VIENNA FOR FRIENDS
World Capital of Music
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Joseph Haydn, Arnold Schoenberg, Gustav Mahler and last but not least, the Waltz King, Johann Strauss. No other city on earth can claim a more impressive roll call of composers past and present than Vienna. Today, Vienna is still one of the world capitals of music which offers high-class music events for locals and guests.
Every day several high-quality music performances take place but sometimes it’s hard to make the right choice, many of them sell out very fast and often it’s a challenge to get good tickets at an affordable price. Vienna for Friends has the experience and the resources to research and find the right music experience for you and to manage the ticket reservation, long in advance or, if possible, at short notice.
World-Renown Music Venues
Vienna’s second-largest opera house, the Volksoper, offers a rich variety of stage performances, from opera to operettas, musicals, ballet, and contemporary dance. Surtitles at selected operettas and musicals give non-German speakers the chance to follow the action on stage. The Musikverein is known to music lovers all over the world as one of the most illustrious concert halls of them all, where only the crème de la crème is invited to perform. The Musikverein’s crowning glory is the Golden Hall, which aside from having superb acoustics is one of the world’s most attractive concert venues in Vienna.
Every year television audiences all over the world tune in to the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra’s New Year’s Concert in a live broadcast of works by Strauss (father and son) and their contemporaries from the Golden Hall. Throughout the rest of the year, the Musikverein hosts numerous concerts given by some of the world’s greatest orchestras and composers.
Vienna State Opera
The Staatsoper, or Vienna State Opera, was one of the first buildings to go up on the capital’s showpiece Ringstrasse Boulevard. It is one of the world’s leading opera venues and is also credited with having the largest repertoire of any of its peers. An institution by the very definition of the word, the Staatsoper offers performances by leading international artists on almost 300 days of the year.
In April, May, June, and September opera fans can watch live performances on a 50-square-meter screen outside the Vienna State Opera, completely free of charge. Since the end of the 20th century, Vienna has also become a hotspot for musical performances (which always tend to be sold out long in advance), contemporary music and jazz featuring world-renowned artists and performances.
Home of Leading Orchestras and Ensembles
The Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra and the Klangforum Wien are all residents at the Wiener Konzerthaus, which first opened its doors to the public in 1913. Many of these venues also offer guided tours, giving visitors the chance to find out more about the respective institution and its history.
The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra is an ambassador for the capital’s music scene wherever it performs, from concerts in its home city to international tours and live broadcasts including the New Year’s Concert and the free Summer Night Concert which takes place in front of Schönbrunn Palace each year. The famous Vienna Boys’ Choir was founded in 1498 and performs today to as many as half a million people at somewhere in the region of 300 concerts per year.
