VIENNA – Travel guide for opera, classical music and culture

Beethoven, who was born in Bonn, visited Vienna for the first time in 1786 to see Mozart. Even today, however, it is not certain whether he actually met Mozart. Six years later, he returned to Vienna for good after having met with Joseph Haydn in Bonn, who accepted him as a pupil. Because the Rhineland was occupied by the French, Beethoven was forced to stay in Vienna, and after the death of his father, his two brothers also came to Vienna.

Fortunately, 200 years later, one can still discover Beethoven’s traces in Vienna. First of all, we should mention Beethoven’s apartments. He often changed his quarters, 58 apartments are documented, some of which he lived in several times. His death house, the so-called “Schwarzspanierhaus” on Schwarzspanierstraße, however, has not been preserved.

Early years as a piano virtuoso

Beethoven quickly made a name for himself as a piano virtuoso. He played in the salons of his patrons; the Palais Lobkowitz or the Hradec Castle are still witnesses of this time. At the age of thirty his deafness made itself felt, the apartment where he wrote his Heiligstadt Testament can be visited. His performances as a piano virtuoso began to decrease and important orchestral works were written. With the 3rd symphony, the Eroica, Beethoven entered a new era in 1803 and the middle, very productive creative period with countless masterpieces began.

The napoleonic years

The Napoleonic wars and turmoil shook Vienna. Money was no longer so easy for the nobility, and Beethoven was plagued by financial worries. In addition, social contacts became more difficult due to his hearing loss. He no longer traveled, only spa stays in Baden became more frequent due to his physical ailments. There, on long walks in nature, he often found inspiration for his compositions.

The two brothers found their way to Vienna. One became a successful pharmacist, but then left Vienna again. The second brother died at an early age, leaving a nephew over whose custody Beethoven fought a bitter legal battle with his sister-in-law for many years.

Illness and death

Beethoven met and fell in love with women on several occasions. Twice, Beethoven was probably ready to marry, but differences of class stood in the way of marriage. Beethoven’s fame grew. In 1823 and later he crowned his work with the 9th Symphony and the last 3 piano sonatas. In 1827 Beethoven died at the age of 57. The cause of death is still not completely clarified, even modern methods of analysis of his hair do not provide complete clarity; there are more than a dozen different diagnoses.

The 29-year-old Brahms visited Vienna for the first time in 1862, and when he presented his G minor piano quartet at an evening event there, the director of the conservatory and musician Joseph Hellmesberger is said to have already proclaimed Brahms the heir to Beethoven. Although Brahms struggled with these comparisons throughout his life, he felt valued in Vienna, which could not be said of his native Hamburg, where his music met with skepticism and he was passed over for appointments. So he decided to accept an offer as choir master and moved to Vienna.

But Brahms did not stay in office for long and became a freelance artist in the 1870s.

Brahms’ center of life remained Vienna until his death. However, Brahms was often on the road, every year 3-4 months took him to the summer resort and in the winter months he was often on the road as a performer and conductor of his own works.

TO THE COMPLETE BIOGRAPHY OF BRAHMS

He came to live in Vienna as a 44-year-old Organist

Bruckner was 44 years old when he came to Vienna and took up the work of poorly paid or even unpaid jobs at the university and the conservatory. He moved to Währinger Strasse with his sister Anna (“Nani”). The latter died in 1870 and Katharina Kachelmaier became the housekeeper until the end of his life. (siehe pircture below).

At the beginning of his Viennese period, Bruckner was considered a respected church musician and organist, but the storm hit Vienna when he dedicated his 3rd Symphony to his “music god” Richard Wagner. Henceforth, castigated as a “Wagnerian,” he drew the scathing criticism of the influential critic Eduard Hanslick and found himself in the middle of the greatest cultural-historical conflict of the 19th century, the bitter dispute between the “traditionalists” around Brahms and the “new Germans” around Liszt and Wagner. In line with Hanslick, Brahms also often made negative comments about Bruckner’s music, but the latter always remained polite.

One day Bruckner and Brahms even sat together in their favorite pub Roter Igel (the red hedgehog), but no rapprochement took place.Only when ordering food did they notice that they had the same favorite dish, “Geselchtes mit Knödel” (smoked ham with dumplings).

Open hostility in Vienna

With a respectable success of the Fourth Symphony and the breakthrough of the Seventh Symphony (in Munich), Bruckner’s position in the Austrian capital improved, but the Viennese never really warmed to the music and the strange person of Bruckner. His friends (e.g. the conductors Hans Richter and Johann von Herbeck) always remained in the minority.

Bruckner suffered greatly from the many slights. When he was even wrongly suspected of an indecent approach to a female student in the “St. Anna Affair”, it almost broke his heart, he who never came close to a woman. But this did not prevent him from writing 9 marriage proposals in his life. The recipients were all young ladies, who in his opinion were still chaste (in his language “clean”). His last proposal (when he was 70 years old) even became famous. He fell in love with Ida Buhz, a parlor maid at his hotel during a stay in Berlin. An engagement had already been arranged, but at the last moment the devout Catholic learned that the bride-to-be was a Protestant. When Ida refused to convert to Catholicism, Bruckner backed out.

Honors in the last few years

In the last decade of his life, the honors began to pour down on Bruckner, especially Emperor Franz Josef honored him first with audiences and orders, then also with a life pension, and finally Franz Josef provided the composer with a free retirement apartment in the upper Belvedere for life (“the Kustodenstöckl”). The university also fulfilled one of Bruckner’s fervent wishes by awarding him an honorary doctorate. For Bruckner, this was nevertheless little consolation for the many slights he had suffered. In addition, he had serious health problems in his last ten years, which prevented him from savoring the successes and fulfilling his last wish to finish the Ninth Symphony. Bruckner died in 1896 in his Kustodenstöckl of heart trouble. He did not want to be buried in Vienna; he found his honorary grave under his beloved organ in St. Floriansstift.

