The Vienna Musikverein – the best acoustics in the world in the Golden Hall

Der Wiener Musikverein – die beste Akustik der Welt im Goldenen Saal

With which event does the whole world associate Vienna? Where will this event take place? What is so special about this building? Who was the architect?

Vienna is associated worldwide with the famous New Year’s Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra . The Golden Hall of the Vienna Musikverein, located parallel to the Ringstrasse, not far from the State Opera, provides the appropriate setting. The birth of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra falls on the March 28, 1842. Kapellmeister Otto Nicolai conducted a “Grand Concert” in the Redoutensaal of the Vienna Hofburg. Before that, there was no concert orchestra consisting of professional musicians. The most important principle was and still is today: only a member of the Vienna State Opera Orchestra could become a member of the Vienna Philharmonic . In 1870, Johann Strauss son conducts his waltz “Freuet euch des Lebens” at the opening ball of the Golden Hall in the Vienna Musikverein.
The excellent acoustics are still a special feature of the building today. Johannes Brahms, Gustav Mahler and Anton Bruckner are names that are closely associated with the Vienna Musikverein. Theophil von Hansen, a Danish architect who studied the acoustics of ancient amphitheaters in Greece, was brought to Vienna to build the Golden Hall in the Musikverein. On January 6, 1870 , the house was ceremoniously opened and still lives up to its reputation – as the best concert hall in the world . Hansen designed two halls – a large hall for orchestral music and a small room for chamber music concerts. The Viennese company Anton Wasserburger was responsible for the stonemasonry work. The sandstone came from St. Margarethen and Breitenbrunn. Hard limestone from Kaisersteinbruch and Wöllersdorf was also used. The small hall is named after Johannes Brahms , who was once the director here. The Viennese were delighted by the architecture and splendor of the Golden Sales. It is 48.80m long and 19.10m wide. The height is 17.75m. This cuboid shape provides the great acoustics of the room. The coffered ceiling, balconies, caryatids provide optimal distribution of sound waves. A cavity under the wooden floor confirms the good acoustics as well as the ceiling made of wood, which is only suspended from the truss. All of this together makes the sound in the hall resonate perfectly. August Eisenmenger created the ceiling painting – Apollo and the nine muses. In2004 there was a modern underground extension, as halls for smaller concerts, rehearsals and receptions were opened. These are equipped with the latest technology. The Austro-Canadian Frank Stronach was involved in the financing. There is space for 2,000 people , 1,700 of whom are seated and around 300 standing. The famous New Year’s Concert sells out the house every year. The tickets have been raffled off for some time now, which is a fair system.  Time Travel Tip: Around 10,000 tickets for cultural events are sold every evening in Vienna. Among them, many concerts and, of course, the choice is difficult. A concert in the Golden Hall of the Musikverein is absolutely recommendable and worth the few euros more for the unique experience. In addition, there is also cheap standing room if you don’t mind standing. The Musikverein also offers guided tours of the house , so for a small tour fee you can also come to the Golden Hall. More info: Musikverein – The Musikverein Image source: Diego Delso, delso.photoLicense CC-BY-SAhttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Musikverein,_Viena,_Austria,_2020-01-31,_DD_170-172_HDR.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

Share this post

More contributions

Information on data protection
We use technologies such as cookies, LocalStorage, etc. to customize your browsing experience, to personalize content and ads, to provide social media features, and to analyze traffic to our website. We also share information about how our site is used with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Our partners may combine this information with other data that you have provided to them or that you have collected as part of using the Services (incl. US providers). You can find more information about the use of your data in our data protection declaration.

data protection
This website uses cookies so that we can offer you the best possible user experience. You can find more information about the use of your data in our data protection declaration.

Strictly Necessary Cookies
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

Marketing & Statistics
This website uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the site and the most popular pages. Leave this cookie enabled helps us to improve our website.

Google Tag Manager
This is a tag management system. Using the Google Tag Manager, tags can be integrated centrally via a user interface. Tags are small pieces of code that represent activitiescan track. Script codes from other tools are integrated via the Google Tag Manager. The Tag Manager makes it possible to control when a specific tag is triggered.