The young concertmaster Walter Weller

Karl Böhm with concertmaster Walter Weller

Walter Weller accompanies David Oistrach

Wilhelm Kempff in concert with Walter Weller on 16 Dec. 1970

He began taking violin lessons at the age of six. At the Vienna Academy of Music, he studied with Professors Ernst Morawec and Franz Samohyl.

At the young age of 22, Walter Weller became First Concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic. He spent over eleven years in this position. At the same time, he was the first violinist of the Weller Quartet, which achieved great fame through numerous concert tours and festival appearances throughout Europe, Asia and North America.

The recordings of the Weller Quartet have been honored with awards such as the Mozart Interpretationspreis, the Grammy Award (USA), and the Grand Prix du Disque.

In 1966, after having completed his conducting studies with Joseph Krips, he made his debut as a conductor. In 1969, Walter Weller entered into a long-term contract with the Vienna State Opera.

Walter Weller was General Music Director in Duisberg beginning in the 1971/72 season, Principal Conductor of Lower Austria's "Tonkünstler" Orchestra from1975-78, and Principal Conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra from 1977-80, which appointed him "Honorary Guest Conductor" for life following the end of his contract there.

From 1980-86, Weller assumed the leadership of London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, after which he became Principal Guest Conductor of the Orquesta Nacional de España until 1991.

From 1991-96, he was Principal Conductor of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, which subsequently appointed him "Conductor Emeritus" for life.

At the same time, Walter Weller became General Music Director of the opera organization belonging to Basel's Allgemeine Musikgesellschaft, and was Music Director of the orchestra until 1997.

Walter Weller has worked with all the major European opera houses as a conductor of operas, including the Vienna State Opera, Berlin's opera "Unter den Linden", the German Opera of Berlin, the German Opera on the Rhine, the English National Opera, Milan's "La Scala", the Scottish Opera, the Opera Bologna, and many others.

In the North America, Walter Weller has worked with many of the most prominent orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, the Minnesota Orchestra, and the orchestras of San Francisco, Houston, Pittsburgh, Detroit and Cincinnati, as well as with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

Festivals and orchestra tours throughout Europe, Japan and East Asia round out this long list of engagements.

Weller has made numerous recordings on the Decca, EMI, Chandos, Ars Musici, Collins, and Camerata Tokyo labels, many of which received record awards including the Grand Prix du Disque and the Charles Cros Award for French Music. These, along with recordings for broadcasting, form another important focus of Weller's musical activities.

Walter Weller was able to score a rare coup during a Beethoven Symphony series in London, in which he conducted the world premiere of the fragment from Beethoven's tenth symphony, in the Cooper arrangement. The Republic of Austria has honored Weller with the "Great Silver Medal of Honor for Service to the Republic of Austria" and the "Cross of Honor for Science and Art".

Walter Weller was a recipient of the Mozart Interpretationspreis. The Beethovengesellschaft in Vienna awarded him the "Golden Beethoven Medal".

The American Biographical Institute awarded him the "Gold Medal of Honor for Extraordinary Occupational Activities", and the International Biographical Centre Cambridge (England) honored Walter Weller with the Gold Medal for "Outstanding People of the 20th Century".

In Scotland, Walter Weller received the special distinction of being pictured on the currently circulating 50-pound note.