Counterpoint and Harmony, Music in Vienna

Learn more about Vienna's intimate relationship with music

$441

Private

N/A

Semi-private

Book a Tour

Tour Details

About the Tour

Private Tour: $ 441
Category: History
Duration: 3 hours
Location: Vienna

Photos & Highlights

Explore Vienna's famed music scene from the time of Mozart and Beethoven
Led by a local music scholar, cultural historian, or industry insider
Palais Lobkowitz, State Opera, and Musikverein

Tour Description

Vienna and music are inseparable. The passion for music in Vienna has guided and nurtured Western music since the 17th century, and has attracted some of the greatest musicians and composers that have ever lived to the city: Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, and dozens upon dozens of others. On this Vienna Opera tour with a local historian, we’ll visit sites associated with the major figures of music history, learning how music has shaped Viennese society and tracing the roots of beloved classical music traditions which are still practiced today.

Vienna Opera Tour - Genius and Mastery

We'll begin by tracing a course through the city's 1st District (also the site of our Vienna Walking Tour), stopping at some of the notable corners where famous musical residents spent time or left a mark. We’ll marvel at the exterior of the State Opera, where many an aspiring young singer has dreamed of debuting. Just a few blocks away, we may stop at the Theater Museum, which houses a charming collection of set models and costumes, as well as the grand “Eroica Hall,” named after Beethoven’s Third Symphony.

Life’s a Stage

As one of the most popular outlets for classical music in Vienna, this walk will also dive into opera, which Wagner conceived as Gesamtkunstwerk—“complete artwork.” The fusion of music, drama, and visual arts, such as costumes and set design, have long made this tradition a central part of Vienna’s musical history. During a visit to the Theater an der Wien, our docent will paint a picture of life in the theater, making reference to notable operatic works and peppering the walk with anecdotes drawn out of history and contemporary opera culture. Using art and architecture to help these stories come to life before us, we’ll immerse ourselves in Imperial Vienna and the music that has long made it soar. (For more on the opulence of Imperial Vienna, try our Schonbrunn Palace Tour.)

Music Around Every Corner

Although music lovers will be enthralled, this walk is designed and geared for any culturally curious person. Day to day, group to group, the walk will differ, depending on the interests of the participants as well as the intellectual and professional background of the guide. We may make stops at the Mozart House, seek out statues and monuments sprinkled throughout the city center, discuss the avant-garde composers of the Second Viennese School, or explore the history of the world-famous Vienna Philharmonic. No matter which route we take to weave past the haunts of Vienna’s great composers, we’ll come away with a deeper understanding of how musical arts and this refined city have become beautifully and irreversibly intertwined.

FAQ

Does your walk include the interior of the State Opera House?
No, this tour does not go inside of the Opera House due to guiding restrictions. Though we can include the interior on a custom basis, availability is quite limited and depends on venue availability.

Where You'll Start

Tour Experts

Gilles

Swiss artist Gilles Gubelmann studied piano and dance at the Geneva Conservatory. He then worked for many years as an expert for arts and antiques in an important Swiss Auction House (Koller Auctions) where he was director of the Department of Antique Furniture and Decorative Arts. He realised a dream and moved to Venice where he started working as a painter and as an opera set and costume designer all over Europe, and also deepening his knowledge of art history and architecture. Settled now in Vienna, Gilles continues his artistic activities, works as a lecturer at the University of Music and Performing Arts and highly enjoys uncovering the rich cultural and artistic heritage of Vienna to curious travellers.

Marieta

Bulgarian by birth, Marieta has lived in Vienna since childhood. She has a degree in Informatics and is a licensed guide for Vienna and all of Austria. After having worked in the IT business for over 20 years, she decided to dedicate herself to leading tours, and in particular to the transfer of knowledge about history, art, culture and the way of life to the visitors of Austria, mainly Vienna. Her area of specialty is Music in Vienna, Jewish Vienna, Vienna around 1900, and wine culture. Marieta focuses very much on continuous education on her specialties and actively deepens her knowledge by conducting independent research, attending lectures at various institutions like the Institute for Jewish history, exhibitions and museums in Vienna and abroad.

Reinhard

Reinhard studied literature, cultural science and pedagogy at the Universities of Salzburg, Graz and Vienna. His PhD thesis was about Henri Michaux and French post surrealistic literature and art, and he has published literary criticism articles in multiple scientific journals. Since 1986, Reinhard has been working in the field of cultural tourism and cultural pedagogy and has also taught as a lecturer at Graz University. His main research topic is Italian and European Renaissance, Baroque and the Fin-de-siècle. At present, he is working on a study about late Italian Renaissance and the Counter Reformation. His research activities have always been very stimulating for his practical and professional work as a cultural historian.

View more experts

40 Reviews

Our guide was very knowledgeable and helped make the tour special for us.

Sascha

Nov. 12, 2018

Very knowledgeable tour guide. I really liked when Orsolya played pieces of music at the venues where they were first performed (I.e. Beethoven’s Eroica).

Garrett

Sep. 25, 2018

Gilles was a wonderful docent. I enjoyed the tour tremendously. Not only was he patient with the group (one with a sore back and me with really bad jet lag) but so fascinating was he that kept us wanting more! I particularly enjoyed his thoughts on the sound qualities of baroque instruments versus modern, as well as he thoughts on how that is analogous to trends in voice in opera. Cosmopolitan and talented docent. Very grateful.

Leanne

Aug. 20, 2018

View more reviews

Tour Experts

All Context Experts are scholars or specialists in their field.

Gilles

Read bio

Marieta

Read bio

Reinhard

Read bio

See all experts