The ESSENCE and MAGIC
of Classical Music
A Musical Journey to Prague, Vienna and Budapest
September 8th – 16th, 2018
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VIENNA and its Music
The dates of the Classical period in Western music are generally accepted as being between about the year 1730 and the year 1820. However, the term classical music is often used in a colloquial sense as a synonym for Western art music which describes a variety of Western musical styles from the Middle Ages to the
present, and especially from the seventeenth century to the nineteenth.
The Classical period falls between the Baroque and the Romantic periods. Classical music has a lighter, clearer texture than Baroque music and is less complex. It is mainly homophonic, using a clear melody line over a subordinate chordal accompaniment but counterpoint was by no means forgotten, especially later in the period. It also makes use of style galant which emphasized light elegance in place of the Baroque’s dignified seriousness and impressive grandeur. Variety and contrast within a piece became more pronounced than before and the orchestra increased in size, range, and power.
VIENNA, the City
Vienna is the capital and largest city of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria’s primary city, with a population of about 1.8 million (2.6 million within the metropolitan area, nearly one third of Austria’s population), and its cultural, economic, and political centre. It is the 7th-largest city by population within city limits in the European Union. Until the beginning of the 20th century, it was the largest German-speaking city in the world, and before the splitting of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in World War I, the city had 2 million inhabitants. Today, it has the second largest number of German speakers after Berlin. Vienna is host to many major international organizations, including the United Nations and OPEC. The city is located in the eastern part of Austria and is close to the borders of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. These regions work together in a European Centrope border region. Along with nearby Bratislava, Vienna forms a metropolitan region with 3 million inhabitants. In 2001, the city centre was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In July 2017 it was moved to the list of World Heritage in Danger.
Apart from being regarded as the City of Music because of its musical legacy, Vienna is also said to be “The City of Dreams” because it was home to the world’s first psycho-analyst – Sigmund Freud. The city’s roots lie in early Celtic and Roman settlements that transformed into a Medieval and Baroque city, and then the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It is well known for having played an essential role as a leading European music centre, from the great age of Viennese Classicism through the early part of the 20th century. The historic centre of Vienna is rich in architectural ensembles, including Baroque castles and gardens, and the late-19th-century Ringstraße lined with grand buildings, monuments and parks.
Vienna is known for its high quality of life. In a 2005 study of 127 world cities, the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked the city first (in a tie with Vancouver, Canada and San Francisco, USA) for the world’s most liveable cities. Between 2011 and 2015, Vienna was ranked second, behind Melbourne, Australia. For eight consecutive years (2009–2016), the human-resource-consulting firm Mercer ranked Vienna first in its annual “Quality of Living” survey of hundreds of cities around the world, a title the city still held in 2016. Monocle’s 2015 “Quality of Life Survey” ranked Vienna second on a list of the top 25 cities in the world “to make a base within.”
The UN-Habitat has classified Vienna as being the most prosperous city in the world in 2012/2013. The city was ranked 1st globally for its culture of innovation in 2007 and 2008, and sixth globally (out of 256 cities) in the 2014 Innovation Cities Index, which analyzed 162 indicators in covering three areas: culture, infrastructure, and markets. Vienna regularly hosts urban planning conferences and is often used as a case study by urban planners.
Between 2005 and 2010, Vienna was the world’s number-one destination for international congresses and conventions. It attracts over 6.8 million tourists a year. (Lots more on Vienna)
While in Vienna, included in this journey, is a bus tour ticket for you to explore numerous sights and landmarks. Here are all the possibilities:
Itinerary of bus tour in Vienna. Full list of stops and attractions:
Stop #1: State Opera (Staatsoper) Albertina, Collection of Graphic Arts / Austrian Film Museum / Austrian Theater Museum / Heart Vault of the Hapsburgs / Historical Museum of the City of Vienna / Imperial Burial Vault / Jewish Museum of the City of Vienna / Kunsthalle Wien / Sacher Hotel / Vienna State Opera / Vienna Glass Museum Lobmeyr
Stop #2: Heldenplatz (Hero’s Square) Academy of Fine Arts, Gallery of Paintings / Butterfly House / Hofburg – Chapel of the Imperial Palace, Imperial Apartments, National Library, Spanish Riding School / Lipizzaner Museum / Mozart Memorial / Museum of Fine Arts / Museum of Natural History / Parliament / Sisi Monument
Stop #3: Mariahilfer Strasse (Shopping Street)
Stop #5: Burgtheater (National Theater)/Rathaus (City Hall)
Stop #6: Universitaet (University) (Liebenberg Denkmal)
Stop #7: Sigmund Freud Museum (Liechtensteinstrasse)
Stop #8: Augarten/Porzellanmanufaktur (Porcelain Manufactory)
Stop #9: Taborstrasse/ Kriminalmuseum (Museum of Crime)
Stop #10: Schwedenbruecke/DDSG City Cruises 
Stop #11: Morzinplatz/Vienna Aiport Lines
Stop #12: Schwedenplatz / DDSG City Cruises
Stop #13: MAK/Wien-Mitte (Museum of Applied Arts)
Stop #14: Hotel Hilton/Stadtpark (City Park)
Stop #15: Kursalon (Strauss Monument)
Stop #17: Kunst Haus (Museum Hundertwasser)
Stop #18: Prater (Giant Ferris Wheel)
Stop #19: Reichsbrücke/DDSG Pier 8 (Danube River cruises)
Stop #20: Reichsbrücke/DDSG Pier 3 (Danube River Cruises)
Stop #21: Donauturm (Danube Tower)
Stop #22: Alte Donau (Old Danube)
Stop #23: Uno City
Stop #24: Reichsbrücke (Danube Island)
Stop #25:Praterstern (Train Station)
Stop #27: Naschmarkt (Fruit and Flower Market)
Stop #28: Schloss Schönbrunn (Schönbrunn Palace)
Stop #29: Hauptbahnhof (Main Station)
Stop #30: Heeresgeschichtliches Museum (Museum of Military History)
Stop #31: Schloss Belvedere (Belvedere Palace)
Stop #32: Schwarzenberg Platz (Lower Belvedere)
Stop #35: Palais Liechtenstein – Strudelhofstiege
Stop# 36: Grinzing/Sandgasse (Wine Village)
Stop #37: Grinzing/Cobenzlgasse (Wine Village)
Stop #38: Kahlenberg (Panoramic View)
Stop #40: Essl Museum/Wienerstraße (Museum of contemporary Art)
Stop #41: Stift Klosterneuburg (Klosterneuburg Abbey)
Stop #42: Roman Scholz-Platz
Stop #43: Essl Museum/Leopoldstraße (Museum of Contemporary Art)
Stop #45: Schlumberger/Spittelau (Sparkling wine cellars)
Stop #46: Rossauer Lände (Summer Stage)
Stop #47: Votivkirche/Altes AKH (Votive Church)
Stop #48: Friedrich-Schmidt-Platz (Musa Museum)
Stop #61: Eisendstadt Esterhàzy Palace
Stop #62:Eisendstadt Esterhàzy Palace
Stop #63: Weingut Esterhàzy (Esterhàzy Winery)
Stop #64: Weingut Esterhàzy (Esterhàzy Winery)
Stop #65: Märchenpark/St. Margarethen (Family Park)
Stop #66: Rust Seehotel: Lake Neusiedl
Stop #67: Rust Seehotel: Lake Neusiedl
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