Musikverein Vienna is a concert hall for the world-famous Vienna Philharmonic.
Every new year, the world’s attention focuses on this very building, from where the philharmonic performs their renowned annual special concert.
Musikverein is, in fact, best known for millions of TV (and internet) listeners and viewers from the New Year concert, performed from Musikverein’s Grand Hall.
The building, from 1869, is a design by (originally) Danish Theophil Hansen, whose other works in Vienna include the Austrian Parliament palace and the Wiener Borse (stock market) building.
PHOTO: Musikverein’s main entrance. Ticket sales for the concerts, however, take place from the side entrance office, to the left of the picture.
PHOTO: “Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde”, or in English “Association of Music Friends”…a text on the facade.
In terms of acoustics, Musikverein is considered one of the very best in the world.
This performance has been achieved using some very unorthodox solutions for its architecture:
- Grand Hall’s roof is not directly connected to the walls (allowing for a greater sound vibration), and
- there is a purpose-built (empty) room under the hall (for the same purpose).
The Musikverein Grand Hall, also known as ‘Golden Hall‘, has room available for a total of 1,750 spectators.
There is also a 660-seat ‘Brahms‘ hall in the building, (for chamber music concerts), and four other, smaller venues.
Vienna Philharmonic concerts are especially popular for Saturday and Sunday performances, so you should consider reserving a ticket well in advance.
Musikverein Vienna
Address: Musikvereinsplatz 1, 1010 Vienna, Austria
Facebook: Facebook.com/Musikverein.Wien
Official website: Musikverein.at
To plan your visit to Musikverein, including finding out about the guided tours and to see the current performance calendar, one of the best resources is the official website, at www.musikverein.at.