The same year, he became leader of the original Musica Viva Chamber Music Players founded by Richard Goldner, giving concerts throughout Australia and New Zealand.
[1] In 1952 he accepted the invitation from Sir Eugene Goossens to become the principal viola of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, a position he filled with great distinction for 14 years.
The Sydney Conservatorium Chamber Orchestra which he founded in 1966 was the first Australian ensemble to undertake a tour of South East Asia on behalf of the Department of External Affairs.
Pikler received the Britannica Award in 1972 for his services to Australian music and in 1974 was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).
In 1980 he made various recordings devoted to Leopold Stokowski's orchestral arrangements of Johann Sebastian Bach as conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.