Short info:
- Where is the House of Music located? Seilerstätte 30, 1010 Vienna
- What is the House of Music? an interactive sound museum
- When is open? Daily between 10:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m
- How much does admission cost? Here you can find all ticket prices. Entry is free once with the NÖ Card
- How much time should I schedule? At least an hour
The Haus der Musik in Vienna is the birthplace of the Vienna Philharmonic 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. In total, it comprises four floors with a total area of 5000 m². The museum has had 3 million visitors since it opened. The House of Music is an experience especially for children.
The structure:
Patio
There are always events taking place in the glass-roofed inner courtyard. These include children’s concerts, a spring festival and a youth festival, as well as the “Live On Stage” concert series with artists from the indie/alternative scene. The gifted can play pieces of music on the grand piano in this museum entrance hall.
The ticket counter is also located in the inner courtyard. After the cash register, on the way up to the 1st floor, there is already one of the highlights, namely the piano stairs – the “Stairplay”. This is an interactive piano with motion-sensitive steps as keys. You can quickly get out of breath while playing here
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 museum of the Vienna Philharmonic is located in the former dance hall. The past and present of the orchestra is shown using an extensive collection of historical instruments (e.g. batons from famous conductors), sheet music and recordings.
Every hour on the hour, 45 minutes of the current New Year’s Concert by the Vienna Philharmonic and 15 minutes from last year’s Summer Night Concert are shown in the cinema.
The interactive waltz dice game is particularly exciting for children. You grab a virtual die with your hand and then throw it. Two bars are assigned to each number on the dice. The dice are rolled 4 times, creating a personal waltz. Up to 4 people can play in total, three instruments are assigned to each gaming table. This results in more than a thousand musical variants.
Second Floor – Sonotopia
Music is composed in different rooms. Here are interactive sound installations that offer visitors a unique sound experience. Touch screens and display boards are used, for example, to explain what sound is, how fast it is and how it spreads.
On other touchscreens you can experiment yourself using headphones or you can look 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. Instruments, personal items, pictures, information boards, contemporary documents and originals by various composers such as Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Franz Schubert and Johann Strauss can be seen
Fourth Floor – Virtual Conductor
The Virtual Conductor is a highlight in the House of Music for young and old alike. Visitors can choose from six pieces of music on the “music stand” using the touchscreen. With a special baton, you can conduct the 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)
A Little Night Music/ Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Hungarian Dance No. 5/ Johannes Brahms
Cancan/ Jacques Offenbach (arranged by J. Strauss Sohn)
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 the impact it has on people. It offers a unique way to experience music in a new and interactive way.