optional concert in vienna

[pully8]

we will be in vienna with avalon and will also have some time on our own.

my question is to anyone who has done the concert, where and what is the venue?

and what was it like in terms of quality and comfort. some have suggested it is hot and people are packed in??

we know we can see a concert at mozart house that is a beautiful venue and the concerts do get good reviews.

opinions will assist us. we dislike being packed in if that is likely to occur.

thanks.

[pully8]

surely someone has attended the concert and can give some feedback?
regards.

[tassietravellers]

Originally Posted by pully8

we will be in vienna with avalon and will also have some time on our own.

my question is to anyone who has done the concert, where and what is the venue?

and what was it like in terms of quality and comfort. some have suggested it is hot and people are packed in??

we know we can see a concert at mozart house that is a beautiful venue and the concerts do get good reviews.

opinions will assist us. we dislike being packed in if that is likely to occur.

thanks.

We were in Vienna on an Avalon cruise in August, we didnt do the concert, but they people that did loved it..they were all told not to wear a jacket as it was quite warm in there and a jacket would just be something extra for them to worry about as there was no where to put it and alot of people there.
Sorry cant help alot more , dont believe it was at mozart house, I think it was in a small concert hall.

[newlondon]

pully8, trying to give you some help. We were on Tauck and not Avalon in Vienna and our concert was in a palace. We were asked to wear jackets and since dinner was included we could hang them on the back of our dinner chairs. Iwas 95f at 5p so we sure needed to. BTW the concert was the high point of the cruise

[Ozjohnno]

Originally Posted by newlondon

pully8, trying to give you some help. We were on Tauck and not Avalon in Vienna and our concert was in a palace. We were asked to wear jackets and since dinner was included we could hang them on the back of our dinner chairs. Iwas 95f at 5p so we sure needed to. BTW the concert was the high point of the cruise

Once again you are misleading posters on Tauck requirements. I recently emailed them on this topic as you appear to be paranoid about dress and their reply to my question about whether it was required to wear a jacket to the dinner and concert and their reply was ......

"Thank you for your inquiry. It is suggested that gentleman wear a jacket for the evening but it is not required. We have found that most guests do like to dress up a bit for this evening." .......

Please note the word "suggested" .. there is no requirement to wear a jacket even if the fashion policeman insists there is.

Wear comfortable casual clothing and like I and many others did and you won't look out of place.

[H2Otstr]

We have gone to this concert twice, once with Grand Circle and once with Uniworld (I think ). Anyhow, it was in the same concert hall and hardly anyone really "dressed up". The women wore dressier clothes than the men. My husband never travels with a sports jacket anymore; he wore a shirt and tie and fit right in.

The concert hall was warm and the seats were very uncomfortable, almost like a kitchen chair with some padding on the seat.

We very much enjoyed the concert and I would go again if I had the opportunity.

[BPCruiser]

We did the Vienna Evening Concert with Avalon last year and very much enjoyed it. We plan to repeat it again on our next cruise in 1 week with Avalon. There was only a couple of men that wore sport coats and it was warm in the concert hall in November. I doubt that my DH will wear one this year either, just a collared long sleeve shirt. Some men had on nice sweaters but as I said, it was a bit warm inside. It was one of the highlights for us on our cruise in Vienna.

[pully8]

thank you so much for info so far. it sounds worthwhile but would like to know more about the venue, if anyone knows? i am sure no evening concert in vienna would be a waste.

just more info about the other option that we are interested in is this
http://www.mozarthaus.at/en. the venue looks beautiful and the music would be lovely, plus easy for us to get to from our hotel.

so many choices so little time!!

we cannot wait we really enjoy river cruising and avalon have always looked after us.

in the past we have travelled in spring/summer so this will be a bit different in fall.
thanks again.

[H2Otstr]

Originally Posted by pully8

thank you so much for info so far. it sounds worthwhile but would like to know more about the venue, if anyone knows? i am sure no evening concert in vienna would be a waste.

I have a scanned copy of our program that I could email to you if you are interested. If so, send an email to me at h2otstr at aol dot com and put Vienna Program in the subject line. I tried to copy it here, but it is too large.

