House of Music: Discovering Sound Worlds in Vienna
Short info:
- Where is the House of Music? Seilerstätte 30, 1010 Vienna
- What is the House of Music? an interactive sound museum
- When is it open? Daily between 10:00 and 22:00h
- how much does the entrance fee cost Here you will find all ticket prices. With the NÖ Card admission is free once
- How much time should I plan for? At least one hour
The House of Music in Vienna is the birthplace of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and, since June 2000, has been an interactive sound museum dedicated to the history of music and sounds. It offers a unique opportunity to experience and understand music up close. It has four floors with a total area of 5000 m². Since it opened, the museum has welcomed 3 million visitors. The House of Music is an experience especially for children.
The structure:
courtyard
Events are regularly held in the glass-covered courtyard. These include children's concerts, a spring and youth festival, and the "Live On Stage" concert series with artists from the indie/alternative scene. Talented musicians can play pieces of music on the grand piano in this museum entrance hall.
The ticket counter is also located in the courtyard. After the ticket office, on the way up to the first floor, you will find one of the highlights, namely the piano staircase - the "Stairplay". This is an interactive piano with motion-sensitive steps as keys. Playing it can quickly leave you out of breath
First Floor – Museum of the Vienna Philharmonic
The founding place of the most famous orchestra in the world. The conductor and composer Otto Nicolai lived here from 1841 to 1847, when he founded the Vienna Philharmonic in 1842.
The former dance hall now houses the Vienna Philharmonic Museum. The history and present of the orchestra is presented using an extensive collection of historical instruments (e.g. batons of famous conductors), sheet music and recordings.
Every hour on the hour, 45 minutes of the current New Year's Concert the Vienna Philharmonic and 15 minutes from last year’s Summer Night Concert shown.
Especially exciting for children is the interactive waltz dice game. You grab a virtual dice with your hand and then throw it. Each number on the dice is assigned two bars. You roll the dice four times to create a personal waltz. Up to four people can play in total, and each table is assigned three instruments. This creates more than a thousand musical variations.
Second Floor – Sonotopia
Music is composed in various rooms. Here you will find Interactive sound installations, which offer visitors a unique sound experience. For example, touchscreens and display boards explain what sound is, how fast it is and how it spreads. Other touchscreens allow you to experiment yourself using headphones or provide an insight into the human ear.
In the instrumentarium, the principles of sound production are illustrated using four giant instruments.
Third Floor – The Great Masters
This floor is dedicated to the music history of Viennese Classicism. On display are instruments, personal items, pictures, information boards, contemporary documents and originals by various composers such as Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Franz Schubert and Johann Strauss
Fourth Floor – Virtual Conductor
The Virtual Conductor is a highlight for young and old in the House of Music. Visitors can use the touchscreen to select from six pieces of music on the “music stand”. With a special baton, you can Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra which is projected onto a large screen.
The following pieces are available:
- On the Beautiful Blue Danube and Annen Polka/ Johann Strauss (son)
- Radetzky March/ Johann Strauss (father)
- Eine kleine Nachtmusik/ Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- Hungarian Dance No. 5/ Johannes Brahms
- Cancan/ Jacques Offenbach (arrangement by J. Strauss, son)
At the end is the well-stocked souvenir shop. The House of Music is a must for anyone who loves music and wants to learn more about its history and its effect on people. It offers a unique opportunity to experience music in a new and interactive way.
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