Vienna Boys' Choir

維也納少年合唱團(tuán)是由一群身穿藍(lán)色水手服的男孩所組成的，這項特殊的打扮也成為了他們的標(biāo)記。
 
合唱團(tuán)招收學(xué)員并進(jìn)行培養(yǎng)，不收任何費用。但要被錄取，需有相當(dāng)過人的聰敏與天賦。維也納童聲合唱團(tuán)團(tuán)員全體住校，以校為家，平常的課程采取小班制，每班不超過10人。小小的團(tuán)體，卻擁有30多位優(yōu)秀的教師。孩子們每天除了一般的必修課程、音樂課程外，還有藝術(shù)修養(yǎng)方面的學(xué)習(xí)及訓(xùn)練，比如舞臺上的動作、臺步、鞠躬、談吐等。
 
維也納童聲合唱團(tuán)位于富麗堂皇的奧加敦皇宮，團(tuán)員們平時在這里生活、學(xué)習(xí)，在這鳥語花香的環(huán)境中，孩子們的藝術(shù)天才才得到盡情發(fā)展。他們平時每天早晨6點起床，6時30分開始做發(fā)聲練習(xí)及體育運動，晚上9時就寢。在每天8個小時的課程中，有4個小時的普通學(xué)科，2個小時的聲樂訓(xùn)練與合唱練習(xí)，2個小時的器樂練習(xí)，另外還有4個小時的康樂與休閑活動。
 
擁有500年歷史的維也納童聲合唱團(tuán)是世界上最著名的音樂團(tuán)體之一,它是培養(yǎng)過莫扎特、海頓、舒伯特以及近代指揮大師漢斯·索斯特，克萊門特·克勞斯等音樂奇才的搖籃。當(dāng)今許多著名的指揮家都和維也納童聲合唱團(tuán)合作過，卡拉揚、伯恩斯坦、索爾弟、阿巴多等都曾指揮過該團(tuán)并給予過高度的藝術(shù)評價。每到星期日或宗教節(jié)日，維也納童聲合唱團(tuán)都會出現(xiàn)在霍夫堡皇宮內(nèi)的城堡小教堂唱詩，前來一飽耳福的人絡(luò)繹不絕。如今他們的足跡遍布全球。
 
該團(tuán)同樣結(jié)合了現(xiàn)代元素，流行的、古典的、音樂劇、rock-rall、金屬樂，經(jīng)過維也納童聲合唱團(tuán)的重新演繹，給人不一樣的感覺。2003年，該團(tuán)被電影《放牛班的春天》(Les Choristes)的導(dǎo)演發(fā)掘，在影片中擔(dān)當(dāng)堪稱此部電影靈魂的合唱音樂演唱。
 
The Vienna Boys' Choir is one of the oldest boys' choirs existing in the world. For nearly five hundred years they have been a symbol of Austria. A founding document of Maximilian I in 1498 called the first dozen boys to the imperial court as members of the newly formed court music band. Thus he showed his great interest in contemporary musical developments in Burgundy and the Netherlands. Since then the Vienna Boys' Choir has been a fixed attraction in Austrian musical life.
 
A number of famous musicians have emerged from its ranks. Its first-class training has produced numerous highly qualified vocalists, violinists and pianists. Joseph Haydn, who actually belonged to the Cathedral Choir of St Stephan, sang together with the court choir boys in the chapel of the Hofburg and in the newly built palace of Sch–nbrunn. Franz Schubert's first compositions were written when he was with the court choir boys, always in conflict with his teachers, since he was more interested in music than in getting good marks for his school work. Mozart's erstwhile rival, Salieri, noted Schubert's talent in his entry examination, and took him under his wing. The vocal training he received formed the foundation of Schubert's sensitive Lieder. Georg Boyer, Benedikt Randhartinger, Hans Richter, who created the reputation of the philharmonic concerts in Vienna, the operetta composer Karl Zeller (&Der Vogelh”ndler&) or the famous Wagner conductor Josef Sucher, Felix Mottl, Clemens Krauss and Lovro von Matacic are former members of the Vienna Boys' Choir, and helped to write the musical history of the 19th and 20th centuries.
 
Great composers and teachers have repeatedly improved the musical quality of the Vienna Boys' Choir, for instance Isaac, Senfl, Caldara, Fux, Salieri, Joseph and Michael Haydn. Anton Bruckner, too, as court organist, rehearsed his own masses with the Vienna Boys' Choir. If a performance went particularly well, it was his custom to reward the boys with cake.With the ending of the monarchy in 1918, the choir gave up its old name and the imperial uniform (to which a sword belonged). As early as 1924 the &Vienna Boys' Choir& - reformed by the rector Joseph Schnitt, with great personal zeal - gave guest performances in the world's most famous concert halls. Even in the days of the First Republic they were regarded as Austria's &singing ambassadors&.
 
Since those days the Vienna Boys' Choir have given concerts under nearly all the great conductors of this century: Claudio Abbado, Leonard Bernstein, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Herbert von Karajan, Carlos Kleiber, Lorin Maazel, Riccardo Muti and Sir George Solti. And, as ever, every Sunday the Vienna Boys' Choir sing solemn mass in Vienna's Hofburg chapel, continuing a tradition unbroken since 1498.