On 1 January 1964, Hink was hired as first violinist in the
Vienna State Opera's orchestra. By November 1965, he had been accepted into the Association of the
Vienna Philharmonic. After successful probationary work, he advanced in 1967 to
Principal of the First Violinists' Group. In 1974, he was named to the Vienna Philharmonic
Concertmaster's post, which he held until he retired in 2008. He played there with all the great conductors of his time, from
Herbert von Karajan,
Leonard Bernstein and
Carlos Kleiber to
GMJO founder and music director
Claudio Abbado and many others.
Chamber music Alongside his activity with the orchestra, Hink also devoted himself to
chamber music. In 1964 he founded the
Wiener Streichquartett, with whom he performed concerts throughout the world and made many records. Further, he enjoyed great international success with the
Wiener Oktett, which he also founded, and with the piano trio with Jasminka Stančul and Fritz Dolezal. From 1974 onwards, Hink was a member of the
Wiener Hofmusikkapelle, and from 1982 Professor for Violin at the
Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna, succeeding his former teacher, Franz Samohyl.
Teaching Beginning in 1982, Hink held a violin class at the Vienna Conservatory, where he trained many pupils and shared his musical knowledge. From 1991 to 2010, Hink taught at the
Pacific Music Festival (PMF) in
Sapporo, Japan. In 2009, Hink became violin teacher for the
Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester (GMJO); he was leader of the
string section and a member of the examining panel of judges, as well as a member of the orchestra's board of directors, thus holding for many years a key role in the GMJO's development and success. ==Death==