The Konzerthaus is a concert hall located in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, which opened in 1913. It is situated in the third district just at the edge of the first district in Vienna. Since it was founded it has always tried to emphasise both traditional and innovative musical styles. In 1890, the first ideas for a ''Haus für Musikfeste'' (House for music festivals) came about. The idea of the new multi-purpose building was to be more interesting to the broader public than the traditional Vienna Musikverein. In addition to the concert hall, the first drawings by Ludwig Baumann for the ''Olympion'' included an ice-skating area and a bicycle club. In an attached open air area, 40,000 visitors would be able to attend events. Although the drawings were not accepted, today an ice skating area is situated right next to the building. The Konzerthaus was finally built between 1911 and 1913. The architects were

Fellner & Helmer Fellner & Helmer was an architecture studio founded in 1873 by Austrian architects Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer. They designed over 200 buildings (mainly opera houses and apartment buildings) across Europe in the late 19th century and ear ...

; the work was done in cooperation with Ludwig Baumann.

Performance facilities

The building is about 70×40 meters and had originally three halls, in which there can be simultaneous concerts, since they are sound-proofed. The original Art Nouveau building was partly destroyed during renovations and adaptions, but the building was reconstructed from original sketches in the 1970s. A historic organ was installed in the Konzerthaus by the Austrian firm Rieger in 1913. Between 1997 and 2000 the house was completely renovated. *Großer Saal, with 1,840 seats *Mozartsaal, with 704 seats *Schubertsaal, with 336 seats *Berio Saal was added during the latest renovations and seats up to 400 people

Program

The Konzerthaus has the

Vienna Symphony The Vienna Symphony (Vienna Symphony Orchestra, german: Wiener Symphoniker) is an Austrian orchestra based in Vienna. Its primary concert venue is the Vienna Konzerthaus. In Vienna, the orchestra also performs at the Musikverein and at the The ...

, the

Vienna Chamber Orchestra The Vienna Chamber Orchestra (Wiener Kammer Orchester, or WKO) is an Austrian chamber orchestra based at the Vienna Konzerthaus. History The WKO was founded in 1946, and its first artistic directors were Franz Litschauer, Heinrich Hollreiser, ...

, the

Wiener Singakademie The Wiener Singakademie is a choir in Vienna, Austria. History As the first mixed choir in Vienna, the Wiener Singakademie was founded in 1858 to establish a "Singübungsanstalt" - an institution for the training of voices. It aims to promote th ...

and the

Klangforum Wien The Klangforum Wien is an Austrian chamber orchestra, based in Vienna at the Konzerthaus, which specialises in contemporary classical music. Founded by composer and conductor Beat Furrer in 1985, it is run on collective principles, having no ...

in residence. Several subscriptions also include concerts by the

Vienna Philharmonic The Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; german: Wiener Philharmoniker, links=no) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. It ...

and other organizations. The ''Wiener Konzerthausgesellschaft'' also conducts several festivals during the year: *Early Music Festival ''Resonanzen'' in January *the

Vienna Spring Festival The Vienna Spring Festival () is an annual classical music festival in Vienna. Founded in 1992, the festival is held in April and May at the Konzerthaus, Vienna, Konzerthaus and other venues in Vienna. References External links Vienna Spring F ...

''Wiener Frühlingsfestival'' in April and May *the ''Internationale Musikfest'' in May and June *
Wien Modern
' in the Fall

Directors

* Hugo Botstiber (1913-1938) *

Armin Caspar Hochstetter Armin (Armyn) is a given name or surname, and is: * An ancient Indo-European name: ** a German/Dutch given name, *** a modern form of the name Arminius (18/17 BC–AD 21), a German prince who defeated a Roman army in the Battle of the Teutoburg F ...

(1938-1945) * Friedrich Reidinger (1940-1945) (representing Hochstetter, excused for military service) *

Egon Seefehlner Egon Seefehlner (3 June 1912, in Vienna – 25 September 1997) was an Austrian lawyer, editor and opera director. Seefehlner was born in Vienna, Austria. He was a student at Konsularakademie Wien (re-established in 1964 as Diplomatic Academy ...

(1946–1961) *

Peter Weiser Peter M. Weiser (October 3, 1781 – c. 1810) was an American soldier and member of the Corps of Discovery on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Early life Weiser was born in Berks County, Pennsylvania of German parentage, the son of John Phillip We ...

(1961–1977) *

Hans Landesmann Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi ...

(1978–1984) *

Alexander Pereira Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

(1984–1991) *

Karsten Witt Karsten or Carsten is a both a given name and a surname. It is believed to be either derived from a Low German form of Christian (given name), Christian, or "man from karst". Notable persons with the name include: Given name ;Carsten: * Carsten C ...

(1991–1996) *

Christoph Lieben-Seutter Christoph is a male given name and surname. It is a German variant of Christopher. Notable people with the given name Christoph * Christoph Bach (1613–1661), German musician * Christoph Büchel (born 1966), Swiss artist * Christoph Dientzenho ...

(1996–2007) *

Bernhard Kerres Bernhard is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar (1604–1639), Duke of Saxe-Weimar *Bernhard, Prince of Saxe-Meiningen (1901–1984), head of the House of Saxe-Meiningen 194 ...

(2007–present)

History

The Historic Concert for the Benefit of Widows and Orphans of Austrian and Hungarian Soldiers was held at the Konzerthaus on January 12, 1918. Its patrons were Kaiser Charles and Empress

Zita Zita (c. 1212 – 27 April 1272; also known as Sitha or Citha) is an Italian saint, the patron saint of maids and domestic servants. She is often appealed to in order to help find lost keys. She is often confused with St. Osyth or Ositha, ...

, with posters designed by Josef Divéky.

Bibliography

*Barta, Erwin, ''Das Wiener Konzerthaus zwischen 1945 und 1961. Eine vereinsgeschichtliche und musikwirtschaftliche Studie''. Schneider, Tutzing 2001

External links