Musikverein

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The Wiener Musikverein, (German pronunciation: [ˌviːnɐ̯ muˌziːkfɛʁˈʔaɪ̯n]; "Viennese Music Association"), commonly shortened to Musikverein, is a concert hall in the Innere Stadt borough of Vienna, Austria. It is the home to the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra.

The "Great Hall" (Großer Saal) due to its highly regarded acoustics is considered one of the finest concert halls in the world, along with Berlin's Konzerthaus, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Boston's Symphony Hall, and the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires.^[1] None of these halls were built in the modern era with the application of acoustics science, and, with the partial exception of the horseshoe-shaped Colón, all share a long, tall, and narrow shoebox shape.

This building is located on Dumbastraße/Bösendorferstraße behind the Hotel Imperial near the Ringstraße boulevard and the Wien River, between Bösendorferstraße and Karlsplatz. However, since Bösendorferstraße is a relatively small street, the building is better known as being between Karlsplatz and Kärntner Ring (part of Ringstraße loop). It was erected as the new concert hall run by the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, on a piece of land provided by Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria in 1863. The plans were designed by Theophil Hansen in the Neoclassical style of an ancient Greek temple, including a concert hall as well as a smaller chamber music hall. The building was inaugurated on January 6, 1870.

The Großer Musikvereinssaal, or Goldener Saal (Golden Hall), is about 49 m (161 ft) long, 19 m (62 ft) wide, and 18 m (59 ft) high. It has 1,744 seats and standing room for 300. The annual Vienna New Year's Concert is held here. Its lively acoustics are primarily based on Hansen's intuition as he could not rely on any studies on architectural acoustics. The room's rectangular shape and proportions, its boxes and sculptures allow early and numerous sound reflections. The original equipment comprised a historic pipe organ built by Friedrich Ladegast, the first organ recital was held by Anton Bruckner in 1872. The present–day organ was originally installed by the Austrian firm Rieger Orgelbau in 1907, highly esteemed by musicians such as Franz Schmidt or Marcel Dupré, and rebuilt in 2011.

Since 2001, the building has been undergoing renovation, and several new rehearsal halls have been installed in the basement.

The names of the five halls stand for Golden, Johannes Brahms, Glass, Metal, and Stone Hall, respectively.

• Carl Heissler 1870–1871
• Anton Rubinstein 1871–1872
• Johannes Brahms 1872–1875
• Eduard Schön about 1870
• Johann von Herbeck 1873–1877
• Hans Richter 1880-1890
• Franz Schalk 1904–1921
• Ferdinand Löwe
• Wilhelm Furtwängler 1921–1927
• Robert Heger 1925–1933
• Kurt Adler 1933
• Herbert von Karajan 1948–1964

• Konzerthaus, Vienna
• Skandalkonzert

Media related to Musikverein at Wikimedia Commons

• Musikverein website

48°12′02″N 16°22′20″E / 48.20056°N 16.37222°E / 48.20056; 16.37222