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The society of friends of music ('Gesellschaft für Musikfreunde'')
was founded in 1812 by music loving people of the upper and
middle class to promote musical life. Until then music had
been the realm of aristocracy. The advent of the bourgeoisie
resulted in a wider audience with an strong interest in music.
The society's aim was to organize concerts and promote classical
and modern music of its time, an aim that has changed but
little since then.
After extensive success and struggling with too little room
over the years, it was relocated to a larger building close
to the Karlsplatz in 1912. The building also houses a conservatory,
a collection of instruments and an extensive library and its
archives. 5 concert halls impress with rich and imaginative
decoration and excellent acustics. The 'Musikverein' is also
home to the Vienna
Philharmonic Orchestra.
Its up to 500 concerts per year attract
music lovers from all over the world. However, the 'Musikverein'
is popular with the locals, too. It is a Viennese institution
and a vital node of the city's social life. Ingeborg
Bachmann's short story 'Ihr glücklichen Augen' illustrates
this impressively.
German
& Music in Vienna
Musikverein, Bösendorferstraße
12, 1010 Vienna
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