TO THE COMPLETE BRUCKNER BIOGRAPHY

Vienna “the Donizetti-City”

Donizetti was in Vienna several times from the 1830s, sometimes even holding official positions; his school friend Merelli was by now director of the Kärtnertor Theater. Vienna adored the Italian, and Richard Wagner enviously called Vienna “Donizetti City.” In 1842/43, Emperor Ferdinand appointed him “K.k. Kammerkapellmeister und Hofkompositeur” and Donizetti took care of the Italian program at the Kärtnertor Theater for two seasons, including staging the first Viennese Nabucco, at whose premiere in Milan he was present and deeply impressed.

Vienna later honored Donizetti’s work with a large bust in the State Opera House and in 2005 with a commemorative plaque at Wipplingerstrasse 5.

TO THE COMPLETE BIOGRAPHY OF DONIZETTI

The foundation of the reform opera in Vienna

Gluck came to Vienna at the age of 36. There he married Maria Anna, who was half his age. After many years of traveling around, he had a permanent job, a home and could devote himself to composing. But it was to be another 12 years before he wrote “Orfeo ed Euridice”, the revolutionary work that produced a break with the baroque castrato era and exaggerated ornamentation of song. What exactly the new approach consists of, you will find summarized in the following link if you are interested:

https://opera-inside.com/orfeo-ed-euridice-by-ch-w-gluck-the-opera-guide-and-synopsis/

This so-called reform opera was not at all euphorically received by the Viennese at the beginning, but acceptance increased and with the follow-up work “Alceste” the already 50-year-old was able to establish himself as Europe’s musician of future. His new style revolutionized the opera seria, and Gluck became a beacon for all subsequent composers, Mozart included. In 1756 he received a knighthood from the Pope and henceforth called himself Knight of Gluck.

The relationsship with Maria Antonia, the later Marie Antoinette

A special feature of the Viennese years was that Gluck became the music teacher of Maria Antonia, the daughter of Emperor Franz I and Maria Theresa. Maria Antonia was not an easy person, but found her only joy in music and dance. Due to the marriage policy of the Habsburgs, she was married to the French Dauphin in 1770 at the age of 14, and four years later became Queen of France alongside Louis XVI as Marie Antoinette. One of her first official acts was to bring Gluck to Paris as a reformer of music.

He came to Vienna as a boy

Haydn spent his youth and his old age in Vienna. He came to Vienna in 1740, already at the age of 8 (without parents), after being “discovered” by the musical director of St. Stephen’s Cathedral in his home in the rural area, who was looking for singers for chapel choir. There he was taught to sing and play the violin and sang soprano in the choir for almost 10 years. When he turned 17, the empress, hearing him sing a solo piece, complained that he sang like a crow, and Haydn was dismissed because of the onset of vocal break. He was left penniless on the street, with no help from his poor parents. Haydn made his way through life with odd jobs for many years (assignments as a musician, teaching, servant work, etc.) and lived for years in a poor apartment on Kohlmarkt. He continued his musical education autodidactically (especially with works by C.Ph.E. Bach), since he had only received a basic knowledge as a singer. After eight years his luck finally turned around and he got his first job in Pilsen, leaving Vienna for the next almost 40 years (if you don’t count the regular visits).

Back in Vienna after 40 years as a famous musician

With his two London visits, Haydn became rich at an advanced age, which allowed him to buy a stately house in Vienna-Gumperndorf, where he lived from 1795 until his death in 1809. He died of old age during the turmoil of the Napoleonic battles for Vienna and was first buried in Hundsturm Cemetery in Vienna (a tombstone still stands today) and later moved to the Bergkirche in Eisenstadt.

Haydn monumnent Mariahilfstrasse 55:

The Wunderkind years

When Korngold’s ballet “der Schnemann” was performed at the Vienna State Opera (then the Court Opera) in 1910, he was probably the youngest composer to do so, at the age of 13. Korngold, who was born in 1897 in Brno in the Austrian Empire, was often described as the greatest musical child prodigy ever, greater even than Mozart. Even as a child, his compositions had the quality of a mature composer. He was encouraged but also protected by his father, the respected (and sharp-tongued) Viennese music critic Julius Korngold. At the age of 19, Erich wrote “der Ring des Polykrates,” his first one-act opera, which delighted audiences.

His began his greatest work when he was 20-years old

He began composing “The Dead City” at the age of 19, but the First World War put a stop to the plans. “Die tote Stadt” then became his greatest success and audiences clamored for seats. In Hamburg, the work was given 26 times in the first season alone. Shortly thereafter, the work was also staged in Vienna, New York, Prague and Zurich and became a perennial hit for 10 years. This phase was abruptly halted by the Nazi seizure of power, when the works of Jewish composers were banned from performance. Korngold then emigrated to the United States, where he died in the 1950s.

His most famous piece is probably “Glück, das mir verblieb” from “Dead City,” which shines in the purest Korngold style. Already at the beginning the orchestra glitters, with glockenspiel, celesta and harp, a typical late romantic coloration. The bells of the celesta conjure a romantic, almost childlike naive mood.

Glück, das mir verblieb:

https://opera-inside.com/the-dead-city-by-erich-korngold-the-opera-guide-and-synopsis/#Gl%C3%BCck

Director of the Vienna State Opera

When Mahler came to the State Opera as court opera director in 1897, it was customary for opera singers to stand at the ramp and sing with pathetic arm movements in front of painted backdrops. Mahler, who was steeped in Wagner’s Gesamtkunstwerk of theatrical art, stage design, literature and music, set about fundamentally reforming the art of opera scenically.

