups disestablished in 2010 2010 disestablishments in Austria Organisations based in Vienna