Visiting Vienna

[justinf]

Next week I am fortunate to visit Vienna for the first time. As usual nearly all planning and packing must wait for a final desperate flurry of activity before departing, but the recent topic on Leipzig prompts me to ask: Where would you particularly recommend visiting? Any advice you can offer will be most gratefully received.

 

As part of the week's events we will see both the Konzerthaus and the Musikverein. Touching on which, is the new organ project sprondel mentioned some time ago mentioned proceeding apace?

 

Best to all -- Justin

[kropf]

Next week I am fortunate to visit Vienna for the first time. As usual nearly all planning and packing must wait for a final desperate flurry of activity before departing, but the recent topic on Leipzig prompts me to ask: Where would you particularly recommend visiting? Any advice you can offer will be most gratefully received.

 

As part of the week's events we will see both the Konzerthaus and the Musikverein. Touching on which, is the new organ project sprondel mentioned some time ago mentioned proceeding apace?

 

Best to all -- Justin

 

Interesting Organs:

 

Konzerthaus (as said)

Votivkirche (Large Walcker around 1880)

St. Michael / Michaelerkirche (Large baroque Instrument from 1714)

 

There are some better (and more worse) tubular pneumatics around, but nothing really worth the challenge of arranging a visit.

By the moment I would not call any of the new organs really fascinating. Maybe the Spaeth ACC-inspired thing in the Universitätskirche - it was not there when I left Vienna.

St. Stephan, the Cathedral, with its Rieger, is worth a visit, but the organ does not feature anything of particular interest. (IMO....)

 

The Karlskirche is a very impressive building and houses a smaller organ having material from baroque and "Biedermeier" (early romantic) times.

 

Maybe anything else springs into my mind, but so much as a first reply.

[justinf]

Thank you very much indeed!

[Fiffaro]

I would recommend a visit to Klosterneuburg, just outside Vienna, with the 1642 Freundt organ including pipework from the 1556 organ. The little town and the monastery are worth a visit by themselves, an important point to bear in mind if travelling with others who might not want to spend their whole time looking at organs. Easily reached by train travel of only a few minutes.

 

If you want to enjoy the charms of an original Italian organ from 1741, visit the parish church of Salvator am Wienerfield with its Dacci organ. So many of the older, bigger restored organs I played in Italy showed a less sympathetic restoration than what Hradetsky managed with this delightful instrument.

Wienerfeldgasse 11, in the 10th district. Phone 6732500 to talk to the priest.

 

I would also visit the Augustinerkirche in the 1st district. The gallery organ by Rieger, and the smaller (II/25) Reil organ both speak into excellent acoustics for organ music.

[kropf]

I would recommend a visit to Klosterneuburg, just outside Vienna, with the 1642 Freundt organ including pipework from the 1556 organ. The little town and the monastery are worth a visit by themselves, an important point to bear in mind if travelling with others who might not want to spend their whole time looking at organs. Easily reached by train travel of only a few minutes.

 

If you want to enjoy the charms of an original Italian organ from 1741, visit the parish church of Salvator am Wienerfield with its Dacci organ. So many of the older, bigger restored organs I played in Italy showed a less sympathetic restoration than what Hradetsky managed with this delightful instrument.

Wienerfeldgasse 11, in the 10th district. Phone 6732500 to talk to the priest.

 

I would also visit the Augustinerkirche in the 1st district. The gallery organ by Rieger, and the smaller (II/25) Reil organ both speak into excellent acoustics for organ music.

Yes, get to Klosterneuburg, if possible!

I hesitated to talk about the Wienerfeld italian Organ, as it is a little abroad within the city. But the contrast of the instrument and the modern church is interesting, too. (I played a service there, where the priest forgot to say the final benediction at the end of the mass, realizing it already half on the way back to the vestry).

 

The Reil and the Rieger in Augustinerkirche show one common mastership in two faces: Putting very much in a too small case and making it really work. And this, together with perfect action technique, I would say about the Cathedral's organ, too, but it's sound doesn't touch me.

 

If you are arranging organ visits, do use a title/degree, I you have any! (Or invent one...) Austrian's love it and would judge you just by the number of doctoral degrees you already have. If you are of royal blood, you should mention it, too, of course...

 

Do you come by plane or train? A very colourful organ landscape is Oberösterreich, the state around Linz (EU cultural capital of 2009). They have many different instruments there, though mostly behing original or pseudo baroque facades. An impressive Marcussen in Linz Neuer Dom, and many organs by German, Swiss and Dutch builders. They had always so much work there, that they could feed the local builders and engage foreigners, too.

But Oberösterreich would be another story. Enjoy Vienna! (If I would go there now again, I would spend most time with "café hopping", tasting Bohemian and Austrian bakery)