As opera director and first Kapellmeister in personal union, he decided to take the liberty of simultaneously directing as musical director. This reform work, which was decisively strengthened in 1903 with the appointment of the stage designer Alfred Roller, brought the Court Opera to the artistic top, but also earned Mahler many enemies. The latter was probably due even more to the rampant anti-Semitism.

Antisemitism

Mahler fought against the conservatism of the Viennese authorities. When Strauss premiered his Salome in Dresden, Mahler wanted to bring the opera to Vienna, but the censorship authorities refused to allow a performance of the scandalous opera. For more than ten years, the Viennese quarelled with the Jew (who was baptised earlier in Hamburg), until Mahler, exhausted by his duties and the many concert tours, left the court opera for New York.

Mahler remained in the United States for three years, with interruptions, and returned to Vienna in 1911, terminally ill, where he died in the same year.

The prodigy metts the emperor and the emperess

Mozart visited Vienna for the first time when he was six years old, on the occasion of his visit to Empress Maria Theresa and her husband Franz Joseph.

Triumph and tragedy in Vienna

Later, Mozart spent 10 years in the Danube metropolis with interruptions. He arrived there in 1781 from Salzburg. His fate was changeable, the middle period was the happiest with artistic success and marriage to Konstanze, the last period was marked by personal crises (child deaths, illness) and economic depression, with the death of the art-loving Joseph II his fate had turned.

He wrote a considerable part of his works in his Viennese period and made music in and composed for various theaters. On December 5, 1791, shortly after midnight, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died in the “Kleines Kaiserhaus” in Rauhensteingasse in Vienna.

TO THE COMPLETE MOZART BIOGRAPHY

The Rossini Frenzy in Vienna

Rossini visited Vienna in 1822 and triggered a huge “Rossini frenzy” in the imperial city. Schubert wrote two overtures and even Beethoven composed a small canon in honor of the Italian. Within a few weeks, 8 different operas by Rossini were given in about 60 performances, mainly in the Theater am Kärtnertor, whose director had shortly before been nominated the Italian Barbaja, Rossini’s impresario in Naples. The Kärtnertortheater has not existed since 1870.

During this visit of Rossini to Vienna, there was also the legendary meeting with Beethoven (see below).

TO THE FULL ROSSINI BIOGRAPHY

Childhood years in poverty

Schubert spent most of his short life in Vienna. His adult life was marked by the composition of music (it is estimated that he composed 30,000 hours), complete destitution (publishers and concert promoters largely spurned his works), socializing with Schubertiads and visits to inns, and his terrible syphilis disease.

Franz was the thirteenth of his father’s 20 children, was very musical, had a beautiful voice, and for this reason was accepted in 1808 as a choirboy at the Hofmusikkapelle (court chapel) and in the imperial convict at St. Stephen’s Cathedral.

After attending the Court Music Chapel and briefly training as a teacher, Schubert took up his position as his father’s school assistant in 1814. Schubert was unhappy because he lacked time for composing, and in 1816 he applied in vain for a musician’s position in Ljubljana. Also, all publishers rejected submissions of his compositions. His friend Franz von Schober offered Schubert to live with his family (then at Landskrongasse 5) and so the penniless Schubert decided to give up the job and devote himself fully to life as a composer.

Schubtertiades

Schubert stayed several times with his friend Franz von Schober, the poet and actor of the same age. In 1821 the first Schubertiade, evenings to promote Schubert’s music, took place in the apartment on Spiegelgasse. Schubert sat at the piano and his most authoritative interpreter of his songs, Johann Michael Vogl sang along. These Schubertiades became an important literary-musical salon and were often held in Sonnleithner’s house (Haus am Bauernmarkt was demolished). Important works by Schubert, such as Erlkönig, were heard for the first time at the Schubertiades.

Illness and early death

After the diagnosis of syphilis, Schubert began to drink more and more. Night-long visits to inns were not uncommon, Schubert became more corpulent, and attacks of syphilis caused him more and more trouble. Schubert was never inhibited in his joy of composition by the many defeats, even in his darkest hours when he lay in hospital in 1823, in a room with 90 rash patients with open wounds, he composed on the “schöne Müllerin”.

The last months before his death, Schubert lived in the apartment of his brother Ferdinand. This was somewhat outside of Vienna, the doctors recommended that he stay outside of the city because of the better air. Schubert’s cause of death was not syphilis, but it is assumed that he died of the rampant typhoid fever (due to the typical phantasizing (“nervous fever”) which became noticeable earlier).

The waltz king

Johann Strauss’s father was Vienna’s first waltz king, battling his rival Lanner’s band for waltz supremacy. When Lanner suddenly died, Strauss’ wife urged her son to take Lanner’s place and compete with his father. The reason was vindictiveness, since Strauss’ father by now had as many children with his mistress as with his wife. The rest is history, Johann made his successful debut as a 19 year old at the Dommayer and over the next 30 years became the waltz king with his band. He was greatly assisted by his brothers Eduard and Joseph. Strauss’s life was marked by music making, composing, womanizing, Entrepreneurship, a lot of work and changing places of residence.

Strauss also became famous in the second part of his career for operettas, to which he initially turned only out of economic necessity.

Along with Dresden, Vienna was Strauss’s most important artistic station, two of his operas were premiered (“Ariande” and the 2nd Version of “Frau ohne Schatten”) in the State Opera.

He held the office of State Opera Director for five years (1919-1924) and Hoffmansthal, his most important librettist was Viennese.

In addition, many of his Viennese operas were performed in Viennese settings (e.g. “Rosenkavalier” and “Arabella”). In 1924 the city of Vienna awarded him the honorary citizenship.

