Places, Everyone!…Venue #7/25: The Wiener Musikverein in Vienna, Austria

The Wiener Musikverein translates into The Vienna Music Association and is the name given to the concert hall in the centre of Vienna that is home to the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Commonly referred to simply as Musikverein, this concert hall was built on land donated by Emperor Franz Josef I in 1863. This land was located on a portion of the city known as Vienna Ring Road. At one time in its history, Vienna was a walled city. Within the walls sat the original buildings that made up what was known as Vienna. In time, as the population grew, more room was needed so the walls came down and the city grew outwards. In the spot where these walls had once stood was built a roadway delineating the old city core from the newer portions of the city. It was on the Vienna Ring Road that Emperor Franz Josef I donated his land and the new concert hall was built. The Musikverein opened in 1870 and is said to have among the best, if not the best acoustics of any live performance venue in the world.

The period of time from the mid-1700s until the late 1800s was a glorious time in the history of the Arts and, specifically, in the history of classical music. In the centre of it all was the city of Vienna, Austria. Vienna was home to composer Joseph Haydn, who many credit with being the father of modern chamber music. In his wake came the likes of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert and Johann Strauss, all of whom settled in Vienna by the mid-point in their careers. In addition to the many symphonies, concertos and operas that were created in the city during this period, new music-related businesses were established such as those used to publish music manuscripts, as well as those dedicated to the creation of new musical instruments. One further development in the history of music that allowed Vienna to bill itself as The City of Music was the fact that it was during this time that public performances became more open and affordable to the general public. Prior to this, composers often created their musical masterpieces for the sole enjoyment of the aristocracy and, as such, most concerts were given in castles and other such regal abodes. But now, with the Arts thriving as never before, the need for public performance halls grew. And so it was that in the 1860s, pressure grew on Emperor Franz Josef I to act as a Patron of the Arts and spearhead the creation of a new performing arts space near the centre of the city. That concert hall became the Musikverein.

Around this time, many concert halls were built in major cities across Europe such as Berlin and Copenhagen. All of these new concert halls were architecturally similar in design. They borrowed liberally from the design elements used in ancient Greek temples. Thus, The Musikverein and all other new concert halls were built in a rectangular box-like shape. Some had pillars on the sides, as Greek temples do. Most also featured doorways and window openings that had an arch-like design element. The Musikverein, in particular, is actually two performance spaces in one! There is a concert hall known as the Grosser Musikvereinssaal or Great Hall or the Golden Hall which seats approximately 1700 people. There is also a smaller concert hall that was built specifically for the playing of chamber music called the Brahmssaal or Brahms Hall in honour of Johannes Brahms.  The Brahmssaal holds 600 people. The most amazing aspect of the whole Musikverein complex is that it was built long before the science of acoustical engineering was understood. The man responsible for the construction of the Musikverein was a Dutch architect named Theophil Hansen. Mr. Hansen had no formal training in acoustical design. Instead, he created the interiors of each performance space based solely on intuition as to how he thought sound would travel and be reflected within the space. Luckily for patrons and for generations of musicians, Hansen’s design intuitions proved correct. The placement of viewing boxes at certain levels, working in combination with the materials used to construct the building and its interiors, along with ornamentation placed along the ceiling all had the effect of sending sound off in all directions, giving the interior spaces a full, rich, deep soundscape. With so many sound waves bouncing back and forth and from side to side, the effect of sitting inside the Musikverein is not all that different from listening to music with good headphones on. The ear hears every note…by design, as it were! 

There have been many great and noteworthy performances held in the Musikverein over the years. The most well known are those given by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Initially, in the early 1800s, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra did not exist. Instead, when someone such as Mozart wished to give an orchestral performance, he would cobble together as many musicians as he would need in a random, ad hoc manner. However, as time went on and the frequency with which top flight concerts were being held increased, it became apparent that a more formal orchestral organization was needed. After much discussion and debate in Viennese Arts circles, the idea of creating a formal, permanent concert-calibre orchestra was approved. The result of this all was the creation of The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. There are a couple of interesting notes about how this orchestra was formed and how it functions to this day. First of all, only the most skilled musicians are permitted to audition for a spot in the orchestra. In order to qualify to audition, a musician must have gone through a period of training and apprenticeship as a member of the orchestra for the Vienna State Opera. Once a musician has played with the Vienna State Opera for a minimum of three years, they are allowed to apply to audition for the Philharmonic Orchestra. Once accepted as a member of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, this new musician would find themselves as part of one of the most democratically-run organizations of any sort in the world. All matters of concern to the orchestra are put to a vote of all members. As well, there are standing committees that function throughout the year to deal with specific concerns. Even the acceptance of new members is put to a vote of the whole orchestra.

There have been many performances at the Musikverein given by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, but the most well known is the annual New Year’s Eve concert. You can watch one of those performances by clicking here. As you watch this short clip, take note of how the interior of the Golden Hall is organized, where people are sitting relative to the stage, how the ceiling looks and so on. There is a reason that sound travels so well in this space. The secret can be found in its design. 

