The Musical Center of Vienna

I had been looking forward to arriving in Vienna because of its prominence in the classical music world. Five years in an undergraduate degree had led to this point; the opportunity to walk the same streets as many musical masters! Well alright that's a bit of an exaggeration, but the bit about Vienna is true. It is one of the world's most important musical centers and offers many tasty tidbits for us nerdy musicians.

You may be surprised then to hear that I did not attend any concerts while in Vienna, despite the best efforts of roaming ticket-sellers. The concert schedule around Christmas was geared towards tourists; the concerts were held in the palaces with musicians dressed in ballgowns and tuxedos. The repertoire included popular Viennese waltzes and standard opera classics. In the end I decided to forgo the experience because it was all a bit too dramatic for me. Now, if it had been the Vienna Philharmonic I would have been there regardless of price!

Even without concerts, there were plenty of sights to fill our two days in Vienna. I definitely felt we ran short on time. When traveling, I highly recommend obtaining a good tourist map from whatever hotel/hostel you stay in, as they often highlight places to eat and sights to see. Our pocket map from Vienna's Wombat Hostel led Garnet and I to see the Zentralfriedhof, a massive cemetery where the likes of Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert and Strauss are buried. After some confusing directions in German, we managed to find all these composers in the designated musician section, plus Carl Czerny, Hugo Wolf and Christoph Gluck. Sadly, our search did not turn up Arnold Schoenberg who apparently also rests in the cemetery.

Vienna's city center is jam-packed full of exciting attractions. At its center is Stephenplatz, the square which holds the large Stephansdom. We poked our heads in the cathedral to discover the interior swathed in tie-dyed lights. It was an interesting effect, and although beautiful it obscured the natural beauty of the Church. From the outside, the cathedral is a Gothic masterpiece. Check out the detail on the roof! The eagles are a symbol of the Habsburg dynasty which ruled over Austria.

A visit to Vienna is not complete without touring the Hofburg Palace, where the Habsburg royalty resided dating back to the 1400s. Over the centuries, the Palace has diversified to include museums, staterooms, the national library, the treasury and a Spanish Riding school. The entire complex is massive and understandably we only managed to see a fraction of what it offers. Plentiful white marble adds grandeur to the architecture, and speaks to the wealth of its former inhabitants. Even some walls in the state apartments were once elegantly lined with silk fabric (thinking of stealing this idea for my residence room, Ha! Just kidding).

One wing of the Palace houses the large, respectable Albertina Art Gallery. Its permanent exhibit of modernist art showcases originals by Monet, Renoir, Munch, Kandinsky (my favourite!), Picasso, and many more.

Museums within the Palace include displays of armour and ancient musical instruments. Granted it was a strange combination, but it worked well because I beat Garnet through the armour and he beat me through the music. The armour traced the technological advancement of warfare over the course of the Austrian empire. There were many treasured items such as suits of armour belonging to Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, carved saddles, revolvers carved from ivory, and foreign gifts of goodwill like Samurai swords.  In the instrument exhibit I was excited to discover a violin which belonged to Leopold Mozart and a piano played by Clara Schumann. My "special finds" were tiny dancemaster violins designed to be placed in the pocket, and a round table inscribed with German drinking songs.

 Dancemaster violins

 Ornately carved saddle

The last thing we did at the Hofburg Palace was attend the morning training session to the Lipizzaner Stallions in the Spanish Riding School. Maximilian began breeding these white Spanish horses at the Palace in the late 1500s. Nowadays the permanent riders and horses in the School perform dressage to classical music.

Apart from the Palace there is an interesting Museum Quarter in the city center. We took time to visit the Haus der Musik, or House of Music, which celebrates Vienna's musical heritage. It is a very interactive exhibit which provides an educational experience in music and sound. It showcases German/Austrian composers and the Vienna Philharmonic, as well as informs on acoustics and the human ear. Interactive highlights included a composition dice game, name composition in the style of Mozart, create your own sound effect CD, and best of all, virtually conduct the Vienna Philharmonic!

 My conducting debut! It was surprisingly difficult. I don't think they understood my nuance.

 Schubert's glasses

This parrot belonged to Joseph Haydn... literally. After its death he had it stuffed.

When in Vienna, I also highly recommend the local cuisine. No stop is complete without a meal of snitzel and a visit to a traditional Kaffeehaus (Coffee House) where many delectable cakes await you. Garnet and I managed to fit in both before catching out next train to Prague.

Our usual flavours: apple for Garnet and chocolate for me.

Until Next Time,

Shannon