Sometimes the “touristy” thing to do is more authentic than you might think, for example at a concert in Schönbrunn Palace’s Orangery.
- Gorgeous historic 18th-century venue
- Mozart & Salieri played here
- Performances feature Strauss & Mozart highlights
- Book a concert experience* at the palace
- …look for dinner & tour add ons
- Sometimes shift location to inside the palace itself
- See also:
The concert venue
(A spring party on a winter’s day in the Schönbrunn Orangery on Feb 6th, 1785; Wien Museum Inv.-Nr. 179092, published by Johann Hieronymus Löschenkohl; reproduced with permission under the terms of the CC0 licence)
Around the mid-18th century, someone decided that what the massive Schönbrunn palace complex needed was a place to grow oranges (we’ve all felt the same at one time or another).
And so they built the Schönbrunn orangery.
This was no small greenhouse. Its glassed arches stretched along a length of 189m, for example. Given the beautiful vaulted interior and warmth, the Orangery also made a wonderful venue to hold parties.
Of course, your average imperial party needed music.
Mozart’s opera The Impresario (German: Der Schauspieldirektor) premiered, for example, at one such festivity, held by Emperor Joseph II in 1786 in honour of a visit from his sister Archduchess Marie Christine.
Antonio Salieri premiered his own opera Prima la musica e poi le parole at the same event. The double bill was at the instigation of the emperor as a kind of informal competition between the two composers. Salieri was declared the winner(!)
Such arrangement were far from unusual. Historically, the nobility and aristocracy often put on musical events for private audiences in their Vienna homes.
Beethoven’s 3rd symphony, for example, premiered at the palatial townhouse of Franz Joseph Maximilian von Lobkowitz. This was in the days before Vienna had such major public concert venues as the Konzerthaus or Musikverein.
The music
Fast forward almost 250 years and one enterprising company has reestablished this in-house concert tradition at the Schönbrunn home of the imperial Habsburg family: Mozart’s music drifts across the (fully-restored) Orangery once again.
Concerts typically feature highlights from Mozart’s repertoire of operatic and other compositions, followed by the best that the Strauss dynasty has to offer…all performed by the Schloss Schönbrunn orchestra or ensemble.
Packages on offer can also include adding dinner or an evening tour of the palace to your concert ticket.
Tickets & visitor tips
Purchase your tickets and packages for the Schönbrunn orangery concerts on site or online from specialist ticket providers.
Note that on rare occasions, the concert shifts to alternative historical rooms in the palace itself.
(Booking service provided by Tiqets.com*, who I am an affiliate of)
(Nothing on your dates? Try some alternative concerts*)
If you’re concerned about what to wear on such an occasion, I have some tips for you.
While you’re there…
The palace complex also offers much more than a historical concert venue.
Consider a palace tour: an appropriate tour also takes you into the room where Mozart (probably) performed for Empress Maria Theresa when he was but a mere child.
Aside from the tour, you have the gardens and park, the zoo, and a whole host of other sights and entertainments.
You can make a day of it there; start with a slice of cake for breakfast and end with a slice of musical culture in the Orangery…and possibly another slice of cake, because why not?
And Schönbrunn does have another concert option for you, which happens to be free to attend. Unfortunately, the summer night concert by the world-famous Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra only takes place once a year.
How to get to the venue
See the detailed article on How to get to Schönbrunn. Reaching the venue is remarkably easy.
Once you leave the subway at the U4 station called Schönbrunn (the clue is in the name), take the western exit, which is the direction of the train if you’re coming from the centre of town. You come out pretty much opposite the Orangery entrance.
Address: Schönbrunner Schlossstraße 47, 1130 Vienna | Website (for concerts)