In addition to the annual New Year’s Eve concerts, the Musikverein has been the scene of some infamous events, too. One of the most well known events of this sort happened at the turn of the century. As the 1800s drew to a close, the Arts scene in Europe was enjoying unprecedented success and acceptance. It was definitely a golden age for the Arts. As such, there grew a school of thought that said that with so many artists, writers, poets and composers enjoying so much critical and commercial success, that there never was a better time than then to push the envelope and try new things. Consequently, within only a few years of each other there was the Paris riot that occurred during a performance of Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring (which you can read about from a previous post here) and a similar riot in Vienna at an event that has become known as the SkandalKonzert (Scandal Concert) or as it is also referred to, The Slap Concert. This particular concert was put on by a group of up and coming Viennese composers and poets. Like Stravinsky in Paris, this concert exposed listeners to avant garde music for the very first time. Instead of traditional melodies and harmonies, these composers used discordant sounds to compose their symphonies. The Vienna audience, schooled as they were in the classical sound, were completely unprepared to endure what they considered to be such monstrous noise. At one point, about two-thirds of the way through the setlist, members of the audience arose from their seats and demanded that the composers be taken away to “an insane asylum”. One of the concert organizers demanded that the audience members sit down and quiet down. When they refused to do so, the concert organizer named Erhard Buschbeck slapped one of the patrons across the face. A witness to the assault later claimed that the sound of the slap was “the most harmonious sound of the evening”. Needless to say, lawsuits were filed and it was a long time before any of the composers on that evening’s bill performed at the Musikverein again.  

A second note of infamy that is attached to the history of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra concerns the role it played during WWII. As many of you may know from history, one of the very first political moves of aggression made by the German Chancellor Adolf Hitler was to absorb Austria into the Third Reich. The rationale behind this was that Austria and Germany shared a similar cultural history. In fact, many Austrian citizens had German ancestry in their own family histories, and therefore many Austrians openly viewed Hitler’s ambitions in a positive light. As Germany consolidated its hold on Austria, life in Vienna changed for everyone. This included the members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Investigations conducted after the war ended revealed that almost half of all VPO musicians had become active members of the Nazi Party. This percentage was higher even than that found within the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition to that, all Jewish members of the Philharmonic were forced out, with a majority of those ending up in concentration camps. In 2013, seventy-five years after the Anschluss which unified Austria with Nazi Germany, an official investigation was conducted into the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra’s role promoting Nazi ideology during WWII and in the deaths of its Jewish members. Official apologies were issued as a result of this investigation, and all honours bestowed upon Nazi Party officials were formally revoked and stricken from the official records, based on a vote of the current membership of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra as it existed in 2013. In fact, the very first New Year’s Eve concert performed by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra was in 1941 at the behest of German Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels, who believed that the pairing of entertainment with politics made the Nazis’ messages easier to communicate. After the war, there was much debate among the Philharmonic’s membership as to whether to continue with these concerts or not. It was decided that the concerts would continue. The thinking behind this decision was that it was important to remember how easily the Arts were transformed from something that uplifts us all to something that was used as an instrument of evil. Consequently, each New Year’s Eve concert is not just a celebration of the year that was; it is a reminder of the history that has brought everyone to that very moment in time. The need for all of us to “never forget” is as true today as it ever was in the past. 

The history of nations, organizations and even performance venues such as Vienna’s Musikverein can be complicated. In purely technical terms, the Musikverein is a grand and glorious building that houses some of the world’s best acoustics. It is home to an orchestra that has, as members, some of the finest musicians on the planet. Its annual New Year’s Eve concert is one of the world’s most beloved and popular traditions. It is broadcast/streamed live on a worldwide level that matches that of the US and their ball drop in Times Square. And yet…much has happened within the walls of this building that will forever bring shame to this jewel in Vienna’s cultural crown. I would like to think of the Musikverein as a place where Beethoven’s music rang out, especially his Ode to Joy. But I, like you, would be doing a disservice to those who suffered as a result of its association with the barbarism of the Nazis if Beethoven’s and Mozart’s genius was all we associated with the Musikverein. Unfortunately, as beautiful a building as the Musikverein is, it is not a place I would ever wish to visit. Instead, I will watch the highlights of the 2024 New Year’s Eve concert and remember the history of all that this event evokes because it is important to do so. I will never forget and nor should you.

The link to the official website for the Wiener Musikverein can be found here.

The link to a performance of “The Theme to Jurassic Park” as conducted by John Williams and played by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra can be found here.

The link to a performance of Mozart’s most famous music by Vladimir Horowitz can be found here.

The link to a performance of Johann Strauss by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra can be found here.

The link to a video news report about the links between the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the Nazi Party can be found here.

The link to a documentary entitled Music in Nazi Germany can be found here. This documentary describes the link between classical music and German propaganda. Even if you only watch the first two minutes of it, you will see a commentator make reference to the fact that “In Auschwitz One (concentration camp), we have half of the Vienna Philharmonic sitting there”.

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