Mohamed Hiber Named First Concertmaster of Vienna Symphony

The Vienna Symphony has appointed French violinist Mohamed Hiber as first concertmaster with immediate effect, bringing an experienced orchestral leader into one of its principal positions.

Hiber has already worked with the orchestra as a guest leader. His other guest concertmaster engagements include the Munich Philharmonic, London Philharmonic and Orchestre de Paris, giving the appointment a background in several different orchestral traditions.

He is also closely associated with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra under Daniel Barenboim and with Anne-Sophie Mutter’s Virtuosi ensemble. Those relationships combine the responsibilities of leading a section with chamber-scale collaboration and international touring.

His studies took him to Madrid’s Reina Sofía School of Music and subsequently to Munich, working with Ana Chumachenco. The training developed alongside a career that includes solo appearances with ensembles such as the Czech Philharmonic and London Symphony Orchestra.

The first-concertmaster role is more than a prominent seat beside the conductor. It involves giving musical and practical leadership to the strings, helping coordinate ensemble decisions and contributing solo passages within orchestral works. The appointment places those responsibilities within a continuing relationship rather than a sequence of guest visits.

The announcement concerns the Vienna Symphony, a separate institution from the Vienna Philharmonic. The distinction is important when identifying both Hiber’s new employer and the orchestra whose audiences will encounter him in the role.

No contract duration was specified with the immediate appointment. The confirmed change is his entry into the first-concertmaster position, following an already established connection with the ensemble.

For listeners, the effects of such an appointment are heard across the orchestra’s everyday work: in the character of the string sound, the coordination of phrasing and the individual voice of orchestral solos. Hiber’s experience across symphonic, chamber and solo settings provides the background for that continuing contribution.