Strauss and Schalk, the co-directors of the State Opera:

TO THE FULL BIOGRAPHY OF RICHARD STRAUSS

The tragic beginning

The building of the State Opera (then called “Court Opera”) dates back to 1869. The history of this traditional house began tragically, as the two architects did not live to see the first performance. One of them, von der Nüll, hanged himself (though already seriously ill) after criticism of the design from the public and the emperor (who financed the construction). August von Sicardsburg died 10 weeks later of a heart attack.

Destruction and renovation

On March 12, 1945, the house was destroyed after a bomb hit it. Only the porch and parts of the entrance wing remained intact. The renovation and fund raising took a lot of time. The renovation was used as an opportunity and a lot of wood was used to perfect the acoustics. The opening in 1955 became the first Austrian live television broadcast, although there were less than 1000 receivers at the time.

Statistics

The opera house holds 2,300 seats (including 500 standing) and employs nearly 1,000 people. It operates a repertory business with 50 productions annually, which, during 10 months are given almost daily (including concerts and ballet).

Gustav Mahler’s reforms

One of the most glorious eras of the State Opera was that of Gustav Mahler, whose Viennese reforms brought drastic changes to the opera world. Instead of ramp singing, theater was now the order of the day, with Mahler immediately appointing himself director. Secondly, opulent painted stage sets were replaced by décor. Alfred Roller became the congenial stage designer. However, Mahler, who took over in 1897, always faced great criticism from the traditionalists, which was probably due to rampant anti-Semitism.
Mahler marked the beginning of the era of musical personalities with leadership functions, associated, for example, with the name of Richard Strauss after World War I and Herbert von Karajan after World War II. The latter fundamentally changed the artistic work by moving from ensemble operation to star operation (meaning that leading roles were more often sung by guests).

The Mahler period was one of the absolute glories of the State Opera, and the Viennese honored him with one of Rodin’s busts, which today stands in the so-called Schwind Foyer (it is a replica, the original was melted down during World War II).

Mahler bust in the State Opera House:

Mahler was in Rodin’s studio a dozen times. Rodin then created two versions of busts, one naturalistic and one artistic. There are various casts of both versions. There are 5 original casts of the lifelike one, one of which is in the Vienna Upper Belvedere (Alma Mahler’s personal bust). The original casts are in the Rodin Museum in Paris.

Rodin’s two versions:

Mozart: the beginnings with the Magic flute

The Theater an der Wien, on the left bank of the Wienzeile, was opened by Schikaneder in 1787 as a provisional venue and was the site of the first performance of The Magic Flute. Mozart began work on The Magic Flute in the spring of 1791, interrupting it in July to write La clemenza di Tito in a short time, and then completed The Magic Flute within a few weeks in September 1791. The premiere took place on September 30 in Schikaneder’s Theater auf der Wieden. His sister-in-law Josepha Hofer sang the Queen, Mozart conducted and Schikaneder played Papageno. “The Magic Flute” was a great success and was given twenty times in the same season. Mozart attended many performances in October and was pleased that after a long time he could again celebrate an audience success with a work. By November he was already ill in bed and he died on December 5.

The Papageno Gate

In 1801, the modern theater designed in the Empire style was opened after only 13 months of construction. On the Millöckergasse side, Schikaneder, as librettist, patron and Papageno of the premiere, created a monument to this opera with the Papageno Gate. It shows stone figures of a scene with Papageno, Tamino and the three boys and stands above the old entrance.

Find out about the high quality program!

Picture of the Theater an der Wien around 1920:

https://www.theater-wien.at/en/home

Beethoven: The premiere of “Fidelio” and the famous academy with the premiere of his fifth

The Theater an der Wien, on the left bank of the Wienzeile, was opened by Schikaneder in 1787 as a provisional venue and was the site of the first performance of The Magic Flute. Mozart began work on The Magic Flute in the spring of 1791, interrupting it in July to write La clemenza di Tito in a short time, and then completed The Magic Flute within a few weeks in September 1791. The premiere took place on September 30 in Schikaneder’s Theater auf der Wieden. His sister-in-law Josepha Hofer sang the Queen, Mozart conducted and Schikaneder played Papageno. “The Magic Flute” was a great success and was given twenty times in the same season. Mozart attended many performances in October and was pleased that after a long time he could again celebrate an audience success with a work. By November he was already ill in bed and he died on December 5.

Theater an der Wien:

Lehar: The premiere of “The Merry Widow”

In 1901, the Hungarian-born Wilhelm Karzcag leased the Theater an der Wien to make it the center of a new Viennese operetta. Lehàr was able to celebrate his first success there in 1902 with “Wiener Fraun”. For the 1905/06 season, Victor Léon and Leo Stein wrote the libretto of “The Merry Widow” but were not satisfied with the music of the commissioned composer and offered Lehàr the job. Lehàr accepted and set to work. Because an operetta had flopped, Karzcag was determined to bring the Merry Widow forward. He had the music played for him in Lehár’s apartment.

The famous sentence

Disgusted by Lehár’s product, he is said to have exclaimed the famous sentence: “That’s not music!” Stein and Léon, however, were able to convince him otherwise, and the work was staged head over heels. All the stage material was cobbled together from existing productions and the musicians could only be allowed a few stage rehearsals. Despite a lot of improvisation, the premiere was already satisfactory and, to Karzcag’s surprise, audience reception was good from the start and the operetta quickly became a box office hit.

In 2006, the theater was renovated and serves as the third opera house of the city of Vienna.

Along with the Theater an der Wien and the State Opera, the Volksoper is a third opera theater with a high quality of music. The building dates back to the end of the 19th century and was planned as a counterpart to the State Opera, with affordable tickets, German-language performances and the staging of operettas that are not shown at the State Opera (the only exception is made for Die Fledermaus).
The theater is now a state institution and hosts opera, musical, operetta and ballet.

This concert hall has existed since 1913 and is the home of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. It is characterized by the inclusion of jazz and modern music in the repertoire.