[yvr49]

Hi. We were in Vienna with Avalon on September 10 & 11, and attended the optional concert. It took place at the Kursalon which is right across the street from the Intercontinental Hotel where we were staying, so the group just walked over. http://www.kursalonwien.at/kursalonwien/?L=2 The ticket price included a glass of champagne or orange juice outside on a patio at intermission. The performances were very good but the venue could have been a little more glamorous I think - and yes, it was hot. I think if we were to do it again we would look for a venue that was more elaborately decorated.

[pully8]

thank you for all the replies exactly the sort of info we were looking for.
just have to decide either or...or both!

thanks again.

[newlondon]

Ozjohhno, You seem to be equally paranoid that your way is the right way; ie. who cares about niceties? A quick question, where in my post does it say that jackets were required. I believe I said we were asked to wear jackets, in what way does that differ from Tauck's response that jackets are suggested?

[orchestrapal]

Originally Posted by pully8

thank you for all the replies exactly the sort of info we were looking for.
just have to decide either or...or both!

thanks again.

If your looking for top quality you will want to book a Vienna Philharmonic concert. Just short of that almost anything being put on at the Musikverein gorgeous a hall that has some of the best acoustics in the world.
Both the river boat tour concerts as well as the Mozarthaus are "strictly for the tourists" not for serious music lovers.

[tinylady]

Just a quick to say that the location of the concert is not the same with all tour companies. Scenic for sure and I believe Tauck use very special locations and their passengers are the only ones present. The Scenic location is large, beautiful and with a max of 160 people in no way crowded.

[newlondon]

Orchestrapal, Agree with both of your statements. Unfortunately the Vienna Philharmonic does not play during the summer and you have to get lucky to get seats at the Musikverein during the season for anything exciting, The New Years Eve concert as I'm sure you know has a lottery. We've entered 11 times with not even a reply.
I agree about the concerts not being serious, but operetta is lots of fun and the Tauck concert is in a nobleman's palace-spectacular.
Tinylady you are so right about Tauck and I assume about Scenic. The Tauck venue is exclusive and includes a formal dinner as well as the concert.

[BPCruiser]

Originally Posted by yvr49

Hi. We were in Vienna with Avalon on September 10 & 11, and attended the optional concert. It took place at the Kursalon which is right across the street from the Intercontinental Hotel where we were staying, so the group just walked over. http://www.kursalonwien.at/kursalonwien/?L=2 The ticket price included a glass of champagne or orange juice outside on a patio at intermission. The performances were very good but the venue could have been a little more glamorous I think - and yes, it was hot. I think if we were to do it again we would look for a venue that was more elaborately decorated.

We too were just in Vienna and did the evening concert with Avalon at the Kursalon and were disappointed this year. We were there in Nov. 2011 with our Danube cruise and the evening Mozart Concert was so much better. We were in a large beautiful room and the concert was led by a very professional Maestro and a large assemblence of musicians and dancers. Very professional in our opinion. This most recent excursion last week was disappointing. The young gentleman leading the performance was the 1st Violinist and there was no Maestro. We were in a much smaller room and quite honestly it felt like we had the "stand in's" or concert violinist/dancers in training performing for us. Not nearly the impressive performance we were hoping to enjoy again. On our next visit to Vienna, we will schedule our evening concert independently.

[bobalink]

Originally Posted by BPCruiser

We too were just in Vienna and did the evening concert with Avalon at the Kursalon and were disappointed this year. ....On our next visit to Vienna, we will schedule our evening concert independently.

Hello BPCruiser,
Do you have a resource for booking concerts independently?
Thanks!

[BPCruiser]

Originally Posted by bobalink

Hello BPCruiser,
Do you have a resource for booking concerts independently?
Thanks!

Sorry, but I do not have any specific references but I am sure with a little research or other recommendations from the CC boards you might get lucky. If I hear anything I will let you know.

[Scotlass]

Hi everyone,
This will be my first time on a river cruise with Avalon. Looking at all your replies regarding the concerts in Vienna, I was wondering if it is possible to arrange a tour of the Vienna State Opera House? I heard that this is a stunning place to see. Does anyone know?

[orchestrapal]

For the rofessional non- touristy concerts in Vienna
check out www.musikverein.at/.
You won't be able to book most until about
60 days out but they will notify you of the open booking
period if you register with them for any concerts
you are interested in. The www.wiener-staatsoper.at/
also can be boutht online as can the VolksOpera on the same site.