10:10am
Lufthansa Flight 3530 arrives at Vienna Airport. Welcome by London
Arts Discovery Tour Director, RICHARD BARRAN. Transfer by private
coach to the Hotel Ambassador, Kärtner Strasse, 1010, Vienna.
Tel: +43 (0) 1 961 61 0, Fax: +43 (0) 1 513 29 99. Check in.
5:30pm
Assemble in the foyer to depart on our short introductory walk,
to point out useful shops and restaurants in the vicinity of the
hotel.
7:00pm
Welcome Dinner and Briefing in the Wintergarten, part of the Mörwald
Restaurant at the hotel.
Tuesday 24 April
BREAKFAST WILL BE SERVED IN THE MÖRWALD RESTAURANT from 6.30am
to 10.30am daily OR IN YOUR ROOM AT A SURCHARGE OF €3.50 PER
PERSON
9:30am
Assemble in the foyer to depart on our Walking Tour, Vienna of the
Hapsburgs, with our expert guide, EDITH KUDLAK. We head straight
for the Hofburg, a city within a city, which used to be the Winter
Palace for the Emperors. Started in 1279 it reflects the interests
of major figures in the dynasty. Here are the Burgkapelle, home
of the Vienna Boys Choir, the Spanish Riding School and the great
Treasury, containing priceless crowns, jewels and ecclesiastical
treasures. The sumptuously decorated apartments were designed to
impress visitors from around the world at this Central European
crossroads.
AFTERNOON FREE
6:15pm
Coach departs for the Volksoper, Währingerstrasse 78.
7:00pm
THE MERRY WIDOW by Franz Lehar, libretto by Victor Leon and Henri
Meilhac. Premiered in Vienna in 1905 it was a sensational success
in London in 1907 and shortly afterwards on Broadway. It is an intoxicating
mix of elegant ladies, eligible bachelors, Maxim’s Can-Can
dancers and constantly flowing Champagne, set in fin-de-siècle
Paris. The Volksoper is the home of operetta.
9:30pm
Coach departs for the hotel.
Wednesday 25 April
9:30am
Coach departs for our all day excursion to the Vienna Woods, which
begin just outside the city and extend to the foothills of the Alps.
Here the Viennese, like Beethoven and Schubert before them, escape
the city to relax in the gently rolling hills and valleys. Charming
towns, welcoming taverns and hiking paths with extensive views enchant
the visitor. At Mayerling we remember the tragic death, perhaps
a joint suicide, of the young Archduke Rudolph and his mistress,
Marie Vetsera, commemorated in MacMillan's ballet of the same name.The
Medieval Cistercian Abbey of Heiligenkreuz was destroyed in attacks
by the Turks in 1529 and 1683, but much still remains within the
delightful Baroque chapel.
We shall break our exploration to sample the local fare by taking
lunch at the Babenbergerhof Restaurant. After lunch we shall visit
the picturesque town of Baden where Beethoven composed his Choral
Symphony.
6:45pm
Assemble in the foyer to depart on foot for the Musikverein, Bösendorferstrasse
12.
7:30pm
THE KLANGVERWALTUNG ORCHESTRA and the Neubern Choir, conducted by
Enoch zu Guttenberg, perform a programme of music by Bruckner including
Symphony No. 4 "The Romantic", Ave Maria and Te Deum.
In the Grosser Saal.
Return to the hotel on foot after the performance.
Thursday 26 April
9:30am
Coach departs for our exploration of The Secession, Vienna's artistic
rebellion against the nineteenth century establishment. This was
a particularly individual form of art nouveau seen in art and architecture;
its most famous proponent being Gustav Klimt (1862 - 1918) whose
portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer achieved a record price for a painting
of 135 million dollars in New York last year. We visit the Secession
Building and the Gallery of 19th and 20th century art in the Belvedere.
AFTERNOON FREE
6:45pm
Assemble in the foyer to depart on foot for the Konzerthaus, Lothringerstrasse
20.