The Beethoven Museum is a must-see for Beethoven lovers in Vienna, especially since it was expanded in 2017. Here the gradually deafening 32-year-old Beethoven wrote the famous and shocking Heiligenstadt Testament and worked on his Eroica (3rd Symphony). In 6 floors the life of Beethoven is brought closer, especially impressive is the floor that deals with his hearing problems.

A look inside the museum:

The museum is located outside the center of Vienna, because at that time Beethoven hoped that the good air would improve his health. The house still breathes the spirit of Beethoven’s time and the courtyard has retained its Biedermeier charm:

Court of the museums:

Guided tours are recommended, there are also free public tours (registration mandatory via website).

https://www.wienmuseum.at/en/

Nearby is “Mayer am Pfarrplatz”, one of the traditional Heurigen restaurant. In this house Beethoven is also said to have lived, the house is still in its original condition.

Mayer am Pfarrplatz:

https://www.pfarrplatz.at/de/heuriger/der-heurige/

Beethoven stayed in Baden more than a dozen times to take the cure. In his later years he often stayed in the “Kupferschmiedehaus”, where he worked on his 9th symphony, among other things, and the house is therefore nicknamed the “House of the Ninth”. The house gives an insight into his life, the most valuable exhibit being Beethoven’s fortepiano (Hammerklavier).

Beethoven’s Piano:

https://www.beethovenhaus-baden.at/

Brahms lived in various apartments after moving to Vienna, and from 1872 until his death in 1897 he lived at Karlgasse 4. The house was demolished, and a memorial plaque commemorates the location of his death residence.

Karlsgasse 4 (historic picture):

Furnishings from his apartment can be seen in the Hayndmuseum at Haydn Gasse 19.

A look inside the Brahms memorial in the Haydn Museum:

https://www.wienmuseum.at/de/standorte/haydnhaus

Haydn spent his last 12 years here until his death at the age of 77. He was a European celebrity and received many visitors here, but in the course of time more and more ailments of old age became noticeable. Nevertheless, Haydn experienced a productive period here and wrote works for his old age, such as the oratorios “The Creation” and “The Seasons”. In his last years he was no longer able to compose.

All kinds of memorabilia can be seen in the Haydn House. The highlight is two of Haydn’s keyboard instruments, one of which belonged to Johannes Brahms in the meantime. The Haydn House also includes a room dedicated to Brahms, who had made exemplary efforts to preserve Haydn’s memory.

This beautiful city mansion of Haydn also includes a beautiful garden, which has been arranged in the style of his time.

Haydnhaus:

https://www.wienmuseum.at/en/locations/haydnhaus

Like Beethoven, Mozart used to move frequently in Vienna. In Domgasse there is the only preserved apartment, where he lived from 1784-1787. The apartment is quite stately with seven rooms. The museum is on six floors, on the second floor is the apartment with partly original furnishings. He composed his “Figaro” here and wrote the “Little Night Music”.

Book a guided tour.

http://www.mozarthausvienna.at

Schubert’s birthplace at Nußdorfer Strasse 54 makes an idyllic impression. But appearances are deceptive, because more than a dozen families lived in these apartments and Franz was the thirteenth of 20 children of his father. The small museum is simply designed and impresses with the Biedermeier charm of the house complex.

Birthplace:

https://www.wienmuseum.at/en/locations/schubert-geburtshaus

The place where he died has been turned into a memorial place, where you can see some memorabilia and get to know his work musically.

A look inside the exhibition:

https://www.wienmuseum.at/en/locations/schubert-sterbewohnung

Strauss lived here with his first wife for 12 years until her death. Among other things, he composed his most famous work here, the Danube Waltz, which he composed for the court balls and earned him the unofficial title of “King of the Waltzes”. The apartment later became a museum where numerous exhibits are displayed, such as a precious Amati violin and a Bösendorfer grand piano, both of which came from the waltz king’s estate.

Museum:

https://www.wienmuseum.at/de/standorte/johann-strauss-wohnung

http://www.mozarthausvienna.at

Beethoven often changed his quarters, 58 apartments are documented, some of which he lived in several times. His death house, the so-called “Schwarzspanierhaus” on Schwarzspanierstraße, however, has not been preserved.

Beethoven lived several times in this house, where today a small exhibition can be seen, but he did not live in this apartment. The bastion had a beautiful view of the suburbs and Baron Pasqualati kept the apartment vacant for Beethoven for several years. This house belongs to the remains of the Mölkerbastei, the former city fortification, which was largely demolished in the 19th century.

Pasqualati House, look inside the museum:

https://www.wienmuseum.at/en/locations/beethoven-pasqualatihaus

Beethoven lived in this apartment in 1808, and 19-year-old Franz Grillparzer lived next door with his family. The two became friends and Beethoven even set one of the poet’s works (Melusine) to music 15 years later. Grillparzer had already met Beethoven 4 years earlier in Heiligenstadt and his notes are important records of Beethoven’s person. Grillparzer also wrote Beethoven’s eulogy, which was read by an actor.

There is a memorial plaque on the front of the house, the houses cannot be visited.

https://www.visitingvienna.com/footsteps/beethoven-grillparzer-house/

At Währinger Strasse 41 he lived for 8 years on the 3rd floor, a memorial plaque reminds of it, there he composed the symphonies 2-5.

At Hessgasse 7 he lived for 18 years, here he composed the symphonies 6-8 and parts of the ninth (actually, the pieces were also partly composed during the summer stays in Steyr). The apartment on the 4th floor was given to Bruckner free of charge by the owner of the house, one of his university listeners. A memorial plaque commemorates the famous resident.

