Grobbauer failed his first test in 2001. He had to join the Vienna Symphony, the other orchestra in that city. But he didn't give up hope and applied for auditions again in 2004, finally making it.

The violinist still remembers how nervous he was while playing in front of judges behind a curtain.

He also remembers the exciting nights of playing Wagner's opera without rehearsals. This was due to the fact that at the state opera many were familiar with pieces to be played but not the newcomers.

"It is never easy to play Wagner without any rehearsal but it's fun. You feel like you are driving a car at 200 km per hour on a highway and then suddenly you find a deer in front of you. You have to brake immediately," he says.

The experience of playing opera has also taken him to a different level of artistic performance.

"Without the Vienna State Opera there would be no Vienna Philharmonic."

In 2007, he became director of the orchestra's annual "philharmonic ball", which is organized in Musikverein, also known as the Golden Hall, where the orchestra plays the New Year concert every year.

"The orchestra is becoming younger and younger. We now have residence in New York, Japan, South America and hope to have more interesting projects with China," he says.

Contact the writer at chenjie@chinadaily.com.cn