Expert-led trips to the musical capitals of Europe

Wednesday in Vienna, our last full day here, started with historic instruments and ended with a performance by a wonderful orchestra.

Emma checking out some Renaissance brass instruments

The Collection of Ancient Musical Instruments is a large museum of instruments from Antiquity to Today. The strength of their holdings are Renaissance instruments, and there came from two collections – one focusing on instruments that were works of art and the other that had instruments for everyday use. Also exhibited here are pianos owned by Brahms and Mahler, Leopold Mozart’s violin, and other priceless instruments.

Some of our graduate students in the Prunksaal (State Hall) of the Austrian National Library

After the instrument collection, we spent a few minutes in the State Hall of the Austrian National Library. This is a magnificent room, and is where Mozart studied the works of Bach and Handel in the 1780’s.

That evening, we attended a concert in the Musikverein. This is probably the most famous concert hall in the world: Mahler conducted here, Brahms performed and attended many concerts here.

The Vienna Symphony Orchestra performed an all-Russian concert with music of Tanajev (overture and large choral-orchestral work) and Tchaikovsky (4th Symphony). Attending a concert here is always a treat. The hall is spectacularly beautiful, and just being able to look around is often worth the ticket price. Beyond that, the hall has one of the finest acoustics of any concert hall in the world.

A group picture in the Large Hall of the Musikverein

I led the students on my favorite part of the trip itinerary on Tuesday in Vienna. We take public transportation to the northernmost district of the city, right on the edge of the Vienna Woods. The village of Heiligenstadt is here, and this is where Beethoven spent several important summers.

We always start at the famous statue in Heiligenstadt Park. This is not only a wonderful statue – I used a picture of it for the cover of my book – but it is also a popular photo opportunity for pictures with Beethoven.

Phoebe with Beethoven

Heiligenstadt was where Beethoven realized that his deafness would not improve. As a result of this, he wrote an impassioned letter to his brother (only to be read after the composer’s death) that has become known as the Heiligenstadt Testament. We were on the site where he wrote this.

Our walk continued along the Beethovenweg (Beethoven Walkway), where he would walk for inspiration. The little stream that we walked along was the “Scene by the Brook” in his Sixth Symphony. One goes here and music history really comes alive.

The hills and vineyards of the Vienna Woods.

Monday in Vienna started with one of the most moving things I can imagine doing: visiting the graves of the great composers. In the Central Cemetery, one can stand in front of the final resting places of Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, J. Strauss (father and son), Schoenberg, and others.

Meg is about to put a flower on Beethoven's grave

I often recommend that visitors buy a flower from one of the stands outside the cemetery and place it on the grave of the composer of their choice. I usually put a rose on Beethoven’s grave as a way of thanking him for such amazing music. To stand in front of the tombs of these composers and realize that their remains are ten feet in front of me is a moving experience.

After going to St. Mark’s Cemetery where Mozart was buried in an unmarked grave – and where there is a very moving monument to him – we had lunch and then several students wanted to see the Arnold Schoenberg Center.

Nash and Laura at the Arnold Schoenberg Center

The Schoenberg Center is an active research center which has the complete Schoenberg archives. It also has a room made as a replica of his study with original items from Schoenberg’s workplaces in Vienna, Berlin, and Los Angeles. The Center also had an interesting exhibit on his life and a reading room with lots of books and other memorabilia for sale. The Schoenberg fans in our group loved it.

A crying angel is the perfect memorial on the approximate location of Mozart's unmarked grave.

The first full day of the UNCG trip had two performances. I usually don’t like scheduling two musical events in a day, but the opportunity was there, so we took it!

The Vienna Boys Choir singing in the Imperial Chapel at the end of Sunday Mass

Our morning started in the Imperial Chapel to hear the mass where the Vienna Boys Choir has sung since 1498. We were sitting on the main floor (there are seats on several levels in the Imperial Chapel). What is unique about going there is that the choir sings from the very top level and can be heard but not seen. In past years when I have been there for mass, the choir would stand outside on the steps after mass for pictures. What they are doing now is having the choir come to the front of the altar after the service is over and sing something short so that everyone could hear them. This is a great idea.

That night, we heard one of the best known Viennese works of them all: Johann Strauss, Jr.’s “Die Fledermaus”. This is an operetta full of masked trickery, revenge plots, and comic scenes. In the end, everyone makes up and blames the champagne for causing any problems!

I have been to this production at the Volkoper many times, but this performance was by far the best. The singing was excellent, the orchestra sounded great, and, best of all, the acting captured just the right nuance of this best-known of all Viennese operettas.

The auditorium of Vienna's Volksoper before "Die Fledermaus"

Marietta, our tour guide, telling our students about the interior of St. Stephan's Cathedral

Today, at 11:10am, twenty excited UNCG students (plus a faculty member and his wife) arrived in the Vienna Airport for the start of eight fun and musical days in Vienna. Of course, after three flights and little sleep, they looked a bit run down and ragged, but they more than made up for this with their enthusiasm level.

Skaters follow lots of little paths set in the park in front of the building

My goals on these first days, when people are exhausted is to keep everyone moving and eating. We had lunch at Wienerwald, a nice local chain of restaurants, then had our walking tour. After returning to the hotel for a little while, we had a great dinner at an Italian restaurant called, appropriately, “La Scala”.

In past years, I have taken the students to Salzburg first, so we did not arrive in Vienna until Monday of the first full week in March. Starting our trip in Vienna this year allowed us to take advantage of the last days of something very special and fun: Ice Staking in front of Vienna’s City Hall. This was a great way to start our trip, and to give us something fun to do at the end of the very long day.

Vienna's Rathaus (City Hall) lit up for Ice Skating