In the middle of 1895, Bruckner moved to the “Kustodenstöckl” at Prinz-Eugen-Strasse 27, an apartment in the Custody Wing of the Upper Belvedere. It was made available to him by the emperor, since climbing the stairs in Hessgasse became too strenuous for him. There the composer succumbed to a heart ailment on October 11, 1896. There is also a memorial plaque here.

Kustodenstöckl:

In 1784, his wife purchased a house at Wiedner Hauptstraße 32, today called Gluckhaus. Gluck lived there for 4 years and died 1887 in this house. A memorial plaque from 1865 commemorates the famous resident.

Gluck House:

This place used to be called Kohlmarkt and a place where many musicians stayed (e.g. Chopin with a memorial plaque at number 9). Haydn lived in a poor attic apartment from 17-24 years for many year, where he taught in exchange for room and board. The famous poet Metastasio, who supported Haydn, also lived in the house complex.

The house is a so-called Pavlat construction, which means that the entrances are on the outside, so there was no need for corridors and staircases in the house.The inner courtyard with its baroque carriage sheds is particularly impressive.

A memorial plaque on the building Kohlmarkt 11 commemorates the famous resident.

Court:

A memorial plaque commemorates Korngold in his 1909-1924 residence at Theobaldgasse 7.

Theobaldgasse 7:

Lehár’s study was located at number 16 from 1908. A memorial plaque commemorates this time.

Lehár’s study:

Schikaneder, the librettist of the Magic Flute and theater entrepreneur of the Theater an der Wien, once lived in this house. It is located in the Heurigen village of Nussdorf. Lehàr bought the property in 1931 and lived there for a long time. He composed “Giuditta” there, among other works. There are memorabilia on display in the salon. The Schlössl is privately owned and can only be visited by appointment. A memorial plaque commemorates the famous resident at Hackhofergasse 18.

Schikaneder-Lehár Schlössl:

Visit by appointment only

https://www.wien.info/de/orte/Lehár-schikaneder-schloessl

Mahler lived here almost the entire Viennese period. First with his sister Justine and then with his wife Alma Mahler, whom he married in 1901.

The house is still inhabited, a plaque commemorates the famous resident.

Auenbruggengasse 2 (Intersection Rennweg):

Mahler died at Mariannengasse 20, where the Löw Sanatorium was located at the time. A plaque at the place of death commemorates the famous patient.

Mariannengasse 20:

The Deutschordenshaus was Mozart’s gateway to Vienna in 1781, where he lived for a few weeks. Mozart did not like the strict rules and Salzburg’s Archbishop Colloredo allegedly had him thrown out the door with “a kick in the ass”.

From 1863 to 1865, another famous personality, Johannes Brahms, lived on the top floor of the house.

The building has been the seat of the Catholic German Order since the 13th century. A commemorative plaque refers to Mozart’s stay.

Deutschordenshaus:

The first Schubertiade took place in this apartment, and a plaque commemorates these important occasions. Here he was working on the composition of the Unfinished when he realized that he was ill with syphilis. Possibly this diagnosis caused the halt of the composition on the symphony. This was followed by the Wanderer Fantasy (D. 760), one of the most extreme, stirring, and abysmal works in piano literature, composed from only one theme, and with the same notes. The twenty-minute fantasia was endlessly admired by Liszt, and Schubert laconically commented on his work: “the devil may play it”.

Wanderer Fantasy played by Svyatoslav Richter

House at the Spiegelgasse 9 (historic picture 1940):

While Pratergasse 54 was the winter address, Strauss and his wife Henriette lived in this villa in the summer, where he wrote parts of the “Fledermaus”, among other things. The house cannot be visited.

From 1863 to 1865, another famous personality, Johannes Brahms, lived on the top floor of the house.

The building has been the seat of the Catholic German Order since the 13th century. A commemorative plaque refers to Mozart’s stay.

Deutschordenshaus:

“In 1875 Strauß bought two plots of land in what was then Igelgasse on Wieden and had a two-story palace with a Renaissance façade built for himself in 1876-1878. The billiard salon of the palace became particularly famous. Strauss’ third wife (Adele) gathered the artistic world of the time around her in the music salon (the “Johann Strauss Evenings” were a household name): Brahms, Goldmark and Rubinstein were frequent visitors, and Bruckner and Puccini were also guests at the Palais. Strauss died here on June 3, 1899. He bequeathed the house in his will to the Society of Friends of Music, which sold it in 1900. In the fall of 1944, the Palais was almost completely destroyed by bombs and had to be demolished. In its place was a new residential building (memorial plaque, unveiled on February 13, 1967)” (source Wien Wiki).

Strauss had a prestigious 3-story house built on Jacquigasse by a renowned architect. The beautiful building still stands but can only be viewed from the outside as it is the seat of the Dutch embassy.

Strauss- Schlössel:

Two famous choirboys

Franz Schubert was the thirteenth of his father’s 20 children, was very musical, had a beautiful voice, and for this reason was accepted in 1808 as a choirboy at the Hofmusikkapelle (court chapel) and in the imperial convict at St. Stephen’s Cathedral. At Ignaz-Seippel Platz 1 there is a memorial plaque to the pupil Franz Schubert.

Haydn spent his youth and his old age in Vienna. He came to Vienna in 1740, already at the age of 8 (without parents), after being “discovered” by the musical director of St. Stephen’s Cathedral in his home in the rural area, who was looking for singers for chapel choir. There he was taught to sing and play the violin and sang soprano in the choir for almost 10 years. When he turned 17, the empress, hearing him sing a solo piece, complained that he sang like a crow, and Haydn was dismissed because of the onset of vocal break. He was left penniless on the street, with no help from his poor parents.

Other composers

But St. Stephen’s Cathedral also played a role for other composers. Mozart married Constanze Weber in the Eligius Chapel in 1782, Bruckner played on the renovated Old Organ, which was completely destroyed in the fire of World War II, and Antonio Vivaldi, who died penniless in Vienna, was given there a funeral service.

