Haus der Musik

The Haus der Musik (House of Music) in Vienna opened in 2000 as Austria’s first museum of sound and music. A variety of hi-tech interactive and multimedia exhibits introduce the world of music, from the earliest human usage of instruments to contemporary music, throughout a 54,000-square-foot exhibition area.

Four Austrian universities, two foreign university institutions, a team of musicians and music theorists, artists from multimedia and other fields, sound technologists, architects, and students were all engaged in the museum’s creation. The Austrian Museum Prize was granted to the Haus der Musik in 2002 for its unique design.

The Haus der Musik is housed in Archduke Charles’ Palace, where Otto Nicolai, the founder of the Vienna Philharmonic, resided roughly 150 years ago. Zubin Mehta, an Indian conductor, is its honorary president. With 205,000 visitors in 2009, it was the 19th most popular attraction in Vienna.

Annagasse, Krugergasse, and the main entrance – Seilerstätte 30 – all lead to the inner courtyard. Throughout the year, various events are held in the glass-roofed inner courtyard.However, it is also designed to serve as a gathering space for groups and individual visitors prior to purchasing a museum ticket.In this museum entry hall, there is also a grand piano, and guests who can play the piano a bit are welcome to perform pieces of music on it.Three hanging blue sound panels – a sound installation – may be found on the route to the first level.It is meant to allude to the initial (natural) noises as the original impetus of all cultures while also being a unique technological construction in which the panels function as sound bodies.

The Museum of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra occupies the first level.The following information is presented: the team’s history, the edict that established it, and its awards.Video recordings of Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra concerts are shown in a specially prepared venue with a projection screen.The “Sonosphere” is located on the second level and features interactive displays that allow you to explore with sound.The third level is dedicated to composers with Vienna connections. The exhibition includes works by Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Strauss, Johann (son), and Gustav Mahler, as well as the New Viennese School founders Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg, and Anton von Webern.A hall dedicated to the sounds of the future may be found on the fourth floor. The philosophy embedded in technology is to assist individuals in expressing themselves through music and sound. Here you may observe the instruments that your body uses to generate sounds; for example, in the Mind Forest area, there are sounding walls that respond to hand movement. On the fourth level, there is also a souvenir shop.