Management
| Peter Widholz (Prof. Mag.) President | Werner Resel (Prof.) Vice-President |
|
| Rainer Küchl (Univ.-Prof.) Secretary General | Bernhard Heher (Col. Prof. Mag.) General Secretary Representative |
|
| Wilfrid Fleischmann (OStR Prof. Mag.) Treasurer | Christian Gerzabek (Komm.-Rat) Deputy Treasurer |
Our President, Prof. Peter Widholz:
Peter Widholz was born in Vienna, studied Classics, History and Social Studies and obtained a Master’s degree from the University of Vienna .At the same time, he received professional training in singing, composition and dramatic art.In 1995, he won a composition contest arranged to mark the 50th anniversary of the UN. In the same year, he made his debut as a tenor at the Wiener Kammeroper. Since then Peter Widholz has performed internationally as a vocal soloist. Since 1996 he has also presented classical programmes and since 2001 he has been remarkably successful as a stage director.
As an enthusiastic admirer of Johann Strauss, he joined the Johann Strauss Society of Vienna in 1994. In 1997, the then president, Prof.Franz Mailer,entrusted him with the planning and execution of events for the good oft he Society.He was appointed Secretary General in 2001 and President in 2005.
Our Vice President Prof. Werner Resel:
The Austrian cellist was born in Essen ,Germany, in 1935. At the age of 7 he came to Austria and grew up in Tulln, Lower Austria. When he was only 14 years old, he began to study cello with Prof. Richard Krotschau at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna. After only 6 years of artistic education he was engaged as first solo cellist by the „Tonkünstler Orchestra“ of Lower Austria ( Niederösterreichisches Tonkünstlerorchester). In 1959, less than 4 years later, the young musician won the audition for the orchestra of the Vienna State Opera. No less a person than Herbert von Karajan was on the panel. When the Weller Quartet was founded in the same year, Werner Resel was one of its members from the very beginning.
In 1961 Werner Resel became a member of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, which was decisive for his future career, and was awarded the title of Professor. He took on the position of Vice Chairman of the World Class Orchestra in 1981 and six months later he became Managing Director. From 1987 to 1997 he held the responsible position of Chairman of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. He set a decisive course for the maintenance of the works of Johann Strauss. He engaged a different conductor for the New Year’s Concert each year in order to present ever-changing interpretations of Strauss’s music to a global audience. As it was his concern to revive unjustly forgotten pieces of classical Viennese music, he ensured that each New Year’s Concert contained pieces that had never been played in this concert series before.
Since 1992 Prof. Werner Resel has been Vice President of the Johann Strauss Society Vienna.
Our Secretary General, Univ. Prof. Rainer Küchl:
Rainer Küchl was born in Waihofen an der Ybbs, Lower Austria, in 1950. At the age of 11 he received his first violin instruction, and three years later he began to study the instrument at the University of Music and Performing Arts,Vienna with Franz Samohyl. At the age of 21 he won the audition for concertmaster of the Vienna State Opera Orchestra and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1972 he was also given the position of concertmaster of the „Wiener Hofmusikkapelle“ in the imperial palace (Hofburg).
In 1973 he founded the Küchl Quartet, which has been very successful at home and abroad. In 1985 the brilliant violinist took over the direction of the „Wiener Ringensemble“, which he led for four decades. The ensemble focuses primarily on waltz music according to the tradition of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1955 Rainer Küchl was the principal concertmaster of the „ World Peace Orchestra“ in a concert given on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the United Nations under the baton of Georg Solti. He also acted as concertmaster in the orchestra under Seiji Ozawa, which performed at the opening of the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, in 1998. From 2017 to 2023 he was invited to act as guest concertmaster in the NHK-Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo.
In 1982 Rainer Küchl was appointed full professor and was put in charge of a violin class at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna. At the same time he received a visiting professorship in Japan.
Prof. Küchl retired as concertmaster of the Vienna State Opera Orchestra and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in 2016. However, he intensified his international presence as soloist and guest concertmaster in other well-known orchestras. He has played with all the great conductors of our time including Herbert von Karajan, Carlos Kleiber, Karl Böhm, Leonard Bernstein, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Claudio Abbado and Christian Thielemann.
Many awards have acknowledged his outstanding contribution to music, such as the „ Austrian Decoration for Science and Art“ (1988) and the „ Grand Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria“ (1994).
In 2025 he was appointed to the Board of the Johann Strauss Society of Vienna.
Our General Secretary Representative, Oberst Prof. Mag. Bernhard Heher:
Bernhard Heher was born in Puchberg am Schneeberg, Lower Austria, in 1962. He studied clarinet at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna, and at the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna. In 1981 he joined the Guards Band Vienna, which was to be decisive for his further career. After his training as a sergeant he became registrar. In 1994 he started his musical training as a military bandmaster. In addition, he took private lessons from Prof. Franz Bauer-Theussl, who had been chief conductor at the Wiener Volksoper for decades. The knowledge he acquired laid the foundation for his authentic interpretation of Viennese dance and operetta music, which earned him the highest recognition at home and abroad. Guest performances took him to Germany, France, Norway, the Czech Republic , Serbia, Russia, China and Oman.
In 2002 Colonel Bernhard Heher was appointed Bandmaster of the Guards Band Vienna. Since 2009 he has been Director of Military Music, i.e. the highest military bandmaster in Austria. In 2016 he earned great merit by reorganizing all nine Austrian military bands. He restored their former strength, so that each band consists of 45 musicians.
Since 2010 Bernhard Heher has been a member of the Board of the Johann Strauss Society of Vienna.
In 2018 he was awarded the title of Professor.
Our Treasurer, OStR Prof. Mag. Wilfrid Fleischmann:
Wilfrid Fleischmann was born in Judenburg, Styria. He studied biology, geography and economics at the University of Vienna. After his graduation he took up the teaching profession at an academic secondary school in Vienna. His keen interest in photography enriched his lessons and motivated him to publish a number of articles. Owing to his mediation skills and organizational abilities he was appointed as headmaster of the „Piaristengymnasium“, a very old and traditional school in Vienna. Wilfrid Fleischmann, a classical music enthusiast since early youth, has been working as a volunteer for the Johann Strauss Society since the turn of the millenium. In 2012 he became a member of the Board.
Our Deputy Treasurer, Kommerzialrat Christian Gerzabek:
Christian Gerzabek was born in Vienna. After graduating from business school, he gained extensive professional experience throughout Europe and parts of the Near and Middle East. A few years later he decided to establish himself as an entrepreneur in his hometown. As a man of business and law, he became the head of a taxi and rental car company and soon employed 35 staff members. His professional skills and achievements were soon noticed, and he was elected as the youngest official to the taxi guild. In 2010, he became its chairman in the Vienna Chamber of Commerce. Until 2015 Kommerzialrat Gerzabek was the top representative of the taxi and rental car industry as well as the Vienna fiakers.
His high level of professional expertise also enabled him to act as a lay judge at the Labour and Social Court of Vienna for over 24 years. In 2013, he received an additional appointment to the Federal Fiscal Court, where he is still serving today. Due to his strong social commitment he was involved in the political life of his home district, Hietzing. When he became deputy district mayor in 2013, he soon came into contact with the Johann Strauss Society of Vienna, which had already been organizing events in Hietzing at regular intervals for a decade. Impressed by the quality of these events, he began to support the Society’s activities to the best of his ability. He was elected to the board of the Johann Strauss Society of Vienna in 2025.
