vienna concerts in August?

Aside from a selection of Mozartian war horses sprinkled with some Strauss waltzes geared towards tourists, the main establishment venues are pretty much shut down . Not only in Vienna but across Europe . The orchestra musicians are off at the various summer music festivals. The formal season doesn't get underway until around October .

There are many classical concerts in Vienna during August. The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra will be performing at the Salzburg Festival throughout August but there still will be performances at the Musikverein, Schonbrunn Palace, and in many of the churches concentrated within the inner ring. If you’re there on a Sunday visit what was the Emperor’s private church at the Hofburg Palace, the Augustinerkirche , which has magnificent High Masses composed by some of Vienna’s best— including Mozart. During the regular Sunday services— which the public is welcome to attend—the live orchestra and choir give incredible performances in this historic church.
www.ClassicTic.com has listings of classical concerts in other churches, concert halls annd other locations around Vienna.

Both steven and Kenko are correct. There are indeed classical concerts in Vienna during your planned time there, but they are primarily geared toward tourists who want a sampling of Austrian classical music. I very much enjoy something like a Mahler symphony played in its entirety in a Habsburg-wonderful concert hall like the Großer Saal in the Musikverein, but I also enjoy well-trained musicians playing a sampling of Mozart and Strauss in an atmospheric church or... in the Großer Saal of the Musikverein (it's magnificent... really).

Honestly, I just like music. In Europe, I've attended everything from Mozart and Beethoven symphonies to Balkan hip-hop/electronica concerts. If you are like me and just enjoy music, the concerts you will find in Vienna the first two weeks of August will be enjoyable. If you are looking for a Mahler symphony, head up the road to Salzburg for the Salzburger Festspiele. If you do the former, you don't really need to buy tickets very far in advance at all; if you do the latter, you definitely want to get tickets far, far in advance.

Whatever you choose, I hope you have a grand visit to Europe in August.

Thank you so much for your responses. They are very helpful and we so happy that we will get to watch some concerts or listen to music during that time. It would be too bad if we miss the experience of attending a concert in the classical music capital of the world.