7:30pm
ARS ANTIQUA AUSTRIA, an instrumental Baroque Ensemble, perform an
all Biber programme. Biber was a native of Austria and a violin
virtuoso who composed the most seductive Baroque music, which has
only recently become widely known. In the Schubert Saal.
Return to the hotel on foot after the performance.
Friday 27 April
9:30am
Making Music in Vienna. We talk with EDWARD KUDLAK, Viola player
with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and professor of music at McGill
University in Toronto. In the Lehar Room at the hotel.
AFTERNOON FREE
6:45pm
Assemble in the foyer to depart on foot for the Konzerthaus, Lothringerstrasse
20.
7:30pm
THAÏS, by Jules Massenet. A concert performance with Renée
Fleming and Thomas Hampson and the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Michel Plasson. This glorious music is interpreted
by a cast including two of the finest voices in the world of opera.
Thaïs is a fabulously beautiful courtesan who holds Alexandria
in thrall. Athanael, a young monk, is determined to save her from
damnation. In the Grosser Saal. After the performance we are invited
to meet RENÉE FLEMING, a personal friend of David Wax.
Return to the hotel on foot after the performance.
Saturday 28 April
MORNING FREE
2:00pm
Assemble in the foyer to depart on foot for the Kunsthistorisches
Museum, Maria Theresien-Platz.
2:30pm
The Kunsthistorisches Muzeum (the Art History Museum). EDITH KUDLAK
guides us through the highlights of this wonderful collection, one
of the very finest in Europe. Thanks to acquisitive habits of the
Habsburgs the collection is especially rich in 16th and 17th century
Dutch and Italian art. Bruegel, the Elder is the museum's star so
many of his paintings hang here. This is a quite breathtaking museum
and you may wish to spend much of the afternoon here. Return to
the hotel on foot after the visit.
EVENING FREE
Sunday 29 April
8:45am
Assemble in the foyer to depart on foot for the Hofmusikkapelle,
Hofburg-Schweizerhof.
9:15am
We visit the Hofburgkapelle to hear the Vienna Boys Choir sing mass.
After mass we depart on foot for Michaelerplatz 1.
11:00am
THE SPANISH RIDING SCHOOL performs on the legendary Lipizzaner horses
in its exquisite 18th century ballroom. Return to the hotel on foot
after the performance.
AFTERNOON FREE
6:30pm
Assemble in the foyer to depart on foot for the Staatsoper, Opernring
2.
7:00pm
THE FLYING DUTCHMAN by Wagner. An opera in one act, conducted by
Seiji Ozawa with Alan Titus and Nina Stemme. We are fortune to find
such a combination of artists, Seiji Ozawa, formerly Music Director
of the BSO, conducting some of the greatest Wagner interpreters
of today.
Return to the hotel on foot after the performance.
Monday 30 April
MORNING FREE
12:30pm
Coach departs for the Restaurant Vincent.
12:45pm
Farewell lunch at the gourmet Restaurant Vincent. After lunch we
talk with political journalist, BARRIE MON LLOYD, about the state
of Austria today.
4:00pm
Coach departs for the hotel.
6:45pm
Assemble in the foyer to depart on foot for the Konzerthaus, Lothringerstrasse
20.
7:30pm
THE VIENNA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, conducted by Fabio Luisi. The orchestra
performs Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4, with Mihaela Ursuleasa
on piano, and Schumann's Symphony No. 4. two more works by Viennese
composers. In the Grosser Saal.
Return to the hotel on foot after the performance.
Tuesday 1 May
8:30am
Latest time for labelled luggage to be outside rooms for the group
departure.
9:30am
Check bags on to the coach and depart for Vienna Airport.
1:00pm
Lufthansa Flight 3555 departs for Munich.
3:40pm
Lufthansa Flight 424 departs Munich for the USA.
To view recent examples of music tours we have run, click on the tours below
