I am a music teacher looking for a good classical concert in Vienna (June 17,18 or 19) or Salzburg (June 20,21,22). Any advice or suggestions? I am thinking it best to stay away from the touristy ones in costume?
Also, if anyone has any insight to anything special happening during that time for Beethoven 250th, I would appreciate that as well! I have found a few sites, but it doesn’t appear we will catch anything, aside from visiting the composer residences and attractions as planned.
La Traviata at the Opera in Vienna?
Use the event search function on the Vienna Tourist Iffice website where you can filter for Beethoven 2020 events. https://events.wien.info/en/?df=06%2F17%2F2020&dt=06%2F20%2F2020&c=1
This is Austria's most comprehensive event directory: https://www.events.at/
It is in German only, but you can easily filter by location (e.g. Wien), date and type (e.g. Musik).
If you want to book tickets online, best is to use the website of the respective venue (and not a ticket office).
As far as Vienna is concerned, Musikverein and Konzerthaus are the most renowned places for classical concerts.
I would suggest Vienna. The choices of venues and variety are mind blowing. The Opera is worth attending but since they beam the performance to an outside screen you can also watch from the adjoining plaza...very cool.
Look here for options and check the advertisements when you visit the Mozart and Beethoven residences.
https://www.viennaconcerts.com/Vienna-Events-Schedule/2020/06/18
Nothing for The Grosser Saal at the Musikverein , and here are choices for the Staatsoper - https://www.wiener-staatsoper.at/en/season-tickets/calendar/refDate/2020-06-01/ Part of the issue for you is that you are bumping into what might be termed " musical shoulder season " - The 2020 winter season is just ending around that time , and the Summer festival season has not quite yet begun . Do make certain , though , to visit the Beethoven Museum at Probusgasse 6 in Heiligenstadt ( site of the Heiligenstadt Testament ) and the surrounding area ( Dobling , Grinzing , Nussdorf ) to wander in Beethoven's footsteps . During his time there in Spring to Autumn of 1802 , he began to compose the Sixth Symphony . I wandered the area this past October , along the brook that was evidently the scene of the second movement . Quite touching .
Thank you for the resources!
Has anyone experienced the Vivaldi Four Seasons and Mozart Requiem at St. Charles Church? That seems to be the program that would be most enjoyed by both my husband and I. Before reading anything, I had also looked at the Vienna Mozart Orchestra at Muzikverien (Golden Hall) but then saw mixed reviews about the costumes and such. Would those reviews be accurate? I would love to see a performance there, but am ok with just touring the building and finding a better concert.
While the orchestra performing in costume may seem " touristy " , the players are first rate , including ( on some occasions ) members of the State Opera Orchestra . The programs are generally a mélange of better known " war horses " , but enjoyable , nonetheless . You won't be seeing a major concert of Wagner , Brahms , or Mahler .
That is helpful to know. I have read some reviews that the whole experience was not enjoyable and forced, then others that were wonderful. I will keep it in mind and not rule it out! I don’t need it to be a major work, just a nice experience with good music in a fabulous venue.
There are several venues where concerts in Mozart-style costumes are performed. But those in Musikverein guarentee musical excellence. Don't buy tickets on the street offered by staff dressed in costumes.
In September we went to one classical concert in Salzburg and one in Vienna. It depends what you like. A highlight of our trip was the evening concert in the Hohensalzburg Fortress in Salzburg. It was worth flying across an ocean for! It was in the Golden Hall of the Fortress and included Mozart, Haydn, Vivaldi, and Strauss. It was in an intimate setting with 8 musicians - 7 strings and one piano. We had seats in row 2. It was a passionate performance and a wonderful experience. We did not include the dinner with the concert. The ticket included the price of the funicular up to the fortress. We also went to a Mozart Strauss concert in Vienna which was fine but a large tour group was allowed to sit in front of us, so we were delegated to the last row even though we had bought our tickets months in advance for the same section. It was more touristy and not the breathtaking experience that we had in Salzburg. Still Vienna is magical and offers great music.
The Mozart concert at Grosser Salle , Musikverien in October 2018 was good except for the row of people directly in front of us. For the first half of the concert they played with their cell phones, talked openly to each other and generally ignored everything and everybody but themselves. The guy directly in front of me continuously turned around to look for his buddy somewhere in the back of the hall. Thankfully they didn't return after the intermission.
Peter raises a good point. The behavior of the crowd may be more of an issue than the skill of the musicians at the Wiener Mozart Orchester performance at the Musikverein. As wmt1 points out, the musicians for the group are accomplished. The Großer Saal is a beautiful place to experience a performance, too -- it's considered one of the top concert halls in the world. Edit: Having said that, I think it would be hard for me to get past the clothing to enjoy the music.
The Wiener Konzerthaus also has performances aimed at a non-tourist crowd. If you arrive a night early (6/16), you could catch the Staatskapelle Dresden (https://www.konzerthaus.at/konzert/eventid/57260). On 6/19, you can catch the ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien (https://www.konzerthaus.at/konzert/eventid/57265), but it is performing distinctly non-classic-Vienna works.
I've seen positive comments with regard to the Karlskirche concerts, too.
The challenge in Salzburg is that, in June, the city is gearing up for the Salzburg Festival that starts 18 July and runs through the end of August. So, there is not a lot going on in the non-tourist music venues in June. The touristy venues are not bad, though. Like organizer8, I have been to one of the Hohensalzburg chamber music concerts and found it satisfying (full disclosure: I'm not a music teacher and have no formal training, but I have season tickets to my local philharmonic and prioritize attending classical performances when traveling). A number of people have also commented here that they enjoyed the Mirabell Palace chamber concerts.
As noted, the issues with these tourist inverts are not with the musicians or the locations but with the audience. Proceed with caution. Concerts at the Karlskirche are only attended by tourists.