Beethoven often walked in this park, which was then part of a spa complex. The monument shows Beethoven walking, and in his pocket you can see a notebook that the deaf Beethoven carried with him for conversation purposes. He was also always jotting down musical thoughts, which he pursued on his walks. He is said to have been often seen humming and buzzing in the park.

The monument is located in the center of Heiligenstadt Park on the eastern side. The monument was created in 1910 from Carrara marble.

In Ressel Park there is a monument to Brahms erected in 1908. At his feet lies an inconsolable muse of musical art with a lyre. The figures are made of marble and the steps of granite.

Brahms monument in Resselpark:

Already three years after his death, a marble monument was erected in the city park.

However, this historical monument was the victim of an act of vandalism and the historical pedestal is currently in a storage building. The monument stands on a newly created pedestal:

Bruckner monument in the City Park:

Next to the Karlskirche we find a striking statue from 1865, on the corner of Argentinierstrasse.

Gluck Monument at Karlsplatz:

Haydn monumnent Mariahilfstrasse 55:

The monument is located in the city park near the Kursalon and was unveiled in 1980.

Lehár monument Stadtpark (City Park):

This monument in the castle garden is worth a closer look. On the front it depicts scenes from “Don Giovanni” and on the back we recognize Mozart’s father, Wolfgang and sister Nannerl as children. The monument was created in 1896, so the artist never got to see Mozart, Mozart was probably not as handsome as seen on the statue. Depending on the season, they also see beautiful flowers drawing a clef in the meadow in front of the statue.

The Mozart monument in the Burggarten:

The statue shows Franz Schubert with music book and pencil for once without glasses. On the pedestal are allegories for his music: fantasy in front, instrumental music on the left, vocal music on the right.

Schubert Monument:

Prince Lobkowitz was one of Beethoven’s earliest patrons in Vienna and his palace was the place where, among other things, the Eroica was premiered (Eroica Hall). The Palais still stands in its original condition and is one of the oldest palaces in Vienna (built in 1687). The Palais was later an embassy residence for a long time and is now a theater museum and can therefore be visited. The museum has changing exhibitions.

Eroica Hall:

https://www.theatermuseum.at/theatermuseum/

This famous Art Nouveau building from 1897, together with its associated artists such as Klimt, Klinger or Roller, had an eminent cultural-historical significance for Vienna and a tremendous international impact. Mahler often gave concerts here during his Viennese years and is said to have been immortalized by his friend Klimt on his famous Beethoven frieze as a knight in golden armor.

Mahler on the Beethoven Frieze:

https://www.wiener-staatsoper.at/

Here, in 1782, Mozart got to see scores of Bach’s and Handel’s music from the court librarian van Swieten, which had a not inconsiderable influence on his compositions. Today’s National Library still has an important collection of scores. A look at the library, centrally located in the Hofburg, is worthwhile, especially the State Hall is overwhelming. The dome is 20 meters high, magnificently decorated with frescoes. Four magnificent Venetian globes, each with a diameter of over one metre, provide the finishing touch to the heart of the Austrian National Library.

https://www.onb.ac.at/museen/prunksaal/

State hall of the National Library:

In this representation hall (or in the pink room) the prodigy Mozart played to the emperors and the emperor.

Mirrors Room:

Posthumous painting of Mozart’s visit:

Zentralfriedhof (Central Cemetery)

Beethoven’s first resting place was at the Währinger Ortsfriedhof (local cemetery), where a tombstone still stands next to Schubert’s grave. In 1888, Beethoven body was moved to the Central Cemetery.

Beethoven’s grave at the Central Cemetery:

https://www.friedhoefewien.at/eportal3/ep/tab.do?tabId=0

Brahms died on April 3, 1897 in his apartment on Karlsgasse. According to the diagnosis at the time, it was liver cancer; today it is suspected that it was pancreatic cancer. He was buried in a grave of honor in Vienna’s Central Cemetery.

Brahms’ tomb:

Brahms on his deathbed:

Zentralfriedhof (Central Cemetery)

Gluck received an honorary grave in the Central Cemetery (Group 32 A, Number 49).

Gluck’s tomb:

Zentralfriedhof (Central Cemetery)

Mozart is buried in the St. Marx cemetery, but there is a grave of honor in the Central Cemetery.

Mozart’s grave of honor in the Central Cemetery:

Zentralfriedhof (Central Cemetery)

Before his death, Schubert expressed his wish to be buried near Beethoven’s grave, at whose funeral celebrations a year earlier he had been one of the torchbearers. This wish was granted after his death on November 19, 1828, and he was buried two grave sites next to the great role model. The tomb was built according to the plans of his friend Schober.

In 1888 Schubert’s body was moved together with Beethoven’s grave from Währinger Friedhof to Zentralfriedhof. The gravestones remained in Währing and a copy was made for the Central Cemetery.

Schubert’s Grave:

Zentralfriedhof

Schönberg was a native of Vienna. His parents came from neighboring countries to the east and were of Jewish descent. Schoenberg converted to Christianity at the age of 24, in part to escape rampant anti-Semitism.

His first musical phase was late romantic with the main work “Transfigured Night”, later he composed atonally e.g. “Pierrot Lunaire” and then in the twelve-tone technique e.g. “Variations for Orchestra”. With his writings on compositional theory, he became an influential theorist, developing the foundation of modern, newer music (new resp. second Viennese school). Schoenberg later emigrated to the USA. Schönberg had a phobia of the number 13. He even went so far as to name his opera “Moses und Aron”, since the name with double A would have comprised 13 letters. He  feared his death in a year that would correspond to a multiple of 13. This did not come true in the end, but he died on a day with the date of a 13. To be precise, on July 13, 1951.

Schönberg had died and been cremated in the USA and a grave of honor was erected for him in the Central Cemetery.

Zentralfriedhof (Central Cemetery)

Johann Strauss died of pneumonia at his home in Igelgasse in 1899. After the abdication service, the procession went through the city center and passed many places of activity such as the Theater an der Wien or the Court Opera. Tens of thousands paid their last respects to the musician and he was solemnly buried in the Central Cemetery.

His gravesite is very originally designed with many details, such as waltzing angels and a bat coming in for a landing.

https://www.wien.info/de/orte/zentralfriedhof

Cemetery St. Marx

It is common knowledge that Mozart was “disposed of” in a mass grave of the St. Marx cemetery, in a shaft grave according to the customs of the time (practically all Viennese received a 3rd class burial without a grave cross). The grave monument was erected on Mozart’s 100th birthday where the tomb is presumed to have been. In addition, Mozart also has a grave of honor in the Central Cemetery, which is located on the same streetcar line (in Vienna, die is also called, “to take the 71”, after the number of the streetcar line). The atmospheric St. Marx cemetery is enclosed between a highway triangle and Mozart is the only real “star dead”, nevertheless the visit is worthwhile.

https://www.wien.gv.at/umwelt/parks/anlagen/friedhof-st-marx.html

Mozart’s tomb:

Cemetery Grinzing

In Gustav Mahler’s youth, infant death was a terrible normality; four of his siblings died at an early age. Especially the death of his 13-year-old brother was a terrible experience for the then 15-year-old Gustav. Mahler processed these childhood experiences in his first symphony, with the famous brother Jacob motif as the theme of a funeral march.

When his beloved daughter died of diphtheria at the age of five, a world collapsed for Gustav and Alma, and Alma reproached her husband for his Kindertotenlieder (the songs on the death of children) he had written earlier as a terrible omen.

Gustav had Maria Anna buried in the Grinzing cemetery and in his will he stipulated that he be buried next to her.

Mahler’s grave:

Opened in 1880, this traditional coffee house was a meeting place for musicians and Lehár’s favorite café. It later also served several times as a film set.

https://www.cafesperl.at/

Not far from Mozart’s death house is Café Frauenhuber on Himmelspfortengasse (= “heaven’s gate” – what a beautiful name!). It calls itself the oldest (continuously operated) coffee house in Vienna. Mozart and Beethoven made music in this building. An engraving by Salomon Kleiner from 1746 is in the house. It became a coffee house in 1824. A nice place for a coffee break.

The grumpy service is part of the experience of a real Viennese coffee house. So: Please don’t get angry, but enjoy it as an authentic Viennese experience.

https://www.cafefrauenhuber.at/index.php/de/

Schubert and his large circle of friends were gregarious. The only surviving inn from this time, which Schubert visited frequently, is the inn “Zu den drei Hacken”. A memorial plaque commemorates the famous guest.

https://www.zuden3hacken.at/

The Casino Dommayer in the Hietzing district played an eminently important role in Viennese cultural life in the 19th century. It was the place where Johann Strauss’ father and his arch rival Josef Lanner performed and where Strauss’ son first performed with his band in 1844. In 1884 he was given honorary citizenship of Vienna here. All of Vienna danced to ¾ time here and many a waltz was played here for the first time. In 1904 the building was demolished and a hotel was built, later parts of the original casino were rebuilt close to the original and the place often became a filming location. Today the café is an excellent traditional coffee house and destination for cake lovers and tourists from nearby Schönbrunn. The offer is very tasty and the cafe is always well attended.

Café Dommayer today:

An important performance venue became the Cortische Kaffeehaus in the Volksgarten. Johan Strauss’ father and Laner already performed there. It was here that Johann Strauss son conducted his Danube Waltz in its final, instrumental form for the first time in 1867. During the Second World War, the coffeehouse was badly damaged and was rebuilt as a music house where, among others, Ella Fitzgerald performed. Today the place is called Volksgarten Pavilion.

In this building on Fleischmarkt there has been an inn for over 500 years. The name changed, but the inn remained. The history of this restaurant is amazing. Among others, Mozart, Schubert, Beethoven and Richard Strauss are said to have been here (more about this in the Wikipedia link below). The restaurant still radiates the Viennese charm and tastes tuts.

Griechenbeisl today:

Griechenbeisl 1910:

https://www.griechenbeisl.at/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griechenbeisl

The Beethovengang is his favorite walk along the Schreiberbach (a creek), with an elevation gain of 170 meters.

Beethoven walk:

http://www.wohininundumwien.at/beethoven-in-nussdorf-und-heiligenstadt/

Rossini lodged in a hotel at Seilergasse 14 and visited Beethoven in his apartment at Landstrasse 60. The communication between the two so different people turned out to be difficult, because Beethoven had become deaf in the meantime. Rossini reported: “… As I climbed the stairs to the poor house where the great man lived, I had some difficulty in controlling my feelings. When the door opened, I found myself in a rather dirty and terribly untidy little room. Above all, I remember that the ceiling, just below the roof, had large cracks through which the rain must surely have poured. The portraits of Beethoven with which we are all familiar give his physiognomy, on the whole, fairly faithfully.

But what no engraver could ever express is the indefinable sadness that emanates from his face, while under the dense eyebrows, as if in deep sockets, the eyes, though small, seem to pierce you … Then he raised his head and said abruptly to me in a quite intelligible Italian: Ah Rossini, are you the author of the Barber of Seville? I congratulate you, it is an excellent opera buffa; I read and enjoyed it with pleasure. As long as there is an Italian opera house, it will be performed. Never try to do anything but comic opera; to try to succeed in any other genre would be to force your fate.”

If you go to the road 60, you will not notice anything more of this event, it is left to your fantasies to imagine this encounter. For inspiration, here is an old photo from Vienna around 1860: